Korean Air to sell off inflight service operations to Hahn & Co.

South Korea’s cash-strapped flag carrier Korean Air Lines said Tuesday it plans to sell its inflight meal catering and duty-free units to local private equity firm Hahn & Co. “As for the divestment of inflight catering services and duty-free operations, Korean Air has given Hahn & Co. the exclusive rights to negotiate,” it said in a disclosure after a board meeting at 4 p.m. “Korean Air will continue to discuss the details about the transaction with Hahn &

July 7, 2020

WeWork Labs reinforces virtual startup acceleration programs

Coworking space giant WeWork said Tuesday that it plans to upgrade its online startup acceleration programs in a bid to support local firms that aim to expand overseas. WeWork Korea held online forums, workshops and conferences this year to connect venture capitalists and industry experts with fledgling startups via its WeWork Labs platform, which offers budding firms access to seasoned experts, investors and other peers through mentoring programs and networking events. WeWork began the Labs

July 7, 2020

Seoul stocks snap 3-day winning streak on growing virus concerns

South Korean stocks fell by more than 1 percent Tuesday amid growing fears over the resurgence of the new coronavirus at home and overseas. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 23.76 points, or 1.09 percent, to close at 2,164.17, ending its three-session winning streak. Trading volume was high at about 837 million shares worth some 14.7 trillion won ($12.3 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 581 to 263. The index erased

July 7, 2020

FSC vows fair market for financial firms, Big Tech rivals

South Korea’s top financial regulator Tuesday vowed to induce fair competition between conventional financial companies and Big Tech groups, in preparation for the forthcoming digital shift in the local financial industry. “Responding to the non-face-to-face trend triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak, a growing number of major technology companies, or Big Tech, have been pursuing (new opportunities) from the financial services industry,” said Financial Services Commission Chair

July 7, 2020

SK Biopharm’s market cap jumps amid bubble concerns

SK Biopharmaceuticals shares continued to soar on Tuesday, outpacing its parent company SK Holdings by market capitalization on the nation’s main bourse Kospi. Shares of the bio unit of South Korean conglomerate SK Group began trading at 214,500 won ($179.85), then spiked by 51,500 won, up 24.01 percent, to reach 266,000 won in the first 10 minutes of trading. The stock was still on the rise but slightly fell to 216,500 won, at the closing bell. Due to the stock rally, the firm’s

July 7, 2020

[Exclusive] S. Korea’s Eximbank plans to finance Pakistan’s large-scale IT project

South Korea’s state-run policy lender Export-Import Bank of Korea plans to offer a $76 million-plus loan to Pakistan for IT-related projects including electronic intelligence, a top official told The Korea Herald on Monday. Eximbank established the Economic Development Cooperation Fund in 1987 to support industrialization and economic growth in developing countries as well as promote bilateral economic exchanges. “The size of the loan and project is expected to be larger than the

July 7, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on US, China rally

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking an overnight stock rally in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 16.41 points, or 0.75 percent, to 2,204.34 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment was boosted by hopes of the global economic recovery, buoyed by bullish stock gains in the United States and China. On Monday, the Shanghai Composite Index spiked 5.71 percent, the steepest hike since 2015, after Chinese state media empha

July 7, 2020

Toss vows to fully compensate for losses from any fraud cases

Amid growing concerns over the security of online payment services, Viva Republica, operator of online bank Toss, said Monday that it would fully compensate its customers who fall victim to any type of financial fraud. The move came after unauthorized payments worth 9.4 million won ($7,860) were made on the financial technology platform in early June, raising questions over the safety of the mobile payment system. “Transactions via Toss should be considered safer than face-to-face bank

July 6, 2020

Seoul stocks rally on recovery hope, coming earnings report season

South Korean shares rallied Monday on hopes of economic recovery led by the government's extra budget and possible robust earnings from tech companies. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 35.52 points, or 1.65 percent, to close at 2,187.93. Trading volume was high at about 659 million shares worth some 12 trillion won ($9.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 573 to 267. Foreigners sold a net 258 billion won and indivi

July 6, 2020

Open banking service subscriptions surpass 20 million

The number of open banking service subscriptions in Korea has surpassed 20 million, more than 70 percent of the nation’s economically active population, reflecting rapid expansion across the finance sector, authorities said Monday. Launched in December 2019, open banking services enable bank customers to use banking services of different banks via a single smartphone application. Currently there are a total of 72 service providers, including commercial banks and financial technology comp

