Seoul stocks open sharply lower on Wall Street plunge

South Korean shares opened sharply lower Wednesday, taking a cue from a drop in tech stocks on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 27.2 points, or 1.13 percent, to 2,374.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment worsened as key US stock indexes tumbled, with tech shares in particular falling deep. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite plummeted 465.44 points, or 4.11 percent, to 10,847.69 on Tuesday (New York time). The Dow Jones Industrial Av

Sept. 9, 2020

Kakao Games to debut on Kosdaq on Thursday

Kakao Games, the game developing unit of South Korean mobile giant Kakao, will debut on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market Thursday, the Korea Exchange said Tuesday. The company's public offering price is 24,000 won per share. It logged record-breaking IPO subscription early this month, far outperforming SK Biopharmacueticals, which went public in July. Subscription deposits for Kakao Games shares were estimated at 58.55 trillion won ($49.4 billion), almost double the 30.99 trillion won deposited fo

Sept. 8, 2020

CLSA derides Moon’s New Deal fund

A report by Hong Kong-based investment bank CLSA lashed out at President Moon Jae-in‘s Korean New Deal initiative and the 20 trillion-won ($16.8 billion) fund to finance the projects, claiming his scheme promotes moral hazard and is designed to win votes. In the report titled “Moon’s debut as a fund manager,” Paul Choi, head of Korea research at CLSA, addressed possible negative impacts due to the government’s fund scheme, such as the “blowing of a bubble&rd

Sept. 8, 2020

BOK to buy 5tr won worth of state bonds by end-year to stabilize market

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday it plans to buy state bonds worth 5 trillion won ($4.2 billion) directly from the market by the end of this year in a bid to stabilize the debt market. The move is aimed at tackling potential market jitters and easing a sharp rise in market rates in a preemptive manner as the government is expected to increase bond issuance, the BOK said in a statement. The government plans to sell more bonds to finance the fourth extra budget designed to cushion the fallo

Sept. 8, 2020

Seoul stocks surpass 2,400-level on European monetary easing hopes

South Korean shares gained for a second consecutive session on Tuesday as investors pin hopes on the possibility that the European Central Bank (ECB) may signal further easing moves in its upcoming monetary policy meeting. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.69 points, or 0.74 percent, to close at 2,401.91. Trading volume was high at about 966 million shares worth some 17 trillion won ($14.3 billion), with losers outnumberi

Sept. 8, 2020

Apartment prices in Seoul, elsewhere continue to soar

Despite the government’s claim that the housing market is stabilizing, apartment prices in Seoul increased in August from the previous month and the same was true for other cities across the nation, data showed Tuesday. The number of listings for “jeonse” rentals, which involve a large lump-sum deposit in lieu of monthly rent, and regular monthly rentals have dramatically decreased in recent weeks. Furthermore, landlords began raising rents before the government implemented

Sept. 8, 2020

Korean asset managers take heat from H2O fund freeze

Korean asset management houses are facing a ripple effect from London-based investor H2O Asset Management‘s decision to halt fund withdrawals for four weeks and to draw up measures to seek redress from the fund freeze, according to an announcement Tuesday. VI Asset Management and Kiwoom Asset Management, both based in Seoul, have their combined investment of 460 billion won ($387 million) suspended from the redemptions, as the asset managers had bought mutual funds managed by H2O through

Sept. 8, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on tech, bio gains

South Korean shares opened higher Tuesday, buoyed by tech and bio gains on the main bourse. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 16.84 points, or 0.71 percent, to 2,401.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index rose above the 2,400-point mark as chipmakers continued to gain despite lingering valuation pressure on tech shares in major economies. Large caps traded mixed in Seoul. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 1.59 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix ed

Sept. 8, 2020

Number of KakaoPay Securities subscribers reaches 2 million

KakaoPay Securities, the stock brokerage arm of mobile messenger giant Kakao, said Monday that it saw its number of subscribers exceed 2 million some six months after the firm’s official launch on Feb. 27. The number of stock trading accounts has been on an upward trend ever since -- 600,000 in March, 800,000 in April, 1.2 million in May, 1.4 million in June, and 1.7 million in July. The number of new accounts grew by 27.8 percent monthly.　 Monthly fund investments made via the brokerag

Sept. 7, 2020

[Herald Interview] TBT aims to link innovation-seeking conglomerates with startups

The coronavirus pandemic is pressing Korean conglomerates to seek innovation for growth. At the same time, a recent change in the nation’s law, allowing a chaebol with a holding company structure to own a venture capital house, is expected to add vigor to the startup ecosystem here. Before the revision, corporations turned to venture capital houses to indirectly invest in startups. The revision, however, still highlights the existing role for local venture capital houses -- to intervene

