S. Korea's FX reserves inch down in January

South Korea's foreign reserves edged down in January due to the US dollar's strength, which trimmed the value of non-US dollar foreign reserves, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $442.7 billion as of end-January, down $370 million from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the first monthly decline since last March, with the nation's foreign reserves having risen for the ninth consecutive month in December. Foreign reserves co

Feb. 3, 2021

HAAH bid hinges on SsangYong’s reorganization plan: KDB

An investor consortium led by US auto retailer HAAH Automotive is ready to lay out plans to buy a stake in troubled South Korean automaker SsangYong Motor once it presents its reorganization plan to creditors, Korea’s state-run lender Korea Development Bank said Tuesday. SsangYong Motor is a lossmaking South Korean arm of Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra. Senior officials of KDB, SsangYong Motor’s main creditor, said that the reorganization plan is a prerequisite to the co

Feb. 2, 2021

BOK board members wary of risks from asset rally: minutes

Most members of the Bank of Korea's (BOK) monetary policy board voiced concerns about risks from a rally in the nation's stock and housing markets, citing financial imbalances caused by a flood of liquidity and cheap loans, minutes from their latest meeting showed Tuesday. In the last rate-setting meeting on Jan. 15, the seven-member board unanimously voted to keep the policy rate at a record low of 0.5 percent to support an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Holding fire on the

Feb. 2, 2021

Myanmar’s military coup rattles S. Korean banks’ ASEAN biz plans

South Korean banks have ordered their employees in Myammar to stay at home and launched emergency safety measures, as of Tuesday, upon the news of the military having taken control of the ASEAN nation in a coup. The coup is expected to put a damper on the lenders’ plans this year to expand their presence in the ASEAN economies, to recover from blows dealt by the coronavirus pandemic. For local banks this year, Myanmar was supposed to work as a springboard for recovery from coronavirus

Feb. 2, 2021

Fear on Korean version of GameStop looms

Tension in South Korea’s financial market escalated Tuesday over groups of retail investors vowing to defend themselves in battles with short sellers here if the government moves to lift a temporary ban on the negative betting system next month. The Korea Stockholders Alliance, which represents around 22,000 retail investors, has launched a monthlong protest, threatening to wage an all-out war against short sellers, claiming that foreign and institutional investors benefit the most while

Feb. 2, 2021

Seoul stocks up for 2nd day amid US rallies, eased China concerns

South Korean stocks advanced for the second straight day Tuesday to finish just short of the 3,100-point mark in tandem with global stock rallies and eased concerns over China's liquidity squeeze. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 40.28 points, or 1.32 percent, to close at 3,096.81 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 874 million shares worth around 18.9 trillion won ($16.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers

Feb. 2, 2021

Average jeonse price sets new high in greater Seoul

Soaring prices for jeonse, a two-year housing lease that requires a lump sum deposit, have been putting a financial burden on tenants despite the government‘s protection measure that extends contract periods by two more years with a price cap, data showed Tuesday. According to KB Kookmin Bank, the average jeonse price in the greater Seoul area in January exceeded 400 million won ($358,710) for the first time since the bank started to collect relevant data in June 2011. It took only fi

Feb. 2, 2021

Korean sovereign wealth fund takes W23.7tr in investment return

Korea Investment Corporation, a sovereign wealth fund owned by the South Korean government, said Tuesday that it earned 23.7 trillion won ($21.8 billion) from investment last year despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The whopping 23.7 trillion-won profit amounts to 4.6 percent of the government’s budget last year, standing at 513 trillion won, and 1.8 times higher than the amount of corporate tax tech giant Samsung Electronics paid in 2019, at 13.2 trillion won. The KCI’s ret

Feb. 2, 2021

Kakao Bank to target loan market for low credit borrowers

Kakao Bank, South Korea’s second internet-only lender, will expand loans for those with low to moderate credit scores and make a foray into the business loan area within the year, the company’s CEO said on Tuesday. Yoon Ho-young, CEO of the lender, told reporters that loans for the low- and mid-credit borrowers will be “significantly” increased from last year’s 1.38 trillion won ($1.24 billion). The size and interest rates for such loans will be dependent on the m

Feb. 2, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street rallies

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, taking a cue from US stock rallies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 18.12 points, or 0.59 percent, to 3,074.65 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.55 percent, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.76 percent, and the S&P 500 gaining 1.61 percent. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics rose 0.33 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix hiked 2.4 percent. Intern

