Seoul stocks open lower on fears of US-China dispute

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Friday, apparently tracking overnight losses on Wall Street related to a brewing dispute between the United States and China. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 2.58 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,995.73 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 101.78 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 24,474.12 on Thursday (New York time). Fears of a dispute between the world's two largest economies apparen

May 22, 2020

Kospi rises close to 2,000 points on coronavirus vaccine news

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday on encouraging news about another COVID-19 candidate vaccine in the US. Extending gains for the fifth consecutive day, the nation’s main bourse Kospi crossed the 2,000-point mark in early morning trading for the first time since March 6 as it rose 13.65 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,003.20. It closed at 1998.31, up 0.44 percent. Retail investors drove the index as they bought stocks worth some 204.9 billion won ($166.5 million) while instituti

May 21, 2020

W550b Young City prime office deal closes

A consortium composed of D&D Investment and NH Investment & Securities has completed its acquisition of Young City office complex from UK-based investment house Actis for 550 billion won ($447.2 million), the deal manager Cushman & Wakefield Korea said Thursday. D&D Investment, an affiliate of SK conglomerate’s real estate development arm SK D&D, seeks to establish a real estate investment trust called Young City REITs by securitizing the properties. The deal allowe

May 21, 2020

Seoul stocks extend winning streak to 5th session

South Korean stocks closed higher Thursday to extend their winning streak to a fifth session, the longest period of this year, on growing hope over the resumption of global business activities. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 8.67 points, or 0.44 percent, to close at 1,998.31. Trading volume was moderate at some 588 million shares, worth about 8.5 trillion won ($6.92 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 463 to 3

May 21, 2020

[Market Close-up] Doosan Bobcat under credit pressure on US unit’s $300m leveraging plan

South Korea’s construction equipment maker Doosan Bobcat is under credit pressure as its US subsidiary Clark Equipment is looking to leverage $300 million via five-year senior secured notes in May, filings showed Thursday. Clark Equipment’s leveraging plan is adding a financial burden to Doosan Bobcat, as affiliates and subsidiaries of conglomerate Doosan Group‘s liquidity crunch might spill over to Doosan Bobcat that is already suffering a sharp fall in sales due to the ongo

May 21, 2020

Eximbank issues AU$700m Kangaroo bonds

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said Thursday it has issued a three-year Australian dollar-denominated bonds worth AU$700 million ($460 million) to investors. Following the deal, Eximbank said it has become the first Asian financial institution to sell Kangaroo bonds, or Australian dollar-denominated bonds issued by a non-Australian entity, since the coronavirus outbreak. The bonds were oversubscribed as Eximbank received AU$1.7 billion subscriptions from 57 investors. JPMorgan, Mits

May 21, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on hopes of economic recovery

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street apparently backed by hopes of an economic recovery. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 13.15 points, or 0.66 percent, to 2,002.79 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 369.04 points, or 1.52 percent, to close at 24,575.90 on Wednesday (US time). Hopes of a quick economic recovery sparked the stock market rally with virus-related restrictions

May 21, 2020

NPS to cut back in Korean stock exposure

South Korea’s public pension fund National Pension Service on Wednesday has affirmed its plan to shrink its exposure to domestic stocks in a move to ward off uncertainties due to fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo told reporters Wednesday. “(NPS) is certainly lowering the allocation of Korean stocks from the mid- to long-term perspective,” said Park, who also heads NPS Investment Management Committee. He added NPS Investment Management Comm

May 20, 2020

Hana Financial to set up digital insurance unit in June

Hana Financial Group, South Korea’s third-largest banking group will launch a digital insurance unit next month through its newly acquired subsidiary, The-K NON-Life Insurance, according to industry sources Wednesday. Branded as Hana General Insurance, the group’s new affiliate, previously a general insurance firm focusing on auto insurance, will serve as a digital insurance company starting June 1 under the leadership of Kwon Tae-gyun, former vice president of Hana Capital. 

