Woori Bank to adopt financial holding company structure

Woori Bank, South Korea’s fourth-largest commercial bank and the parent company of 19 financial subsidiaries, has gained regulatory approval to adopt a financial holding company structure. The Financial Services Commission’s decision in a regular meeting Wednesday laid the groundwork for reintroduction of a holding company of the banking group after four years. The new company, set to be established in January 2019, will own six subsidiaries -- Woori Bank, Woori FIS, Woori Finance Re

Nov. 7, 2018

CJ CGV Vietnam Holdings cancels IPO plan due to low demand

CJ CGV Vietnam Holdings Co. has canceled its initial public offering plan in Vietnam as a survey showed it will be hard pressed to meet its fund-raising target due to low demand for its shares, its parent company here said Tuesday. The holding company originally planned to raise 107.99 billion won-131.99 billion won by listing its 5.7 million shares on the local stock exchange, CJ CGV said in a statement. CJ CGV holds an 80 percent stake in CJ CGV Vietnam Holdings, with the remaining 20 per

Nov. 6, 2018

FSC chairman hints at securities transaction tax cut

Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku hinted Tuesday at cutting or removing the securities transaction tax on the Korean equity market and to discuss the matter with tax authorities.“It’s high time to take (a securities transaction tax cut) into consideration,” Choi said during a session with parliament, in response to a question from Rep. Jeon Hae-cheol of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Choi took issue with double taxation potentially caused by the securit

Nov. 6, 2018

Regulator standardizes QR code for electronic payment

The Financial Services Commission, South Korea’s financial regulator, unveiled Tuesday a set of standards for QR codes for electronic payment, in a nation where the smartphone penetration rate is high and credit card payment terminals are ubiquitous among merchants here.A QR code refers to a matrix barcode used in infrastructure that allows mobile payment between customers and vendors without intermediaries. By using a mobile phone app to scan a QR code, a user will be authenticated, and t

Nov. 6, 2018

Won rally ends on US jobs growth, renewed trade war

South Korea’s local currency edged down against the greenback on Monday on robust jobs readings in the United States that sparked an upsurge in the US dollar, and on renewed threats of a US-China trade war that put a dent in global risk-tolerance levels.The dollar-to-won currency exchange rate came to 1,123.5 won in closing Monday, down 0.2 percent compared with the Friday session’s close. A lower exchange rate translates into a stronger local currency. This drop marked an end to the

Nov. 5, 2018

Korea's FX reserves drop on strong US dollar

South Korea's foreign currency holdings dropped slightly last month amid a strong US dollar trend, central bank data showed Monday.The total value of the country's foreign exchange reserves came to $402.75 billion as of end-October, down $250 million from a record $403 billion tallied in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, as well as International Monetary Fund reserve positions, spec

Nov. 5, 2018

US midterm elections to act as uncertainty variable in Korean stock market

While South Korea’s stock market took a strong rebounding leap last week amid signals of trade war alleviation between the United States and China, analysts remained in a cautious note ahead of the midterm elections in the United States slated for Tuesday, fueled by concerns that news favorable to stock rallies might have come in disguise. Analysts issued warnings over the weekend on possible post-election volatility in the domestic stock market, saying optimism in the global financial mar

Nov. 4, 2018

Korean IPO market hits snag on bearish stock market

As South Korean companies have recently withdrawn their earlier plans to go public, concerns have been mounting that the lackluster initial public offering market remains exposed to lingering external uncertainties in the fourth quarter.Since October, two companies -- Dreamtech and Plakor -- said in financial statements they would withdraw from IPO plans, citing “the current stock market situation that makes it hard for investors to discover the price of a company.” Dreamtech, an ele

Nov. 4, 2018

Tightened lending rules push up overdraft credit

The amount of non-mortgage loans extended by local banks increased at a sharp pace last month as a new set of loan guidelines on mortgages took effect, industry data showed Sunday.According to the data, the outstanding balance of non-mortgage loans, including lending through overdraft lines of credit, in five major commercial banks including Shinhan Bank and Kookmin Bank reached a combined 101.2 trillion won ($90.5 billion) as of the end October, up 2.1 trillion won from a month earlier. The on-

Nov. 4, 2018

Foreigners remain net sellers in Korean bond market in Oct.

