Stocks open sharply lower on Wall Street tumble

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street amid concerns over a second wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 1.13 points, or 24.47 percent, to 2,137.04 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday (local time), US stocks closed lower as investors were concerned over rising new coronavirus infections in major countries. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.7 percent, the S&am

June 25, 2020

[Banks of Future] S. Korean banks transforming for ‘untact’ era

South Korean banks are going through their biggest transformation since the postwar era in the face of rising online banks and the fast-changing consumer trend favoring non-contact services. With the growing preference for “untact” -- non-face-to-face contact -- the lenders have been closing many brick-and-mortar branches, while giving more authority to chief digital officers who were hired from outside. The combined number of physical branches of all commercial banks here stood

June 24, 2020

Optimus fund freeze spooks investors as scrutiny intensifies

South Korea’s investment house Optimus Asset Management froze two more feeder funds worth a combined 29.7 billion won ($24.75 million) Wednesday, as prosecutors started to look into fraud allegations against the troubled asset manager. At the same time, Korea’s top financial regulator vowed to carry out a thorough inspection of all privately pooled funds here in a preemptive move to protect fund investors. Optimus on Wednesday notified NH Investment & Securities that the fund

June 24, 2020

Seoul stocks close 1.42% higher on economic recovery hope, N. Korean relief

South Korean stocks closed 1.42 percent higher Wednesday on the back of upbeat economic data from the United States and Europe and eased tensions with North Korea, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 30.27 points to close at 2,161.51. Trading volume was heavy at 895 million shares worth 12.7 trillion won ($10.6 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 518 to 319. Institutions scooped up a net 118.2 billion won

June 24, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 19.76 points, or 0.93 percent, to 2,151.00 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Major indexes in the United States closed higher Tuesday on recovery hopes, led by a jump in tech shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.58 percent to end at 26,156.1, while the tech-laden Nasdaq gained 0.74 percent to close at a fresh record high of 10,131.

June 24, 2020

Social contributions by financial groups hit record high in 2019

The combined spending by Korean financial institutions on social contributions hit a record high in 2019, data showed Tuesday.  A total of 22 financial institutions in Korea, including five major local lenders and Korea Credit Guarantee Fund as well as Korea Housing Finance Corp., spent 1.3 trillion won ($935 million) on social contribution activities last year, the highest figure since 2006 when the Korea Federation of Banks started compiling relevant data. The figure jumped 15 percent

June 23, 2020

After choppy session, Seoul stocks end higher on eased Sino-American trade woes

South Korean shares traded higher Tuesday on eased concerns related to the US-China trade dispute. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 4.51 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 2,131.24. Trading volume was high at about 906 million shares worth some 13.3 trillion won ($11 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 586 to 262. Foreigners sold a net 55.6 billion won, while retail investors purchased a n

June 23, 2020

Korea Investment & Securities teams with KT to build AI platform for financial services

Korea Investment & Securities has joined a local alliance to build an artificial intelligence platform for the digital transformation of the financial sector, according to the brokerage firm on Tuesday. The network operator and stock brokerage firm signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop AI systems, a project led by Korean telecommunications giant KT. Launched in February this year, the alliance, dubbed AI One Team, consists of tech giants, universities and state-run res

June 23, 2020

Celltrion chief says coronavirus vaccine to be marketable by H1 next year

Celltrion co-founder and Chairman Seo Jung-jin said Tuesday the biosimilar firm’s novel coronavirus vaccine development is on its way as scheduled, expressing confidence that the treatment will become marketable once clinical trials are complete. As one of some 200 drug developers in the world in the race to develop a treatment for COVID-19, Celltrion is poised to go through a human clinical trial with its drug candidate on July 16, following tests on lab animals such as hamsters and monk

June 23, 2020

US was largest destination for S. Korean investment in 2019: BOK

The United States continued to remain the largest destination for South Korea's overseas financial investment last year, accounting for nearly one-third of the country's financial investment overseas, central bank data showed Tuesday. As of end-2019, the country's financial investment in the United States came to $413.1 billion, up $63.1 billion from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The increase marks the sharpest rise among all countries and regions

