Stock trading via smartphones sees sharp rise

Stock trading via smartphones accounted for an average 34.48 percent of daily trading on the secondary KOSDAQ market during the first half of this year, the nation's bourse operator said Monday. In 2010, stock trading via smartphones took up just 3.8 percent of the KOSDAQ market, according to the Korea Exchange. Mobile stock trading in South Korea has jumped over the past seven years, mainly due to brokerages' stepped-up marketing efforts for smartphone users.  Last year, stock trading via

July 17, 2017

FSC nominee talks easing online banking ownership laws

A nominee for the nation’s financial watchdog on Sunday addressed the need to ease ownership regulations on non-financial entities in the banking sector to promote additional launches of internet-only banks.　Choi Jong-ku, the nominee for chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said a pending bill on easing up Korea‘s existing banking laws to accommodate non-financial industries owning bank stakes, should be decided considering the nature of internet-only banks designed to cove

July 16, 2017

Value of overseas investment funds soars over past year

The value of South Korea's overseas investment funds has jumped more than 40 percent over the past year as big-time investors look overseas for high returns despite the recent bull of the domestic stock market, data showed Sunday. According to the data by the Korea Financial Investment Association, the combined net worth of overseas investment funds came to 110.75 trillion won ($97.7 billion) as of Wednesday, up 40.4 percent from a year earlier.Funds investing in special overseas assets, excludi

July 16, 2017

IPO market forecast to lose steam in H2

South Korea's initial public offering market is expected to lose ground sharply in the second half of the year as several large candidates have scrapped or postponed their plans, sources said Sunday. The country's IPO market was white-hot in the first six months of the year thanks to share sales by South Korea's largest mobile games maker Netmarble Games Corp. and three other companies that were listed on the main stock market.The four companies raised 3.9 trillion won ($3.44 billion) by selling

July 16, 2017

Analysts focus on shifting sands in bullish Kospi

South Korea’s main bourse index continued its relentless record run Friday, closing at 2,414.63 points, up 0.21 percent from the previous day’s close at 2,409.49.Making the historic jump past the 2,400 closing mark Thursday, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Market Index has risen 18.9 percent from Jan. 2 to Thursday, the highest in seven years, according to data by the market operator, the Korea Exchange.Analysts, meanwhile, focused on the shifting sands amid the bull run, with fo

July 14, 2017

[Photo News] Woori Bank reaches out to foreigners

July 14, 2017

Banks' foreign currency deposits falls in June

Foreign currency deposits held by banks operating in South Korea dropped in June as exporters decreased their deposits of dollar-denominated earnings, central bank data showed Friday.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local lenders, domestic and foreign, reached US$63.61 billion in June, down $6.33 billion from a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.Broken down, foreign currency deposits held by domestic banks came to $54.44 billion in June, down from 59.87 billion in

July 14, 2017

Citibank Korea, union agree to close 90 branches, freeze layoffs

Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup Inc., and its labor union on Friday signed an agreement under which the bank will slightly reduce the number of branches it plans to shut down and not lay off employees without justifiable cause.Citibank Korea, which had operated a total of 126 retail banking branches in South Korea, had originally planned to shut down 101 branches. But the move has been criticized by the union and some politicians for leaving customers without easy access to ke

July 14, 2017

[Monitor] Foreign ownership of stocks hit record high

Driven by high corporate earnings and expectations of a global economic recovery, foreign ownership of Korean stocks reached over 602 trillion won as of Tuesday, hitting a record high, according to Koscom, the systems manager of Korea Exchange.It accounts for 34.04 percent of the total market cap of listed stocks, marking the first time for the figure to surpass 34 percent since June 20 of 2007.

