Korea's finance minister meets senior Chinese politician

　SEJONG (Yonhap) -- Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon held a meeting with a senior Chinese politician Monday during which they discussed ways to promote economic ties between the two nations, Kim‘s ministry said. 　Kim met Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong, who is on a visit to Seoul to attend an economic forum. 　China unofficially imposed retaliatory measures against South Korean firms after Seoul agreed to install the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System. Tension thawed after

Nov. 19, 2018

Large-scale executive reshuffles loom in Korea’s banking sector

South Korea’s financial groups are facing potentially massive reshuffles of their executive teams as a majority of the incumbents at commercial lenders and their holding companies approach the end of their tenure at year-end. According to disclosures from the respective financial holding companies -- KB, Shinhan, KEB Hana, Woori and NH -- sweeping changes may be ahead for the new year. KB Financial Group will see 12 out of 16 executives, excluding auditors, end their terms in December. At

Nov. 19, 2018

[News Focus] State-sponsored ‘Zero-Pay’ scheme brings sustainability into question

South Korea’s capital city is poised to set up a state-sponsored financial infrastructure project aimed at lowering card payment-processing costs for small merchants. But there are already doubts about the plan’s sustainability due to the lack of a revenue model.The operation of what is called “Zero-Pay,” referring to near-zero payment-processing fees, will start in December, but the date of the launch has yet to be confirmed, according to state sponsors the Ministry of S

Nov. 18, 2018

Citibank Korea pays out W827.5b dividend for ‘capital optimization’

Citibank Korea said Wednesday it plans to pay out an interim dividend worth some 827.5 billion won ($731.3 million) in cash to its Delaware-based US parent company Citibank Overseas Investment Corporation.  The payout to COIC, an indirect subsidiary of New York-based Citigroup, will be executed by end-2018, according to the US investment banking giant‘s Korean banking unit. The decision came after a board of directors’ meeting Wednesday attended by four outside directors. T

Nov. 15, 2018

Korean banks' foreign-currency deposits drop in Oct.

Foreign currency deposits at South Korean lenders fell for the first time in four months in October due to decreased dollar holdings amid the strengthening US greenback, central bank data showed Thursday, ending a three-month gaining streak that started in July.South Korean banks held foreign currency deposits totaling $68.11 billion at the end of last month, down $5.52 billion from a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said. Foreign currency deposits include those held by foreigners who have staye

Nov. 15, 2018

Nonprofit organization to provide W345b to stimulate startups, create 11,000 jobs

South Korean nonprofit organization Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs unveiled Wednesday plans to provide 345 billion won ($304.7 million) over three years to local startups to support their growth and job creation.  Of the total, 320 billion won will go to a new fund of venture capital funds managed by Korea Growth Investment Corp. The volume of subordinate funds will amount to a combined 1.6 trillion won asset for budding Korean startups. According to KGI’s plan in October, m

Nov. 14, 2018

BOK chief Lee Ju-yeol elected to BIS board

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol has been elected to the board of the Bank of International Settlements, the central bank in South Korea said Tuesday.At the BIS board of directors meeting in Basel, Switzerland, on Sunday, Lee became the 11th member of the 18-person panel, according to the BOK.He will start his three-year term in January next year."This appointment recognizes the importance of Asia in the global financial system and in the BIS's activities and governance.Moreover, it reflects

Nov. 13, 2018

Global ‘investment war’ looms: Kofia chairman

The chief of South Korea’s capital investment business association on Tuesday urged the nation to prepare for a looming global “investment war,” which he views as a global phenomenon that will soon supersede the ongoing trade war in importance. Kwon Yong-won, chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association, stressed the need for investment firms to keep pace with global “innovative growth” and to lay the groundwork for tech entrepreneurship with substantial c

Nov. 13, 2018

Banks urged to support firms undergoing restructuring

South Korea's top financial regulator on Tuesday called on banks and other financial institutions to support companies currently undergoing restructuring and struggling with a liquidity shortage. Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, made the remarks as he visited an auto parts firm in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, earlier in the day.   Choi said South Korea's main industrial sectors, including the auto industry, are facing "difficulties because their competitiv

Nov. 13, 2018

Foreign investors sell net W4.6tr of Korean stocks in Oct.

