REIT investment grows amid tough regulations on housing market

Real estate investment trusts, which allow individuals to make indirect investment in properties, have gained traction recently from investors facing heavier regulations on home buying. The entire value of assets owned by REITs stood at 61.4 trillion won ($55 billion) in January, up 26.3 percent on-year from 48.6 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Thursday. The government has strengthened rules on mortgage loans, real estate tax, and redevelopme

Feb. 18, 2021

FSS warns investors of IPO launched by loss-making tech firms

The Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday warned retail investors to be cautious of initial public offerings launched by promising but still loss-making companies, stressing that short-term gains may not be achievable. “As the rules allow (loss-making) companies (but with growth potential) to launch an IPO, profits may not occur within a short period of time after listing,” the FSS said in a statement. As part of efforts to encourage budding companies to draw investment, t

Feb. 18, 2021

Woowa Brothers' founder joins super wealthy donation campaign

Kim Bong-jin, the founder and chairman of a local delivery app operator Woowa Brothers, on Thursday joined the bandwagon of rich, self-made South Koreans donating substantial amounts of their assets to society. Kim said he and his wife have joined The Giving Pledge, a global campaign of the world’s wealthiest people contributing a majority of their assets to philanthropic projects, and that they would donate a half of their wealth in their lifetimes, according to the company. The 45-ye

Feb. 18, 2021

Residents' foreign currency deposits fall in January

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea fell in January on a decline in corporate holdings of the US dollar deposits, central bank data showed Thursday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents amounted to $89.3 billion as of end-January, down $4.8 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The decline came as companies repaid their US dollar-denominated debts last month, the BOK said. Residents include local citiz

Feb. 18, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on US inflation concerns

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight tech losses on Wall Street that stemmed from inflation concerns. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.8 points, or 0.15 percent, to 3,128.93 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Foreign and institutional appetite for risk assets remained low after the KOSPI's 0.93 percent decline in the previous session. Overnight, the Nasdaq lost 0.58 percent as tech stocks, sensitive to high inflation, retreated

Feb. 18, 2021

Korean investors shudder as EHang plunges on short seller report

South Korean investors holding $550.3 million worth of shares in Chinese drone maker EHang Holdings appear to be left in disarray as the Nasdaq-listed firm’s stock price plummeted on a short seller report on Tuesday. EHang Holdings was the ninth-largest stock listed on the United States bourse to be in custody of the Korea Securities Depository until last week, according to the latest data by the KSD. It was also the seventh-most active US-listed stock this year, as Korean individuals a

Feb. 17, 2021

S. Korean sovereign wealth fund still has coal exposure, despite cut

South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund, managing $183.1 billion in assets, has cut its coal stock exposure in the United States, but its investment in coal-related US listed shares still stands larger compared with other sovereign wealth funds in the world. 　 The findings indicated that Korea Investment Corp. has room for more aggressive action to fight greenhouse gas threats posed by coal, and to perform its fiduciary duty to take environmental risks into account. According to its regulat

Feb. 17, 2021

Seoul stocks snap 3-day winning streak on foreign and institutional selling

The South Korean stock market ended its three-day winning streak Wednesday amid strong foreign and institutional selling that stemmed from concerns over a US yield hike. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 29.52 points, or 0.93 percent, to close at 3,133.73 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.8 billion shares worth some 16.6 trillion won ($15 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 422 to 417. Foreigners sold a

Feb. 17, 2021

Insurance firms’ performance in alternative investment under par

Although the insurance industry fared well overall last year in terms of profit amid the coronavirus pandemic, its performance in the foreign alternative investment segment was disappointing, according to data announced Wednesday. Mirae Asset Life Insurance saw its operating profit drop 17.7 percent on-year to 115.8 billion won ($104.56 million) in 2020, although it secured a market share of more than 50 percent in the variable insurance segment. Its profit fell as the value of its alternati

Feb. 17, 2021

Zero Pay mulls partnership with China’s UnionPay

Zero Pay, a mobile payment app developed by Seoul City, is considering a partnership with China’s financial platform UnionPay International, the company’s official said Wednesday. “We’re negotiating with UnionPay and other payment apps abroad but it is very early stage,” an official from Korea Easy Payment Foundation, which operates Zero Pay, said. “But it is our firm goal to expand our network beyond Korea so that users can pay with our app overseas,&rdqu

