Nature Republic’s Myeongdong branch sits on priciest spot for 18 years

A 170-square-meter land in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, where South Korean beauty brand Nature Republic’s flagship store is located, has been named the most expensive real estate property in the country for the eighteenth consecutive year, data showed Monday.  The prime plot in the middle of the downtown shopping district was appraised at nearly 200 million won ($179,800) per square-meter, up 3.8 percent from 190 million won estimated a year earlier, according to data released by th

May 31, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on inflation worries

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday amid investor concerns of early post-pandemic inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.92 points, or 0.19 percent, to 3,182.81 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a weak start as accelerating inflation may sap demand for risky assets. The US personal consumption expenditures index picked up 0.6 percent in April, marking the fastest on-year jump since 2008. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electron

May 31, 2021

FSS to oversee virtual assets; cryptocurrencies in negative territory

The Financial Supervisory Service has been designated to man the main control tower overseeing the country’s burgeoning virtual asset market, putting an end to months of discussions on who would take charge, while major cryptocurrencies fell over the weekend. In an announcement on Friday, the government delegated the FSS, the country’s financial regulator, in charge of virtual assets while the Ministry of Science and ICT will take the helm in leading the country’s blockchai

May 30, 2021

FSC likely to lift banks’ dividend cap in June

South Korea’s financial regulator is projected to lift its dividend cap placed on local banking groups next month, with the economy apparently on a fast track to recovery, industry watchers said Sunday. The Financial Services Commission in January “recommended” local bankers to limit dividends to 20 percent of their net profits for the first half of the year, with most banks heeding the advice. Shinhan Bank was the only lender that didn’t adopt the 20 percent cap, report

May 30, 2021

[Herald Interview] ‘Digital disruption in finance brings bigger autonomy, better customer access’

Hanwha Asset Management, South Korea’s fourth-largest fund manager, is the first financial institution in the country to adopt a remote work system by adding satellite offices in Seoul. Under its DreamWork policy, some 400 employees and executives of Hanwha Asset are no longer under the same roof, and instead are given an autonomy to navigate the most suitable work conditions each day to boost productivity. “The underlying philosophy of DreamWork is to give employees the rights to

May 30, 2021

Samsung Electronics most shorted stock after ban lifts

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was the most heavily shorted stock in the South Korean market in the first month of a conditional resumption on short selling, data from the nation’s sole bourse operator showed Sunday. The amount of short sale transactions of the tech giant stood at 611.7 billion won ($549.18 million), an average of 34 billion won per day during 18 trading sessions from May 3 to Friday, according to the Korea Exchange data. Samsung shares have recently traded bearish,

May 30, 2021

NPS pledges to end coal investing, increase alternative exposure

The National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest pension fund, will pull the plug on coal-related investments, according to a plan approved on Friday by its investment management committee. Under the plan, NPS will no longer finance any new projects that involve building coal-fired power plants. It will also come up with an action plan to implement negative screening in order to exclude investment targets associated with climate change. The plan is to support a low-carbon ecosyste

May 28, 2021

Jungheung interested in Daewoo E&C, but takeover still under review

Jungheung Group, a local construction company, has expressed interest in acquiring Daewoo Engineering and Construction, but is in the process of reviewing its value and business potential, the builder said Friday. ”The company is interested in acquiring Daewoo E&C but nothing is confirmed,” an official at Jungheung said. “We’ll carefully examine the various conditions including Daewoo’s domestic and overseas business status, prospects after the acquisition an

May 28, 2021

Legal ambiguity poses hurdles for NFT businesses: experts

Nonfungible tokens have seen a soaring popularity this year, but its future in South Korea remains uncertain due to legal gray areas, experts said Thursday during a conference on NFTs held in Seoul. Despite the short history of NFTs, the digital asset could create many opportunities for domestic companies as they try to add value to the fledgling technology and industry, experts said. But there are limits to bringing it into the commercial sphere as the domestic regulatory framework is not re

May 28, 2021

Korea to develop exascale supercomputers by 2030

The South Korean government has thrown its weight behind plans to build exascale supercomputers by 2030 and nurture local talents in the sector, the finance minister said Friday. Exascale computing, a computer system that performs 1 quintillion operations per second, enables superspeed data analyses and simulations at that will pave the way for crucial discoveries in a wide range of fields, from finding new drugs against COVID-19 to predicting effects of climate change. The government plans

