Lock-up free institutions’ selloff behind Big Hit stock plunge: market watchers

An instant 425.8 billion-won ($375.1 million) selloff by major shareholders of South Korean pop music agency Big Hit Entertainment appears to have caused a sharp decline of the Big Hit stock price in the days after its listing, market watchers said Thursday. Two special purpose companies including the fourth-largest shareholder Mainstone -- which owned a combined 9.16 percent of common shares -- immediately sold nearly half of their holdings in Big Hit, after the company went public o

Oct. 22, 2020

Seoul stocks snap 3-day winning streak amid US stimulus uncertainties

South Korean stocks ended a three-day winning streak Thursday amid lingering uncertainties over a new stimulus push in the world's largest economy. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 15.81 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,355.05. Trading volume was moderate at about 802 million shares worth some 9.6 trillion won ($8.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 543 to 303. Foreigners sold a net 73 billion won, while ret

Oct. 22, 2020

FSS to limit unlicensed investment consulting via Kakao, Telegram

South Korea’s financial watchdog has decided to restrict unlicensed investment advisers’ activities on instant messaging apps like KakaoTalk and Telegram, financial authorities said Thursday. The Financial Supervisory Service made the decision Wednesday to eliminate messaging app chatrooms from among the list of eligible platforms where such advisers can work. The option would be deleted on the business plan the advisers are required to submit to the watchdog. The current law bans

Oct. 22, 2020

Kakao to raise $300m in Singapore to muster up M&A dry powder

South Korea‘s internet giant Kakao is planning to issue $300 million worth of exchangeable bonds to accumulate the dry powder for its future mergers and acquisitions activities, the company said in a filing Thursday. The US dollar-denominated exchangeable bonds will be issued privately on Wednesday on the Singapore Exchange. Investors in the hybrid securities will be offered straight bonds with zero interest. Once the bonds mature in April 2023, the hybrid security investor will be offe

Oct. 22, 2020

Kyochon F&B set for November IPO on Kospi

Kyochon F&B, South Korea’s largest fried chicken franchise, will make its market debut on the nation’s main bourse Kospi next month to raise as much as 71.34 billion won ($62.85 million), its chief executive officer said Thursday. Kyochon will be the first franchise firm to be directly listed on Kospi, he said. “Being the first local franchise firm to list on Kospi means a lot to us. The IPO will set a meaningful milestone for Kyochon’s growth to become a global food

Oct. 22, 2020

Shinhan Financial, Grab partner on digital finance services in Vietnam

Shinhan Financial Group said Thursday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnamese subsidiary of Singapore-based ride-hailing giant Grab to jointly develop new digital financial services.  Under the agreement, Shinhan’s startup accelerator unit, Shinhan Future’s Lab Vietnam, and Grab will join hands to nurture budding local enterprises developing new services ranging from fintech to real estate and will work together to build a startup-friendly ecosyst

Oct. 22, 2020

Seoul stocks open sharply lower on tech, auto losses

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Thursday on tech and auto losses, tracking losses from its US peers amid lingering stimulus uncertainties in the world's largest economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 23.28 points, or 0.98 percent, to 2,347.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local stocks got off to a weak start on long-stalled stimulus talks in the United States, one of South Korea's largest trade partners. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3

Oct. 22, 2020

NPS partners with Dutch pension fund for global investments

South Korea’s biggest institutional investor, the National Pension Service, has forged a partnership with Dutch retirement fund operator APG Asset Management to invest in European and Asian markets, according to the Korean fund operator. APG, which managed assets worth 538 billion euros ($637.4 billion) as of the end of 2019, invests in the private education, construction and energy sectors on behalf of Dutch state-run fund ABP. Before forging the partnership, APG and the NPS jointly in

Oct. 21, 2020

Apartment prices for average Koreans have soared since 2017

The prices of small to midsized apartments have increased precipitously in recent years, according to data from the office of Rep. Kim Sang-hoon. The lawmaker’s office received the data from the Korea Appraisal Board. Small to midsized apartments, measuring 40 to 62.8 square meters, have increased in price 65.9 percent, posting 245.2 million won on average, from May 2017 to July this year, the data showed. The lawmaker’s office classified apartments into four categories: Small apa

Oct. 21, 2020

Seoul stocks increase for 3rd session on US stimulus optimism

South Korean stocks extended gains for a third consecutive session Wednesday, as investors held out optimism for progress in the US stimulus talks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 12.45 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 2,370.86. Trading volume was moderate at 802 million shares worth some 9.7 trillion won ($8.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 675 to 183. Foreigners bought a net 6.4 billion won, while retai

