Mirae Asset chairman stresses innovation

Park Hyun-joo, chairman and founder of South Korea’s Mirae Asset Group, on Thursday urged analysts to explore innovative companies, stressing shifting investment strategies focusing on the growth potential of companies rather than assessment of the manufacturing value chain. At an online investment strategy meeting, Park referred to unexpected innovations that could have a significant impact on the market, saying that the markets are transitioning from a focus on the value chain to innova

Jan. 14, 2021

Nexon's holding company invests $16m in Elon Musk's SpaceX

NXC, the holding company of South Korea’s largest game developer Nexon, has invested $16 million in SpaceX, the aerospace company run by electric carmaker Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the company said Thursday. “NXC invested $16 million in SpaceX’s fundraising round in August, in which the spaceflight company issued convertible preferred stocks,” said an NXC official, declining to comment on details of the deal. SpaceX is said to have issued preferred stocks at the time to ra

Jan. 14, 2021

Rise of retail investors pushes stocks, mitigates 'Korea discount': experts

The South Korean stock benchmark surpassing the 3,000-point mark last week highlighted the rise of retail investors, which mitigated a series of negative factors that had left the local stock market undervalued, market experts and leaders of financial companies said Thursday. They were referring to the massive capital injected by individual investors who have pushed up the market index, saying it has helped mitigate the so-called “Korea discount,” which refers to the undervaluing of

Jan. 14, 2021

IT, bio lead Korean IPO market: KRX

South Korea’s IPO market has seen a shift in its driving force with information technology and biopharma companies taking the lead, replacing manufacturing and finance firms in recent years, a report showed Thursday. According to the report released by the Korea Exchange, initial public offerings of companies delivering IT and communication services topped the list of industries, accounting for 22.8 percent of all market debuts made on the nation’s main bourse after its benchmark Ko

Jan. 14, 2021

Seoul stocks end almost flat amid valuation pressure

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Thursday as investors cashed in gains from large-cap chip and auto stocks amid valuation pressure in sectors such as chipmaking and automaking. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.64 points, or 0.05 percent, to 3,149.93. Trading volume was high at about 1.2 billion shares worth around 23.8 trillion won ($21.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 518 to 320. Foreigners scooped up

Jan. 14, 2021

Virus, scandals slow Korean private fund growth

The coronavirus pandemic and a series of hedge fund turmoils last year have impeded the growth of private funds managed by asset management companies in South Korea, data showed Thursday. According to data by the Korea Financial Investment Association, the combined assets managed by Korea-domiciled private funds grew 5.7 percent to 438.7 trillion won ($398.4 billion) in 2020, far lower than their 2019 growth which stood at 23.5 percent. Between 2014 and 2019, the funds grew 18.8 percent annual

Jan. 14, 2021

S. Korea to obligate listed firms to disclose ESG data from 2025

  South Korea’s financial authorities on Thursday unveiled a comprehensive policy framework that obligates listed firms to disclose corporate information on investment activities related to environmental, social and governance standards, so-called ESG, in phases. Under the envisioned scheme jointly released by the policymaking Financial Services Commission, the market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service and the country’s sole bourse operator Korea Exchange, companies liste

Jan. 14, 2021

Seoul stocks open nearly flat amid valuation pressure

South Korean stocks opened almost flat Thursday on increased valuation pressure after the key index closed at a near all-time high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.27 points, or 0.07 percent, to 3,150.56 in the first 20 minutes of trading. The main index started on a muted tone as foreigners and institutions are set to lock in gains after the key index's recent bullish run. Most large caps in Seoul traded mixed. Market bellwether Samsung El

Jan. 14, 2021

Retail investors' funds soar amid stock market rally

Retail investors' stock-related funds have risen by nearly 20 trillion ($18.2 billion) this year on the back of a surging stock market, industry data showed Thursday. Individuals' stock funds increased by 19.6 trillion won for eight sessions from Jan. 4-13, amounting to nearly 20 percent of last year's total. Those funds refer to money that retail investors use to buy stocks or deposit at securities companies to purchase shares. Over the cited period, individuals bought 10.8 trillion won wort

Jan. 14, 2021

Moon to invest W50m in Korean New Deal funds: Cheong Wa Dae

President Moon Jae-in will invest a total of 50 million won ($45,600) into new major funds intended to support the government's Korean-version New Deal project, his office said Wednesday. The president plans to sign up on Friday for five funds to be operated by as many local asset managers, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. Moon will use profits from his investment in a separate fund that was created in 2019 to foster South Korea's parts and materials production industry agai