Sept. 7, 2020

Bio sector benefits most from K-New Deal Indexes

In line with the “Korean New Deal” economic stimulus package proposed by the administration of President Moon Jae-in, the nation’s sole bourse operator launched indexes on Monday that will be tracked by a 20 trillion won ($16.85 billion) “New Deal Fund.” On its first day, the bio index enjoyed a rally. The Korea Exchange announced the five stock indexes -- for secondary batteries, bio, internet and games, as well as a comprehensive index encompassing all four secto

Sept. 7, 2020

Seoul stocks rebound on Samsung, bio gains

South Korean shares rebounded Monday, led by an advance in top cap Samsung Electronics and some bio stocks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 15.97 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,384.22. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 16.9 trillion won ($14.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 641 to 224. Foreigners sold a net 247 billion won, while retail investors purchased a net 543 bil

Sept. 7, 2020

BOK to hold monetary policy meetings online if distancing hits Level 3

In continued efforts to combat the prolonged coronavirus outbreak, the Bank of Korea will reportedly operate its own video conferencing platform in mid-September and hold its monetary policy board meetings online if the current anti-virus steps are raised to the highest Level 3, officials said Monday.  “The BOK has decided to implement its own video conferencing system in all regional headquarters as early as in the middle of this month after completing system optimization process

Sept. 7, 2020

Seoul stocks open tad lower over new coronavirus concerns

South Korean shares opened slightly lower Monday on weak investor sentiment as the country's new coronavirus cases continue to stay at a three-digit figure. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.36 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,366.89 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index got off to a weak start, as investors take a wait-and-see mode over COVID-19 cases in the country. Late last week, South Korean authorities extended the enhanced social distancing scheme

Sept. 7, 2020

Localization, dividends to remain hurdles for Standard Chartered Korea CEO’s 3rd term

Standard Chartered Bank Korea’s incumbent CEO Park Jong-bok was recently reappointed for a third term, but the weight on his shoulders is likely to remain heavy over the lender’s localization and dividends. For Park, who will begin his third term Jan. 8, one major task is to find a balance between the lender’s identity as a foreign bank operating in South Korea amid rivalry with local banking groups. Though it is still officially called Standard Chartered Bank Korea, Park ch

Sept. 6, 2020

[Herald Interview] From organizing portfolios to educating heirs: Total wealth management for the superrich

Private banking and wealth management functions have long been deemed exclusive services for a limited range of customers, such as the owners of big corporations. But responding to the increasing population of high-net-worth asset holders -- such as entertainers, startup founders and people who inherit substantial sums -- local banks and brokerages have diversified their premium asset management functions. Samsung Securities, the brokerage arm of the Samsung conglomerate, was one of the leadi

Sept. 6, 2020

[Newsmaker] Big Hit CEO Bang Si-hyuk likely to hit jack pot with IPO

The scheduled initial offering of Big Hit Entertainment, the label behind K-pop boy band BTS, is likely to make its CEO Bang Si-hyuk one of the wealthiest people in South Korea The Big Hit CEO is currently holding 12,377,337 shares, or 43.44 percent, of the company, according to the recent regulatory filing for the IPO. The entertainment agency plans to offer 7.13 million shares at a price between 105,000 won ($88) and 135,000 won. Should the offering price be set at 135,000 won, Bang&rsq

Sept. 6, 2020

Some 40,000 retail traders come out empty-handed in Kakao Games IPO preorder

Although mobile game publisher Kakao Games’ initial public offering subscription last week was the talk of the town in South Korea, some retail investors who took part in the preorder session did not even receive a single share due to heated competition, according to news reports on Sunday. The gaming firm attracted a total of some 58.5 trillion won ($49.3 billion) from 417,000 people during its IPO subscription for retail investors, which took place Tuesday and Wednesday. The subscrip

Sept. 6, 2020

Hypermarkets sell, shut stores amid COVID-19 fallout

South Korea‘s hypermarket chain operators are working quickly to sell their discount stores to improve their balance sheet, as fallout from the coronavirus deepens and the domestic retail industry’s makes a shift to online. As of Friday, Homeplus has agreed to sell three discount stores to undisclosed real estate developers since July, with the proceeds of the sales also under wraps. One is located in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province and the other two are in Daejeon. At least one more dis

Sept. 4, 2020

Seoul stocks dip more than 1% on Wall Street plunge

The South Korean stock market dipped by more than 1 percent to snap a three-day winning streak on Friday as market heavyweights came under heavy selling pressure in line with a plunge on Wall Street. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 27.65 points, or 1.15 percent, to close at 2,368.25, after falling by 2.6 percent at one point. Trading volume was high at about 1.33 billion shares worth some 19.4 trillion won ($16.3 billion

Sept. 4, 2020