[Market Close-up] Virus-hit air carriers brace for liquidity crisis

South Korea’s major airlines are likely to suffer a sharp revenue decline due to the coronavirus outbreak, putting further pressure on their liquidity, according to market watchers Sunday. Flag carriers Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are facing a financial slump as services have been curtailed for now, but they are also facing the possibility of a debt crisis if the pandemic lingers. The market has been focusing on one of the frequent leveraging measures for Korean airlines, as they imm

April 20, 2020

Stock-related floating money hits all-time high

Money floating around the South Korean stock market has reached a new record high amid a recent market recovery following a coronavirus-caused rout, data showed Monday. The amount of stock-related funds hit 141.79 trillion won ($116.5 billion) as of Tuesday, up nearly 24 percent from Jan. 20 when South Korea reported its first COVID-19 case, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The figure inched down to 141.73 trillion won two days later. Stock-related funds

April 20, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Strengthened shareholder rights will attract foreign investors to stock market’

South Korea’s stock market has seen a surge in capital outflow by foreign investors due to the novel coronavirus fallout, but that can be reversed, according to a top expert. In order to bring foreigners back to this undervalued market, it is crucial that locally listed firms exert all efforts to fundamentally change their corporate governance to expand shareholders’ rights, according to Daniel Yoo, head of global investment at Yuanta Securities Korea, in a recent interview with Th

April 19, 2020

No. of fund managers hits record high as market rebounds

The number of fund managers in South Korea reached a new high in April, as the market appears to be recovering, data showed Sunday. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the number of fund managers in 57 local asset management firms recorded 720, up 20 from the beginning of this year. The corresponding figure had marked the steepest rise from 2007 to 2012 when the nation saw a fund investment boom. The number of local fund managers climbed by more than 200 during the period

April 19, 2020

IPO market stagnates as coronavirus woes drag on

South Korea’s market volatility is likely to continue as initial public offering plans for April are slipping through the cracks amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to market watchers Sunday. Sencoretech, a Seoul-based engineering firm dedicated to manufacturing steel structures, has withdrawn its listing plan on Kosdaq, which could have raised at least 27.16 billion won ($22.32 million). “Due to the high volatility caused by COVID-19, we decided to cancel the remaining proce

April 19, 2020

Seoul stocks likely to further advance next week on stimulus: analysts

South Korean stocks are expected to continue to build up gains next week, buoyed by hopes for the reopening of the US economy and the peak of the coronavirus outbreak, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,914.53 points on Friday, compared with 1,860.70 points from a week ago. The KOSPI started off on a weak note on Monday by dropping nearly 2 percent on COVID-19 woes before rebounding on Tuesday and Thursday. The market was closed on Wedn

April 18, 2020

NPS hints at expanding local stock purchases for market stability

Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo, who chairs a fund management committee under the state-run National Pension Service, said Friday that the pension operator could take part in the domestic stock market more actively, if needed, to support market stability. “The NPS’ active intervention last month has helped stabilize the stock market,” said the health and welfare minister at a meeting in Seoul in the morning with members of the committee. “The pension fun

April 17, 2020

Kospi recovers past 1,900-mark on foreign investors‘ return

Korea’s benchmark Kospi rose 3.1 percent, recovering past the 1,900 mark Friday as investors went mining higher-risk stocks on hope of curving the peak of the novel coronavirus with a drug developed for ebola virus treatment.  The local currency closed at 1,217.90 won against the US dollar, strengthening 10.80 won from the previous session’s close.  The benchmark bourse Kospi opened slightly up, at 1,893.31 -- rising 44.15 points, or 2.38 percent, from the previous sess

April 17, 2020

Govt. to announce measures to prop up sluggish job market

With the real economy facing the full impact of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the South Korean government is rolling up its sleeves to boost the nation’s job market. At a meeting with economy-related ministers, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday that the government would roll out a set of support measures for the job market next week. “The government will announce a package of measures to stabilize employment in South Korea after talking closely with related ministries and

April 17, 2020

ELS issuance plunges in Q1 amid coronavirus scare

Sales of equity-linked securities (ELS) in South Korea plummeted in the first quarter, as lingering coronavirus concerns in global stock markets slashed demand, data showed Friday. ELS products issued in January-March stood at 21 trillion won ($17.2 billion), down 38.8 percent from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). ELS refers to hybrid debt securities whose returns are determined by the performance of underlying equities, including a stock

