[Newsmaker] KRX feels heat from calls to cut trading hours

Ever since the decision two years ago to delay the closing time of the nation’s securities market by 30 minutes, market authorities and labor activists have been in a heated debate, with unions saying the extended trading hours place an undue burden on employees without conferring significant benefits in terms of transaction volume. The issue is to take center stage at this week’s National Assembly audit, with Korea Exchange Chairman Jung Ji-won having been called as witness to

Oct. 9, 2018

Woori Bank to streamline loan evaluation of offshore units

Woori Bank, South Korea‘s fourth-largest commercial bank by assets, said Monday it has created an office in Singapore to streamline loan evaluation of offshore units across Asia. The office, dubbed “Asia Credit Analysis & Approval Debt Center” is designed to “improve loan approval (of offshore units) and expedite the decision-making process” of corporations in China, Vietnam and Indonesia, as well as branches in Hong Kong, India and Middle East nations, the bank

Oct. 8, 2018

IBK opens consulting service platform for startups

The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea launched a consulting service platform to support small firms and startups last week, bank officials said.IBK said it opened IBK ChangGongong at its Guro branch in southwestern Seoul on Oct. 1.The platform provides select startups with free offices, mentoring from experts, patent, tax and legal services, according to officials.In addition, they said, the bank will support their loans, investment relations and business networking. In the opening ceremony, IB

Oct. 7, 2018

Nation Pension loses 9.9 tln from stock investment through July

The National Pension Service (NPS), the country's top institutional investor, lost a whopping 9.9 trillion won (US$8.7 billion) from stock investments through July this year, a lawmaker said Saturday.According to the data presented by Rep. Yoo Jae-jung of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, the combined value of local shares held by the investor came to 123 trillion won as of end-July, down from 131.5 trillion won estimated at the end of last year.The NPS newly invested 1.5 trillion won in

Oct. 6, 2018

Lendit to allow secondary market trading

South Korea’s peer-to-peer financing startup Lendit said Thursday that it plans to allow investors and borrowers to trade notes that are not mature by establishing an online secondary market. P2P financing refers to a loan crowdsourced from investors seeking midrange interest rates, between 5 and 10 percent per year. The interest comes from borrowers’ debt servicing. Korea is home to 175 P2P financing platforms licensed as of end-August.The new system, dubbed the “Lendit Market

Oct. 4, 2018

BOK chief hints at rate hike

South Korea's central bank chief on Thursday gave a strong signal for a possible rate hike later this month aimed at reducing the adverse effects from years of low borrowing costs."Recently, the South Korean economy has pulled off modest growth on the back of exports, but it is now experiencing an imbalance in many sectors as we have put less significance on investment in the future," Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a breakfast meeting with business leaders in Seoul."

Oct. 4, 2018

Seoul, Gyeonggi homeowners to be virtually ineligible for additional mortgage loans

South Korea’s financial authorities are reinforcing regulations to dissuade homeowners in Seoul from taking out loans to purchase additional residences, part of ongoing efforts to bring housing prices under control and subdue household debt. The Financial Services Commission recently revised its banking oversight regulations, which now restrict anyone who owns a home in the Seoul metropolitan area from taking on additional mortgages, officials said Wednesday.The new restrictions on lending

Oct. 3, 2018

[Herald Interview] True Short envisions ‘one-stop shop’ for short selling-related data

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 22nd installment. -- Ed.Foreign short selling activities on South Korea’s stock market have recently been growing, and with such a trend, there is a Korean startup offering a more comprehensive look into the short selling market landscape in Korea.Short selling refers to the act of selling stocks without owning them in hopes the value goes down. To do so, a short se

Oct. 2, 2018

Financial audits drag on lackluster IPO market

Longer-than-expected financial audits are posing hurdles to privately-held companies seeking initial public offerings on South Korea’s stock markets, amid a sharp fall in the volume of total investments through IPOs this year through the third quarter. Following the withdrawals of lubricant oil maker SK Lubricant and game software developer Kakao Games from plans to go public in April and in September, respectively, investors’ attention is on whether refiner Hyundai Oilbank, projecte

Oct. 1, 2018

Financial watchdog vows to eradicate phone scams

South Korea's financial watchdog on Monday launched a fresh campaign to eradicate phone scams known as "voice phishing," calling for banks and other financial institutions to make more efforts to protect their customers.Such scams involve the use of fraudulent phone calls that trick people into giving away private financial information, enabling scammers access to their accounts. The Financial Supervisory Service's monthlong campaign calls for employees of banks and other financial ins