June 23, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street tech gains

South Korean shares opened higher Tuesday, taking a cue from stellar US tech gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 29.24 points, or 1.37 percent, to 2,155.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The increase was largely attributed to the gains on Wall Street, led by tech giants Apple and Microsoft. The tech-laden Nasdaq gained 110.35 points, or 1.11 percent, to close at a fresh record high of 10,056.47 Monday (US time). Apple CEO Tim Cook annou

June 23, 2020

[Banks of Future] With online banks rising, financial giants gear up for digital transformation

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on domestic banks this year, with lower interest rate margins and enhanced loan regulations. The key challenge, however, is not the tangible loss so far, but rather the forthcoming competition in the digital arena -- where conventional financial firms find themselves overrun by big tech rivals. Racing against the clock, the conventional financial industry is now scrambling to grab the digital initiative, in line with the ongoing deregulatory

June 22, 2020

Seoul stocks fall on concerns over virus resurgence

South Korean shares closed lower Monday amid fears of a second wave of new coronavirus cases at home and abroad, reducing investors' appetite for risks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 14.59 points, or 0.68 percent, to close at 2,126.73. Trading volume was moderate at about 779 million shares worth some 9.9 trillion won ($8.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 610 to 252. Foreigners sold a net 251 billion won, whi

June 22, 2020

Swedish pension fund blacklists Korean firm for alleged human rights abuses in Peru

Swedish public pension fund AP7 has added SK Holdings, a South Korean company at the apex of SK conglomerate’s governance structure, to its blacklist of companies to be excluded from its investment universe, its recent report showed Monday. SK Holdings was one of three firms added in the latest move, along with Canadian cannabinoid firm Cronos Group and Egyptian electrical company Elsewedy Electric, according to the blacklist updated as of June 15. According to the report by the institu

June 22, 2020

Korea to allow conglomerates to own startup VCs

South Korea is working on relaxing financial regulations to boost the startup ecosystem by allowing conglomerates to own venture capital firms, according to news reports Monday. The government is also preparing measures to prevent any adverse effects that could arise if deep-pocketed businesses were to own such investment firms. A working group that will be formed by different ministries and government agencies, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Fair Trade Commission and th

June 22, 2020

SK Biopharm likely to join Kospi 200 in September: analysts

South Korean drug developer SK Biopharmaceuticals is likely to get an early admission to join the Kospi 200 -- a basket of top 200 blue-chip stocks of the nation’s benchmark index Kospi -- possibly only two months after its planned market debut in July, according to local analysts Monday. If a newly listed stock’s market cap reaches the top 50 in the market, the firm’s stock is qualified to join the league of 200 blue-chip stocks even before the bourse operator announces regu

June 22, 2020

Seoul stocks open lower on increasing COVID-19 cases

South Korean shares opened lower Monday amid fears of a resurgence in the new coronavirus at home and abroad. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.6 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,129.72 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The drop was mainly attributed to worsening investor sentiments, prompted by a steep rise in the number of new COVID-19 infections over the weekend. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported Sunday (Geneva time) that there were 183,020 new in

June 22, 2020

[Herald Interview] Korea’s data economy drive strengthens amid pandemic

　  South Korea is making all-out efforts to accelerate digital transformation in the financial sector, having launched a data exchange platform last month for convenient transactions.  From credit card transaction histories, spending trends in online shopping malls to transport payments, data processed for marketing and research purposes is now being traded without having to worry about security breaches, on FinDX.  FinDX is Korea’s first financial data exchange platfor

June 21, 2020

BlackRock Korea head to extend term

BlackRock Investment Management Korea said in a filing Sunday its incumbent CEO Choi Man-yeon is set to extend his term by two years, starting June 27. Choi has headed the Korean arm of the world’s largest asset management firm since 2014. His three-year term at the top post was renewed in 2017. Choi formerly headed sales at Schroder Investment Management’s Korean unit. The filing also showed that, along with Choi, his colleague Graham Turl will serve his term until 2023 as

June 21, 2020

Investment house Optimus under spotlight for alleged fraud

South Korea’s Optimus Asset Management is being probed by financial authorities over allegations that it had breached contracts with fund investors in its portfolio construction. Investors in the privately placed funds appear to be wary of what could trigger another financial fiasco following ones surrounding disgraced fund management firms including Lime Asset Management. The Financial Supervisory Service on Friday launched an investigation on the Seoul-based investment house to examin

June 21, 2020