Offshore investors sold a net 4.6 trillion won ($4.08 billion) worth of South Korean stocks in October, data showed Monday, as they were rattled by a deepening trade spat between Washington and Beijing and rising borrowing costs in developed economies.It was the first time since June this year that foreign investors were net sellers of local stocks, the Financial Supervisory Service said in a statement.  Investors from Britain, the Netherlands and the United States were among net sellers of

Nov. 12, 2018

Woori Bank’s M&A capability in question despite new holding company structure

While South Korean commercial bank Woori Bank and its subsidiaries are inching closer to a holding company structure, possibilities of aggressive mergers and acquisitions to expand the banking group remain low for the time being.Such skepticism comes amid a possible fall in the capital adequacy ratio of the nation’s fourth-largest commercial lender, despite the banking group’s higher capacity to leverage private investment after the holding company is reintroduced in 2019. Under Kore

Nov. 11, 2018

BOK likely to raise key rate to 1.75% in Nov.: Nomura

 The South Korean central bank is expected to raise the country's key rate this month to curb the overheated property market, a global research firm said Sunday."We believe the Bank of Korea will hike the policy rate by 25 basis points (0.25 percentage point) to a terminal rate of 1.75 percent in November 2018 in response to financial imbalances associated with higher house prices," Nomura Financial Investment Co. said in its latest report. Citing low inflation pressure and weak s

Nov. 11, 2018

Seoul shares to seek upturn next week

South Korean stocks will have upward momentum next week, albeit limited, as economic and political uncertainties that had weighed down the market have cleared up after the midterm elections and the interest rates decision in the United States, experts here said Saturday.　The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,086.09 on Friday, down 0.47 percent from the previous week.　All eyes were on the midterm elections in the U.S. this week, which had added volatility to the loca

Nov. 10, 2018

Korean financial institutions suffer $150m cross-default on Chinese bond insolvency

South Korea’s financial institutions suffered insolvency of asset-backed commercial papers Friday at midnight, following a Chinese firm’s default on payments due for bonds.The ABCPs were backed by dollar-denominated bonds worth $150 million that were declared insolvent Thursday. This accounts for some 7 percent of all bonds issued by CERCG Overseas Capital, a Hong Kong subsidiary of China Energy Reserve & Chemicals Group. ABCPs refer to short-term money-market securities collater

Nov. 10, 2018

Seoul stocks end lower on US belt-tightening signs

South Korean stocks ended lower Friday as investors took a breather amid signals of tighter monetary policy in the United States. The South Korean currency weakened against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 6.54 points, or 0.31 percent, to close at 2,086.09. Trading volume was relatively light at 292.94 million shares worth 5.15 trillion won ($4.57 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 463 to 363. Institutions unloaded shares worth 288.3 billion won, offsett

Nov. 9, 2018

Korean central bank chief to attend BIS meeting next week

South Korea's top monetary policymaker will attend a meeting of the world's central bank governors in Switzerland next week, the Bank of Korea said Friday.BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol is scheduled to leave for the northwestern Swiss city of Basel on Saturday for the meetings of the Bank of International Settlement. The two-day meeting will kick off Sunday, with the BOK chief to return home next Wednesday, according to his office.He will exchange views with his counterparts from major economies on curren

Nov. 9, 2018

Relief rally in Korean markets after US midterm elections result

South Korean stock markets were bullish Thursday on strong foreign buying, as the midterm elections results in the United States stoked investors’ appetite for risk. The benchmark index of top-tier market Kospi closed at 2,092.63 Thursday, up 0.7 percent from Wednesday. The second-tier Kosdaq was 1.7 percent higher. Market giants saw mild gains. On Kospi, Samsung Electronics inched up 0.1 percent, chipmaker SK hynix climbed 3 percent and biosimilar drugmaker Celltrion was 2.1 percent highe

Nov. 8, 2018

Woori Bank CEO tapped to head holding firm

Woori Bank nominated its incumbent Chief Executive Officer Sohn Tae-seung as the chairman of a new holding company set to control the nation’s fourth-largest commercial bank, officials said Thursday.At an extraordinary board of directors meeting, the 59-year-old CEO was named the chairman of the holding company while keeping his CEO post at Woori Bank. Sohn has led Woori Bank since December 2017.  This came a day after the Financial Services Commission approved a plan to reestablish a

Nov. 8, 2018

S. Korea’s stock loans dip amid shrunken investor sentiment

The amount of loans taken out for stock purchases has been on a drastic downtrend over the past month, reflecting the recent collapse of stock prices and shrinking investor confidence, data showed Thursday. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the balance for margin account loans stood at 9.4 trillion won ($8.4 billion) as of Monday, down 2.8 trillion won, or 23.8 percent, from a month earlier. This was also the lowest since a balance of 9 trillion won observed on Nov. 3

Nov. 8, 2018

AI platform to screen terms of service for financial products next year

An artificial intelligence platform will start screening terms of service for financial products from next year, the financial watchdog said Thursday, as part of its efforts to bolster machine-readable regulation. The Financial Supervisory Service and KT Corp., the nation's biggest fixed-line Internet operator, have used an AI platform to screen terms of service for mutual funds on a trial basis since August this year. After four months of trials, the platform was deemed capable of the scre

Nov. 8, 2018