Oct. 1, 2018

Real estate funds continue strong growth as investment

Real estate-related investment funds reached the highest-ever total of 69.97 trillion won ($62.97 billion) as of the end of August, continuing the streak of monthly increases for nearly three years, data showed Monday.Records from the Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Financial Investment Association showed that the spike in property funds clearly exceeded that of other types of funds. While the money flowing to real estate funds jumped 30.9 percent last year, the comparable figures w

Oct. 1, 2018

[Contribution] Bond investing in late-economic cycle

The Korea Herald publishes a regular contribution series written by senior investment strategists at Standard Chartered Group Wealth Management. – Ed.It is understandable that bond investors are worried as the economic cycle matures, especially in the US, and as the Federal Reserve continues to hike interest rates gradually. Conceptually, as we head toward the late stage of an economic cycle, corporate profitability -- and their ability to repay bond holders -- typically peaks. Meanwhile,

Sept. 30, 2018

Fed rate hike won’t have huge impact on Korea: BOK chief

The US Federal Reserve’s latest quarter-point interest rate hike will not have a huge impact on the local financial market as the move was already expected, according to the Bank of Korea governor and the finance minister on Thursday. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points for the third time this year and also predicted it would further raise its base rate in December. The rate gap between Korea and the US now stands at 0.75 percentage point, as Seoul fr

Sept. 27, 2018

Top regulator hints at launch of 3rd internet-only bank

Anticipation is growing for the nation’s third internet-only bank as the authorities move to clear away hurdles affecting nonbanking institutions, including limits on ownership, following positive remarks from South Korea’s top financial regulator last week.Choi Jong-ku, chairman of Korea’s financial regulatory body, the Financial Services Commission, mapped out a plan to help the new digital banks to move in tandem with the changing environment in the financial industry landsc

Sept. 26, 2018

Seoul shares to seek upturn on eased trade woes next week

Seoul shares may undergo upward momentum next week, as eased concerns over global trade disputes and positive forecasts for corporate earnings could whet investors' appetite for bargains, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,339.17 on Friday, up 2.32 percent from a week earlier.The index started the week on a bearish note, as conflicts over tariffs between the United States and China appeared to worsen due to President Trump's decision to proceed wit

Sept. 22, 2018

[Newsmaker] Opposition lawmaker’s office raided for state budget information leak

A senior lawmaker of the main opposition party faced seizure over charges of accessing and leaking confidential government data on the state budget, prosecutorial officials said Friday.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office seized and searched the office of Rep. Shim Jae-cheol, a fifth-term lawmaker of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, whose aides are suspected of leaking information from the government’s digital budget accounting system.“Please gather immediately a

Sept. 21, 2018

Banks ready for inter-Korean economic cooperation

Fired up by the thawing peninsular mood built on the latest inter-Korean summit, banks here have buckled down on establishing business in the North in the near future, their initial focus fixed on the resumption of the Kaesong industrial park and Kumgangsan tours.Steering the move are the state-run banks that strive to win an upper hand in infrastructure financing, as well as Woori Bank and NH NongHyup Bank, which had operated businesses in the joint operations zones in the past.On Wednesday and

Sept. 20, 2018

SC Bank Korea launches My Run Savings Account

SC Bank Korea, the Korean subsidiary of British banking giant Standard Chartered, has launched a new money market deposit account, offering a relatively high interest rate opportunity to customers, officials said Wednesday.The bank has launched My Run Savings Account, a new kind of compound account that combines the convenience of a checking account and the profitability of a fixed deposit. The account offers an annual interest rate ranging from 0.1 percent to 2.1 percent maximum, depending on t

Sept. 19, 2018

FSS chief touts Korea as ‘financial hub,’ riding on inter-Korean thaw

The pangovernmental moves to “advance Korean markets to a financial hub in Northeast Asia” will gain steam, riding on the inter-Korean thaw in the wake of this year’s third inter-Korean summit, South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Yoon Suk-heun told heads of foreign financial units in Korea on Wednesday. The remarks came as South Korea President Moon Jae-in and North Korea leader Kim Jong-un signed a joint agreement to reboot plans for bilateral business coope

Sept. 19, 2018

Market watchers play down summit’s potential impact

South Korean markets gained little impetus on the first day of the third inter-Korean summit on Tuesday, as market analysts remained cautious about the summit’s potential long-term impact.But some analysts expressed the view that positive developments in inter-Korean relations could stimulate long-term market growth.In stock markets, the top-tier Kospi edged up 0.3 percent Tuesday, while the second-tier Kosdaq was 0.4 percent higher.Bond markets were moderately bearish in closing. The thre

Sept. 18, 2018