Seoul stocks open lower, tracking Wall Street decline

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as concerns of inflation weighed down on investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.9 points, or 0.12 percent, to 3,205.53 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 1.36 percent as rising commodity prices fueled worries of inflation. In Seoul, market behemoth Samsung Electronics shed 0.25 percent, while No. 2 chipm

May 12, 2021

Moody’s ups Mirae Asset Securities’ rating from negative to stable

Global ratings firm Moody’s raised its rating outlook for South Korean securities firm Mirae Asset Securities from negative to stable, forecasting that regulatory measures by the financial authorities will likely curb the growth of the company’s risky assets. “The change from negative to stable takes into account Moody’s expectation of slower risk asset growth as a result of various prudential regulatory measures implemented by the Korean Financial Supervisory Service

May 11, 2021

[Market Close-up] Financial firms scurry to forge cross-industry partnerships for data-driven innovation

Cross-industry partnerships in the financial sector are in full swing as banks seek to transform personal data into a new revenue source, ditching their reliance on interest rates. Commercial lenders and credit card companies have been rushing to forge alliances with mobile carriers and retailers to compile large volumes of customer data from business partners in order to provide personalized products and to fuel data-driven marketing activities. The heating competition is ignited by the gove

May 11, 2021

Seoul stocks dip on inflation worries

South Korean stocks tumbled Tuesday, led by technology stock sell-offs, as investors' sentiment worsened over inflation woes. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 39.87 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 3,209.43 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 21.2 trillion won ($18.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 447 to 419. Foreigners sold a net 2.2 trillion won, and retail investors pur

May 11, 2021

Korean banks brace for India’s COVID crisis

South Korean banks have launched emergency safety measures for their businesses in India, as the country grapples with the world’s worst COVID-19 outbreak. The spiking coronavirus infections and deaths in the world’s second-most populous nation has set yet another major hurdle for the banks’ overseas expansion goals, after Myanmar’s military coup put a damper on their plans. According to the watchdog Financial Supervisory Service, a total of eight banks have entered t

May 11, 2021

Accelerator Future Play raises W10B for expansion

Future Play, a South Korea-based accelerator, said on Tuesday that it has raised 10 billion won ($8.9 million) in the latest funding for its business expansion. Its Series B funding drew investment from LG International, DB Financial Investment, Prophet Asset Management, Futura, Data Solution and Hashed, said the company’s CEO and founder Ryu Jung-hee. The company plans to enter Indonesia later this month and introduce FuturePlace.AI, an online platform to provide tailor-made resources

May 11, 2021

LG Chem to commit W150b to local PEF in green bet

South Korea‘s battery materials maker and petrochemical firm LG Chem said Tuesday it plans to commit 150 billion won ($134 million) capital to a new private equity fund that targets promising companies dedicated to electric vehicle parts and ecofriendly plastics. The committed capital will be part of IMM Credit Solution’s upcoming growth-focused Korea Battery & ESG Fund, which aims to earmark a total of 400 billion won. IMM Credit Solution is a subsidiary of Korea‘s thir

May 11, 2021

Hanwha Asset unveils fund marketplace app

Hanwha Asset Management said Tuesday it has launched a new mobile app for retail investors wanting to buy a fund and go around third-party fund distribution channels. This is the latest move of South Korea‘s fourth-largest firm -- which has around 97 trillion won ($86.6 billion) in assets under its management -- to create its own online fund marketplace in a nation where tech-savvy consumers had few choices to buy funds other than through third-party sales channels of banks, securities br

May 11, 2021

Nonfungible token of historic human-AI Go battle up for auction

A nonfungible token of the historic match between between South Korean Go master Lee Se-dol and Google’s artificial intelligence Go player AlphaGo has been auctioned off as a digital content on OpenSea, the world’s largest marketplace for NFTs, officials said Monday.  A nonfungible token is a digital recreation of media contents such as videos and photos that is traded via the blockchain. Upon the purchase through the internet auction site, investors can declare ownership of

May 11, 2021

SKIET shares lose vitality after Kospi market debut

SK ie technology, a battery materials subsidiary of refinery and battery firm SK Innovation, rose on its market debut on the South Korean main board Tuesday, but lost value over the trading day, despite rosy market forecasts.  As soon as the opening bell rang, shares of SKIET started off at 210,000 won ($187.64), doubling its initial public offering price, but closed at 26.43 percent down from their opening price, at 154,500 won. On the first day of trading, the company’s market capi

