Mastern to invite W110b for French office acquisition through REIT IPO

Seoul-based property investment house Mastern Investment Management said Wednesday it plans to invite 110 billion won ($91.6 million) in South Korean retail money through its new real estate investment trust to take over part of equities in an office building in the suburb of Paris. Mastern plans to list the REIT’s 22 million shares, each priced at 5,000 won, on Korea’s main bourse Kospi in August. The listing schedule will be determined after an initial public offering that is set

July 15, 2020

S. Korea ranks 30th in global real estate transparency: JLL

The South Korean real estate market ranked 30th in terms of transparency, a survey showed Wednesday. According to Jones Lang LaSalle Korea, the country climbed one notch in its Global Real Estate Transparency Index, a benchmark of real estate market transparency that covers 99 countries. The index studies 210 indicators, including the level of sustainable management, resilience to economic crisis and technological advances of respective countries.  Officials of the global real estate se

July 15, 2020

ELS issuance in S. Korea tanks in H1 amid pandemic

Sales of equity-linked securities in South Korea tumbled in the first half of the year as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on major stock markets, data showed Wednesday. The value of ELS issues came to 31.6 trillion won ($26.3 billion) in the January-June period, down 39.6 percent from six months earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. The figure was also down 33.8 percent from the 47.7 billion won floated during the same period a year earlier. ELS refers to hyb

July 15, 2020

S. Korea's money supply gains at record pace in May

South Korea's money supply grew by a record amount in May on increased loans to households and firms amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's M2 stood at 3,053.9 trillion won ($2.55 trillion) as of the end of May, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The amount represents an increase of 1.2 percent, or 35.4 trillion won, from April, which is the biggest on-month gain since data tracking began in December 2001. From a year earlier,

July 15, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on positive vaccine data

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, buoyed by progress toward a new coronavirus vaccine. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 32.14 points, or 1.47 percent, to 2,215.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment improved following new reports that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. showed progress. The US biopharmaceutical firm's vaccine produced antibodies in all patients during an initial safety trial, according to the reports. T

July 15, 2020

Seoul stocks down on virus fears despite stimulus plan

South Korean stocks closed marginally lower Tuesday amid concerns over a global resurgence in new coronavirus outbreaks, despite a massive stimulus package and rising demand in China. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 2.45 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 2,183.61. Trading volume was high at about 800 million shares worth some 11.4 trillion won ($9.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 477 to 356. Foreigners sold

July 14, 2020

NH-Amundi names new deputy CEO

Seoul-based joint venture NH-Amundi Asset Management said Tuesday that it named Nicolas Simon as the deputy chief executive officer of the France-based asset management house’s South Korean arm on Monday. Simon is formerly a deputy CEO of State Bank of India Funds Management, a joint venture of State Bank of India and Amundi to lead Amundi’s Indian operation. He served the term for five years until March. The start date has yet to be determined, according to NH-Amundi. Simon wi

July 14, 2020

JR AMC to list first cross-border REIT on Kospi

South Korean firm JR Asset Management said Tuesday it is eyeing its first cross-border real estate investment trust to list on the nation’s main bourse Kospi in early August. JR Global REIT is designed to invest in Belgium’s second-tallest skyscraper Finance Tower Complex. Located in Brussel’s central business district, the 36-story building was valued at 1.44 billion euros ($1.29 billion) as of June 21, JR AMC President and CEO Kim Kwan-young said in a press briefing. &ldq

July 14, 2020

Credit card spending drops amid pandemic

Payments made with cards here began to drop shortly after the country confirmed the new coronavirus outbreak in late January, central bank data showed Tuesday, in what could be another data backing reduced spending amid the pandemic. Between February and May, the overall amount of payments made with cards dropped 2.1 percent from the same period last year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). South Korea reported its first COVID-19 infection case on Jan. 20. Credit card spendi

July 14, 2020

Seoul stocks open lower on Wall Street losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, following overnight losses on Wall Street amid the growing toll of the coronavirus pandemic around the world. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 7.85 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,178.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Major US stock indices ended weaker on Monday (New York time), with the confirmed COVID-19 toll topping 13 million globally. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.13 percent to 10,390.84, snapping a three-session winni

