BNP Paribas moves to defend partnership with Shinhan Financial Group

Shinhan Financial Group said Monday that minority shareholder BNP Paribas has bought a stake worth an undisclosed amount in the South Korean banking group by securing the minimum threshold to keep the strategic partnership intact after a scheduled equity increase. According to Shinhan, BNP Paribas is set to defend the partnership even after the 1.2 trillion won ($1 billion) equity increase by inviting new shareholders -- Affinity Equity Partners and Baring Private Equity Asia -- on Oct. 20.

Oct. 12, 2020

Lawmakers call for stricter taxation rules on foreign firms, rich asset holders

Among foreign-based companies operating in South Korea, almost half defaulted on their corporate tax payments last year, with two of them logging more than 5 trillion won ($4.36 billion) in annual sales, a ruling party lawmaker said Monday. According to data submitted by the National Tax Service to Rep. Kim Soo-heung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, 46.6 percent or 4,956 out of the 10,630 registered foreign companies here did not pay corporate taxes at all in 2019. The figure was up

Oct. 12, 2020

Sale prices of upscale Seoul apartments surge amid tightened rules

Despite the South Korean government’s all-out efforts to curb the heated property market, apartment prices in Seoul have been soaring recently, with some in upscale residential areas even hitting a record sales prices last month. According to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, a Hannam The Hill apartment unit in Hannam-dong, Yonsan-gu, was recently sold for 7.75 billion won ($6.8 million). The housing unit with a usable floor area of 243.642 square meter

Oct. 12, 2020

Seoul stocks up for 8th day on eased virus curbs, tech gains

South Korean shares extended gains for an eighth consecutive session Monday on the back of strong advances by chipmakers and the government's decision to loosen quarantine measures against the new coronavirus pandemic. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 11.77 points, or 0.49 percent, to close at 2,403.73. Trading volume was moderate at about 832 million shares worth some 10.5 trillion won ($9.2 billion), with gainers outnumbe

Oct. 12, 2020

SC Bank Korea to host webinar on ESG investment

Standard Chartered Bank Korea said Monday it planned to host a webinar on environmental, social and governance investment on Thursday as such standards become more prominent in the coronavirus pandemic era. The event, co-hosted by a local youth civic group Green Environment Youth Korea, will discuss the subject of climate change along with sustainable financial investment for millennials, among other subjects. Standard Chartered Group CEO Bill Winters, who recently wrapped-up a monthlong tr

Oct. 12, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on eased virus curbs

South Korean shares opened higher Monday, as the country loosened its antivirus curbs. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.51 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,399.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The local stock market got off to a strong start, as the country lowered the COVID-19 social distancing guidelines to the lowest level Sunday, raising hopes that the eased virus curbs will boost the economic recovery. Large caps traded mixed. Market bellwether Samsung

Oct. 12, 2020

KB, K-Growth to select partners for social impact investing

KB Financial Group and the Korea Growth Investment Corp. said Sunday that they would select two external partners to establish funds worth at least 30 billion won ($26 million) as part of their five-year social impact investing initiative. KB Financial Group will commit 15 billion won to the two external partners combined, and K-Growth will provide 5 billion won. The selected partners will pool at least 10 billion won to create the funds by the first half of 2021, according to K-Growth’s

Oct. 11, 2020

Kakao Bank's mid-rate lending total surpasses W2tr

Kakao Bank, South Korea’s leading internet-only bank and an affiliate of mobile platform operator Kakao, has supplied more than 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) in accumulated mid-range interest rate loans, officials said Sunday. The company has also already achieved its annual target of 1 trillion won and has vowed to sustain its mid-rate lending throughout the rest of the year in a gesture to provide liquidity to people with weak credit ratings. Kakao Bank’s mid-range lending so far

Oct. 11, 2020

Fund scam to take center stage in Assembly's financial audit

Tension is escalating at financial institutions as the National Assembly begins two weeks of auditing on financial bodies, focusing on a private equity fund scam and the government’s “Korean New Deal” program. This year, the inspected organizations are especially weighed down by advance paperwork, as only a limited number of people are allowed in the audit hall, as par of anti-coronavirus social distancing rules. The National Policy Committee of the National Assembly will

Oct. 11, 2020

Tencent-backed Maoyan divests W22b YG Entertainment stake

Tencent-backed online movie ticket booking platform Maoyan Entertainment has unloaded its stake in YG Entertainment worth a combined 22.1 billion won ($19.2 million) since August, disclosures showed Sunday. The selloff reduced the Chinese company’s control over South Korea‘s major entertainment powerhouse -- home to K-pop groups Big Bang, Blackpink and the newly-debuted Treasure -- to 5.78 percent, from the previous 8.09 percent. In September alone, Maoyan divested a combine

