Listed firms’ earnings likely to fall more than 10% in Q2

Despite better-than-expected performance in the first quarter, South Korea’s major listed firms are likely to see their earnings dip due to the prolonged export slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a local financial market tracker said Sunday. The combined operating profit of 138 listed companies is estimated at 19.97 trillion won ($16.3 billion) for the April-June period this year, down 2.34 trillion won, or 10.5 percent, from a year earlier, according to data compiled by FN Guide

May 3, 2020

C&W Korea to provide social distancing-friendly office model

Commercial real estate service firm Cushman & Wakefield said Sunday it was looking to introduce a social distancing office design concept to help its clients reopen their workplace and embrace the new norm in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The concept -- dubbed “Six Feet Office” -- was unveiled as the stay-at-home restrictions has been showing signs of imminent alleviation. Ranging from creating visual boundaries using colored carpets and plexiglass shields to office signa

May 3, 2020

KRX ditches 30% market cap rule

South Korea’s securities exchange operator, the Korea Exchange, said Wednesday that it had removed a market cap limit on the nation’s main bourse, Kospi, lifting a regulatory rule meant to prevent excessive reliance on a single stock. The 30 percent market cap rule requires securities funds, including exchange-traded funds, to reduce their holdings in stocks that account for more than 30 percent of the market value of the Kospi 200 and KRX 300 indexes. The regulation was introduced

April 30, 2020

WeWork opens 20th location in Korea

Shared working space platform WeWork said Wednesday that it had opened a 20th location in South Korea. The location in Apro Square, WeWork Shinnonhyeon, is the 12th in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam area, according to WeWork’s Korean unit. The news came over a year after its announcement in March 2019. This is the first location opened since WeWork Korea named Patricia Chun as its new general manager earlier in April. “We have strong belief in Korea as we see the growing demand f

April 29, 2020

Seoul stocks end up for 3rd day on earnings hope

South Korean stocks ended higher for a third straight session Wednesday as investor sentiment was buoyed by expectations about robust earnings by US tech firms. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 13.47 points, or 0.70 percent, to close at 1,947.56. Trade volume was moderate at 1.97 billion shares worth 10.4 trillion won ($8.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 570 to 272. Investors await further earnings results fr

April 29, 2020

US-based Psomagen eyes at least W57.5b IPO in Korea

Psomagen, a US company dedicated to genome sequencing technology and DNA testing, said Wednesday it looks to raise at least 57.5 billion won ($47.2 million) in an initial public offering on the Korean bourse. Under the plan to be listed on Kosdaq, Psomagen seeks to issue 4.2 million new common shares, amounting to a 25 percent stake, and offer them to investors in an IPO set to take place in May. Shinhan Investment is an underwriter of the IPO deal. The IPO proceeds will be used to boost its

April 29, 2020

[Herald Interview] Boosting ‘K-quarantine’ drive by safeguarding patent rights of Korean testing kit

Amid growing global demand to learn South Korea’s unique quarantine methods that have contributed to bringing the novel coronavirus under control, the nation’s patent office said Tuesday that it will closely work with overseas partners to share its know-how while protecting intellectual property rights of Korean testing kits and other related products at the same time. “The homegrown COVID-19 testing kits are seeing a soaring demand from across the globe, because companies tha

April 29, 2020

Seoul stocks open almost flat on overnight US losses

South Korean stocks opened almost unchanged Tuesday on overnight losses in Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 2.18 points, or 0.11 percent, to 1,936.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Tuesday (local time), US stocks gave up earlier gains to end lower on tech losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13 percent, the S&P 500 was down 0.52 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index decreased 1.4 percent. Most large-cap shares on the Seou

April 29, 2020

Mirae Asset faces legal battle over $5.8b hotel deal

Mirae Asset Global Investments said Tuesday that Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance had not fulfilled all the requirements needed to close a $5.8 billion deal, and it was waiting for the latter to give an official explanation. Countering the Chinese insurer’s claim that the Korean firm had reneged on its obligations to closing the deal on April 17, Mirae Asset said it discovered an ongoing legal dispute between the seller and a third party while conducting due diligence on the deal. Mirae

April 28, 2020

KDB, K-Growth vow W2.5tr growth capital with 18 partners

Policy lender Korea Development Bank and fund-of-funds investment firm Korea Growth Investment Corp. said Tuesday they have selected 18 external partners to inject a total of 2.5 trillion won ($2.05 billion) in growth capital to support the scaling up of venture companies here. Of the total of the latest batch, a combined 830 billion won will be backed by state-run financial institutions including KDB, while 50 billion won will come from the state budget. This marks the latest addition to KDB

