Banks, brokerages to return principals to investors in fund misselling scandal

Banks and brokerages that handled fund products by a local asset manager said Thursday they will return the principals on investments made by consumers, in line with the advisory issued by the country's financial regulator. Hana Bank, Woori Bank, Mirae Asset Daewoo Co. and Shinhan Investment Corp. said their boards accepted calls to provide full refunds in regard to the misselling scandal centered on Lime Asset Management Co. The dispute settlement board at the Financial Supervisory Service c

Aug. 27, 2020

S. Korea to extend short-selling ban until March

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Thursday its temporary ban on short-selling activities of all listed Korean shares will be extended to March 2021, immediately after the current six-month restriction expires in September. The Financial Services Commission’s decision is meant to keep the stock market volatility at bay as the impact of the coronavirus still persists across the nation. The decision was made as FSC collected written agreements from its commissioners after the

Aug. 27, 2020

NH Investment to repay Optimus investors in advance

NH Investment & Securities, a brokerage unit of South Korea’s NongHyup Financial Group, decided Thursday to offer up to 70 percent of funds invested in now-frozen Optimus Asset Management’s funds via the firm. Stressing its ethical, not legal, responsibility as the seller of the troubled fund, the company said it would pay 30-70 percent of investment funds to retail and corporate investors in advance. The payment is not a sort of compensation, but is designed to provide financi

Aug. 27, 2020

Seoul stocks snap 4-day winning streak on spiking virus cases

South Korean shares ended a four-session winning streak Thursday, as the daily new virus cases in the country spiked to a nearly six-month high. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 24.87 points, or 1.05 percent, to close at 2,344.45. Trading volume was high at about 898 million shares worth some 14.9 trillion won ($12.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 725 to 152. Foreigners sold a net 24 billion won, ending a four

Aug. 27, 2020

KB Financial’s acquisition of Prudential Life approved

KB Financial Group said Thursday that it has received approval from the Financial Services Commission to acquire Prudential Life Insurance of Korea. In April, the Korean financial giant inked a deal with Prudential to buy a 100 percent stake in the insurance company for some 2.3 trillion won ($1.94 billion). It is scheduled to pay for the acquisition by Monday. When the deal closes, the insurance firm will become the financial group’s 13th subsidiary. The takeover of the nation&rsquo

Aug. 27, 2020

Macquarie IM Korea names new CEO

Macquarie Investment Management has named Bastiaan Jeroen van Buuren as its new chief executive to oversee its Korean operation, a filing showed Thursday. The change of leadership has been effective since Aug. 18. Van Buuren replaced Lee Kyung-soo, who served for 16 months at the top post. Joining the Australian asset management house in 2018, van Buuren was head of Asia Distribution based in Hong Kong. He joined Macquarie IM Korea’s board in June 2020. Macquarie IM acquired ING Inve

Aug. 27, 2020

Kakao, Naver shares continue to surge amid prolonged virus battle

Shares of South Korea’s top mobile messenger operator Kakao and leading portal operator Naver continued their bullish run on the local stock market Thursday, on investors’ profit-taking drive from “untact” -- contactless -- sectors amid the spike in COVID-19 pandemic cases. Kakao’s stock price began trading at 392,000 won ($330.38), then rose by 18,500 won, or 4.72 percent, to close at 410,500 won. It once soared up to 413,000 won in later trading hours, jumping ab

Aug. 27, 2020

Shinhan BNP Paribas closes W690b private debt fund

Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management said Thursday it has raised a total of 690 billion won ($582 million) commitment to close its latest private debt fund, designed to offer nonbank loans to support mergers and acquisitions activities. Backers of the fund include its affiliates Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Life Insurance, under the umbrella of the nation’s largest Shinhan Financial Group. The Seoul-based asset management house’s new blind pool fund will extend loans to an acquirer by

Aug. 27, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday due to an overnight tech rally on Wall Street, despite concerns over the rising new COVID-19 cases in the country. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 32.36 points, or 1.42 percent, to 2,306.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks traded choppy as a recent spike in South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases sparked concerns of a lockdown. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.73 percent to close at 11,665.06 points on Wednesday (

Aug. 27, 2020

KB Kookmin expands presence in Indonesia with acquisition of local lender

South Korea’s largest commercial lender KB Kookmin Bank said Wednesday it is now in the final stage of acquiring Indonesia-based Bank Bukopin. The Seoul-headquartered bank said its shareholders have approved its purchase of 33.1 percent of new shares in Bank Bukopin. The latest deal came after the Korean bank bought a 22 percent stake in the Indonesian firm in 2018 and an additional 11.9 percent in July. KB Kookmin said it has paid a combined 400 billion won ($337.1 million) over the pas

