Hana Financial signs W77b deal to acquire The-K Non-Life

Hana Financial Group said Friday it had inked a sales and purchase agreement with the Korea Teachers’ Credit Union to buy a 70 percent stake in The-K Non-Life Insurance for 77 billion won ($65.1 million). This is the first acquisition deal for Korea’s third-largest banking group since the takeover of Korea Exchange Bank in 2013. The-K Non-Life will become the 14th affiliate and second insurer arm to be under Hana’s umbrella. KTCU will remain a minority shareholder of t

Feb. 14, 2020

KDB realizes revenues on investment in BTS agency, film ‘Parasite’

South Korean state-owned lender the Korea Development Bank has borne fruit with its investment in the nation’s cultural contents, officials said Friday. Already generating profits from its investment in Big Hit Entertainment, the agency of global K-pop sensation BTS, the banking group is also expecting considerable returns from its investment in Oscar-winning film “Parasite.” KDB Capital, an affiliate of KDB, invested nearly 700 million won ($591,000), including a direct inv

Feb. 14, 2020

KCGI-heiress coalition ups ante to dethrone Hanjin successor

A coalition of Korean Air heiress and a local activist fund Korea Corporate Governance Improvement on Thursday proposed former SK Group Vice Chairman Kim Shin-bae as an inside board director of Hanjin Group in a bid to oust the current chairman at the March shareholders meeting. Other candidates include former Samsung Electronics Vice President and head of China Bae Kyung-tae and ex-Korean Air executive Kim Chi-hoon. Hahm Chul-ho, a former Korean Air senior vice president and T’way Air CE

Feb. 13, 2020

FSC reduces fines on DLF-selling banks, denies back-scratching

The Financial Services Commission on Thursday reduced the amount of fines imposed on Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank over their disputed misselling of derivative-linked financial products last year. By altering the sanctions previously decided by the market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service, the regulator is being accused of playing a power game and taking sides with the industry, although it has vehemently refuted such doubts. The FSC’s advisory panel Securities and Futures Commiss

Feb. 13, 2020

Seoul office buildings enjoy W11.5tr cash flow in 2019: Savills Korea

The office building transaction volume in major districts of Seoul came to 11.5 trillion won ($9.7 billion) for 2019, showing favorable cash flow in the city’s commercial real estate market, data showed Thursday. The figure comes amid an improved vacancy rate in prime office properties in the central, Gangnam and Yeouido business districts here, coupled with a low interest rate environment. According to real estate service firm Savills Korea’s research on Seoul prime office propert

Feb. 13, 2020

Mirae Asset Capital to buy W40b worth of brokerage unit’s stocks

South Korea’s Mirae Asset Capital, the parent company and largest shareholder of Mirae Asset Daewoo, agreed to buy its brokerage unit’s stocks for 40 billion won ($33.8 million), officials said Thursday. According to DART -- the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure board -- Mirae Asset Capital decided to purchase some 570 common shares of Mirae Asset Daewoo during the local stock trading sessions. The financial consulting and corporate financing company will

Feb. 13, 2020

FSS to request probe on Woori’s alleged information-theft case

The nation’s financial watchdog plans to refer Woori Bank’s alleged information-theft case to the prosecution for investigation, according to internal documents acquired by a lawmaker Thursday. The bank’s employees allegedly changed passwords of around 40,000 customers without permission to improve its balance sheet. According to Financial Supervisory Service documents acquired by a lawmaker, the watchdog plans to send the case to “investigative authorities later on.&r

Feb. 13, 2020

Barings Korea names CIO as co-head

Barings Asset Management Korea has named its Chief Investment Officer John Park as its joint head in a revamp to pursue efficiencies in management. Park will serve as one of BAMK’s two representative directors along with the incumbent CEO Ike Bae, as the firm adopts a multiple representative director system. The board approved the plan Wednesday. Park will lead investment management and support client relationships, while Bae will continue to lead the overall corporate management, inclu

Feb. 13, 2020

JB Financial logs record-high net profit in 2019

JB Financial Group, the holding group of North Jeolla Province-based Jeonbuk Bank, posted a record-high net profit in 2019 on the back of its balanced business portfolio and overseas expansion. The banking group recorded 341.9 billion won ($290 million) in net profit last year, up 41.6 percent from a year earlier and hitting an all-time high, officials said Wednesday. Its BIS capital adequacy ratio -- barometer established by the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements to meas

Feb. 12, 2020

Stock prices of firms behind ‘Parasite’ hit new high

Shares of both Barunson E&A, the production company of Oscar-winning “Parasite,” and the entertainment division of stationery and restaurant conglomerate Barunson hit a new 52-week high Wednesday. Barunson E&A shares touched 3,815 won ($3.24) -- up 880 won, or 29.98 percent, from the previous session. The firm had previously peaked by the daily limit of about 30 percent for two straight trading sessions. Baruson’s stock price also spiked 29.87 percent, to hit 4,435