Foreign investors remained net sellers in the South Korean bond market for two straight months last month, but the amount sold decreased, financial data showed Sunday.Foreigners offloaded a net 244 billion won ($218.2 million) worth of South Korean debts last month, continuing their selling mode from September, when they dumped a net 2.22 trillion won, according to the data. It was the first time in 2018 that net foreign holdings of South Korean bonds decreased two months in a row. Offshore inve

Nov. 4, 2018

Woori Bank, IBK to stop Iran payments due to U.S. sanctions

Two South Korean banks will stop accepting payments from Iran in line with the start of U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic‘s petroleum exports, a financial source said Friday.　Woori Bank and state-run Industrial Bank of Korea are the two main channels of money between South Korean firms and Iran, but they have instructed local firms to complete payments by Sunday, a day before the U.S. sanctions against Iran take effect.  　From Nov. 5, the two South Korean banks will stop handling

Nov. 2, 2018

Actress Kyun Mi-ri’s husband gets 4-year prison sentence for rigging stocks

Former Bota Bio executive and husband of veteran actress Kyun Mi-ri was sentenced to four years in prison for manipulating stocks and raking in billions in illicit gains. Judge Sim Hyeong-sup of the Seoul Southern District Court handed down a four-year sentence and a fine of 2.5 billion won ($2.2 million) for the convict, identified only by the surname Lee, for violating laws related to capital markets and financial investment. Lee was found guilty of gaining approximately 2.3 billion won throug

Nov. 2, 2018

Financial market volatility may expand further: BOK chief

South Korea's central bank chief said Friday that the local financial market will likely face wider volatility in the coming months due to lingering uncertainties abroad.With global financial markets, including Wall Street suffering a stock rout, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index nose-dived 14.8 percent in October alone, and the secondary index for the tech-laden KOSDAQ market plummeted 23.4 percent. "Escalating global downside risks have caused the recent worldwide tumble, bu

Nov. 2, 2018

US denies rumors of sanctions on Korean banks

WASHINGTON -- The United States denied Wednesday that it has informed some South Korean banks of impending sanctions for their transactions with North Korea.Rumors spread in South Korea that the US Department of the Treasury is soon to impose secondary sanctions on several banks for their involvement in the government's recent expansion of economic and other exchanges with the North.Such sanctions target third-party entities that conduct dealings with an already sanctioned entity, such as North

Nov. 1, 2018

NPS takes heat from bearish stock market

South Korea’s National Pension Service, the third-largest pension fund in the world, has taken over 5 percent in losses from domestic stocks from January to August, hit by the ongoing bearish trend in the local stock market this year.  The public pension fund, overseeing 650.9 billion won ($571.8 million) in assets as of end-August, yielded 2.3 percent return from its investments, according to its disclosure Tuesday. The NPS invests in various asset classes including equities and fixe

Oct. 31, 2018

Banks to implement stricter lending policy

A new set of regulations for local banks is set to take effect Wednesday, with the aim of further slowing down the pace of South Korea’s household credit growth. The full-fledged enforcement comes after a grace period that began in March, during which commercial banks had to cap the volume of the high-risk retail loans they extended. Starting Wednesday, commercial banks are required to keep “highly risky loans” to individuals to no more than 10 percent of the volume of all hous

Oct. 30, 2018

[Advertorial] Eximbank promotes companies’ chances for knowledge sharing abroad

The state-led Export-Import Bank of Korea on Tuesday held a conference targeting local small and midsized enterprises to promote their opportunities to be engaged in a state-sponsored knowledge sharing program.Some 150 representatives from 85 companies seeking business overseas, institutions devoted to the knowledge sharing program and the Ministry of Economy and Finance attended the event held at 63 Convention Center in Yeouido, Seoul, according to the bank.  The knowledge sharing program

Oct. 30, 2018

Kospi closes below 2,000 for first time since 2016

South Korea’s stock market once again renewed its all-year low on Monday, closing below the psychologically significant threshold of 2,000, despite the government’s urgent moves for countermeasures.The market benchmark index on Monday closed at 1996.05, down 31.1 points or 1.53 percent from the previous session’s close. During the last half hour of trading, the index fluctuated up and down the 2,000 mark, after its first sub-2,000 dip at around 2:53 p.m.This marked the fifth co

Oct. 29, 2018

[Breaking] Kospi renews record-low, dips below 2,000

South Korea’s top-tier stock market Kospi extended its latest nosedive Monday, renewing its record low for the year and dipping below the psychologically significant 2,000-point barrier, according to Korea Exchange.  The benchmark index hit 1,999 at around 2:53 p.m. before recovering to above 2,000. This was the first time in 22 months that the figure fell lower than the 2,000 mark.Earlier in the day, the Financial Services Commission vowed to inject some 500 billion won ($439.1 milli

Oct. 29, 2018