[Herald Interview] ‘Private investor engagement key to climate-resilient world’

In the climate finance world, money goes not only to the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but also to innovative, eco-friendly infrastructure projects that help the world reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Striking the balance between the two themes -- adaptation and mitigation -- is one of the primary missions of the Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest fund dedicated to helping developing countries take climate actions. The fund serving the Paris Agreement on

May 13, 2020

Seoul office market to face pandemic impact in Q2: report

Seoul’s prime office building market will face flagging demand due to the coronavirus coupled with new supply in the second quarter, which will create more empty space within the properties and reduce their cash flow, Savills Korea said in a report Wednesday. According to the real estate services firm, real estate investors in South Korea are expected to take a cautious stance as uncertainties in the leasing market are likely to erupt in terms of the proposed buyers’ financing cond

May 13, 2020

Banks' Q1 net profit dips 18% on loan-loss provisions

South Korean banks saw their first-quarter earnings decline 17.8 percent from a year earlier due to increased loan-loss provisions, data showed Wednesday.  The combined net profit stood at 3.2 trillion won ($2.6 billion) for the January-March period, compared with a profit of 4 trillion won a year earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service said in a statement.  Preliminary interest income for the first quarter stood at 10.1 trillion won, down 0.2 percent from a year earlier. 

May 13, 2020

Seoul stocks rebound on bargain hunting

South Korean stocks closed higher Wednesday as investors scooped up bargains amid renewed concerns over the trade row between the United States and China. The Korean won gained against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 18.25 points, or 0.95 percent, to finish at 1,940.42. Trading volume was moderate at 608 million shares worth 8.79 trillion won ($7.18 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 426 to 403. The local stock market got off toward a weak

May 13, 2020

Douzone Bizon, Celltrion Pharm join MSCI index, but Hanjin KAL omitted

Morgan Stanley Capital International has added two large and mid-cap South Korean stocks -- Douzone Bizon and Celltrion Pharm -- to its global and regional equity index, as part of rebalancing in May, according to industry sources Wednesday. The US company added information and communications technology solutions and services provider Douzone Bizon and Celltrion Pharm, a pharmaceutical firm under Celltrion, to the MSCI Korea Index. In the meantime, some firms such as biopharma firm Meditox, O

May 13, 2020

Shinhan’s investment in HK’s K-pop fund faces redemption delay

Shinhan Investment has received a request to delay K-pop-related private equity fund redemption from a Hong Kong-based asset management firm due to underperforming entertainment business, according to industry sources Wednesday. The brokerage unit of the Shinhan Financial Group invested 20 million euros ($21.7 million) in Royal China International Asset Management’s K-pop Showbiz Asia II Fund in April last year. It was structured to earn profits from ticket sales by IME International,

May 13, 2020

Kakao joins S. Korea's top-10 market cap heavyweights

Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, has entered the top ten stocks by market capitalization on a stellar quarterly performance, data showed Wednesday. The homegrown tech giant's market cap rose to 18.63 trillion won ($15.19 billion) as of 10:31 a.m., making it the 10th largest on the main bourse. The company is close behind South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co., which is 9th with a market cap of 19.7 trillion won.  Samsung C&T

May 13, 2020

Seoul stocks open lower on escalating US-China tension

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street after US President Donald Trump continued to excoriate Beijing amid their prolonged trade row. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 15.74 points, or 0.82 percent, to 1,906.43 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.89 percent overnight, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 2.06 percent on renewed concerns over the Sino-American trade tension. Tru

May 13, 2020

Relief fund donation errors a headache for card issuers

On the first day South Korea started to receive applications for COVID-19 relief cash, local card issuers assigned to handle payment processes were met with a flood of unexpected inquiries -- to cancel subsidies donated by beneficiaries mistakenly. According to credit card companies, calls from recipients surged demanding to withdraw their donation to the state, saying they mistakenly clicked the button. Fund applicants can donate part or all of their subsidies to the state when filling out t

May 13, 2020

SillaJen CEO detained over alleged insider trading, stoking fears of delisting

The head of local biotechnology firm SillaJen was detained Tuesday for alleged involvement in insider trading, raising market fears over SillaJen’s fate as a Kosdaq-listed company. The Seoul Southern District Court issued an arrest warrant for SillaJen CEO Moon Eun-sang, citing a flight risk and the possibility that he could destroy evidence. Last week prosecutors requested a warrant for Moon’s arrest on suspicion of violating the local capital market act and dereliction of duty