Feb. 12, 2020

NH Financial to expand global assets fivefold in 5 years

NH Financial Group, a major Korean banking group, vowed Wednesday to increase its global assets by nearly five times to 6 trillion won ($5.1 billion) by 2025, as part of its new global expansion strategy. According to the financial giant, its overseas assets stood at nearly 1.4 trillion won as of the end of December. It also plans to increase its net profit to 160 billion won in the same period, which came to 28.9 billion won as of December. NH Financial said it would expand its overseas

Feb. 12, 2020

Hanhwa’s Lifeplus brand wins iF design awards

Lifeplus, a joint brand of South Korean conglomerate Hanhwa Group’s financial businesses, bagged two awards at the world’s prestigious International Forum Design Award 2020, according to Hanhwa Life, an insurance firm and a key subsidiary, on Wednesday. The brand, launched in 2017 for the conglomerate’s financial units -- including life insurance, general insurance, stock brokerage and asset management -- won the awards in the two categories of communication design a

Feb. 12, 2020

Busan to inject W205.6b to boost tech hub

Busan Metropolitan City said on Wednesday it plans to inject a total of 205.6 billion won ($174.4 million) this year to launch a new technology hub in South Korea’s second-largest city and back the startup ecosystem in line with the nationwide venture boom. The fund is a combination of the state-budget of 82.7 billion won, 84.3 billion won from the private sector and the rest coming from Busan. It is meant to finance early-stage startups to help them overcome the negative cash flow at it

Feb. 12, 2020

Applications for Techstars Korea’s first batch to close March 1

Techstars Korea, a South Korean unit of Colorado-based global startup accelerator Techstars, said Wednesday applications for its first accelerating program in the nation will close on March 1. The first batch of Techstars Korea, composed of 10 startups, will take part in a 13-week accelerating program in tech hub Pangyo starting June, along with mentorship and a combined $120,000 seed funding. Techstars has joined hands with Hillstone Partners for the program. Startups adept at lifestyle tec

Feb. 12, 2020

Woori Financial names new CEO to flagship bank

Woori Financial Group on Tuesday announced the appointment of the new head of its flagship commercial banking unit, in a move that is projected to further escalate its tension with the financial authorities here. The financial giant’s chairman and executive recommendation committee tapped Kwon Kwang-seok, head of the Korea Federation of Community Credit Cooperative’s credit business, to replace current Woori Bank CEO Sohn Tae-seung. Sohn, who has been reappointed as the financia

Feb. 11, 2020

Korea to employ Silicon Valley-inspired SAFE venture investment method

South Korea is poised to employ a Silicon Valley-style venture capital instrument starting from July, to let startups raise funds with fewer strings attached. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups promulgated on Tuesday a separate set of laws that center on venture investment schemes here, which have been recognized under two different laws: the Act on Special Measures for the Promotion of Venture Business and the Support for Small and Medium Enterprise Establishment Act. The new rule gives legal

Feb. 11, 2020

FSC to have final say on FSS-Woori dispute

With the feud between the Financial Supervisory Service and Woori Financial Group over the latter’s leadership escalating, all eyes are on the final decision of regulator Financial Services Commission. The FSC’s advisory panel Securities and Futures Commission, in its biweekly meeting on Wednesday, will review the sanctions slapped on banking group chiefs over the misselling of derivative-linked fund products, officials said Tuesday. Late last month, the financial waatchdog decide

Feb. 11, 2020

NPS posts highest return on investment since 2010

South Korea’s state pension fund National Pension Service said on Tuesday that it posted the highest return on investment in 10 years in 2019 largely due to the bullish stock markets here and abroad. The state-run pension fund marked an estimated rate of return of 11 percent last year, raking up a whopping 70 trillion won ($59 billion), according the NPS. The yield is the largest since 2010 when the fund operator marked 10.37 percent. In 2018, the NPS posted a negative yield of 0.

Feb. 11, 2020

[News Focus] Battle intensifies to become ‘Korea’s Goldman Sachs’

With Hana Financial Investment jumping into the local investment banking market last week, competition has heightened among Korean securities firms to scale up their business operations. Hana’s brokerage arm is the latest and sixth in the race to become the nation’s premier investment bank. Following Hana Financial Group’s board approval, the brokerage unit decided to increase its capital by issuing new stocks worth 499.7 billion won ($420.4 million) by March 26. Its net wo

Feb. 10, 2020

Logistics startup Mesh Korea denies sell-off rumors

South Korea’s logistics startup Mesh Korea -- operator of algorithm-powered micro delivery service Vroong -- denied rumors Monday that it is selling the stakes of its executives, amid a growing conflict between its CEO and other major stakeholders. The deal manager Samjong KPMG is reportedly looking for potential investors in Mesh Korea’s newly issued stocks and shares of existing investors. The exact stake a new investor will control remains unknown, while 

Feb. 10, 2020