April 17, 2020

Seoul stocks open sharply higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Friday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 44.6 points, or 2.4 percent, to reach 1,901.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Thursday (local time), US stocks closed higher, with the Dow Jones industrial average climbing 0.14 percent and the S&P 500 up 0.58 percent. The Nasdaq increased 1.66 percent. Large-cap shares on the Seoul bourse were trading in positive terrain. Top cap

April 17, 2020

Meritz Securities tops salary scale in finance biz

Meritz Securities paid the highest average remuneration among financial companies last year, industry data showed Thursday. According to online job information provider Saramin, the average annual paycheck of employees at the company stood at 130 million won ($105,940), outrunning the industry average of 96 million won. The data was compiled on the annual reports of 26 commercial banks, life insurance companies, reinsurers and brokerage houses. Local reinsurer Korean Re ranked second with 12

April 16, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Foreign investors will flock back to Korea in hopes of an IT boom’

Amid the new coronavirus fallout which crashed global economies and forced foreign investors to exit emerging markets, South Korea’s stock market was bound to face a blow. What marks Asia’s fourth-largest economy, however, is the signs of recovery, as foreign investors have begun scooping back local shares, focusing largely on IT sectors, judging that the country has moved past its epidemic peak and is now about to engage in heavy economic stimulus. “The stock market is rebo

April 16, 2020

Mirae Asset makes $22m earnings from BioNTech investment

Mirae Asset Financial Group said Thursday it has sold Nasdaq-listed German biotechnology firm BioNTech for $37 million, earning a hefty profit from its previous investment of $15 million. The German company is known to hold one of the three mRNA-based substance that is currently a candidate for COVID-19 vaccines. Three months after making its deal, the biotech firm went public on Nasdaq through the American Depository Receipt -- the way of making hard-to-trade foreign stocks available to inve

April 16, 2020

Foreign land ownership here grows 3% in 2019

The value of land owned by foreign nationals here came to 30.8 trillion won ($25.1 billion) last year, and accounted for 0.2 percent of the nation’s total area, government data showed Thursday. Foreign land ownership in South Korea as of end-2019 rose 3 percent from a year earlier in terms of area, with the aggregated total at 248.7 square kilometers, according to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The corresponding area is equivalent to 0.2 percent o

April 16, 2020

Seoul stocks end flat on retail buying

Seoul stocks ended flat on Thursday, unchanged from a session earlier, as institutions and individuals' buying offset foreign selling. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended flat to close at 1,857.07. Trading volume was moderate at 864.4 million shares worth 10.52 trillion won ($8.6 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 452 to 401. The main index closed unchanged after US shares fell overnight following the International Mon

April 16, 2020

Stocks open lower on Wall Street tumble

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 12.68 points, or 0.68 percent, to 1,844.4 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday (local time), US stocks closed lower as investors absorbed various data showing the COVID-19 outbreak has hurt the world's largest economy. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.86 percent, the S&P 500 was down 2.2 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite Inde

April 16, 2020

BC Card to acquire controlling stake in K-bank

BC Card, a credit card processing firm owned by telecom giant KT, said Wednesday in a regulatory filing that it will acquire a controlling stake in internet-only K-Bank in a bid to save the cash-strapped online bank. The announcement came a day after the card company held a board meeting, where the board decided to buy a 10 percent stake in the bank from the telecom firm for 36.3 billion won ($29.8 million) on April 17. With the planned stake purchase, the card company will become the seco

April 15, 2020

Sale process of KDB Life insurer gains traction

The state-owned Korea Development Bank will soon pick a preferred bidder for KDB Life Insurance, which it recently put up for sale after acquiring it a decade ago, according to news reports Wednesday. Private equity fund JC Partners is widely believed to have been shortlisted. “JC Partners is the only interested party that has completed due diligence so far,” an official from the policy bank was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency. The private equity firm reportedly plans to

April 15, 2020

Gold zooms to 6-year high on new monetary measures

Gold prices are hitting the roof in South Korea -- highest level in six years -- as investors are flocking to safe-haven assets amid escalating fears given market uncertainties, latest data showed Wednesday.  According to the Korea Exchange Gold Market, the price stood at 66,740 won ($54.90) per gram at Tuesday’s close, surging 2.4 percent from the previous session. The price had surged to 68,240 won the same day, the highest since March 2014 when the gold market first opened. 

April 15, 2020