Wonik QnC embraces Momentive’s quartz operation for $266m

South Korea’s fabricated quartz maker Wonik QnC said Friday it had completed an acquisition of quartz and ceramics business units owned by New York-based company Momentive Performance Materials for $266 million, in a bid to achieve a vertical integration of its supply chain.Wonik QnC based in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, makes components for semiconductors, displays and other products using quartz. The cross-border deal will allow the company to wholly own the world’s leading fus

Jan. 3, 2020

Top-down appointed IBK CEO turned away amid union resistance

The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea on Friday faced a dispute over the appointment of its new chief, as its labor union protests what it called the government’s “abuse of authority.” On Friday, newly appointed CEO Yoon Jong-won, 59, a former senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, failed to enter the bank’s headquarters in central Seoul amid protests by union members, who barricaded all entrances to the building starting early in the morning. The previ

Jan. 3, 2020

Seoul shares open sharply higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Friday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 26.35 points, or 1.21 percent, to 2,201.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks rose to fresh highs on the first trading day of the new year following the news that China's central bank opted to stimulate the economy by adding more liquidity in the financial market.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.9 percent to 28,868.80, while t

Jan. 3, 2020

NPS chief offers to resign, hopes to run in general elections

National Pension Service Chairman Kim Sung-joo has offered to resign so that he can run in the general elections in April, according to news reports citing political sources Thursday.Kim has reportedly tendered his resignation to President Moon Jae-in, who appointed him as head of the state-run pension fund two years ago. He has a year left in his three-year term as chairman. Before assuming his current post in 2017, the former lawmaker served as a member of a National Assembly health and welfar

Jan. 2, 2020

Brokerages looking ahead to new growth engines, global markets

Amid a sluggish market and harsher business conditions in 2020, South Korea’s brokerages on Thursday stressed the need to seek new growth engines and market opportunities overseas.Choi Hyun-man, executive vice chairman and CEO of Mirae Asset Daewoo, urged the company’s staff to focus on strengthening global networks, saying globalization was not just about the physical expansion of portfolios but also about striking a solid balance in asset management.“Clients can manage their

Jan. 2, 2020

Time is ticking for KDB to sell life insurance arm

Shareholders of Seoul-based KDB Life Insurance are under intensifying pressure to find a new owner, potentially facing a host of new complex regulations next month when a 10-year grace period expires.　 State-run policy lender Korea Development Bank has yet to find a preferred bidder for the life insurance unit, although Chairman Lee Dong-gull anticipated finding one through an open tender by end-2019.The uncertainty casts doubt on the bank’s sell-off by February, which would otherwise resu

Jan. 2, 2020

Banking groups vow to regain customers’ trust in 2020

With a new year stretching ahead, the chiefs of Korea’s top-tier banking groups underlined the urgent need to restore customers’ trust, defining the latest market situation as a “crisis.”While pointing to external factors such as slow economic growth and low interest rates, they also referred to disputed sales of derivatives-linked funds that led to extensive customer damages last year.“Shinhan should look beyond market ranking and aim for first class in the true se

Jan. 2, 2020

[News Focus] Will S. Korea’s stock market recover vitality in 2020?

Bucking the trend of major global stock markets which saw some of their best gains in decades, South Korea’s main bourse Kospi remained flat on the last trading day of 2019, unable to pierce the 2,200 points mark. For a decade now, many market watchers expected Kospi to surpass the 3,000 mark, after it topped 2,000 in 2009. Now as we enter a new year, all eyes are on whether it will gain new growth momentum. According to experts, the main bourse is expected to gain vitality this year backe

Jan. 1, 2020

Seoul City’s Zero Pay app has zero impact

After its launch in Dec. 2018, Seoul City’s own mobile payment app Zero Pay is now in a very fragile situation and is struggling to make a mark in the local payment industry, data showed on Wednesday. As of Dec. 16, the transactions made through Zero Pay reached 69.6 billion won ($60 million), a mere 0.0076 percent of the entire transaction volume of some 910 trillion won paid via noncash payments. The actual transaction volume of the city’s own payment solution i

Jan. 1, 2020

Sales of private equity funds fall after fiasco: report

Sales of private equity funds for individual investors dropped for the fifth consecutive month in November, amid growing distrust in the aftermath of damages incurred by risky derivatives-linked funds sold by banks and asset management firms, a local self-regulatory organization said Wednesday. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, local banks sold a combined 24.1 trillion won ($20.9 billion) of private equity funds, down by 600 billion won, or 2.4 percent, in November from th

