Banking chiefs edgy as they await final sanctions decision by authorities

The top executives of three major financial groups in South Korea are on the edge of their seats as they await a final decision by authorities on penalties regarding their malfeasance this week, which will impact governance and profitability.Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Young-byoung -- who is currently under trial over his alleged influence-peddling in the flagship Shinhan Bank’s recruiting scandal -- is facing the most pressure.The Seoul Eastern District Court is expected to annou

Jan. 19, 2020

S. Korea sees $920m in foreigners’ net purchase last year

Foreign investors in South Korea net purchased some $920 million, or 1.04 trillion won, of locally listed stocks last year, but the figure was conspicuously lower than that of peer emerging economies, data showed Friday.According to Yuanta Securities, the combined net purchase volume by foreigners on the nation’s benchmark Kospi and tech-laden secondary Kosdaq marked $924 million in 2019.Among emerging economies, India topped the list in amount at $14.2 billion, followed by Taiwan and Indo

Jan. 17, 2020

Three-way merger scenario not yet confirmed: Celltrion affiliates

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion’s key affiliates said Friday they have yet to set a clear blueprint in regards to Chairman Seo Jung-jin’s hint at the blockbuster merger of Celltrion, Celltrion Healthcare and Celltrion Pharm by as early as 2021. “The company is considering the merger plan on the premise of shareholder agreement, but we have yet to make any confirmation as to how and when the merger would be undertaken,” the three firms said in respective disc

Jan. 17, 2020

Woori Financial walks away from W2tr Prudential Life bid

Woori Financial Group, South Korea’s fourth-largest banking group by assets, walked away from a bid to buy a 100 percent stake in Prudential Life Insurance of Korea, according to the group on Thursday.Woori Financial, Korea’s only banking group without an insurance unit, did not join the preliminary bidding round for the sale of a 2 trillion-won ($1.73 billion) stake in Prudential Financial’s Korean unit, a spokesperson of the group said.Other talked-about contenders, including

Jan. 16, 2020

Seoul Real Estate Forum names new head

The Seoul Real Estate Forum said Thursday that it had named Wang Jeong-han as its sixth president.Wang, 57, will double as head of the SREF and the Seoul-based Ara Group Architects and Planners, dedicated to architecture, design, construction management and audits in South Korea. Wang has led Ara since 1998. Founded in 2003, the SREF is a forum comprising some 200 members, including real estate professionals and professors in Korea. The forum holds monthly seminars that center on the latest

Jan. 16, 2020

FSC pledges to step up efforts to grow fintech industry

With bills on personal data and credit information passing the legislature, Korean financial authority Financial Services Commission and other financial organizations on Thursday vowed to make joint efforts to create a better, fair environment for the financial technology market.“The FSC hopes to see fintech firms achieve successful results of their businesses this year, and for that, it will not spare efforts to support them,” said Kwon Dae-young, director general of FSC’s fin

Jan. 16, 2020

KEB Hana, Woori tense up on DLF penalty decision

KEB Hana Bank and Woori Bank, the two major commercial banks blamed for the misselling of high-risk derivative-linked financial products, were caught in a heated last-minute debate to minimize the level of sanctions on their top executives.The Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday convened its sanctions committee to review sanctions for the two banks and their chiefs: Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung and Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo.The two banks, along with

Jan. 16, 2020

Shinhan reviews legal action against Lime Asset

Shinhan Bank is considering taking legal action against Lime Asset Management, claiming the fund operator made a unilateral decision last year to hedge its portfolio with a fund sold through the commercial lender, officials said Thursday. According to Shinhan, Lime Asset didn’t inform the lender of its plans to use Lime Credit Insurance Trade Fund assets to prevent payment delays from other funds that were facing liquidity issues at the time and that its decision amounted to a breach of tr

Jan. 16, 2020

Korean investor in Nasdaq-listed OncoSec seeks to thwart Chinese takeover

Alpha Holdings, the largest shareholder of Nasdaq-listed OncoSec Medical, is pinning hopes on its last-ditch efforts to prevent a takeover of the biopharmaceutical firm by Chinese entities, ahead of its special shareholders meeting on Friday.The South Korean shareholder of OncoSec proposed to have controlling stake and hold four out of seven seats on the New Jersey-based firm’s board by injecting a fresh $39.3 million funding. OncoSec is pressed to accept Alpha’s new offer by Thursda

Jan. 16, 2020

Foreigners ownership on Kospi hits 13-year high

Foreign stock ownership on Seoul’s benchmark Kospi bourse reached the highest level this week since 2006, industry data showed Thursday.According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, offshore investors held a net 585.98 trillion won ($431 billion) as of Tuesday -- 38.90 percent of the bourse’s market capitalization of 1,506 trillion won. The figure is the highest since Aug. 8, 2006, that accounted for 38.91 percent of Kospi’s market value. Foreign investors’ str