Aug. 26, 2020

Finance groups pledge multitrillion won investment for 'New Deal' projects

South Korea’s major banking groups have recently outlined long-term plans for multitrillion won investments in “green” and “digital” projects -- the two key pillars of the “Korean New Deal.” Staying true to its identity, agricultural NH NongHyup Bank said Wednesday that it would commit 8 trillion won ($6.7 billion) over five years to support new energy projects and loans for smart farms, which would enable greater use of information and communication te

Aug. 26, 2020

Koscom acquires HSBC-owned IT asset management business

South Korean firm Koscom disclosed Wednesday that it plans to acquire HSBC Fund Services Korea, to dive into the asset management sector. After a year of preparation for the takeover, the company has signed an agreement with the United Kingdom-based HSBC to acquire a 92.66 percent stake in the fund administration services firm. The latest deal marks the first acquisition project for the Korean company since it was founded in September 1977. Koscom seeks to expand its business into the IT as

Aug. 26, 2020

Hedge fund sells off stake in local builder Taeyoung E&C

South Korean hedge fund Must Asset Management is moving to divest its stake in domestic builder Taeyoung Engineering & Construction, a month after it declared an end to its shareholder engagement, according to a disclosurce Wednesday. The news comes after yearlong efforts by Must to shake up the governance structure of Taeyoung E&C, which led to spinoffs of the builder’s businesses outside the construction sector. Since July 20, Must had offloaded a 4.61 percent stake in Taeyou

Aug. 26, 2020

Seoul stocks close nearly flat on virus resurgence

South Korean shares closed nearly flat on Wednesday, as investor sentiment was spooked by increasing new COVID-19 cases in the country. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 2.59 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 2,369.32. Trading volume was high at about 941 million shares worth some 14.3 trillion won ($12 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 522 to 324. Foreigners purchased a net 190 billion won, extending thei

Aug. 26, 2020

Kakao Games aims to raise up to W384b on stock market debut

Kakao Games, the gaming arm of local mobile messenger giant Kakao, said Wednesday it was looking to raise as much as 384 billion won ($298 million) in its initial public offering on the nation’s tech-heavy Kosdaq in September. The game developer is offering around 16 million new common shares in the price band of 20,000-24,000 won, CEO Namkoong Whon said in an online press conference. Targeting institutional investors, book building is to take place Wednesday and Thursday to determine t

Aug. 26, 2020

Seoul stocks open tad higher on Wall Street gains

  South Korean shares opened slightly higher Wednesday on overnight tech gains on Wall Street, despite concerns over the recent surge in new coronavirus outbreaks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 3.34 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,370.07 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks traded choppy after three-session gains, as investors weigh the pace of stock rally and the risk from the spreading COVID-19 cases. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 86.75 points, or 0.

Aug. 26, 2020

Homegrown walk-thru virus testing booth patented

South Korea’s patent office, the Korea Intellectual Property Office, said Tuesday that it has completed registration of the nation’s first patent for a booth that enables people to get tested for the new coronavirus quickly and with minimal risk to medical workers. The patent was filed in May by Kim Sang-il, chief director of H Plus Yangji Hospital, a medical center in Seoul, and the registration process was completed Aug. 24, according to the patent office. First deployed in the

Aug. 25, 2020

Seoul stocks up for 3rd session on vaccine hopes

South Korean shares extended gains to a third session on Friday, as optimism for new coronavirus vaccines fueled hopes of an economic rebound. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 36.9 points, or 1.58 percent, to close at 2,366.73. Trading volume was moderate at about 760 million shares worth some 13.4 trillion won ($11.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 783 to 95. Foreigners purchased a net 152 billion won, exte

Aug. 25, 2020

Asset management firms’ net profits soar 46% in Q2

The combined net profits of asset management firms in South Korea jumped 46 percent on-year during the April-June period this year amid the local stock market’s sharp rebound, data showed Tuesday. The net income of 10 companies here came to 145.8 billion won ($122.95 million) in the second quarter, according to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Contrary to the previous quarter, when only four asset management companies saw their net profits rising, all of the AMCs&rsq

Aug. 25, 2020

[M&A Weekly] Toshiba, Carlyle manage to exit failing Korean equity investment

Foreign investors in two Korean companies -- Unison and Yakjin Trading -- managed to sell their stakes earlier this week, but only at significant losses, disclosures showed Tuesday. The sale price was significantly lower than what the investors -- Japanese conglomerate Toshiba and US private equity firm Carlyle Group -- had paid at least seven years before to acquire the assets. Toshiba, the largest shareholder of wind turbine maker Unison, has agreed to sell a 13.9 percent stake, or 15.5 mil

Aug. 25, 2020