Social casino gaming firm DoubleDown Interactive eyes $100m US IPO

South Korean social casino game developer and publisher DoubleDown Interactive is seeking to get listed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq bourse in the United States, according to its prospectus Wednesday. For its initial public offering, the Seoul-based company plans to issue 400,000 new common shares. Also up for subscriptions will be 360,000 existing shares, or 19.4 percent stake as of current, owned by STIC Investment. DoubleDown Interactive said the book building process to confirm the offered pri

June 3, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean shares opened sharply higher Wednesday, taking a cue from overnight Wall Street gains amid hopes of economic reopening and eased Sino-American political turmoil. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 32.86 points, or 1.57 percent, to 2,120.05 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 267.63 points, or 1.05 percent, to close at 25,742.65 on Tuesday (New York time). Such an advance followed reports of a reduction of frict

June 3, 2020

Shinhan BNP Paribas manages alternative portfolio for NHIS

Seoul-based Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management said Tuesday it has started to work as a fund manager for the National Health Insurance Service’s 1.4 trillion won ($1.14 billion) alternative investment for four years.  Shinhan BNP Paribas is one of the two lead fund managers, along with fellow Seoul-based investment house KB Asset Management. The two partners, selected in late April, will manage 700 billion won of assets each and choose more external partners to join their funds of

June 2, 2020

WeWork names real estate expert as Asia-Pacific director

Real estate expert Samit Chopra was named managing director of WeWork Pacific, it announced Tuesday. Chopra is tasked with overseeing markets of the space-as-a-service platform, including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Based in Singapore, Chopra will be responsible for WeWork Pacific’s profit and loss management, go-to-market strategy, sales leadership, growth and innovation and talent development, according to WeWork.

June 2, 2020

Seoul stocks up for 3rd day on recovery hopes

South Korean stocks rose by more than 1 percent Tuesday, extending a winning streak to a third consecutive session on hopes for economic reopening, despite uncertainties from the spreading protests against police violence in the United States. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 22.11 points, or 1.07 percent, to close at 2,087.19. Trading volume was heavy at about 985.1 million shares worth some 10.1 trillion won ($8.2 billion

June 2, 2020

Hanwha Asset bets on e-commerce, data, health care stocks amid coronavirus

Seoul-based Hanwha Asset Management said Tuesday it is betting on new growth opportunities of companies dedicated to e-commerce, data infrastructure and health care by creating a fund investing in such stocks at home and abroad. The strategy comes amid consumer concerns about face-to-face contact amid the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, which rather translates into higher demand for companies in such sectors, company officials said. The demand stems from changes in people’s lifestyle,

June 2, 2020

Laundry service startup Laundrygo snaps up W17b

South Korea’s same-day laundry service startup Laundrygo said Tuesday it had raised a 17 billion won ($13.9 million) series B round funding from multiple venture capital houses, amid growing demand for daily life services offered without physical contact in the pandemic era. New investors in the latest round include Korea Investment Partners, Aju IB Investment, KT Investment, Samsung Venture Investment, DS Asset Management. Existing investors Altos Ventures and Hana Ventures also joined

June 2, 2020

Hana execs join legal battle against penalties for derivatives-linked funds

Tension mounted Tuesday as executives of Hana Financial Group joined the legal battle against financial authorities for imposing penalties for misselling derivatives-linked funds. Jang Kyung-hoon, president of Hana Card as well as Park Se-gul, general manager of Hana Bank’s wealth management unit, have reportedly filed separate suits at a local administrative court to nullify the Financial Supervisory Service’s punitive measures.  In March, Hana Bank was slapped with 16.78 bi

June 2, 2020

ESG bond market to benefit from KRX’s fee-waiver

The stock market operator’s move to offer benefits to companies running socially conscious bonds is likely to add vitality to the environmental, social and governance-related bond market in South Korea, according to industry sources Tuesday. The Korea Exchange is slated to waive listing fees and yearly managing costs for the socially conscious bonds of local firms for three years from June 15. It will also open a website to provide investment details and disclosures of each bond on the s

June 2, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid investors' expectations for economic reopening in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 10.03 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,075.11 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The gains were mainly attributed to the optimism over the US post-lockdown economic reopening, bucking Sino-US political tensions over Beijing's passing of a new national security law for Hong Kong.