May 12, 2020

KB Kookmin Bank to finance gas pipeline project in Canada

KB Kookmin Bank said Tuesday that it has signed a commitment of 240 million Canadian dollars ($171 million) to finance a Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline project in Canada through a senior loan. This is part of the C$6.6 billion project financing from a syndicate of lenders, composed of KB Kookmin Bank and 26 other banks including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank of Canada, it added. KB Kookmin Bank was the sole Korean participant. The loans will go to TC Energy, formerly kn

May 12, 2020

Seoul stocks down for 2nd day over renewed woes over US-China trade row

South Korean stocks closed lower Tuesday for a second straight day on renewed concerns over the trade row between the United States and China. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 13.23 points, or 0.68 percent, to finish at 1,922.17. Trading volume was moderate at 783 million shares worth 9.5 trillion won ($7.75 billion), with losers far outpacing gainers 671 to 183. US President Donald Trump insisted that he was "not int

May 12, 2020

Korea Western Power, NH-Amundi invest in Swedish wind farm project

Korea Western Power and NH-Amundi Asset Management signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in their co-investment in a 240-megawatt wind farm project in Sweden, according to NH-Amundi on Tuesday. The infrastructure project to build 56 wind turbines in Ange Municipality in northern Sweden is poised to be completed by the end of 2020. The facility has signed a 29-year sales contract with an undisclosed regional electricity market, promising a long-term source of stable income, NH-Amund

May 12, 2020

Brokerages downgrade CJ CGV over capital increase plan

South Korea’s securities firms on Tuesday cut their target price for CJ CGV, raising concerns that the company’s decision to issue new shares worth 250 billion won ($203.66 million) could dilute the stock value. Hit by the pandemic, the cinema chain recorded a net loss of 118.6 billion won in the January-March period, compared with a net loss of 8.6 billion won a year earlier. It may have been inevitable for the firm to go ahead with the massive capital increase, said Meritz Securi

May 12, 2020

Deloitte Korea to join APAC regional entity

Deloitte Korea said Monday it will be joining Deloitte Asia Pacific, a central business entity that combines regional operations. “Based on a partner-level vote conducted in April, we will officially join as member of Deloitte AP, starting June 1,” the local subsidiary of the New York-based accounting firm said in a release. Seeking to improve the level of services and to attract talent, Deloitte Korea will invest $22 million into the regional entity over the next four years, part

May 12, 2020

Seoul stocks open lower on looming resurgence of virus cases

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday tracking overnight losses on the Wall Street amid the growing concerns over a resurgence of the new coronavirus around the globe. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.45 points, or 0.44 percent, to 1,926.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.45 percent on Monday (local time) while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.78 percent, as investors sat on the sidelines over the COVID-19

May 12, 2020

FTC to finalize penalty against Mirae Asset over intra-unit trading

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog is set to decide this month what sanctions to impose against conglomerates whose affiliates carried out illegal business transactions with each other, according to news reports Monday. Under the fair trade law, internal trading among affiliates of large companies controlled by owner families is banned as chaebol scions have benefited from such practices at the expense of fair competition. The list of companies subject to penalties by the Fair Trade Co

May 11, 2020

Mirae Asset to countersue China’s Anbang in hotel deal dispute

South Korea’s investment firm Mirae Asset Global Investments said Monday that it would countersue China’s Anbang Insurance Group in a widening dispute over an acquisition deal of luxury hotels in the US. The legal action came after the Chinese insurer last month filed a suit with the Delaware Court of Chancery against the Seoul-based investment management firm for failing to complete payment of $5.8 billion for the takeover of 15 luxury hotels in the US. The first trial is set to

May 11, 2020

Doosan in talks to sell HQ building for W700b

Debt-ridden Doosan Group is in talks to sell its real estate asset Doosan Tower to Mastern Investment Management for roughly 700 billion won ($572.3 million), according to industry sources. Doosan and Mastern are said to be at the final stage to confirm the price of the commercial building located in Seoul, which the troubled conglomerate has been using as the headquarters of its holding company for over two decades. Doosan looks to sell the asset and lease it back from the proposed buyer Maste

May 11, 2020

Flush with cash, retail investors’ stock market influence grows

South Korean retail investors are exerting greater influence on the nation’s stock market with 47.8 trillion won ($39.35 billion) amassed in cash, seeking short-term profit, data showed Monday. According to the Korea Exchange, individual investors purchased a net 30.76 trillion won in shares -- 26.09 trillion won on the benchmark Kospi and 4.67 trillion won in the tech-heavy Kosdaq market -- from Jan. 2 to Friday. The figure is in sharp contrast from the same period last year when ind

May 11, 2020