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

DreamCIS likely to reopen Korea’s IPO market

South Korea is likely to end its monthslong drought in the initial public offering scene with Seoul-based pharmaceutical services company DreamCIS moving to raise 20.2 billion won ($16.5 million). DreamCIS, a company that provides contract-based research services to pharmaceutical and health care firms, said Monday it has fixed its offer price at 14,900 won per share, at the higher end of the price band. Its two-day institutional portion until Friday was 926.11 times oversubscribed. The compan

May 11, 2020

Seoul stocks down over looming uptick in virus cases

South Korean stocks closed lower Monday to pare earlier gains due to growing concerns over another cluster infection. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 10.42 points, or 0.54 percent, to finish at 1,935.40. Trading volume was moderate at 581 million shares worth 7.6 trillion won ($6.23 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 529 to 316. After opening higher, local shares slipped into negative terrain on growing concerns over

May 11, 2020

Samsung Electronics investors grow 5 times after stock split

The number of investors holding Samsung Electronics shares surged more than five times after the company divided the face value of stocks two years ago, data showed Sunday. According to data filed by the Financial Supervisory Service, common shares issued by Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest chipmaker, were held by more than 1.36 million investors in the first quarter, a 565 percent increase from the same quarter two years ago, with 241,513 investors. Stocks worth 1.25 trillion w

May 11, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on US jobs data

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on less pessimistic jobs data from the United States, which shot up to the highest rate since the Great Depression but still managed to be below market expectations. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 13.13 points, or 0.67 percent, to 1,958.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The unemployment rate in the US shot up to a whopping 14.7 percent in April, from 4.4 percent posted a month earlier. The dismal data, however, still

May 11, 2020

[M&As Weekly] Infection slowdown pushes deal closures, new bids

The mergers and acquisitions scene in South Korea remains relatively vigorous, as small and medium-sized enterprises are looking for more chances to cash out assets amid the continued COVID-19 threat to markets and industries. With a slowing number of confirmed cases, deals that have been postponed for weeks due to the virus are back on the table. Below is a roundup of major M&A deals here and their progress in the previous week. Centroid to take over Woongjin book unit Woongjin unveiled

May 10, 2020

Hanjin KAL faces liquidity hurdle to join MSCI Korea Index

Prior to the Morgan Stanley Capital International Korea Index’s May adjustment, South Korea’s securities firms are eyeing whether Hanjin KAL will be able to join the club despite its low liquidity. Led by a share price rally, the market capitalization of Hanjin Group’s holding company jumped to nearly 5.14 trillion won ($4.21 billion) on Friday, far exceeding the MSCI’s minimum standard for the Korea index, estimated at between 1.7 trillion won and 1.8 trillion won. B

May 10, 2020

Complaints by elderly rise over e-commerce services

The Korea Consumer Agency said Friday that the number of e-commerce-related claims filed by consumers aged 60 or older has grown rapidly in recent years. From 2017 to 2018, the number of the entire claims filed by those in the age group, via the agency’s consumer consulting center rose by 3.5 percent annually. Of the claims, 51.2 percent were linked to products or services bought on online commerce platforms, while 24.5 percent and 4.5 percent were respectively related to purchases via

May 9, 2020

NPS to begin process to pick new chairman

The state-run National Pension Service said Friday that it will form a committee next week to take charge of recommending a new chief. The post of NPS chairperson has been vacant since Jan. 7, when Kim Sung-ju stepped down to run in the April 15 general elections. The world’s third-largest pension operator, with some $600 billion in assets, is currently headed by acting Chairman Park Jung-bae. It is expected that the committee will pick three to five candidates, and the minister of he

May 8, 2020

Grocery delivery firm Market Kurly attracts W200b investment

Market Kurly, a fast-growing grocery delivery startup, announced on Friday that it has attracted 200 billion won ($164.3 million) in Series E funding. Led by investment firm DST Global, a group of global investors, including Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital China, Fuse Venture Partners, SK Networks and Translink Capital and Aspex Management participated in the new round of funding. The Series E brings the South Korean startup’s total funding to 420 billion won. The new funding round

