Money traded on Kosdaq hits record in 2017

The value of shares traded on South Korea’s second-tier stock market Kosdaq in 2017 hit an all-time high as of Friday, riding the momentum of biotech shares and heightening volatility of shares linked to the cryptocurrency industry since November, data showed Tuesday. From Jan. 2, 2017 to Friday, investors traded stocks worth 876.3 trillion won ($813.9 billion) in total, beating the previous record of 873.8 trillion won in 2015, according to data from the market operator Korea Exchange. On

Dec. 26, 2017

[Kosdaq Star] Crypto fear prompts Raonsecure recovery

This is the 47th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.Raonsecure, a local mobile security solutions provider, had a year filled with a string of opportunities, as the government pushed to abolish the use of ActiveX from major websites and approved operations of mobile banks. But nothing seems to have pushed the price ceiling of the Kosdaq-listed company further than growing interest in one particular market -- cryptocurrency.On the back

Dec. 25, 2017

Mirae Asset operates quarter of Korea's private pension fund

Mirae Asset Global Investment was managing over 300 private or retirement pension funds worth a combined 5.02 trillion won ($4.65 billion) as of November, a quarter of the domestic market, according to the firm Monday.The volume of the pension funds run by the asset management arm under Mirae Asset Group jumped more than fourfold in November from the end of 2010. The company managed private pension funds worth a combined 2.59 trillion won, while its retirement pension funds were worth

Dec. 25, 2017

Monetary tightening to pose major challenge for S. Korea in 2018: experts

South Korea's six major economic institutes on Monday picked the global monetary policy tightening cycle as the biggest challenge for the economy next year. In Yonhap News Agency's poll of the heads of the country's six economic institutes, they expressed concerns that there might be an outflow of capital from emerging markets as the world's central banks look set to raise rates further as part of monetary tightening.  "A massive amount of capital has been injected into emerging market

Dec. 25, 2017

KOSPI forecast to stage new-year rally

South Korea‘s benchmark stock index is widely expected to stage a rally at the start of the new year following a recent downturn sparked by massive foreign selling, sources said Sunday.　Foreign investors have been dumping South Korean shares this month to lock in gains in top-cap Samsung Electronics Co. and other tech issues, with their net selling reaching more than 1.8 trillion won (US$1.7 billion). 　Offshore investors’ heavy selling has sent the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Pri

Dec. 24, 2017

Watchdog probes banks' alleged hiring irregularities

South Korea's financial watchdog has started an inquiry into allegations that some banks gave special favors to some job candidates related to senior executives, sources said Friday.The Financial Supervisory Service mobilized a team of 30 inspectors Tuesday to begin investigating suspected hiring-related wrongdoing by 11 commercial lenders, including such major players as Kookmin, KEB Hana, Shinhan and Nonghyup.The initial investigation was to be concluded later Friday.The FSS investigators visi

Dec. 22, 2017

Cryptocurrency fuels ‘irrational exuberance’: BOK Gov.

South Korea‘s top monetary policymaker expressed concerns on what he called the nation’s “irrational exuberance” that may partly be blamed on the cryptocurrency frenzy among local retail investors, during a meeting with the press Wednesday night.This comes in contrast to the “rational exuberance” seen in Korea’s bull financial markets, such as the record run in stock markets and flattening yield curve driven by robust fundamentals and a low key rate poli

Dec. 21, 2017

Korea to unveil financial deregulation in Q1 next year

South Korea will unveil a package of measures during the first quarter of next year on financial regulatory reforms that would lower entry barriers for new players and boost competition in the local financial industry, the nation's top financial regulator said Thursday. Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, told reporters that the planned deregulation is aimed at "promoting innovation and healthy competition in the financial industry by new participants." Choi di

Dec. 21, 2017

Cryptocurrency exchange Youbit shuts down after hack attack

One of South Korea’s cryptocurrency markets, YouBit, was forced to shut down on Tuesday after a hacking attack, the exchange said. Hackers stole about 17 percent of YouBit’s cryptocurrency in the attack, which happened at 4:35 a.m., the exchange said in a statement posted on its website. YouBit did not reveal the value of the stolen cryptocurrency.  “To minimize the damages to our customers, we will allow them to withdraw about 75 percent of their balance,” the state

Dec. 19, 2017

Govt. set up W1tr fund for restructuring of SMEs

The government will set up a 1 trillion-won ($918 million) fund to restructure struggling small and medium-sized enterprises as part of its drive for "market-oriented" corporate restructuring, officials said Monday. Under the scheme, eight state-run and retail banks, including Korea Development Bank, will raise 500 billion won by the end of next February as a "mother" fund, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement.  The remaining 500 billion won will be rais

