Mirae Asset Daewoo to buy back stocks worth W113.4b

South Korean brokerage firm Mirae Asset Daewoo said Thursday it plans to repurchase 15 million treasury stocks worth 113.4 billion won ($94.84 million) in an effort to boost shareholder value and stabilize its shares. “Despite the well-balanced profit model and financial stability, the firm’s stock prices are undervalued,” said Jun Kyong-nam, head of business innovation division at Mirae Asset Daewoo. “With the company’s ample liquidity, we’ve made such a

July 30, 2020

Kospi briefly touches record high for 2020 on foreign buying spree

South Korea’s main bourse Kospi reached a level not seen in some six months on Thursday, with foreign investors continuing their buying spree for a fifth consecutive session amid the US Federal Reserve’s steady rates and high interest in major tech firms and automakers. The Kospi opened higher at 2,275.33 -- up 12.17 points, or 0.54 percent, from the previous session. The strong start continued throughout the day to close at 2,267.01, just short of its yearly high closing of 2,267.

July 30, 2020

Seoul stocks hit 6-month high on tech firms, automakers

South Korean shares closed at the highest point in six months Thursday on the back of foreign buying that centered on major tech firms and automakers. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 3.85 points, or 0.17 percent, to close at 2,267.01, extending a winning streak to a fourth session after touching this year's high of 2,281.33 points. The closing marks the highest level since 2,267.25 on Jan. 22. Trading volume was high at

July 30, 2020

VCs mull exit plans as market recovers from pandemic impact

South Korea’s venture capital houses are actively seeking exit plans from their startup investments as promising firms are gearing up for initial public offerings following the stock market recovery, according to market watchers Thursday. One of the VCs that already did so was Company K Partners, which cashed out part of its investment in Wipam, the nation’s only power amplifier module manufacturer for smartphones, through a July IPO before making its market debut Friday. The value

July 30, 2020

Mastern cheers health care workers

Mastern Investment Management said Thursday it has sent a message of support from its staff to health care professionals, health authorities and citizens in the battle against the novel coronavirus. Employees of the South Korean real estate investment house, including CEO Kim Dae-hyeong, took part in a campaign at its headquarters to express gratitude to those at the forefront of the strenuous battle. “I was delighted to participate in such a meaningful campaign and contribute to overco

July 30, 2020

FSC to tighten regulation on ELS issuance

In an effort to lower consumer risks caused by the overheated equity-linked securities market, South Korea’s financial regulator said Thursday it will impose tighter regulations on leverage ratio of brokerages, which would lead to a decline in overall issuance here. ELS refers to hybrid debt instruments structured to track the performance of underlying equities, including the Kospi 200 Index. Total ELS issuances here surpassed 100 trillion won ($83.7 billion) as of this year, attracting

July 30, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on tech gains, weak dollar

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday, led by the estimate-beating earnings of top-cap Samsung Electronics and the weak US dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.05 points, or 0.62 percent, to 2,277.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Samsung Electronics' better-than-expected quarterly earnings led the KOSPI's gain. The world's largest memory chipmaker's operating profit in April-June grew 23.5 percent on-year, beating the market consen

July 30, 2020

Woori, KT join hands to upgrade ‘untact’ financial services

Woori Financial Group said Wednesday that it plans to collaborate with telecom giant KT to upgrade its contactless retail services. The partnership followed an agreement signed last month by Woori Financial Group CEO Sohn Tae-seung and KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo, who pledged to strategically deal with market changes triggered by COVID-19. The companies will develop artificial intelligence-powered chatbots for untact -- non-face-to-face contact -- services. With the advanced customer service technol

July 29, 2020

Seoul’s old, small-sized apartment prices spike amid market bubble

Notwithstanding the Moon Jae-in administration’s efforts to cool down the real estate market, ordinary homeseekers are feeling overwhelmed by escalating prices in Seoul, industry data showed Wednesday. The consumer sentiment for housing prices this month hit the second-highest level, prolonging an uptrend for two months straight. According to the monthly housing price trend report compiled by KB Kookmin Bank, the average price of small-sized apartments in Seoul came to 413.8 million wo

July 29, 2020

Seoul stocks up for 3rd session on strong Samsung performance, foreign buying

South Korean stocks closed higher Wednesday for a third consecutive session as top cap Samsung continued to build up gains aided by foreign buying. The Korean won strengthened against the US greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.27 points, or 0.27 percent, to close at 2,263.16. Trading volume was high at about 885 million shares worth some 15.3 trillion won ($12.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 427 to 396. Foreigners purchased a net 292 billion