May 28, 2021

Number of Toss Securities subscribers surpasses 3m in three months

Toss Securities, an online brokerage firm owned by fintech firm Viva Republica, said Friday that the number of stock trading accounts on its platform has surpassed 3 million. The 3 million accounts amount to around 30 percent of 9.14 million individual investors in the nation. Launched on Feb. 3, the company attracted new customers by running a series of promotional events. More than 1.7 million new customers joined the Toss platform during a five-day event in February that handed each new c

May 28, 2021

S. Korea to levy 20% tax on cryptocurrency transactions starting next year as planned: govt.

South Korea plans to impose a 20 percent income tax on capital gains from cryptocurrency transactions starting next year as planned, the government announced Friday, despite growing investor calls for delaying the taxation plan. The government announced the plan after discussing the matter during a vice-ministerial interagency meeting chaired by Koo Yoon-cheol, head of the government policy coordination under the Prime Minister's Office. Gains from cryptocurrency transactions will be classifie

May 28, 2021

Seoul stocks increase on economic rebound hopes

South Korean stocks increased Friday on hopes for a quick economic rebound, taking a cue from improved US economic data. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 23.22 points, or 0.73 percent, to close at 3,188.73 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 954 million shares worth some 13.4 trillion won (US$12 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 596 to 262. Foreigners bought a net 139 billion won, while retail investors s

May 28, 2021

Institutions' investment in foreign securities down 1.7% in Q1

South Korean institutions' investment in foreign securities fell 1.7 percent in the first quarter as they reduced their holdings of foreign sovereign bonds, central bank data showed Friday. The combined value of foreign securities held by institutional investors came to $363 billion as of end-March, down $6.1 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign securities include stocks, bonds and so-called Korean paper, which refers to foreign currency-denominated

May 28, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains that stemmed from strong US economic data and upcoming federal spending plans. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 18.56 points, or 0.59 percent, to reach 3,184.07 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Industrial Average gained 0.41 percent, as jobless data declined to a fresh pandemic low, and the S&P 500 edged up 0.12 percent. The world's largest economy will soon reveal

May 28, 2021

Hahn & Co. set to take over scandal-ridden dairy product-maker for W310.7b

South Korean private equity firm Hahn & Co. is poised to buy a controlling  52.6 percent stake in Namyang Dairy Products which has been under public criticism for claiming that its yogurt drink helps prevent COVID-19, a filing showed Thursday. Namyang Dairy’s board has agreed to sell 378,938 common shares, owned by ex-chairman Hong Won-sik, his wife and his grandson, to the country’s second-largest private equity firm for 310.7 billion won ($278.2 million), according to th

May 27, 2021

Seoul stocks inch down ahead of key US data, MSCI rebalancing

South Korean stocks closed a tad lower Thursday, as investors wait for key economic data from the United States later this week, which is widely seen as a gauge for a potential rate hike. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 2.92 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 3,165.51 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 19.9 trillion won ($17.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 496 to 360. Fo

May 27, 2021

Seoul apartment prices undeterred by market intervention

An upward trend for apartment prices in Seoul has continued for 40 weeks in a row, since last June, according to the state-run Korean Real Estate Board on Thursday. Market experts say unstoppable apartment price increases in Gangnam have driven the growth, inflating home prices in other regions in and around Seoul. The rate of increase stayed between 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent during most of the second half last year, and this year it increased from 0.06 percent in the first week of January

May 27, 2021

Line Plus, NuriFlex to develop CBDC payment platform targeting Latin America, Africa

Line Plus, a subsidiary of the Naver-owned Line Corp., said Thursday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with NuriFlex, a global provider of blockchain-based payment solutions, to develop a transaction platform for central bank digital currency targeting Latin American and African countries. Under the business partnership, the two companies will set up the envisioned payment system in a way that complies with Latin American and African states’ financial regulations and provid

May 27, 2021

Seoul stocks open nearly flat ahead of US data release

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Thursday, as investors continued to wait for the upcoming release of key consumption data in the United States that is widely seen as a gauge for inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) traded down 0.54 points, or 0.02 percent, at 3,167.89 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Kospi got off to a muted start as investor caution grew while waiting for the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data, or core PCE, known to

May 27, 2021