April 28, 2020

Koramco closes W134b fund to invest in pre-IPO REITs

Korean real estate investment firm Koramco Asset Management said Tuesday it has signed a combined 134 billion won ($109.5 million) in commitments to its two blind-pool funds to capitalize on the potential of the nation’s growing properties market. Mainly targeting real estate investment trusts that eye initial public offerings here, the funds received commitments by undisclosed institutional investors and corporate investors. A REIT refers to a company that owns income-generating commerc

April 28, 2020

‘Lime bad bank’ to start in May, sanction process in June: FSS chief

South Korea’s financial watchdog said Tuesday it plans to establish a bad bank in May to help companies recoup their losses from the troubled funds sold by Lime Asset Management. Citing the recent buying binge by retail stock investors here, Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Yoon Suk-heun urged them to be cautious about the excessive preference for high-risk and high-return investments amid the low-growth, low-interest rate environment. “During the remaining period of my term,

April 28, 2020

SK hynix, LG, KB Financial recognized for climate change efforts

The South Korean division of the Carbon Disclosure Project awarded prizes to local companies in recognition of their efforts to fight climate change, at a ceremony held Tuesday.  The 2019 CDP Korea Award recipients included SK hynix, LG Electronics and KB Financial Group.  SK hynix received the grand prize, granted to a company rated “Leadership A” in the area of water security.  The award is for companies making top-class efforts to recycle and conserve water reso

April 28, 2020

Seoul stocks up for 2nd day on hopes for economic rebound

South Korean stocks closed higher for the second straight day Tuesday amid hopes for an economic rebound, offsetting concerns over the fallout from the novel coronavirus outbreak. The Korean won gained ground against the US dollar. After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 11.32 points, or 0.59 percent, to close at 1,934.09. Trade volume was heavy at 1.16 billion shares worth 10.3 trillion won ($8.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 487 to

April 28, 2020

Foreign stock ownership hits 43-month low due to coronavirus

Foreign ownership of South Korean stocks dipped to a 43-month low in March due to their massive sell-off and a market rout amid the coronavirus impact, data showed Tuesday. Foreign investors held 468.7 trillion won ($382 billion) worth of local stocks and other stock-related instruments as of end-March, down 76 trillion won from the prior month, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The amount was the lowest since the end of August 2016, when it came to 467.6 trillion

April 28, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street rally

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, despite falling oil prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.45 points, or 0.65 percent, to 1,935.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Monday (local time), US stocks ended higher as investor sentiment was boosted by efforts to normalize economic activities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.51 percent, the S&P 500 added 1.47 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index

April 28, 2020

Local grain supplies stable amid global fear on trade suspension: report

South Korea has maintained stable supplies of grains amid growing uncertainties about the global trade of grains caused by massive lockdowns imposed across borders to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, industry data showed Monday.  As the deepening coronavirus pandemic sparked border closures and strict lockdowns, governments across the globe embarked on restrictions of grain exports to prevent a potential food shortage. Countries including Russia, Ukraine, Cambodia and Kazakhsta

April 28, 2020

Tmon’s planned IPO gathers steam

Tmon, a leading South Korean e-commerce company, is gearing up to go public in earnest, as it has recently chosen local investment firm Mirae Asset Daewoo as its leading underwriter. The move came after the IPO plan faced a number of hurdles in finding underwriters earlier this year due mainly to negative outlooks for the highly saturated domestic e-commerce market. “Mirae Asset Daewoo has been picked as the sole underwriter, outgunning NH Investment & Securities and Nomura Securit

April 27, 2020

Seoul stocks rebound 1.8% on stimulus hopes, eased virus woes

South Korean stocks closed 1.79 percent higher Monday as the country continued to see the novel coronavirus outbreak wane. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 33.76 points to close at 1,922.77. Trading volume was moderate at 725 million shares worth 8 trillion won ($6.5 billion), with gainers far outpacing losers 738 to 126. The index opened higher and continued to build up gains on hopes that the coronavirus outbreak is p

April 27, 2020

Jeonbuk Bank’s Cambodian subsidiary issues corporate bonds worth $10m

Jeonbuk Bank’s Cambodian subsidiary recently floated corporate bonds worth $10 million, becoming the first South Korean financial institution to do so in the Southeast Asian nation, the lender’s holding group, JB Financial Group, said Monday. Phnom Penh Commercial Bank issued the bonds with a maturity period of three years and an annual interest rate of 6.5 percent. They are worth $25 in par value. The plan was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia, whic

April 27, 2020