July 6, 2020

Local fashion house targets W60b IPO despite COVID impact

The Nature Holdings, a lifestyle outdoor firm known for its National Geographic licensed fashion brand, said Monday it is looking to raise as much as 60 billion won ($50.2 million) from its initial public offering on the tech-heavy Kosdaq this month. The firm is offering around 1.2 million shares in the price band of 45,000-50,000 won, CEO Park Young-jun said in a press briefing. The exact share price will be determined Thursday through the book building process before investors can apply on J

July 6, 2020

NH NongHyup receives final approval to launch Myanmar branch

South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank said Monday it has received final approval from Myanmar’s financial authorities to launch and operate a subsidiary in the Southeast Asian country. The announcement comes 10 months after the lender submitted an application to the Central Bank of Myanmar, which handles financial supervisory of state-owned, private and foreign banks in the country. NH NongHyup has been operating a microfinancing institution in Myanmar since 2016 and has worked as a st

July 6, 2020

Samil PwC names new co-chief

Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, South Korea’s top accounting firm, said Monday it has appointed a new co-representative to take charge of marketing. Partner and deals leader Bae Hwa-joo will serve as chief executive officer for marketing, while Yoon Hoon-soo will head the organization’s overall management. Assurance leader Yoon was named as CEO in April, as competitor Bae offered his resignation in the eleventh hour amid a neck-and-neck rivalry over the top post. The company may app

July 6, 2020

Seoul stocks open tad higher on parliamentary approval of 3rd extra budget

South Korean shares opened slightly higher Monday, following parliamentary approval of the third extra budget meant to support the pandemic-hit economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.84 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,161.25 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The gains came after the National Assembly passed a 35.1 trillion-won ($29.3 billion) extra budget Friday. The supplementary plan is designed to mitigate the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

July 6, 2020

Minimum investment amount for private equity funds forecast to rise

South Korea will likely increase the minimum amount of investment for private equity funds from the current 100 million won ($83,373) to 300 million won as early as next month in its efforts to protect individual investors on the heels of a series of alleged fraud cases linked to funds in South Korea, according to news reports on Sunday. The Ministry of Government Legislation has been reviewing the measure, which will be included in the planned revisions of the nation’s Financial Investm

July 5, 2020

[Herald Interview] Investment guru sees opportunities in post-COVID era

In his first public letter in 10 years, South Korea’s value investment guru Chen Kang in March urged fund investors to remain unperturbed by the coronavirus uncertainties and search for where purchasing power would flock to in the post-coronavirus era. The investor with over 30 years of experience in stock investing added this was a way of targeting value creation even in trying times. “Investors should keep an eye on how daily life evolves, because that’s where the future of

July 5, 2020

HK-based hedge fund’s liquidity crisis spooks Korean investors

Gen2 Partners, a Hong Kong-based hedge fund, has notified South Korean financial institutions of a fund freeze regardless of the deadlines for fund redemption, according to news reports Sunday. This comes as its flagship fund using a leveraged scheme suffered losses due to the coronavirus outbreak, facing a liquidity crunch. The Korean entities dedicated to pooling investor money for Gen2 Partners’ multistrategy funds include brokerage houses Shinhan Investment, Kiwoom Securities and S

July 5, 2020

[News Focus] Will Kospi be alright when short sellers return in September?

SEJONG -- An eye-catching issue in the nation’s economy is whether the growth of gross domestic product will bounce back in the second half of the year after touching a bottom in the first half. While GDP growth was minus 1.3 percent in the first quarter, compared to the previous quarter, there is a possibility that the coming figure for the second quarter (April-June) will also post negative growth or dip further. Exports fell by 11.2 percent in the first half, on an on-year basis. For

July 5, 2020

Number of fake banknotes in S. Korea further dips in H1

The number of fake South Korean banknotes found here continued to decline in the first half, and the combined face value of the counterfeits also dropped sharply, central bank data showed Sunday. In the January-June period, the number of counterfeit banknotes found here came to 129, down 19.4 percent from 160 bills found a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The half-year tally marks a steady decline since the second half of 2017. The combined face value of the counterfeits f

July 5, 2020

Seoul stocks likely to face volatile sessions next week: analysts

South Korean stocks are expected to face choppy trading next week amid signs of a global economic recovery and the rising number of new coronavirus infections, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,152.41 points Friday, up 0.83 percent from a week earlier. "The gap is narrowing between the stock index and the real economy," said Daeshin Securities global strategist Moon Nam-joong. "The improved US jobs data seems to have gi

July 4, 2020