SsangYong Motor now at center of credit card transaction fee dispute

SsangYong Motor is set to terminate its contracts with South Korean credit card companies on Tuesday if the two sides fail to conclude their card transaction fee negotiations before the due date, marking another high-profile standoff between a large firm and local card providers here.　The automaker has notified Shinhan Card, Samsung Card and Lotte Card -- among the biggest credit and debit card providers in Korea -- that their business ties will end if they do not agree to its transaction fee pr

March 25, 2019

Seoul shares expected to move in tight range next week

South Korean stocks are expected to move in a relatively tight range as investors are set to digest the U.S. Federal Reserve‘s rate decision amid ongoing trade talks between Washington and Beijing, analysts here said Saturday.　The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,186.95 points on Friday, up from 2,176.11 the previous week.　The KOSPI started on strong note on hopes for headway in trade talks between the United States and China. 　The bourse, however, slipped fo

March 23, 2019

Seoul stocks end almost flat after choppy trading

South Korean stocks ended almost flat after a choppy trading session on Friday, with foreigners scooping up tech shares, offsetting a massive selling spree by institutions, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched up 2.07 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 2,186.95. Trade volume was moderately light at 291 million shares worth 4.85 trillion won ($4.29 billion), with the number of losers outnumbering gainers 517 to 301.Ins

March 22, 2019

BNP Paribas striving to promote sustainable finance in S. Korea

BNP Paribas SA, France‘s biggest bank, will strive hard to promote its sustainable finance in South Korea as it seeks to arrange more funds for projects that make a positive impact on the environment and society, a company executive said Friday. Sustainable finance has been a watchword for investors that integrate environmental, social and governance issues into their investment decisions. Since a UN climate deal was signed in Paris in 2015, pension funds and financial firms around the wor

March 22, 2019

Woori Bank sells 2.7% stake in Woori Financial to FIIs

Woori Bank, one of South Korea’s major commercial banks, said Friday that it has sold 2.7 percent of its stake in Woori Financial Holdings to foreign institutional investors in a block deal during off-trading hours.The bank has sold 18,346,782 shares to FIIs. As a result, Woori Financial Holdings’ stake ownership by foreign investors has increased from 27.5 percent -- as of Feb. 13, the day of its public listing -- to 30.2 percent.According to the bank, the block sale attracted high

March 22, 2019

KEB Hana Bank’s new CEO pledges digitalization, globalization as core mission

KEB Hana Bank’s newly appointed CEO Ji Sung-kyoo on Thursday pledged to step up efforts to transform the South Korean commercial bank into a data-driven company backed by digitalization, while ramping up its global business push to widen its sources of income beyond the domestic market. 　“To become a trusted global bank, we want to go forward embracing digitalization as our left wing and globalization as our right wing,” Ji said in his inaugural press conference held at KEB Han

March 21, 2019

Shinhan drops out of internet-only bank consortium led by Viva Republica

Shinhan Financial Group, a major banking group in South Korea, has dropped out of the internet-only bank consortium led by Viva Republica, the operator of the popular mobile money transfer app Toss. 　Viva Republica said Thursday that “Shinhan Financial has conclusively decided to not participate in the fintech firm’s consortium to establish an internet-only bank, due to differences in business direction.” According to the financial technology startup, since the two parties sign

March 21, 2019

How did local coffee chain Terarosa secure impact investment?

Terarosa, a coffee chain based in Gangneung,a city in the province of Gangwon, on the east coast of South Korea, has secured investment from the country’s leading impact venture fund that invest in companies creating soical innovations. The joint fund set up by Crevisse Partners and Lime Asset Management called Crevisse-Lime Impact Venture Fund decided to invest in the 15-year-old coffee chain that has 14 outlets around the country, an official at Crevisse told The Investo

March 20, 2019

Mirae Asset Global seeks to build balanced global portfolio

Mirae Asset Global Investments is seeking to further solidify its presence in the overseas financial markets by strengthening its global portfolio. The South Korea-based asset management company has made bold moves in recent years and left footprints both in advanced and developing markets. One example was its decision to acquire Global X, a US-based sponsor of exchange-traded funds, in 2018.  It also set up a joint venture with a Vietnamese state-run investment corporation and became the f

March 20, 2019

Deloitte Anjin plummets down in ranking by size

EY Han Young, the fourth of South Korea’s so-called Big Four accounting firms, outran Deloitte Anjin in employee strength for the first time last year and rose to No. 3 in ranking, data showed Wednesday.It also narrowed down the gap in sales, poised to clinch the game while the rival company struggles to recover from the spillover of an extensive accounting rigging scandal.According to the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the number of accountants at EY Han Young stood at

