Korean golf course operator hits price ceiling on Jim Rogers nomination news

A listed South Korean golf course operator with a track record of doing business in North Korea hit the price ceiling Tuesday on anticipation that US business guru Jim Rogers had been nominated as the sole candidate to become the company’s outside director. Ananti, listed on second-tier bourse Kosdaq, rose 26.8 percent from Monday’s closing price. It touched the price ceiling at 12,800 won ($11.30), trading 29.8 percent higher, in late afternoon intraday trade. Ananti was the 26th-la

Dec. 11, 2018

Kyobo Life Insurance seeks to go public next year

Kyobo Life Insurance, South Korea’s third-largest life insurance firm by total assets, announced Tuesday it would seek an initial public offering by the second half of next year to raise capital in the face of new industrywide regulations to gauge capital requirement.The decision was made during a board of directors’ meeting Tuesday at 11 a.m. in Seoul. The volume of capital it will seek to raise has yet to be determined, the company added.Kyobo will become the sixth life insura

Dec. 11, 2018

Banks' loan delinquency rate edges up in October

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans edged up in October due to a slight rise in the number of firms that failed to repay their debts, government data showed Tuesday.The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.58 percent at the end of October, up 0.03 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Compared with a year ago, the rate was up 0.1 percentage point, the FSS said.The delinquency rate fo

Dec. 11, 2018

KRX lifts suspension of Samsung BioLogics stock trading

The Korea Exchange, South Korea’s sole securities market operator, decided Monday to resume transactions of Samsung BioLogics shares, about a month after the company was slapped with a trading suspension on accusations of accounting misconduct. Following the decision, investors are allowed to trade Samsung BioLogics shares on the main bourse Kospi as per normal starting Tuesday. The KRX said in a release that BioLogics’ improving profitability overshadows concerns about business

Dec. 10, 2018

Woori Bank opens 4th foreign banking center

Woori Bank, South Korea’s fourth-largest commercial bank by total assets, has opened its fourth foreign banking center in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, according to the bank on Monday.  A foreign banking center is a specialized branch exclusively for foreign customers. They can open a bank account and receive financial services such as cross-border money transfers, currency exchange and card management.The branch opens weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dec. 10, 2018

Foreign flight from Korean securities market wanes in Nov.

Foreign investors’ flight from the Korean securities market eased by the end of November, followed by signs of relief in stock performances, monthly data showed Monday.Foreign investors net purchased Korean stocks and bonds worth 447 billion won ($397.2 million) throughout November, ending a losing streak of two consecutive months, according to the latest data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service. They net sold securities worth 1.3 trillion won in September and 4.9 trillion won in

Dec. 10, 2018

KRX to discuss fate of troubled Samsung BioLogics this week

The Korea Exchange, the operator of the nation’s equity market, seeks to review this week the accounting misconduct of the country’s second-largest biotech company by market cap, which could result in the delisting of the company in the worst-case scenario. “The initial meeting timeline has not yet been fixed but it may take place as early as Monday,” an official from the bourse operator said Sunday.In early December, the KRX established a seven-member panel to look into

Dec. 9, 2018

Shinhan Card to launch X-mas shopping event with Amazon

South Korea's Shinhan Card Co. said Sunday that it will launch a special Christmas shopping event in cooperation with global retail giant Amazon that will provide benefits to its customers.The company said card holders who use the Global Plus service on its mobile PayFAN platform linked to Amazon's portal can get $15 off if they buy goods worth $150-500. For online purchases exceeding $500, Shinhan Card users are eligible for an immediate $50 discount. The Global Plus service, first launched in

Dec. 9, 2018

KB Financial chief to go on IR visit to Japan

KB Financial Group's chief Yoon Jong-kyoo will go to Japan next week in what will be his third investor relations engagement this year, officials said Friday.Yoon will visit Tokyo from Sunday to Wednesday and meet with top officials of financial institutions, such as Mitsui Sumitomo Banking Corp., Daiwa SB Investments and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank. "He will be meeting the key leaders of Japan's financial companies for talks on the industry's conditions, digital business strategy and global market

Dec. 7, 2018

Seoul shares end lower on skepticism about US-China trade deal

South Korean stocks ended lower Thursday as investors remain skeptical about the US-China trade deal over the next three months. The won fell against the dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 32.62 points, or 1.55 percent, to 2.068.69. Trading volume was moderate at 528.19 million shares worth 5.44 trillion won ($4.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 696 to 154. Foreigners offloaded a net 387 billion won worth of stocks. But institutions and individuals bought a co

