Embattled Toptec CEO denies spilling tech secrets

Toptec, a South Korean maker of automated machines for production of display panels and semiconductors, denied recent allegations that it had attempted to sell confidential information on technology related to mobile phone screen lamination machines to China.The company also refuted claims that it had failed to protect company secrets of its biggest buyer, Samsung Display. Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday raided the Toptec headquarters in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, a

Sept. 17, 2018

Shinhan Bank, EBRD cooperate on trade finance

Shinhan Bank, one of the major commercial lenders in South Korea, has become a confirming bank for a trade program run by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the EBRD said Friday. The cooperation is expected to help Shinhan Bank offer safer trade financing instruments to Korean firms that do business with nations in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In a statement, the EBRD said Shinhan Bank joined the multilateral lender's Trade Facilitation Program, which aims

Sept. 14, 2018

Prime Minister urges BOK rate hike

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon urged the Bank of Korea to raise key interest rate Thursday, citing concerns about financial instability.“Without a rate hike, problems related to capital flight, a widening gap in interest rates between Korea and the United States and the (upward) pressure on (the level of) household debt will persist,” said Lee. “It is high time to take this matter more seriously.” Lee also blamed expansionary monetary policy during the forme

Sept. 13, 2018

Crypto exchanges can discern worthwhile coins, blockchain projects: Upbit CEO

With hundreds of new cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects being released daily, it’s difficult for investors to discern which digital coins are worth backing or are potential scams with no value.　Though the decision is ultimately left to the investor, responsible cryptocurrency exchanges can help this selection process by screening for and listing coins linked to worthwhile blockchain projects, said Lee Sir-goo, CEO of Dunamu which runs Korea’s top cryptocurrency exchange Upbit.&

Sept. 13, 2018

56% of Koreans favor stronger real estate taxes: poll

More than five out of 10 South Koreans are supportive of the government's plan to hike real estate tax rates to curb rising housing prices, a poll showed Thursday.In the survey on 500 adults conducted by Realmeter, 56.4 percent of the respondents said that they are in favor of the government's plan to strengthen the so-called comprehensive real estate tax scheme. It showed that 30.7 percent oppose the move. Later in the day, the government plans to unveil stronger measures to cool down the overh

Sept. 13, 2018

KRX to tighten rules on maximum per-case stock trading

The maximum possible number of shares investors can purchase in a single order will be reduced starting next week to prevent fat-finger errors, the local bourse operator said Wednesday.Investors will be allowed to buy a maximum of 1 percent of a firm's total shares per order starting Monday, compared to the current level of 5 percent, according to the Korea Exchange. In cases where an order is to purchase shares worth more than 100 billion won (US$88.65 million), such attempts will be rejec

Sept. 12, 2018

NH Investment & Securities picked as most preferred bidder for Seoul Square sales

NH Investment & Securities, South Korea’s second-largest securities firm by net assets, was picked as the most preferred bidder for Seoul Square, a prime office building located in central Seoul, according to the company Wednesday. NH Investment & Securities expects the deal worth 1 trillion won ($890 million) to be complete by the end of November, which would be the second-priciest bid in Korea following an M&G Real Estate Korea 1.1 trillion-won purchase deal of the Centropoli

Sept. 12, 2018

Securities firms remove 40% of Korean branches in 7 years

South Korea’s securities firms saw their local branch network shrink by 40.3 percent in the past seven years until June this year, with the arrival of mobile trading infrastructure here, data showed Wednesday.  According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the number of brick-and-mortar branches of 56 securities firms that locate at least one business unit in Korea came to 1,116 as of end-June, indicating that 756 branches in Korea have been removed since June 2011. By brok

Sept. 12, 2018

Singapore's ABCC crypto exchange to actively tap into S. Korean market

AlphaBit Cryptocurrency Exchange (ABCC), a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, said Tuesday it will proactively push its expansion into the South Korean market.Last month, the exchange entered the Seoul market by opening its Korean website, and it plans to come up with a mobile trading app next month."South Korea is one of the most active cryptocurrency markets in the world, and we are happy to come to this market," ABCC's CEO Calvin Cheng was quoted as saying by the company's off

Sept. 11, 2018

Samsung Asset Management to provide Korea's 1st ETF built on big data analytics

The Korea Exchange, South Korea’s sole market operator, will list an exchange-traded fund Wednesday that tracks an index built on big data technology. 　The Kodex Secondary Battery Industry ETF, provided by Samsung Asset Management, will mark the first to use this methodology for this purpose, according to Ko Young-tae, an official in charge of ETF listings at the KRX.The big data techniques will include semantic analyses centering on online materials such as disclosures, investor relations