Feb. 2, 2021

POBA to allocate W300b to Koramco for real estate investment

South Korea‘s institutional investor, the Public Officials Benefit Association, is poised to commit 300 billion won ($268.6 million) to alternative asset manager Koramco Asset Management for its investment in commercial real estate, Koramco said Monday. Using the fresh fund, Koramco will mainly target prime office buildings in Seoul and the neighboring Bundang business district in Gyeonggi Province. The fund will be managed under the POBA guideline where 60 percent of the cash will be de

Feb. 1, 2021

KB Kookmin Card completes stake acquisition of Thai lender

Credit card issuer KB Kookmin Card said Monday that it has completed the acquisition of a controlling stake of J Fintech, a Bangkok-based loan provider, speeding up the pace to infiltrate the Southeast Asian market. With the latest takeover, the credit card business becomes the first South Korean company to make an official entry to the Thai lending industry. The card company invested 24 billion won ($21.4 million) to acquire the 50-pecent stake in the Thai lender, while the remaining 50 pe

Feb. 1, 2021

Yanolja names new CIO to speed up IPO

Accommodation booking platform operator Yanolja announced Monday that it has appointed a new chief investment officer to lead the discovery of new growth engines. The newly named CIO, Choi Chan-seok, is a seasoned expert in mergers and acquisitions and investor relations. While leading investment and M&A deals at mobile gaming firm Netmarble, he played a key role in acquiring water purifier rental firm Coway and US mobile game developer Kabam, and helped the game company to invest in both

Feb. 1, 2021

Seoul stocks again cross 3,000 point threshold on foreign, institutional buying

South Korean stocks closed back over the 3,000-point threshold Monday, led by foreign and institutional buying and strong advances by bio shares. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 80.32 points, or 2.7 percent, to close at 3,056.53 points. Trading volume was high at about 958 million shares worth some 20.5 trillion won ($18.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 710 to 156. Foreigners bought a net 131 billion won and

Feb. 1, 2021

Retail investors see disappointing performance in January

Amateur share traders, who defended the market from a massive selloff by established investors, injected nearly half of last year’s investments in January, but their performance remained in negative territory, data showed Monday. According to the Korea Exchange, individual investors net purchased Kospi-listed stocks worth 22.34 trillion won ($19.97 billion) and 3.51 trillion-won worth of shares from the secondary Kosdaq market. The net buying figures, when combined, are equivalent to 40 p

Feb. 1, 2021

NCSoft benefits most from listing transfer to Kospi

Forty-five companies, which first went public via South Korea’s tech-heavy Kosdaq market, saw at least a threefold surge in market valuation after they transferred to the nation’s main bourse market since 2000, data showed Monday. Of the 45 companies transferred to Kospi, 42 firms progressed with a combined market capitalization of 206.57 trillion won ($184.89 billion) as of Friday, jumping from 65.77 trillion won logged 20 years ago, according to the Korea Exchange. The three disap

Feb. 1, 2021

Hyundai Motor, KDB earmark W74.5b to invest in mobility startups

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday it has partnered with state-run lender Korea Development Bank to create a fund of 74.5 billion won ($66.6 million) to support open innovation of the South Korean automaker giant and its supply chain. The fund primarily targets domestic startups dedicated to eco-friendly cars and smart cars, as well as companies with futuristic mobility technologies with regards to urban air mobility and purpose-built vehicles. Major backers of the fund include Hyundai Motor, K

Feb. 1, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on pharmaceutical gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, led by strong pharmaceutical gains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 15.35 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,991.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top cap Samsung Electronics slipped 0.12 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix retreated 1.22 percent. Pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics added 1.64 percent, and Celltrion jumped 6.64 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem moved up 0.55 percent, and rechargeable battery maker Sam

Feb. 1, 2021

Korea considers extending ban on short selling until June

South Korea’s top financial regulator is likely to extend the temporary ban on short selling by institutional and foreign investors until as late as June, as it plans to establish a system that would enable individual investors to short sell stocks around that time, market officials said Sunday. At a Jan. 25 meeting, the Financial Services Commission reportedly encouraged working-level officials from stock brokerage firms to pick up the pace to set up the short selling system for retai

Jan. 31, 2021

Korean investors turn net sellers of GameStop shares

South Korean investors were net sellers of US-based video game retailer GameStop solely on the day when the short squeeze started to materialize, data showed Sunday. Korean investors -- both individuals and corporations -- net sold GameStop shares worth $54 million on Tuesday, according to the latest data from the Korea Securities Depository. Trading data from Wednesday, when GameStop‘s share price peaked, was not available as the foreign securities settlement date is three business days

Jan. 31, 2021