June 2, 2020

Seoul apartment prices in non-Gangnam areas rise upon mortgage ban

Despite the government’s tightened regulations to curb apartment prices in Seoul, the average rate has risen during the first five months this year, particularly in the middle-class districts, data showed Monday. The average apartment price in the city stood at 10.64 million won ($8,670) per square meter as of end-May, up 4.9 percent from December, according to real estate data tracker KB Kookmin Bank Liiv On. Areas considered less-wealthy, including Dongdaemun-gu and Seongbuk-gu, saw

June 1, 2020

BC Card’s QR code payment available at 7-Eleven

Card processing firm BC Card said Monday that its QR code payment system will be available at 7-Eleven convenience stores, operated by retail firm Korea Seven. Korea Seven, a subsidiary of retail giant Lotte Group, currently runs approximately 10,000 stores across the nation. With the new partnership, the card company now has five big names in the convenience store segment -- GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, EMart24 and Ministop -- as partners to nurture the mobile payment system, BC Paybooc QR Code. Af

June 1, 2020

Seoul stocks climb to near 3-month high on hopes of economic recovery

South Korean stocks closed sharply higher Monday on hopes of a quick economic recovery prompted by a government push for a third supplementary budget and eased concerns over tensions between the United States and China. The Korean won sharply rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 35.48 points, or 1.75 percent, to close at 2,065.08, the highest reading since March 5. Trading volume was moderate at about 982.5 million shares worth some 9.6 tri

June 1, 2020

SCM Lifescience lowers IPO price in second attempt

South Korea’s biotech firm SCM Lifescience said Monday it has decided to lower its initial public offering price range to attract more investors for its market debut this month on the Kosdaq. By issuing 1.8 million new common shares, each at between 14,000 won ($11.40) and 17,000 won, the biotech firm is looking to raise up 30.6 billion won, SCM Lifescience CEO Rhee Byung-geon said in a press briefing. Under the plan, the firm’s market capitalization after listing is anticipated t

June 1, 2020

Retrieval rate of bailout funds up 0.1% in Q1

The rate of bailout funds recouped from companies that borrowed from the government since the 1997 Asian financial crisis rose 0.1 percent in the first quarter to 69.3 percent, the country’s financial regulator said Monday. As of end-March, the government had retrieved a total of 116.8 trillion won out of the 168.7 trillion won extended to companies struggled to survive in the 1997 and 2008 financial crises, according to the Financial Services Commission. The retrieval of taxpayers&rsq

June 1, 2020

KB Asset launches AI-powered fund to invest in global ETFs

Seoul-based KB Asset Management said Monday it has launched an open-ended fund that invests in exchange-traded funds at home and abroad, powered by its own artificial neural network for automated portfolio allocation. The new ETF managed portfolio fund, dubbed KB All Asset AI Solution Fund, will target various ETFs -- or a basket of securities -- that each track asset classes such as stocks, bonds, loans, real estate investment trusts and commodities. Its portfolio will be automatically rebal

June 1, 2020

Institutions' investment in foreign securities down in Q1

South Korean institutions' investment in foreign securities dropped in the first quarter, central bank data showed Monday, partly due to a market slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The combined value of overseas stocks and bonds held by South Korean institutions came to $317.8 billion as of end-March, down $9.61 billion from three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The drop marks a sharp turnaround from a $14.6 billion on-quarter spike posted in the last t

June 1, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on eased US-China tension worries

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, buoyed by the milder-than-expected US countermeasures against China's passing of the national securities law on Hong Kong. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.83 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,044.43 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The gains were largely attributed to a recent announcement by US President Donald Trump. The US president's sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials came with harsh rhetoric yet lacke

June 1, 2020

[Contribution] Is there value in Asian USD bonds?

The Korea Herald is running a regular contribution series written by senior investment strategists at Standard Chartered Group Wealth Management. -- Ed. Prices of Asian US dollar-denominated corporate bonds have fallen this year. This raises the question: do they now offer attractive value? The average yield premium offered by the bonds over US Treasury yields (credit spread) looks more attractive than it has been in many years, despite the recent rebound. However, one cannot help but worry

May 31, 2020

KT&G likely to get slap on wrist for alleged accounting fraud

An audit review committee under South Korea’s financial regulator has concluded that tobacco maker KT&G did not intentionally violate accounting rules when it acquired an Indonesian firm in 2011, according to news reports Sunday. The latest decision, when officially announced, will likely help the Korean tobacco giant to eliminate delisting concerns. In a meeting last Thursday, the committee reportedly decided that the breach of local accounting rules was mere “gross negli

May 31, 2020