Seoul stocks trim earlier losses amid new coronavirus fear

Seoul stocks trimmed earlier losses late Thursday morning amid rising concerns over the spread of Wuhan coronavirus.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had fallen 11.24 points, or 0.50 percent, to 2,256.01 as of 11:15 a.m.Foreign and institutional investors sold a combined 246.7 billion won ($211.4 million) worth of stocks, weighing down the bourse.Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyung-min said investors went for profit-taking ahead of the holiday after the index jumped to its highest

Jan. 23, 2020

[Newsmaker] Union protest over Moon-appointed IBK chief set to intensify

Protests outside the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea are expected to intensify, with the union’s fight against the top-down appointment of CEO Yoon Jong-won gaining support from powerful national labor associations in recent weeks. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions, one of the two largest umbrella labor organizations here, announced Wednesday that it was joining the IBK unionists in protesting what they see as excessive government meddling in the organization’s personnel affai

Jan. 23, 2020

Eximbank employees volunteer at soup kitchen

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Thursday that its employees volunteered at a soup kitchen near Seoul Station earlier this week, as part of its efforts to consistently engage in community welfare. Twenty Eximbank’s employees, who were part of the lender’s Hope Seed Volunteer program served hearty meals to the homeless on Tuesday, ahead of this year’s Jan. 24-27 Lunar New Year holidays, the bank said. Eximbank has been funding Warm Hearted Food Supply Center near Seoul Stati

Jan. 23, 2020

Shinsegae chief owns most expensive house in Korea

A luxury mansion owned by the chairwoman of retail giant Shinsegae Group remained the most expensive house in South Korea this year, data showed Wednesday. According to the Land Ministry, the declared value of Shinsegae chief Lee Myeong-hee’s 2,861-square-meter house in Hannam-dong, Seoul, was 27.7 billion won ($23.82 million) this year, taking the top spot on the list of 220,000 detached houses selectively chosen for the survey across the country.The declared value of Lee’s house ro

Jan. 22, 2020

Fiscal chief says materials, parts, equipment industries ‘stabilized’

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday that three sectors for electronic materials, parts and equipment, which have been affected by trade restrictions of Japan since last year, are back on a stable track as a result of governmental support.“We have come with specified measures on the voluntary investment worth 2 trillion won ($1.72 billion) by the private sector here and additional investment plans by global companies,” said Finance Minister Hong at a meeting in Incheon.“

Jan. 22, 2020

KRX aims to revitalize stock market, add to foreign investors’ convenience

The Korea Exchange said Wednesday it will make efforts to revitalize the sluggish stock market with more convenience for domestic and foreign investors.“To attract more long-term investors to the market and contribute to the nation’s economy, we will also offer new and diverse global investment products to raise the dynamics of the stock market,” said Lim Jae-joon, president of the Kospi Market Committee, at a press conference.Lim also pledged to invigorate its KIND regulatory

Jan. 22, 2020

Eased rules to heighten pension fund engagement

A revision of local financial laws is opening the doors for a higher level of shareholder engagement, empowering the role of pension funds in South Korea, including the world’s third-largest National Pension Service. In forthcoming shareholder meetings slated for March, the NPS is likely to hold sway over those listed on what is equivalent to a “focus list” by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, out of more than 300 portfolio companies trading on the domes

Jan. 22, 2020

Shinhan chief gets suspended sentence over influence-peddling charges

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung on Wednesday received a suspended sentence for influence-peddling in connection with a recruiting scandal at the flagship banking unit, yet his leadership remains unscathed. The Seoul Eastern District Court handed the 63-year-old executive a six-month prison term, suspended for two years. Expressing disappointment, Cho said he would appeal the case to a higher court.The court found Cho guilty of some of the accusations against him, including influ

Jan. 22, 2020

Samsung’s financial units brace for changes with new CEOs

South Korea’s largest conglomerate on Tuesday appointed new chief executives -- all in their 50s -- in an apparent move to tackle challenges in the fast digitalization of the capital market and diversify its business portfolio for sustainable growth.Samsung Group’s insurance unit, Samsung Life, has appointed Jeon Young-muk as its new CEO. He has served as CEO of Samsung Asset Management since 2018. Samsung Life vice presidents -- Kim Dae-hwan and Shim Jong-keug -- have been tapped to

Jan. 21, 2020

Cyclical risk persists in Korean equity market: AllianceBernstein

Lingering uncertainties due to cyclical risk across emerging markets in Asia are leaving long-term prospects for South Korea’s equity market unclear, despite its recent buoyance in the technology sector, an analyst at global asset management firm AllianceBernstein said Tuesday. “The technology-led revival in earnings will benefit Kospi earnings-per-share growth in 2020, but there is cyclicality to those earnings, so the outlook for 2021 remains unclear,” David Wong, senior inve

Jan. 21, 2020

Hana Financial diversifies portfolio, acquires non-life insurer

Hana Financial Group will take over The-K Non-Life Insurance, the insurer affiliated with the Korea Teachers Credit Union, in a move to expand its nonbanking business portfolio.The banking group, in a directors’ meeting held Monday, decided to acquire a 70 percent stake in the insurer for an estimated 70 billion won ($60 million), officials said Tuesday. Hana Financial was the only bidder.Considering the relatively low selling price and the lack of competitors, Hana’s takeover of the

Jan. 21, 2020

Foreign deposits rise on weak dollar in Dec.