July 14, 2020

K bank resumes consumer loan service

South Korea’s oldest online-only lender K bank said Monday it has resumed its consumer loan business through its mobile apps. The new loan products will be offered either in the form of personal loans for consumers with mid- to high-credit scores or overdrafts. The annual interest rate for borrowers will be 2.08 percent at its lowest. Borrowers’ credit-worthiness will be assessed under K bank’s own credit scoring system that applies machine-learning techniques and big data

July 13, 2020

IMM pauses acquisition of Kolmar CMO units

IMM Private Equity’s plan to acquire Kolmar Korea’s contract-based pharmaceutical business assets for 512.52 billion won ($427.24 million) has been postponed indefinitely, filings showed Monday. In a renewed disclosure, the prearranged deadline for IMM’s all-cash deal to buy the assets owned by Kolmar Korea Holdings’ stake by July 31 was scrapped on Friday, without setting a fresh due date. This comes two months after Korea’s third-largest private equity fund ink

July 13, 2020

Naver, other 'untact' stocks' market value tops W100tr

  A combined market value of Naver Corp., South Korea's top internet portal operator, and other so-called 'untact' stocks, such as Kakao Corp., have seen their combined market cap surpass the 100-trillion won ($83.27 billion) mark for the first time amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. The market capitalization of the three companies, including Kakao, the operator of the country's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, and leading game developer NCSOFT Corp., came to 100.7 trillion won as of Mo

July 13, 2020

Seoul stocks up on further stimulus hopes

South Korean shares closed higher Monday despite a hike in global virus outbreaks, buoyed by growing expectations for an additional stimulus package. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 35.81 points, or 1.67 percent, to close at 2,186.06. Trading volume was high at about 642 million shares worth some 10.3 trillion won ($8.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 613 to 230. Foreigners bought a net 100 billion won, whil

July 13, 2020

Shinhan, Carlyle to create $600m infra fund

Shinhan Alternative Investment Management and US-based private equity fund Carlyle Group have agreed to create a fund to jointly invest in prime infrastructure loans, according to industry sources Monday. The fund, tentatively named “Shinhan Carlyle Infra Credit Fund I” will be launched after both firms finalize the agreement. The $600 million worth fund will be invested in overseas prime infrastructure loans in the US and Europe, they said. “Shinhan and Carlyle have discus

July 13, 2020

FSS warns Shinhan, Hana, IBK of lax management in project financing

The financial watchdog said Monday it has issued a disciplinary warning to three lenders -- Shinhan, Hana and Industrial Bank of Korea -- for their slack management in project financing. Project financing refers to a long-term loans issued by savings banks and other lending institutions as well as a number of equity investors, which is aimed at supporting infrastructure projects.  The Financial Supervisory Service slapped disciplinary measures against the lenders as they reportedly subt

July 13, 2020

Foreigners extend stock sell-off to 5th straight month in June

Foreign investors extended their selling spree of South Korean stocks to a fifth straight month in June, data showed Monday. Foreigners sold a net 420 billion won ($348.6 million) worth of local stocks last month, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). American investors sold a net 2.5 trillion won worth of stocks last month, while British investors net purchased 1.7 trillion won worth of stocks, according to the FSS. As of end-June, local stocks held by foreign

July 13, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on stimulus hopes

South Korean shares opened higher Monday on hopes for economic rebound despite rising virus outbreaks around the globe. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 13.51 points, or 0.63 percent, to 2,163.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The gains were led by optimism for a quick economic recovery. South Korea's exports fell 1.7 percent on-year in the first 10 days of July, but a slower rate of decline signaled recovery in outbound shipments. This week, South Kore

July 13, 2020

[Herald Interview] Former WeWork Korea general manager dives into proptech scene with platform Dongnae

Looking for a home, whether to rent or own, is an extremely time-consuming and painstaking job in South Korea. House hunters have to jump from one real estate agency to another to find the right one to fit their budget. Many factors contribute to this decision, including proximity to educational resources, commute times, and the neighborhood itself. And the mission of finding a perfect house for Matthew Shampine, former general manager of coworking space giant WeWork Korea, was also difficul

July 12, 2020

Kospi likely to rebound to 2,200-level amid key economic policies

Facing a series of key economic events slated for this week, South Korean stocks are set to rebound slightly with investors weighing hopes against the coronavirus woes, according to market watchers Sunday. At the core is the “New Deal” package scheduled to be unveiled Tuesday -- seeking to create jobs and foster economic growth amid the COVID-19 fallout, President Moon Jae-in’s administration put forward a program to invest more than 100 trillion won ($83.29 billion) into &ld

July 12, 2020