Jan. 16, 2020

Woori mulls appointment of new bank chief over possible FSS sanctions

Woori Financial Group is taking a cautious approach in naming the new chief of its flagship banking business due largely to the recent debacle involving the sale of high-risk private funds, according to industry sources Wednesday. The group initially planned to complete the appointment of an Woori Bank CEO before the Lunar New Year holidays, which fall Jan. 24-27. The Financial Supervisory Service is scheduled to convene a meeting Thursday to decide the punishments for the heads of two local com

Jan. 15, 2020

US investor Capital Group sells W660b stake in Hyundai Motor

US investment firm Capital Group Companies has offloaded a 2.56 percent stake in South Korea’s largest carmaker Hyundai Motor for 660.8 billion won ($570.9 million), according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.  With the stock sale, Capital Group, through its 32 specially related parties including funds and subsidiaries, now owns 4.54 percent voting rights in Hyundai Motor, which controls car brands Hyundai, Genesis and Kia. This comes as a result of over 300 transactions by th

Jan. 15, 2020

Reinsurance firm Korean Re launches second branch in China

The Korean Reinsurance Co. (Korean Re), a leading domestic reinsurance firm here, announced the launch of its Shanghai office on Wednesday. The opening came after it received approval from China’s banking and insurance authorities in December. The new office is the second Chinese location for the Korean firm, which has run its business in Beijing since 1997. The new branch will be in charge of sales while the Beijing office will continue to lead the management and market research.The

Jan. 15, 2020

Eased data protection rules to benefit fintech giants and startups: analysts

The recent passage of bills on personal data and credit information of individuals by the National Assembly will likely give a boost to fintech giants and startups in South Korea, according to analysts.The three revised bills regarding the protection of private information, information and communications networks, and the use and protection of credit information will allow companies as well as government agencies to utilize personal information for various research and business purposes without

Jan. 15, 2020

Lime Asset to freeze additional W500b, FSS likely to launch new probe

Local fund operator Lime Asset Management has recently decided to freeze an additional 500 billion won ($431.4 million) of its funds, prompting the Financial Supervisory Service to launch a new probe of the firm’s risky funds.With the suspension of withdrawals, the total volume of the fund operator’s delayed payments to investors has risen to nearly 2 trillion won. In its latest notice sent to financial institutions that had worked as sales channels, Lime Asset said it has decided to

Jan. 15, 2020

Hanwha Systems’ $25m Overair deal closes

Hanwha Systems reached a final close on its cross-border $25 million investment in California-based electric takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft developer Overair, the Korean aero systems firm said Wednesday.With the investment, Hanwha Systems will own a 30 percent stake in the US company, which currently runs a development project for eVTOL vehicle Butterfly. The close of Overair’s Series A funding round came immediately after it gained a “deemed export” license from the B

Jan. 15, 2020

Foreigners' buying binge of Korean stocks continuing this year: data

Foreign investors have raked in some 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) worth of South Korean stocks this year on improved economic outlook and the imminent signing of a preliminary Sino-American trade deal, data showed Wednesday. During the Jan. 2-14 period, foreigners net purchased a total of 1.52 trillion won worth of local stocks, continuing their buying streak for an eighth straight session through Tuesday."Foreign buying has been strong on hopes for further progress in the US-China trade

Jan. 15, 2020

BOK replaces 640m damaged bills, coins in 2019

The number of banknotes and coins destroyed due to damage or contamination reached a 10-year high in 2019, with the face value of the damaged bills and coins growing slightly from a year earlier, the central bank said Wednesday.The Bank of Korea said it had to replace some 640 million banknotes and coins in the year, the most since 2009 and up 2.2 percent from about 630 million a year earlier.The combined face value of the damaged money came to a little over 4.35 trillion won ($3.75 billion), up

Jan. 15, 2020

Hi Investment & Securities’ W217.5b fundraising plan hits snag

The fundraising plan of Seoul-based investment bank Hi Investment & Securities to fetch a combined 217.5 billion won ($187.8 million) is facing obstacles due to a possible court injunction.A total of 16 plaintiffs are seeking legal action to halt Hi Investment & Securities’ plan to raise 100 billion won by issuing 62.5 million redeemable and convertible preference shares, the investment bank said in a disclosure Tuesday.The Busan District Court will make a final ruling on the matte

Jan. 14, 2020

Marketing startup Marketit scores new funding from investor behind BTS

Influencer marketer Marketit said Tuesday that it has attracted 5 billion won ($4.3 million) from investors including AlpenRoute Asset Management.AlpenRoute was one of the early investors in Big Hit Entertainment, the agency behind global pop sensation BTS, and Market Kurly, a startup unicorn that operates a grocery delivery platform. With the new funding, the startup has secured 7 billion won in total investments, according to officials.It plans to advance its data management systems and r

Jan. 14, 2020