March 20, 2019

Korea's financial regulator takes backseat on card transaction fee dispute

Amid deepening controversy between large-sized retailers and credit card companies over card transaction fee hikes, South Korea’s chief financial regulator has taken a neutral stance, only stressing that it will press criminal charges if large companies break the law during negotiations.The Financial Services Commission on Tuesday laid out its stance on the issue that earned recent attention when Hyundai Motor’s fee discussions with local card firms led the automaker to terminate its

March 20, 2019

Airline stocks fall on Boeing 737 Max storm

Hit by waves of concern prompted by last week’s deadly crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8 jet and a possible spike in oil prices, South Korean airline stocks took a dive throughout Wednesday’s trading. Asiana Airlines, the nation’s second-largest carrier by sales, closed 0.37 percent lower from the previous day, trading at 4,050 won ($3.58) per share. Budget airlines T’way and Jin Air also slipped 1.35 percent and 0.64 percent to 8,010 won and 23,450 won, respectively.  Tho

March 20, 2019

[Herald Interview] Yulchon M&A lawyer predicts ‘new wave’ in Indonesia

For decades, lawyer Yoon Hee-woong has built his career providing legal advice for corporations. Since joining the South Korean law firm Yulchon in 2000, he has been paving the way for large business groups to take over financial companies, especially in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2007-2008.A big deal he helped close in 2007 was retail giant Lotte’s purchase of Daehan Fire & Marine Insurance. A year later, Yoon was involved in Hyundai Motor’s takeover of Shinheung

March 19, 2019

Talks for alternative trading system rekindle in Korea

Companies have recently restarted discussions on creating an alternative trading system in South Korea, encouraged by the government and financial sector’s moves to encourage more active trading.Neoframe, a local IT firm and home trading system developer, said Monday it had developed an ATS platform that provides the same service as the Korea Exchange, the operator of the nation’s main stock exchange.But the company will need to work with financial partners to run a trading system.Kn

March 19, 2019

S. Korea’s banks see 22.2% rise in overseas profits in 2018

The overseas branches of South Korean banks last year saw their profit climb 22.2 percent on-year, reflecting the rise in interest income, data showed Tuesday.According to market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service, the banks’ overseas net profit stood at $983 million as of end-2018, which accounted for 8 percent of their total net profit.The total asset volume of overseas businesses came to $114.25 billion, up $93.7 billion or 8.9 percent from a year earlier.“The pick-up mostly r

March 19, 2019

Toss app operator, Kiwoom Securities vie to become Korea’s 3rd internet-only bank

As South Korea prepares to welcome new players into the internet-only banking business, two consortiums have emerged as the main contenders for the upcoming bid -- led by Viva Republica and Kiwoom Securities.　Viva Republica, the company behind popular mobile money transfer app Toss, has formed a consortium with local finance and digital commerce powerhouses for the bid. The firms plan to finalize members of the consortium within this week and formally apply for an operational license.So far, it

March 19, 2019

Overseas securities firms struggle in S. Korea

Overseas financial firms are losing their grip on the South Korean securities market, and their lackluster performance is making possible newcomers nervous amid concerns there will a mass withdrawal from the local market. Natixis, a France-based financial services provider, had announced last year its plans to enter the local securities market by the first half of 2019, but it is now reportedly skeptical. Its shift in attitude apparently stems from the almost $300 million loss from its portfolio

March 18, 2019

Kyobo Life IPO in peril as FIs issue ultimatum

South Korea’s third-largest insurer in terms of assets, Kyobo Life Insurance Co. Ltd., is facing a dead end ahead of its planned initial public offering as financial investors have effectively issued an ultimatum, rejecting further negotiations.Chairman Shin Chang-jae on Sunday expressed regrets over the financial investors’ latest announcement of an arbitration application to implement their put option.“I request that (the FIs) reconsider (the decision and) re-engage in the ne

March 18, 2019

Major banking groups kickstart annual shareholders meetings

South Korea’s major banking-finance groups are kicking off their annual shareholders meetings this week, with projections of smooth proceedings to formalize predetermined events including the appointment of new CEOs.The banking sector’s shareholders meetings this year see a stark change of mood from last year’s events, when high-stake issues such as group leadership changes and corporate governance problems were on the table.But the groups’ shareholders are also expected

March 18, 2019

Korea introduces AI app that auto-detects ‘voice phishing’ scams

Starting this week, South Korea’s financial watchdog is rolling out an artificial intelligence app for mobile devices that automatically detects “voice phishing” scams – a crime that last year conned members of the public out of a combined 444 billion won ($391 million).The Financial Supervisory Service, National Information Society Agency and the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea have co-developed an AI-based voice phishing detection app, which will start beta operation

March 17, 2019