Jan. 1, 2020

Sungdong Shipbuilding averts liquidation with W200b deal

A consortium led by HSG Heavy Industries signed a contract Tuesday to buy debt-saddled South Korean shipbuilder Sungdong Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering for 200 billion won ($173 million), allowing the shipbuilder to avert liquidation of its assets.So far the consortium has paid 10 percent of the total, with the balance due by February.This came a month after the consortium, composed of HSG Heavy and private equity firm Curious Partners, was chosen as the preferred bidder for the Tongyeong

Dec. 31, 2019

M&As to keep Korean industries going in 2020

South Korea was brimming with billiondollar mergers and acquisitions in 2019, mainly propelled by large business groups in search of new growth opportunities, along with the divestment of their noncore business units.Throughout 2019, Korean entities announced a record-high volume of M&A transactions worth a combined 37.7 trillion won ($32.6 billion), according to Maeil Business Newspaper’s capital market tracker Radar M.Experts say this uptrend will continue and will eventually fuel an

Dec. 31, 2019

Probable top-down nomination of new IBK CEO triggers backlash

The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea faced the new year amid heated controversy concerning the likely nomination of a former senior presidential aide as its next CEO.On Tuesday, Reps. Chae Yi-bai of the Bareunmirae Party and Chu Hye-seon of the Justice Party held a press conference at the National Assembly along with members of the Korean Financial Industry Union, opposing the nomination of Yoon Jong-won, former senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, as IBK chief.“It seems t

Dec. 31, 2019

Kospi falls below 2,200, Kosdaq rises near 670 in 2019 finale

South Korea’s stock market continued its sluggish performance on Monday -- the last trading day of 2019 -- amid a lack of significant momentum. The benchmark Kospi closed at 2,197.67 points, down 0.30 percent, or 6.54 points, from the previous session, according to stock market operator the Korea Exchange. The figure however rose by 8.53 percent, or 187.57 points, from the first trading session of the year -- which closed at 2010.  Korean shares opened nearly flat on the day as invest

Dec. 30, 2019

[Best Brand] Lotte Card launches I’m DRIVING for frequent drivers

Credit card/ Lotte CardFor customers driving long distances, Lotte Card, a major credit card company in the nation, has launched the I’m DRIVING card that offers discounts at gas stations across the country and other auto-related benefits.Two types of the new credit card are offered -- DC One and DC All. For the DC One type, customers can choose one of four oil retail brands -- SK Energy, GS Caltex, Hyundai Oilbank and S-Oil -- or choose either weekdays or weekends as an option, to get a d

Dec. 30, 2019

Woori Financial chief recommended for 2nd term

Woori Financial Group Chairman and Woori Bank CEO Sohn Tae-seung is likely to pursue a second term as head of the financial holdings company. On Monday, a group of outside directors responsible for selecting leadership candidates recommended Sohn as the sole candidate for the group’s next chairman position, citing the stability of its operations as a holding company. If the recommendation is approved at the shareholders meeting in March 2020, Sohn will serve another three years as the grou

Dec. 30, 2019

W4.1tr Korean hedge fund Lime Asset faces fraud accusations

The Financial Supervisory Service, South Korea’s financial watchdog, intends to take legal action against Lime Asset Management, a Korean hedge fund that manages 4.1 trillion won ($3.5 billion) worth of assets, on allegations that it concealed losses from its investors.The news comes as its 600 billion won fund dedicated to trade finance was found to have been associated with a debacle involving New York-based investment adviser International Investment Group, which was accused of running

Dec. 30, 2019

FSS fines KEB Hana W3b for misselling ETNs

South Korea’s financial watchdog on Monday fined KEB Hana Bank, one of four major commercial banks here, nearly 3.2 billion won ($2.7 million) for selling exchange-traded notes without providing sufficient information to customers. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, KEB Hana violated the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act by allowing its 140 local branches to recommend and sell high-risk exchange-traded notes through bank trusts to its clients who were unawa

Dec. 30, 2019

[Best Brand] Mirae Asset Daewoo banks on diversified global investment

Mirae Asset Daewoo / Securities firmSouth Korean brokerage Mirae Asset Daewoo said Monday it had expanded its presence by creating synergy with multiple businesses -- such as investment banking and trading in Korea and abroad -- and diversifying its investment portfolio. Mirae’s capital surpassed 9 trillion won ($7.76 billion) at the end of the third quarter this year. Its net profit came to 123.9 billion won in the same period, making it the country’s first securities firm to mark a

Dec. 30, 2019

Bithumb faces W80b taxation, despite lack of assessment standards

South Korea’s tax agency has handed down more than 80 billion won ($68.9 million) in taxation on the market’s top cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, raising controversies on the lack of assessment standards.According to industry insiders, Vidente, the largest shareholder of Bithumb, announced Saturday via DART -- the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure board -- that the National Tax Service has forced Bithumb to pay foreign customers’ withholding taxes wor

Dec. 29, 2019