May 8, 2020

Seoul stocks close higher on hopes for eased economic concerns

South Korean stocks closed higher Friday as investor sentiment got a boost from less-than-pessimistic economic indicators from the United States and China, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 17.21 points, or 0.89 percent, to finish at 1,945.82. Trading volume was moderate at 775 million shares worth 7.82 trillion won ($6.4 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 588 to 227. Seoul stocks got off to a solid st

May 8, 2020

‘Korean New Deal’ to attract foreigners to stock market

South Korea’s latest economic stimulus measures -- known as the “Korean New Deal” -- will likely attract foreign investors to the local stock market, local brokerages said Friday. “Offshore investors have been posting a net sell-off in the local stock market since March. However, they have recently begun purchasing stocks in the software sector,” said Ha In-hwan, an analyst at Meritz Securities. By focusing on accelerating the digitalization of the nation’s

May 8, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher tracking Wall Street gains

Seoul stocks opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street boosted by a decrease in the number of jobless claims in the world's top economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 21.9 points, or 1.14 percent, to 1,950.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved up 0.89 percent on data that 3.16 million Americans had applied for unemployment benefits last week, down 677,000 from a week earlier. The figure, how

May 8, 2020

[Market Close-up] New real estate policy receives mixed reviews

A set of new real estate policy measures aimed at turning public land in Seoul into massive housing complexes is designed to resolve the supply shortage in the capital city, but experts say it may not be enough to cool down the heated property market. According to the new policy package announced Wednesday, the government will supply 70,000 new housing units in Seoul, including 8,000 residential units in Yongsan and 250,000 in the surrounding areas. It is the left-leaning Moon Jae-in governm

May 7, 2020

Seoul stocks close nearly flat on mixed economic data

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Thursday as investors lost direction on mixed global economic data. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 0.15 point, or 0.01 percent, to finish at 1,928.61. Trading volume was moderate at 762 million shares worth 7.2 trillion won ($5.8 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 527 to 297. The index opened lower following dismal economic data from the United States and Europe. The US emplo

May 7, 2020

SK affiliate to acquire Young City office complex for W545.8b

An affiliate of Korean real estate developer SK D&D is poised to acquire the Young City office building complex for 545.8 billion won ($444.6 million), a regulatory filing showed Thursday. A real estate investment trust established by SK D&D’s wholly owned subsidiary D&D Investment will take over the asset from investors including London-based investment firm Actis within May, according to the disclosure. Young City REIT is designed to acquire the asset, generate income th

May 7, 2020

Seoul stocks open lower on dismal data from major economies

Seoul stocks opened lower Thursday following dismal economic data from major economies amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 6.74 points, or 0.35 percent, to 1,922.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks closed mixed Wednesday (local time). The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.91 percent to close at 23,664.64, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.51 percent to finish at 8,854.39. Investors apparently focused on

May 7, 2020

Kakao Bank triples operating profit

South Korea’s top internet-only bank Kakao Bank said Wednesday that its operating profit nearly tripled in the first three months this year over soaring demand for mobile loan services and stock trading accounts. The internet-only bank’s operating profit came in at 18.4 billion won ($15 million) in the first quarter, up from 6.4 billion a year before. Founded in January, 2016, the company posted losses in the first couple of years, but made a turnaround in 2019 with a net profit o

May 6, 2020

Seoul stocks end higher on hopes over economy reopening

South Korean stocks advanced by more than 1 percent Wednesday as investors bet on the reopening of businesses around the globe after coronavirus lockdowns. The Korean won sharply rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 33.39 points, or 1.76 percent, to close at 1,928.76. Trading volume was high at 1 billion shares worth 8.4 trillion won ($6.7 billion), with gainers far outpacing losers 695 to 146. The index stayed above the flatline througho

May 6, 2020

Tech firms gear up for IPOs in H2

Twenty firms have submitted preliminary applications for initial public offerings to the Korea Exchange in April, five times higher than the previous month, a report by a local brokerage showed Wednesday. “With the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases sharply declining and the continued stock index rally in mid-April, the number of firms preparing for listing plans has greatly increased,” said Lee So-joong, an analyst at SK Securities. “Despite lingering uncertainty of the CO

May 6, 2020