Sept. 11, 2018

Mirae Asset tops global investments in innovative tech

[THE INVESTOR] Mirae Asset Global Investments, Korea’s largest asset management firm, is leading global investments in innovative technologies that power the fourth industrial revolution.Mirae Asset G2 Innovation Fund, which invests in promising companies in the US and China, posted 23.51 percent of yearly rate of return as of last week, according to market researcher KG Zeroin, becoming the most profitable global equity fund in the industry.The fund invests in companies that develop cutti

Sept. 11, 2018

Hurdles to foreign arbitrage explain ‘kimchi premium’: BOK

Hurdles that impede the flow of cross-border transactions have created cryptocurrency price gaps of more than 40 percent between Korea and other countries, researchers from South Korea’s central bank said Tuesday.The Bank of Korea researchers added that the underlying factors were unlikely to disappear in the near future, meaning the so-called “kimchi premium” is likely to endure for some time. The term “kimchi premium” refers to the gap in cryptocurrency prices on

Sept. 11, 2018

Credit card loans jump 17% in H1

South Korean credit card firms saw their card loans soar nearly 17 percent on-year in the first half of the year as tougher bank loan screenings forced borrowers to resort to them, industry data showed Tuesday, The country's seven stand-alone card firms -- Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Woori, Hana, Samsung, Hyundai and Lotte -- extended 20.85 trillion won ($18.5 billion) in the January-March period, up 16.7 percent from a year earlier.The figure marks a sharp increase from the 2.8 percent on-year gain re

Sept. 11, 2018

Ex-FSS senior official arrested for stock price rigging

A former senior official of the market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service has been arrested for colluding with a private money lender in rigging the stock price of his company, prosecutors said Monday.The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office said that it arrested a former deputy governor of the FSS, identified by his surname Park, along with a private lender surnamed Seo, on charges of breaching the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act.Park, who is also the form

Sept. 10, 2018

MERS fears boost related stocks

South Korean investors on Monday began to rush to stocks in business areas related to the production of face masks and the development of vaccines, after the recent return of Middle East respiratory syndrome.But foreign investors contributed little to the sharp upward trend in demand for these stocks.  Upon market opening at 9 a.m., GeneOne Life Science, a Korean drugmaker known to have been pursuing development of a MERS vaccine; and Okong, a maker of adhesive products including disposable

Sept. 10, 2018

Real estate trust companies set record with H1 income

South Korea’s 11 real estate trust companies logged a combined 285.3 billion won ($253.1 million) net profit in the first half of 2018, surpassing their performance in all previous half-years, preliminary data showed Monday.  The figure represented an on-year increase of 17.6 percent, and business was in the black for all 11 companies, according to the Financial Supervisory Service, Korea’s financial watchdog.Meanwhile, the companies’ operating profits soared 17.1 percent

Sept. 10, 2018

[Kosdaq Star] Prepaid card biz a catalyst for Kona I

This is the 61st in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.South Korea’s leading smart card part manufacturer Kona I is gaining market presence as a reloadable prepaid card provider, catalyzed by a series of events over the past couple of months.Analysts have expressed optimism that the Seoul-headquartered firm, which has been running at a loss since 2016, can make turnaround by the end of this year.As of Friday, Kona I was the 193rd-la

Sept. 9, 2018

Seoul shares to come under pressure from trade woes

South Korean stocks will move within a tight range as investors may remain skittish over the escalating trade tension between the United States and China and rising odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike in September, analysts said Saturday.    The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished at 2,281.58 on Friday, down 1.77 percent from a week ago.     The index fell every session except Tuesday on concerns of trade disputes that caused inves

Sept. 8, 2018

Kosdaq sees surge in mass stock purchases this year

The trade volume of lump sum retail orders on South Korea’s secondary bourse Kosdaq surged this year on the back of growing demand for biopharmaceuticals, data showed Wednesday.According to the country’s stock operator Korea Exchange, the number of individual purchasers’ orders amounting to 100 million won ($90,000) or more at a time totaled 12,499 as of the end of August, up 161.21 percent from the same period last year.Purchases of more than 10,000 shares also moved up 15.5 p

Sept. 5, 2018

Shinhan Financial to acquire Orange Life for W2.29tr

Shinhan Financial Group Co., a major South Korean financial holding firm, said Wednesday it will acquire a majority stake in Orange Life, formerly known as ING Life Insurance, for 2.29 trillion won ($2.04 billion). The acquisition, which would make Shinhan Financial the nation's top financial group, is subject to regulatory approval, Shinhan Financial said in a regulatory filing.Shinhan Financial will pay 47,400 won for each of 48.5 million shares, or the 59.15 percent stake, in Orange Life, acc

Sept. 5, 2018