Dec. 18, 2017

Commercial banks to raise floating mortgage rates this week

South Korea's commercial banks are set to raise floating rates for mortgage loans this week in line with a benchmark money market rate hike, industry officials said Sunday.The top five banks -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, KEB Hana and NH Nonghyup -- will reflect a rise in the Cost of Funds Index, a benchmark for variable-rate mortgages, starting from Monday.The COFIX, which is decided by the Korea Federation of Banks, has increased for three consecutive months since September on expectations of

Dec. 17, 2017

[Herald Interview] Education key to dealing with bitcoin craze

Following phenomenal bitcoin demand by retail investors in South Korea in the past few weeks, local cryptocurrency exchanges might represent the nation’s potential to take the lead in blockchain technology. But the bitcoin craze does not necessarily mean investors understand the way blockchain works, or that they can even tell the difference between cryptocurrency and blockchain, since they are more interested in high returns than the underlying technology. Cryptocurrencies are digital cur

Dec. 15, 2017

KCS official blamed for leak of gov't measures against cryptocurrency speculation

A Korea Customs Service official was found to have leaked a government press release announcing a package of measures aimed at curbing cryptocurrency speculation earlier this week, officials said Friday.The government launched an investigation after a draft of the press release was leaked online hours before the official announcement of regulatory measures Wednesday. The leak is believed to have impacted cryptocurrency trading. According to the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the draf

Dec. 15, 2017

Cryptocurrency exchanges seek to improve market transparency

South Korea‘s cryptocurrency exchanges said Friday they will adopt self-regulatory measures to boost transparency in the highly speculative market.The Korea Blockchain Association, consisting of 14 virtual currency exchanges here, announced plans to raise the market entry barrier for operators as part of ongoing efforts to protect investors in the fluctuating market. Starting in January, the exchanges will bear responsibility to force traders to store at least 70 percent of cryptocurrency

Dec. 15, 2017

Weakest gold in year ‘not relevant’ to bitcoin surge: analyst

South Korean gold prices are at their lowest in almost a year while bitcoin prices rise exponentially, but a Korean analyst on Friday rebutted claims that gold’s decline was down to the bitcoin craze.Gold was trading at 44,180 won ($40.60) per gram 10 minutes ahead of closing at 44,200 won Friday, according to an estimate by the Korea Exchange. On Wednesday, the price dipped below 44,000 won for the first time since Dec. 23, 2016. By contrast, bitcoin has skyrocketed past 20 million won, w

Dec. 15, 2017

Turnover of derivatives market gains 9% in H1

The trading volume of South Korea's derivatives market expanded nearly 9 percent in the first half of the year on the back of a bullish stock market, the financial regulator said Friday.The combined turnover of derivatives, such as stock options and futures, reached 20,047 trillion won ($18.4 trillion) in the January-June period, up 8.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.Exchange trading jumped 11.4 percent on-year to 13,267 trillion won, while the turnov

Dec. 15, 2017

Senior Korean official to protest EU's tax haven blacklisting

A senior foreign ministry official will protest the European Union's recent blacklisting of South Korea as a tax haven country during a meeting in Brussels Friday, a government source said.Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Yun Kang-hyeon left for Brussels on Thursday to attend a regular Korea-EU meeting, a ministry official told Yonhap on the condition of anonymity."It is an annual gathering that marks the 14th of its kind. But as it comes after the blacklisting decision, the iss

Dec. 15, 2017

US rate hike to have little impact on Korean market

South Korea's central bank chief said Thursday that the latest rate rise by the US Federal Reserve will have little impact on the local financial market, as the move was widely expected."The market has long anticipated the Fed's base rate increase this month," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol told reporters. "The BOK is focused on the Fed's pace of rate rises next year and has kept its 2018 outlook unchanged."He said the Fed remained less "hawkish" than expected despi

Dec. 14, 2017

Vulnerable households likely to suffer from increased debt repayments after rate rise: BOK

An interest rate rise in South Korea will increase the debt repayment burdens of vulnerable households who over-extended themselves on mortgages during the low rate period, the central bank said Thursday."In general, household and corporate borrowers will be able to afford an increase in debt repayment incurred by a 1 percent point rise in loan rates, if they have solid income and financial assets," the Bank of Korea said in a report submitted to the parliament. "But those who too

Dec. 14, 2017

Fed move heralds possible rate reversal in US, Korea

The US central bank's latest rate hike has raised the possibility of a reversal of key interests in the world's top economy and South Korea next year that could destabilize the local financial market, analysts said Thursday.In a widely expected move, the US Federal Reserve hiked interest rates for the third time this year to 1.5 percent Wednesday and retained its forecast for three rate increases in 2018.With the hike, America's benchmark interest rate has equaled that of South Korea. In Novembe

Dec. 14, 2017