May 20, 2020

Shares extend gains on additional stimulus plan

South Korean benchmark indexes continued to be upbeat Wednesday, following the government’s additional economic measures to counter the ongoing coronavirus crisis. The nation’s main bourse Kospi rose to a high of 1,992.20 points in intraday trading, up 0.59 percent from a day earlier, while the secondary Kosdaq crossed the 700-point mark for the first time in a year. The Kospi index closed at 1,989.64, up 0.46 percent while Kosdaq ended at 708.76, up 1.78 percent. The gains wer

May 20, 2020

S. Korean stocks open higher, bucking Wall Street losses

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Wednesday despite heavy overnight losses on Wall Street sparked by renewed fears over the coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 3.09 points, or 0.16 percent, to 1,983.70 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 390.51 points, or 1.59 percent, to close at 24,206.86 Tuesday (US time). The sharp decline came one day after global stock markets rallied on reports of positiv

May 20, 2020

Stock market rallies on positive interim results of vaccine development

The South Korean stock market was upbeat Tuesday on hopes of the successful development of a coronavirus vaccine in the US. The local currency rose against the US dollar. Local shares opened sharply higher in early morning trading with the nation’s main bourse Kospi soaring 2.26 percent to 1980.84 points. Continuing the momentum throughout the day, the index closed at 1,980.61, up 2.25 percent. The local rally came on the heels of news reports about the positive results of US pharmac

May 19, 2020

Cross-selling of public funds in APAC to kick off in May

Cross-border transactions of public funds will kick off this month in South Korea and four other Asia-Pacific countries, to expand corporate and individual investors’ portfolios, according to the Financial Services Commission on Tuesday. The scheme named Asia Region Funds Passport system enables cross-selling of public funds among five countries in the Asia-Pacific region -- South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand. The system will be implemented on May 27, as Korea&rsquo

May 19, 2020

Fintech groups set to thrive in e-signature market

With the National Assembly likely to pass revisions to the Electronic Signature Act on Wednesday, fintech groups and mobile carriers are projected to dominate the related market with their existing online identification services. The revision bill -- likely to be among a set of legislations that the 20th National Assembly will pass at its last plenary meeting –- is projected to fuel privatization of the e-signature industry by abolishing the nation’s public e-certificate system, a

May 19, 2020

Seoul stocks jump over 2% on hope of vaccine development

South Korean stocks closed sharply higher Tuesday, joining other Asian and global stock markets in a rally that came on hopes of a vaccine for COVID-19. The local currency sharply rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) spiked 43.50 points, or 2.25 percent, to close at 1,980.61, extending its winning streak to a third day. Trading volume was moderate at some 762 million shares worth about 11.7 trillion won ($9.55 billion), with gainers outnumbering l

May 19, 2020

W550b Lotte Mart properties deal in legal dispute

South Korea’s Ryukyung PSG Asset Management and retailer Lotte Shopping are facing legal action from entities that proposed to buy four Lotte Mart discount stores for some 550 billion won ($448.4 million) in 2019, according to industry sources on Tuesday. The prospective buyers, real estate developer Moon Development Marketing and subsidiary the Korea Asset Investment Trust, filed a lawsuit in April against Ryukyung PSG -- a local asset management company that oversaw some 1.59 trillion

May 19, 2020

KRX provides remote learning program for foreign institutions

The Korea Exchange (KRX) said Tuesday it has started providing remote learning program to facilitate untact -- non-face-to-face contact -- services for foreign institutions in the wake of the prolonged coronavirus outbreak. The nation’s sole stock market operator used to offer offline education programs to offshore institutions such as stock exchanges, supervisory authorities and financial companies, but it has now launched online services by providing video clips on its official English

May 19, 2020

Individuals replenish cash bullets for direct stock investments

Individual investors are flocking to direct stock investment, choosing to bet on their own picks over brokerage houses' funds, data showed Tuesday. Outstanding margin loans came to 9.95 trillion won ($8.14 billion) as of Friday, up 10.1 percent from a month ago, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA). Margin loans refer to those that retail investors take out from brokerage houses to invest in stocks. A rise in outstanding margin loans usually points to

May 19, 2020

Seoul stocks open sharply higher on hopes of virus vaccine

South Korean shares opened sharply higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that followed reports of positive results from a vaccine development test. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 40.35 points, or 2.08 percent, to 1,977.46 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The stock market rally follows overnight gains on Wall Street, where hopes of COVID-19 vaccine development and a pledge from US Fed chief to support the economy helped boost investor sentim

May 19, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Long-term views are critical to survive crisis like coronavirus’

Since its first outbreak was reported in South Korea in January, COVID-19 has been wreaking havoc on the nation’s economy, forcing factories to suspend operations and claiming jobs in a wide range of sectors. The investment segment has also been affected as face-to-face meetings have been delayed or called off over growing concerns of infections. In times of crisis such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, investors need to maintain long-term perspectives, according to Chae Jung-hoon, m

May 18, 2020