Dec. 6, 2018

Seoul shares extend losses in late morning trading

South Korean stocks extended losses late Thursday morning as investors remain skeptical about any breakthrough in a 90-day trade deal between the United States and China.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 19.04 points, or 0.91 percent, to 2,082.27 as of 11:20 a.m. Investors remain cautious ahead of a series of issues that could result in volatility for the rest of the year, analysts said. The issues include Thursday's meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

Dec. 6, 2018

Seoul shares open lower on lingering trade worries

Seoul shares opened lower Thursday amid skepticism about prospects for a trade deal between the United States and China. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 12.62 points, or 0.60 percent, to 2,088.69 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investors remain wary of hot-button issues that could generate volatility for the rest of the year. The issues include Thursday's meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, a 90-day deadline for US-China trade talks and Britain'

Dec. 6, 2018

Korea's current account surplus expands to $9.19b in Oct.

South Korea's current account extended its black figure performance to 80 straight months in October thanks to solid exports, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's current account surplus came to US$9.19 billion in October, up sharply from $5.72 billion a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The number, however, decreased from September when it stood at a 12-month high of $10.83 billion. Also, Asia's fourth-largest economy has maintained a current acc

Dec. 6, 2018

Parliament fails to adopt report on finance minister nominee

A parliamentary committee on Wednesday failed to adopt a report on the finance minister nominee, a move that could cast a pall over the nomination process.The main opposition Liberal Korea Party boycotted the parliamentary finance committee as the rival parties were at odds over how to handle next year's budget.The opposition party questioned whether Hong Nam-ki is a right person to tide over South Korea's grave economic situation, though it stopped short of opposing the adoption of a committee

Dec. 5, 2018

Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street losses

South Korean stocks started lower Wednesday following sharp overnight losses on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 23.6 points, or 1.12 percent, to 2,090.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3.1 percent overnight, and the Nasdaq composite moved down 3.8 percent.No. 1 tech giant Samsung Electronics plunged 1.19 percent and chipmaker SK hynix slid 1.3 percent. LG Display fell 0.57 percent and LG Electronics lost 1.64 percent.

Dec. 5, 2018

Korea's FX reserves climb in Nov.

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves edged up in November on a slight depreciation of the US dollar, the central bank said Wednesday.The total value of its foreign currency holdings came to $402.99 billion as of end-November, up $240 million from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. It slightly lagged behind the all-time high of $403 billion tallied in September.Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, as well as Internationa

Dec. 5, 2018

Savings banks' combined 9-month profit climbs 3.6% on interest income

South Korean savings banks reported a 3.6 percent rise in their combined net profit for the nine months that ended in September thanks to a modest gain in interest income, data showed Wednesday.The combined net income of the 79 savings banks came to 851.3 billion won ($767.8 million) for the January-September period, compared with a profit of 821.8 billion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. Their nine-month interest income rose 13.3 percent on-year to

Dec. 5, 2018

State adjustment of credit card fees to have negative impact on card firms: Moody's

The South Korean government's plan to reduce credit card transaction fees for smaller business owners will affect the bottom line of local card firms, a global ratings agency has said.Late last month, the government announced its plans to expand the number of business owners eligible for preferential credit card merchant fees in a move to reduce their financial burdens. "These changes are credit negative for credit card companies such as Shinhan Card Co. and Woori Card Co. whose profitabili

Dec. 4, 2018

Seoul shares open lower on tech, auto, steel losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors offloaded tech, auto and steel shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 9.82 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,122.11 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The main index ended 1.67 percent higher at 2,131.93 as the United States agreed to postpone a planned tariff hike on Chinese goods for 90 days at the Group of 20 summit Saturday in Argentina.China said it will increase purchases of farm and industrial goods to reduce the tra

Dec. 4, 2018

More listed firms buying back, canceling company stocks

The number of listed firms buying back or canceling company shares increased in the first half of this year, already having surpassed 70 percent of last year's total, a corporate research report showed Tuesday.Data from the Korea Corporate Governance Service said 67 companies bought back company stocks while seven retired them in the January-June period. The sum is nearly 72 percent of 103 companies for all of 2017. The monetary sum of the transactions reached 5.3 trillion won ($4.76 billion), 2

Dec. 4, 2018