July 29, 2020

Regulators apologize for hedge fund fiasco

South Korea’s top financial authorities on Wednesday pledged to investigate all private equity fund operators over the next three years, apologizing for causing public concerns over the snowballing hedge fund fiasco.  “The recent fiasco is due to some irresponsible fund operators and lax oversight of the financial market,” said Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Yoon Suk-heun at a parliamentary briefing.  “In August, the FSS will embark on a large-scale pro

July 29, 2020

Samsung stocks back to pre-COVID prices as foreigners return

Samsung Electronics shares bounced back to 60,000 won ($50.30) in nearly five months on Wednesday, with mounting interest of foreign investors for the fourth consecutive session. The stock price of market bellwether closed at 59,000 won -- up 400 won, or 0.68 percent, from the previous session’s close. The price hit an intraday high of 60,400 won in early morning trading. It was the first time that shares of South Korea’s leading tech giant exceeded 60,000 won during a trading s

July 29, 2020

Seoul stocks open nearly flat on Wall Street losses

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Wednesday, tracking overnight Wall Street losses. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.55 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,258.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment turned risk-averse, largely on the COVID-19's impact on the global behemoths' earnings, such as 3M and McDonald's. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.77 percent to 26,379.28, with the Nasdaq Composite falling 1.27 percent. S&P 500 lost 0.65 per

July 29, 2020

Virus, fund misselling shake up list of Korea’s top banking groups

The coronavirus pandemic and the recent fund misspelling fiasco have reversed South Korea’s list of top financial groups, propelling those who dodged bullets to the top with better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, data showed Tuesday. Of the major institutions that have disclosed their second-quarter earnings, Woori Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group -- which their flagship lender and brokerage units were accused of misselling either derivatives-linked funds or now-frozen

July 28, 2020

S. Korean stocks rally on stimulus hopes, foreign buying at 7-year high

South Korean stocks rallied by almost 2 percent Tuesday on the back of massive foreign buying with techs and market heavyweights leading the market gain. The Korean won slightly fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 39.13 points, or 1.76 percent, to close at 2,256.99. Trading volume was high at about 851 million shares worth some 17.2 trillion won ($14.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 495 to 344. The market continued a bullish r

July 28, 2020

K bank eyes IPO in 3 years with new funding

South Korea’s first internet-only bank K bank plans to go public in three years, according to industry sources Tuesday. The company recently raised new funds worth some 400 billion won ($334.5 million) by issuing new stocks and convertible preferred stocks with its capital increasing to 900 billion won. “Although the firm’s capital has grown with the new fundraising, it would need additional funds to bring operations back on track,” said a company official. “

July 28, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Crypto-based fintech firms will emerge amid COVID-19 pandemic’

Despite the economic impact of the new coronavirus outbreak in South Korea, the fintech industry is bustling as it has been relatively unaffected. The nation’s gross domestic product in the second quarter fell 3.3 percent from the previous quarter, the biggest drop since the Asian financial crisis in late 1990s. Riding the wave, the fintech industry combined with blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies will also gain momentum, according to a seasoned crypto consultant. “Som

July 28, 2020

Local crypto firm combines health care with digital coin

A diet store may not appear to have anything in common with cryptocurrencies on the surface. For Cryptocurrency Rebalancing CEO Baek Chun-soo, however, it means the expansion of his coin investment business. The Gaindiet Shop is a new business that CEO Baek has just launched,which he plans to link with the digital coin technology. He plans to make coin-based payments available at the shop, which he aims to set up across the Korean market. The shop is designed to offer diet programs based on h

July 28, 2020

Stock transactions driven by retail investors jump in H1

Stock trading transactions on mobile platform Stockplus more than doubled in the first half of the year, mainly due to retail investors, platform operator Dunamu said Tuesday. The transaction volume between in the January-June period rose 117.5 percent on-year, with the accumulated transactions exceeding 100 trillion won ($83.9 billion). The transaction volume reached 24.4 trillion won in the six months, surging from 11.2 trillion won in the same period last year. The figure is even higher t

July 28, 2020

Gold prices soar to all-time high

Gold prices surged to a record high on Tuesday, as investors sought to park their money in safer destinations amid the continued spread of coronavirus and renewed US-China tensions. According to the Korea Exchange Gold Market, the price stood at 80,100 won ($66.70) per gram at the closing, jumping 2,640 won, or 3.41 percent, from the previous session. Gold prices rose for a fifth consecutive session. The price hit an intraday high of 82,970 won in early morning trading, the highest figure si

July 28, 2020