Foreign currency deposits held by banks in South Korea rose sharply from a month earlier in December, central bank data showed Tuesday, apparently on the weakening of the US greenback that prompted both individuals and firms to boost their dollar holdings.The outstanding foreign currency deposits here came to $79.44 billion as of end-December, up $4.57 billion from a month before, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The increase marks a turnaround from a $3.67 billion drop in November.F

Jan. 21, 2020

Number of stock-trading accounts nears 30m

The number of active security accounts in South Korea is nearing 30 million amid growing stock trading activities focused on overseas markets, according to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association on Monday.As of Thursday, the number of active equity accounts was around 29.4 million. It is expected to soon reach 30 million, considering its fast growth, the self-regulatory financial organization said.Active security accounts are those with depository assets of 100,000 won ($86.4) and

Jan. 20, 2020

Myeong-dong rent costs drop amid fast shift to e-commerce

Myeong-dong, one of the largest retail districts in Korea, was the only area among the world’s top 10 global shopping streets that saw an average rent drop on-year in 2019, according to global real estate consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield. According to a recent report published by the consulting firm, the annual average rent in the Myeong-dong district came in at $862 per square foot, down 1.5 percent on-year. In order to rent a store area of 30 pyeong, or 99 square meters, for insta

Jan. 20, 2020

Insurance industry looks forward to more active investments, M&A deals

Amid growing concerns over worsening profits, insurance companies in South Korea said Monday they plan to roll out new services, incorporating new technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence. They also pledged more investments for the emerging technologies and startups.“Korean insurance firms will utilize new technologies, including AI, in different areas from risk assessment, to have a competitive edge in the face of the looming ‘fourth industrial revolution,’&rd

Jan. 20, 2020

34 Kospi 200 firms lack whistleblowing policy: report

More than 30 Kospi 200 firms still have no whistleblowing policy for transparent management of their accounting control system, according to the latest report released by Samjong KPMG on Monday. The accountancy firm’s report shows that 34 of the top 200 Kospi firms, have no whistleblowing policy within their account rule books, while three others did not publicly disclose their policies through the regulatory filing. The Kospi 200 is the index tracking a basket of 200 blue chip firms liste

Jan. 20, 2020

DRAM prices up for 11 consecutive days, boding well for chipmakers

Spot market prices for DRAM chips are surely on a rising course as they went up for 11 straight days, industry data showed Monday, boding well for South Korean chipmakers. The spot price of 8-gigabit DDR4 DRAM, a benchmark price for the category, reached $3.34 as of last Friday, according to data from market tracker DRAMeXchange, marking the 11th consecutive day of a rise. This is the first time since October 2017 that the spot price of DRAM went up for 11 consecutive days.  The latest DRAM

Jan. 20, 2020

D.Camp holds first startup pitching event for 2020

D.Camp, a leading South Korean startup accelerator, said Sunday that augmented reality solution startup Qrio and health tech startup 9to6 topped its first pitching competition of 2020, held last week in Seoul. The event was organized together with InvestHK, an agency responsible for foreign direct investment in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, a state-run trade organization.Qrio has developed a mobile AR application that helps users create their own virtual action figures

Jan. 19, 2020

Samsung likely to replace chiefs of most financial units

Samsung Group is expected to replace most of the chief executives at its financial units, including Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Card, according to news reports on Sunday.According to local business daily the Korea Economic Daily, the conglomerate is scheduled to carry out its annual reshuffle of C-level executives this week, starting with its flagship Samsung Electronics and other IT affiliates on Monday.Financial units, including Samsung Securities and Samsung Card, will follow suit on T

Jan. 19, 2020

Bias toward tech firms flusters stock market investors

South Korea’s stock market was tepid in 2019 and continues to face uncertainties, rankling many investors who are complaining that technology firms are being preferred for listing on the secondary Kosdaq bourse.While the stock market operator has highlighted the system as a vital foothold for new promising and innovative business players, skeptics also suggest that it provides excessive benefits to underqualified rookies.The number of companies listed on Kosdaq through the preferential pro

Jan. 19, 2020