July 13, 2017

Kospi leaps past 2,400 mark

The main bourse of South Korea leaped to another record-high Thursday, surpassing the 2,400 closing mark for the first time in history. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.74 percent to close at 2,409.49 Thursday from Wednesday’s closing at 2,391.77.The top-tier stock market continued its record run, a day after it retreated 0.18 percent from the previous record high at 2,396.00 Tuesday.Foreign investors showed a strong buying trend, recording net purchase of 372.9 billi

July 13, 2017

BOK revises up growth forecast to 2.8%

South Korea’s central bank on Thursday raised its 2017 growth forecast to 2.8 percent, up 0.2 percentage point from its April projection, and to 2.9 percent in 2018, on the back of upbeat macroeconomic data at home and abroad. Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea decided to hold its policy rate steady at an all-time low of 1.25 percent for the 13th consecutive month on weak domestic consumption readings and continuing external uncertainties. Consumer price inflation was projected to stand at 1.9 p

July 13, 2017

Seoul stocks vault to new record high on Samsung, tech stocks

South Korean stocks closed at a record-high level on Thursday as investors' sentiment was boosted by overnight gains on Wall Street. The Korean won gained against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index soared 17.72 points, or 0.74 percent, to close at a fresh record high of 2,409.49. Trade volume was low at 284 million shares worth 6.05 trillion won ($5.32 billion), with gainers slightly outnumbering losers 397 to 396.The index reached an all-time intraday high of 2.422.26

July 13, 2017

Sales of variable insurance policies more than double in Q1

Sales of variable insurance policies more than doubled in the first quarter of this year as local stock markets reported robust gains, industry data showed Thursday. The first premium for variable insurance policies, which invest part of the funds they control in stocks and bonds, rose to 545.5 billion won ($477.2 million) during the January-March quarter, compared with 215.2 billion won for the same three-month period last year, according to the data by the Korea Life Insurance Association.&nbs

July 13, 2017

Samsung Elec's market cap explodes to overtake secondary bourse

Samsung Electronics Co.'s market cap has grown to exceed that of the entire secondary bourse and more than make up for the company's erased stocks this year, data showed Thursday.The market cap of the tech firm as of the end of trading Wednesday was 362 trillion won ($316.7 billion), including preferred shares. Ordinary shares accounted for 326 trillion won.According to the Korea Exchange, the sum is equal to 23.27 percent of the main bourse KOSPI. It is 1.72 times bigger than the entire market

July 13, 2017

Stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday taking a cue from overnight Wall Street gains, led by tech and chemical shares.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 13.65 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,405.42 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market cap Samsung Electronics continued to rise, moving up 0.92 percent and chipmaker SK hynix increased 0.58 percent. LG Display gained 1.38 percent. Chemical shares gathered ground, with industry leader LG Chem rising 4.01 percent and top cosm

July 13, 2017

Seoul stocks edge down on profit-taking

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Wednesday on profit-taking after the key index hit a record-high in the previous session. The Korean won gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved down 4.23 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 2,391.77. Trade volume was low at 266 million shares worth 5.3 trillion won ($4.62 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 541 to 267.Seoul shares closed lower as investors took a breather after the market rose to a re

July 12, 2017

Korea's mobile stock trading rises amid growing smartphone penetration: data

South Korea's mobile stock trading has witnessed sharp gains in the past few years as the country emerged as having one of the highest smartphone penetration numbers in the world, industry data showed Wednesday.South Korea's smartphone penetration rate stands at 85 percent, compared with the global average of 51 percent.The proportion of mobile stock trading in the secondary KOSDAQ market surged to 34.49 percent during the first six months this year from 3.12 percent in 2010, according to the fi

July 12, 2017

Korea's money supply up 6.1% in May: BOK

The money supply in South Korea jumped 6.1 percent in May from a year earlier, the central bank said Wednesday.The nation's M2 totaled 2,454.3 trillion won ($2.13 trillion) in May, compared with 2,312.8 trillion won a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.The money supply gained 0.3 percent on-month, the statement said. The growth rate of the money supply has been on the decline since October 2015 as companies decreased domestic credit.M2 is a measure of the money supply counting t

July 12, 2017

Currency market volatility eases in June

Volatility in South Korea's currency markets eased in June from a month earlier as global financial markets were relatively stabilized, the central bank said Wednesday.The session-over-session changes in the dollar-won exchange rates averaged 0.28 percent in June, compared with 0.41 percent a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. "The won has fallen against the dollar since June due to caution on shifts in monetary policies in major countries and geopolitical risks over Nort

July 12, 2017

Stocks open nearly flat as investors take breather

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Wednesday as investors sought profit-taking after the market closed at a record-high level in the previous session.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 2.25 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,398.25 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Carmakers gained ground, with industry leader Hyundai Motor increasing 1.69 percent and its sister Kia Motors rising 2.04 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis added 1.64 percent.Market behemoth Samsung Elect

July 12, 2017