Oct. 21, 2020

Renters 65% less likely than homeowners to get married: study

South Koreans who rent their homes are less likely to get married and have children than those who own their own homes, a private think tank said Wednesday. When people who paid monthly rent were compared with homeowners, the former were 65 percent less likely to tie the knot than the latter, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute, which is under the country’s top business lobby, the Federation of Korean Industries. For people who have “jeonse” apartment leases, t

Oct. 21, 2020

JB’s Cambodian subsidiary launches e-loan repayment services

Phnom Penh Commercial Bank -- the Cambodian subsidiary of JB Financial Group’s flagship lender -- signed a deal with a Thailand-based financial technology firm to provide electronic loan repayment services to customers, the South Korean banking group said Wednesday. PPC Bank’s latest memorandum of understanding with True Money is to allow customers to repay both the principal and interest back to the lender via the fintech firm’s electronic wallet service known as True Money

Oct. 21, 2020

Central bank upgrades large-value fund transfer system

South Korea’s central bank on Wednesday held a ceremony for the launch of its upgraded large-value interbank fund transfer system, which started operations last week. The Bank of Korea’s real time gross settlement system is the nation’s only system handling transfers of large funds between financial institutions. The system was first launched in 1994 and was upgraded previously in 2009, but the BOK has been building the “next-generation” version since 2015 t

Oct. 21, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, taking a cue from an overnight rise on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 5.42 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,363.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local stocks got a boost from US peers, despite lingering uncertainties from the ongoing talks for the new US virus relief package. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.33 percent on Tuesday (New York time), with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding

Oct. 21, 2020

Authorities seek to revoke Lime Asset license

South Korea’s financial watchdog on Tuesday recommended that Lime Asset Management lose its license, the toughest penalty possible, for defrauding its investors and costing them trillions of won.  The FSS decision followed a meeting to decide the level of sanctions it would advise the regulator, the Financial Services Commission, to impose on the Seoul-based hedge fund manager. If the FSC agrees, Lime’s license as a privately pooled fund manager could be revoked as early as Nov

Oct. 20, 2020

S. Korea state pension partners with Dutch fund for joint investments

South Korea's state pension fund said Tuesday it has partnered with its Dutch counterpart to make joint investments in overseas assets. The National Pension Service has recently joined hands with APG Asset Management, which runs the biggest Dutch pension fund, to explore investment opportunities in global markets, the NPS said in a statement. The partnership came as the Korean pension fund increases the ratio of alternative investments in global markets amid low rates and an extended slowdown,

Oct. 20, 2020

Seoul shares up for 2nd day on US stimulus hopes; Korean won at 18-month high

South Korean shares rose for a second straight session Tuesday, as investors hold on to hopes for progress in the new US stimulus talks. The Korean won rose to an 18-month high against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 11.67 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 2,358.41. Trading volume was moderate at about 862 million shares worth some 11.7 trillion won ($10.3 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 514 to 323. Foreigners boug

Oct. 20, 2020

JPMorgan cuts Kiwoom Securities stake for W26.1b

JPMorgan Asset Management has reduced its stake in South Korean securities brokerage house Kiwoom Securities to cash out 26.1 billion won ($22.9 million), in an apparent profit-making move, a filing showed Tuesday. Since August, Hong Kong-based JPMorgan Asset Management Asia Pacific and five affiliated parties had unloaded a combined 1.11 percent stake in the Seoul-based brokerage house without a brick-and-mortar branches. The transaction cut JPMorgan’s stock holding to 3.9 percent, stee

Oct. 20, 2020

KB Kookmin Bank chief likely to serve third term

Major South Korean bank KB Kookmin’s incumbent CEO is likely to keep his role for another year, as he was tapped by board members on Tuesday as the sole candidate for the position, the firm said. KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin has been selected by the lender’s holding group KB Financial Group’s affiliate leadership nomination committee to serve his third term as his one-year second term is set to end on Nov. 20. Hur would have to gain approvals from a similar, yet lower committe

Oct. 20, 2020

KB Financial issues ESG hybrid bonds worth W500b

Major South Korean banking group KB Financial Group said Tuesday that it has issued 500 billion won ($439.1 million) worth of hybrid bonds focused on environmental, social and governance investment. They are the first won-denominated ESG bonds issued by a banking group here, the firm said. While a growing number of local financial institutions have floated ESG bonds in recent years, it was usually the major banking group’s flagship lenders that handled the business, not the holding compan

Oct. 20, 2020