Jan. 13, 2021

Netherlands-based brokerage to start business in S. Korea

South Korea‘s top financial regulator said Wednesday it has granted preliminary approval for Netherlands-based brokerage house IMC to operate its financial investment and brokerage business in the country.  The move came after the Dutch firm had requested the Financial Services Commission’s approval in June last year. The brokerage obtained the authority‘s final nod on the condition that its Seoul-based subsidiary serves as a market maker -- a member of an exchange comm

Jan. 13, 2021

Retail traders hold record-high deposits of W72tr: data

Retail investors’ deposits for stock investments reached a record 72.3 trillion won ($66 billion) as of Monday, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association, a self-regulatory organization for the financial sector, Wednesday. It is the first time that the outstanding deposits for stock investment crossed the 70 trillion won mark since related data started to be compiled in 1998. The outstanding balance, which came in at 67.5 trillion won last Friday, added a whopping 4.8 tril

Jan. 13, 2021

Seoul stocks snap two-day losing streak on investors' bottom-fishing

South Korean stocks snapped a two-session losing streak Wednesday as investors scooped up top caps that recently suffered heavy losses. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 22.34 points, or 0.71 percent, to 3,148.29. Trading volume was high at about 1.56 billion shares worth around 24 trillion won ($21.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 626 to 225. Retail investors purchased a net 171 billion won, while foreigners pi

Jan. 13, 2021

SoluM, LG Chem’s battery split-off eye IPOs

Amid continuous stock markets rallies and investors’ growing interest in initial public offerings, SoluM, a spin-off from Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and LG Energy Solution, a battery split-off from LG Chem, are eyeing market debuts. Electronic components maker SoluM is looking to raise as much as 99.2 billion won ($90.60 million) from its IPO early next month, becoming the first firm to be listed on the nation’s benchmark Kospi this year, its chief executive officer said Wednesday

Jan. 13, 2021

NPS vows to beef up overseas investment through reshuffle

South Korea‘s public pension scheme, the National Pension Service, pledged Wednesday to add resilience to its capital deployment to overseas assets through a structural reorganization. Through the reshuffle, the NPS Investment Management will split its global public market division in two -- with one part dedicated to investing in foreign stocks and another in foreign fixed-income products. The move will allow the NPSIM to increase the in-house investment of foreign listed stocks and its

Jan. 13, 2021

S. Korea's money supply growth quickens in November

South Korea's money supply continued to grow quickly in November last year, as loans to households and firms increased amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's M2 stood at 3,178.4 trillion won ($2.9 trillion) as of end-November, up 0.9 percent, or 27.9 trillion won, from October, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, M2 surged 9.7 percent, the BOK said. A key economic indicator closely monitored by authorities, M

Jan. 13, 2021

Banks expected to tighten grip on loans in Q1 amid pandemic: poll

Banks in South Korea are expected to tighten their lending to households and the small business sector in the first quarter of this year, as credit risks will remain high amid the pandemic, a central bank poll showed Wednesday. The Bank of Korea's index measuring the banks' attitude toward fresh loans came to minus 8 for the first quarter. The lower the reading, the more likely banks will tighten their restrictions on lending. A reading below zero means that the number of lenders that will res

Jan. 13, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on investors' bottom-fishing

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, as investors went bottom-fishing for certain large caps that suffered large losses during the key index's two-day slump from an institutional selling spree. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 15.32 points, or 0.49 percent, to 3,141.27 in the first 20 minutes of trading. The gain was largely led by chemical and tech top caps, as institutions and individuals bought on expectations of improved performance. Investor sentiment also imp

Jan. 13, 2021

‘No assistance to SsangYong Motor if labor dispute unresolved’

Policy lender Korea Development Bank Chairman Lee Dong-gull said Tuesday that SsangYong Motor’s fate on getting financial assistance depends on its promise of stopping labor disputes until the cash-strapped company marks a turnaround. “We’ve seen many debt-ridden companies face strikes every year during annual negotiations between the labor union and management. To get rid of internal discord, the one-year group agreement needs to be extended to 3 years,” he said at the

Jan. 12, 2021

Retail investors unnerved by plan to lift ban on short-selling

Concerns over the government‘s announcement that it would end a temporary ban on short-selling rose among retail investors Tuesday, as they claim that the reactivation of such trading practice could create market disruptions. The Financial Services Commissions said it would end the prohibition on the trading strategy that makes a negative bets on stocks on March 15, as planned. The ban was imposed to prevent market volatility in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic in March last year for

Jan. 12, 2021