Feb. 17, 2021

Mr. Pizza operator’s stock trading suspended again

Shares of MP Group, the South Korean company that controls pizza restaurant franchise Mr. Pizza and coffee chain Manoffin, have been suspended from trading, nearly two months after resuming transactions on the nation’s secondary bourse. The Korea Exchange’s Kosdaq Market Committee decided Wednesday to halt trading of MP Group shares as the firm has been suffering operating losses for six consecutive years. The decision came to “protect investors from a possible delisting,&rdqu

Feb. 17, 2021

Seoul stocks open steeply lower on tech, auto losses

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Wednesday amid strong institutional and foreign selling, led by tech and auto losses. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 27.65 points, or 0.87 percent, to 3,135.6 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came off to a lackluster start as the KOSPI's three-day gain increased valuation pressure, in addition to the yield hike concerns on Wall Street. Top cap Samsung Electronics lost 1.41 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix she

Feb. 17, 2021

Major asset managers log 44% jump in 2020 earnings

Major asset management companies in South Korea saw their earnings soar more than 40 percent in 2020 amid a bullish stock market, data showed Wednesday. The combined net income of the country's 10 leading asset managers came to 381.6 billion won ($346 million) last year, up 44 percent from a year earlier, according to their annual earnings reports. Their total operating income stood at 422.5 billion won, up 10.7 percent from the previous year. The figure doesn't include earnings of Kiwoom Ass

Feb. 17, 2021

Banking group heads ‘agree’ to extend loan deferment for small biz

Heads of five major banking groups here on Tuesday agreed to extend their joint loan deferment program for local businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic for another six months at an exclusive meeting with Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo. “The chiefs of the banking groups agreed to extend the program for another six months,” Eun told the press following a roundtable meeting held with the group executives at the Korea Federation of Banks headquarters in central Se

Feb. 16, 2021

Hana Financial chief, a year before retirement, seeks 4th term

The incumbent chairman of Hana Financial Group is seeking a fourth term, which would make him, if elected, the longest-serving chief of a financial institution in South Korean history. Hana Financial Group on Monday evening confirmed the nomination of four candidates for the group’s top post, including Chairman Kim Jung-tai, who has been at the helm of the group since 2012. 　 Kim publicly said last year that he wouldn’t be reluctant to give up the chairmanship. But Kim being sho

Feb. 16, 2021

KDB, Environment Ministry to develop framework to foil greenwashing

The state-run lender Korea Development Bank said Tuesday it was working with the Ministry of Environment to foster a standardized framework for its green bond issuance in a bid to cut greenhouse gas emissions.  KDB officials said the move will ensure that issuers, including KDB, will use the green bond proceeds for environmental purposes and prevent issuers from “greenwashing,” in which companies make green gestures without meaningfully improving their environmental impact. KD

Feb. 16, 2021

Seoul stocks up for 3rd day on extended foreign buying

South Korean stocks gained for a third consecutive session Tuesday, backed by signs of global economic rebound that increased foreigners' appetite for risky assets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 16.25 points, or 0.52 percent, to close at 3,163.25 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.9 billion shares worth some 16.9 trillion won ($15.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 474 to 367. Foreigners bought a n

Feb. 16, 2021

Security concerns arise over soaring digital currencies

As the prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies approach record highs, digital currency exchanges are reaping the benefits of increased traffic, but are simultaneously burdened with security concerns. Domestic crypto exchanges said Tuesday that they are ramping up alert levels amid an uptick in interest and the establishment of new laws. Earlier this month, the top two local digital currency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, suffered server shutdowns amid increased transactions. Bithumb&rsquo

Feb. 16, 2021

Viva Republica teams up with Samsung Life to expand mobile insurance platform

Fintech company Viva Republica said Tuesday that it will work with South Korean life insurance firm Samsung Life Insurance to advance its platform for insurance planners. Viva Republica, the operator of money transfer app Toss, launched insurance affiliate Toss Insurance in 2018, rolling out non-face-to-face insurance services. The company is also running Toss Insurance Partner, a platform to support insurance planners to handle customer services and manage insurance contracts. The support pla

Feb. 16, 2021

Market watchdog to tighten grip over illegal short selling

South Korea’s market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service on Tuesday vowed to toughen its supervision of illegal short selling this year to promote fair market competition. “We will ramp up inspections on illegal practices of short selling by strengthening the work capacity of our special investigative team in charge of detecting securities fraud,” the FSS said in its 2021 policy plan. The FSS has a team of in-house investigators focused on probing financial crime cases un

Feb. 16, 2021