May 11, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower, tracking Wall Street decline

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday after the benchmark stock index closed at an all-time high the previous session, tracking a decline on Wall Street. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 17.05 points, or 0.52 percent, to 3,232.25 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stock prices declined as investors sold stocks to lock in gains. The stock index had advanced for the past four trading sessions until Monday amid eased tapering jitters on Wall Street. In Seoul, market

May 11, 2021

[Market Close-up] Korean brokerages in race to lure sleepless US stock traders

South Korea’s securities brokerage houses are in a heated race to attract retail stock investors with an interest in the US stock market, providing more cost-competitive services and enhancing those services with technology. Their services sweeten the deal for day traders here, who are increasingly fond of US stocks such as Tesla, Apple, Amazon.com, Alphabet, Nvidia and Microsoft, as the brokerages even buy and sell stocks overnight. With the start of daylight saving time in the US, regu

May 10, 2021

Moon admits failure of real estate policy

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday said that the government’s efforts for the past four years have fallen short of cooling down the heated real estate market. His remarks come after the government rolled out more than 20 sets of real estate regulations to rein in the overheated property market for the past years.　 “Real estate is one of the issues that I wish I had solved in the past four years,” said President Moon, in a media interview to mark his fourth year in

May 10, 2021

Kospi closes at fresh high of 3,249.30

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi set a fresh record at Monday’s closing, backed by foreign and institutional investors’ massive buying on eased inflation worries around the globe. The key stock index closed 1.63 percent higher at 3,249.30 points, breaking its previous record of 3,220.70 points from April 20. The Kospi got off to a solid start at 3,201.46 and soared to 3,255.90 at one point during Monday’s trading. It was the second time the index surpassed the 3,250-poin

May 10, 2021

Seoul stocks at all-time high on eased tapering jitters

South Korea's stock market closed at an all-time high Monday as weaker-than-expected US jobs data quelled concerns over the rollback of easing monetary policy and other stimulus measures. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) went up 52.1 points, or 1.63 percent, to close at 3,249.3 points. The previous record closing was 3,208.99 points on April 20. Trading volume was moderate at about 996 million shares worth some 16.9 trillion won

May 10, 2021

Banks’ association raises red flag over growing altcoin influence

South Korea’s bank association has recently advised its members to count the number of altcoins in order to gauge the trading capacity of an exchange, in an apparent move to reduce exposure to risks the minor cryptocurrencies are witnessing, industry sources said Monday. “One of the criteria that we recommend is the safety of digital assets and that can be measured by the number of digital coins on an exchange. If an exchange deals with too many digital assets, it takes on more risk

May 10, 2021

SC Bank Korea launches digital wealth management platform

Standard Chartered Bank Korea said Monday it had launched a new digital platform within its mobile banking application to provide wealth management information, targeting the under-40s.  Branded as Wealth Care Lounge, the app-based information channel introduces recent investment trends, money management tips, advice from experts on financial planning and information regarding upcoming finance webinars.  The bank also set up its own KakaoTalk Channel as well as webpage on Naver Pos

May 10, 2021

Resumed short selling’s impact ‘limited’

The partial reactivation of short selling in South Korea, which kicked off last week, weakened investor sentiment among day traders, but the overall impact on the market was limited, according to industry sources on Monday.  The key stock index maintained its upward trend. Short selling is a trading tactic where investors immediately sell borrowed stocks on a bet that share prices will fall, allowing them to profit by later repurchasing the stocks and returning them to the lender. 

May 10, 2021

Jeju Beer, first Korean craft brewer to go public

The Jeju Beer Company, based on the southern resort island of Jeju in South Korea, said Monday that it plans to become the first local craft brewer to go public. Its planned market debut on the nation’s tech-heavy Kosdaq this month is set to raise 24.2 billion won ($21.70 million) worth of fresh funds. The homegrown craft brewer seeks to issue some 8.36 million shares in a price band of 2,600-2,900 won, with Daishin Securities as the lead underwriter. “Taking the Kosdaq listing as

May 10, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on strong bio, chemical shares

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on strong advances by bio and chemical shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23.87 points, or 0.75 percent, to 3,221.07 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a solid start after increasing in the past three sessions. Investor sentiment remained high despite increased valuation pressure as disappointing US jobs data eased concerns about earlier-than-expected inflation. Top cap Samsung Electronics

May 10, 2021