Oct. 11, 2020

No. of fitness centers soar in 10 years: data

The number of fitness centers in South Korea has soared in recent years, reflecting the rising demand for fitness and leisure activities in the midst of the work-life balance culture triggered by the government’s 52-hour workweek cap, an industry report showed Sunday. According to KB Financial Group’s report on self-employed workers here, nearly 9,900 fitness centers are in operation nationwide as of July, increasing 53 percent during the last 10 years. Of them, 1,109 opened last

Oct. 11, 2020

Corporate retirement pension funds’ poor returns draw flak

Corporate retirement pension funds managed by South Korea’s major commercial banks posted poor returns in the first half of the year, data showed Thursday. Low yields have also drawn criticism from a lawmaker here, who called for swift adoption of improvement measures in operating such funds. 　 Retirement pension funds managed by top commercial lenders saw their yield rates hover at 1.69 percent on average, according to the state regulator Financial Supervisory Service’s data acqui

Oct. 9, 2020

Race for leadership heats up in local credit card market

Runners-up in the local credit card sector increased their market shares in the April-June period, upping the ante against South Korea’s largest card issuer, Shinhan Card, data showed Thursday. Overall sales from personal and corporate credit cards issued by the nation’s seven leading credit card companies, including Samsung Card, KB Kookmin Card and Hyundai Card, came in at 140.3 trillion won ($121.2 billion) in the second half, according to the state regulator, the Financial Supe

Oct. 9, 2020

Finance minister considers easing ‘large shareholder’ standards

Amid fierce backlash from retail investors on the Korean government’s major shareholder standards, the Finance Ministry is currently mulling to alter its plan to define retail investors with shares worth 300 million won ($260,000) as large shareholders. “The financial authority is considering to charge stock transfer taxes based on the value of stocks held by each individual, not on the aggregated holdings of households,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Na

Oct. 8, 2020

Seoul stocks up for 7th day on US stimulus hopes

South Korean stocks extended their winning streak to seven straight sessions Thursday, thanks to the massive foreign buying that stemmed from US stimulus hopes. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.02 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 2,391.96. Trading volume was moderate at about 939 million shares worth some 12.2 trillion won ($10.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 510 to 300. Foreigners bought a net 756 billi

Oct. 8, 2020

IFC hosts online workshop to discuss APAC infrastructure opportunities

International Finance Corp., a global development institution, said on Wednesday it hosted a virtual workshop targeting Korean infrastructure developers and investors to allow them to identify new opportunities post-COVID-19. IFC officials discussed the upsides and challenges of public-private partnership projects in Southeast and Central Asia and highlighted the role of IFC to turn the PPP projects into more bankable ones, according to IFC. Speakers also focused on environmental and social ri

Oct. 8, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street rallies

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, taking a cue from U.S. stock rallies over stimulus hopes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 12.88 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,399.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local stocks got off to a strong start, bolstered by optimistic signals by US House speaker Nancy Pelosi over an airline-relief bill in talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Investor appetite for risk also hiked on the back of the Federal Open

Oct. 8, 2020

Former Lime Asset executive gets 5-year prison term in fund scam case

A former executive of Lime Asset Management, a scandal-ridden hedge fund based in Seoul, was sentenced to five years in prison by a local court on Wednesday for illegally investing about 20 billion won ($17.3 million). The Seoul Southern District Court convicted the former Lime executive, surnamed Kim, who served as head of the fund's alternative investment division, of breach of trust and other crimes and handed down the five-year prison term and a fine of 3.5 billion won. Kim was arrested in

Oct. 7, 2020

KB Securities, NCSoft, December & Co. join hands for AI-based securities services

Brokerage firm KB Securities and gaming company NCSoft have recently joined forces with December & Company, an asset management company offering customized services, to provide stock trading services using artificial intelligence technology, according to the companies on Wednesday. Under the partnership, KB and NCSoft will invest 30 billion won ($25.9 million) each to December for development of an AI-powered stock trading platform. December will use its asset management platform Fint, an

Oct. 7, 2020

CEOs of 3 brokerage firms informed of disciplinary action over Lime fiasco

South Korea’s financial watchdog has informed top executives at three securities firms of its plan to impose disciplinary action over the misselling scandal involving Lime Asset Management, according to Financial Supervisory Service officials and industry sources Wednesday. The FSS gave prior notice to Shinhan Investment, KB Securities and Daishin Securities on Tuesday that they will be reprimanded for misleading consumers by providing them with inaccurate information about Lime’s

Oct. 7, 2020