Hyundai Capital’s car-sharing service helps digitalization of rental firms

Hyundai Capital’s car-sharing service Deal Car has partnered with local small and medium-sized rental firms to help them digitalize their operations and platforms. According to the consumer financial service providing unit of Hyundai Motor Group, Deal Car has noticed key hurdles that traditional rental businesses now face in the digital age, including the struggle to find a digital alternative to face-to-face interactions for booking and passing of car keys. Through the partnership, Deal C

Dec. 29, 2019

[News Focus] Can NPS shareholder engagement curtail power of chaebol?

The world’s third-largest pension fund, South Korea’s National Pension Service, may opt to present shareholder proposals to its portfolio companies in Korea -- which number as many as 800 -- starting from Korea’s upcoming proxy season in March next year.The move, long awaited by civic groups that denounced chaebol families’ alleged misdeeds, comes as the public pension fund approved its shareholder engagement guidelines Friday, effective immediately. The latest action wou

Dec. 29, 2019

Gold investment marks biggest profit in 2019

After soaring nearly 17 percent in 2019, the gold price on South Korea’s bourse is expected to prolong its winning streak throughout 2020, reflecting the market’s preference for risk-free assets amid persistent volatility, local experts said Sunday. According to Daishin Securities, the wholesale price of gold on Korea Gold Exchange closed at 60,670 won ($52.30) per gram Saturday, up 10,400 won, or 17.14 percent, from the end of 2018.The popularity of gold as an investment is seen as

Dec. 29, 2019

Hana Financial Investment, Hotel Lotte buy $175m hotel in US

Korean brokerage Hana Financial Investment said Sunday that it had acquired a premium hotel in the US, marking its first acceptance financing business via strategic partnership. The brokerage firm on Tuesday acquired Hotel at the Mark, a 44-story building located in downtown Seattle that was previously owned by Hotel Lotte and private equity real estate investment management firm Stockbridge, officials said.Hotel Lotte joined in the $175 million deal as the consigned manager of the hotel. Starti

Dec. 29, 2019

Regulator to punish heads of 2 banks for derivatives-linked product fiasco

South Korea's financial regulator is planning to punish the heads of two commercial lenders for their improper sales of derivatives-linked products, industry sources said Sunday.According to the sources, the Financial Supervisory Service is set to punish the banks' heads in mid-January.In October, the FSS said about 20 percent of 3,954 cases detected may violate law or internal rules in selling the derivatives, but further investigation is needed into the two leading lenders -- Woori Bank and KE

Dec. 29, 2019

Seoul shares to trade flat on geopolitical issues

South Korean stocks are predicted to stay mostly flat next week as investors are expected to sit on the sidelines amid the possibility of a provocation by North Korea, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,204.21 points on Friday, little changed from the previous week.Earlier in the week, the market closed lower as investors took a breather and cashed in recent gains after the market hit an almost eight-month high on Friday, buoyed

Dec. 28, 2019

Seoul stocks open lower, tech rally continues

South Korean shares opened lower Friday as investors cashed in recent profits ahead of the final trading session of 2019 slated for next week. But major tech stocks continued to build up gains.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 13.41 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,184.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading. In South Korea, investors should buy stocks one day before the last trading day of the year to receive dividends. The final trading session of 2019 is Monday.US stocks continu

Dec. 27, 2019

KB Kookmin Bank to acquire Cambodian lender for $603.4m

South Korea’s commercial lender KB Kookmin Bank said Thursday its board has agreed to acquire a 70 percent stake in Cambodia’s lender Prasac Microfinance Institution for $603.4 million from Sri Lanka-based nonbanking lender LOLC Holdings.Prasac Microfinance is the No. 1 microfinance deposit-taking institution, taking up over 40 percent of market share in Cambodia with 177 branches.KB Kookmin will close the deal within three months, after a due diligence and approval from financial au

Dec. 26, 2019

NH Investment & Securities launches hedge fund firm

NH Investment & Securities, the country’s second-largest securities firm by net assets, launched a hedge fund company as its own subsidiary, the company said Thursday.NH Hedge Asset Management will be led by CEO Lee Dong-hoon, the former head of the hedge fund division at NH Investment & Securities.In August 2016, the securities firm launched the hedge fund division and has operated the NH Absolute Return Fund worth 700 billion won ($603 million) and NH Pre-IPO Mezzanine Fund worth

Dec. 26, 2019

Kosdaq to outperform Kospi in Jan.: analysts

South Korea’s secondary bourse Kosdaq is expected to enjoy the “January effect” in 2020, as it has historically performed strongest in the first month of the year, analysts said Monday. According to stock market operator Korea Exchange, the increase rate of Kosdaq’s index in January has been seven times that of the main bourse Kospi since 2010. In January 2018, the Kosdaq index surged 14.42 percent, while Kospi increased 4.01 percent on-year. In January 2014, Kosdaq rose

Dec. 26, 2019

S. Korea emerges as major player in global gaming M&As: report

South Korean companies are increasingly becoming key players of mergers and acquisitions in the global game industry, in pursuit of fresh revenue sources and growth engines, data showed on Thursday.From 2013 to 2018, Korea ranked No. 4 in global M&A transactions in the industry, according to Samjong KPMG in its report titled “Global M&A Trends in Game Industry.”  Of the total 528 deals globally, Korean entities proposed, signed and closed a combined 45 deals, followed by

Dec. 26, 2019

Banks' loan delinquency rate inches up in October

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans edged up in October from a month earlier due to a slight hike in bad loans extended to firms and households, data showed Thursday.The rate for bank loans more than 30-days overdue stood at 0.46 percent at the end of October, up 0.02 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.But compared with a year ago, the rate was down 0.12 percentage point, it said.The delinquency rate

Dec. 26, 2019

Indebted CJ Group moves to generate cash through divestment

Korean food-to-entertainment conglomerate CJ Group is moving to generate cash through divestment efforts by its affiliates this month, making potential room to tackle the group’s snowballing liabilities.The group’s debt -- which stood at 16.6 trillion won ($14.3 billion) as of end-June according to Korea Ratings -- has cast a shadow on Chairman Lee Jae-hyun’s “Great CJ 2020” initiative to secure 100 trillion won in annual group revenue, pushing the conglomerate to t

Dec. 25, 2019

Trilateral summit raises hopes for recovery of consumer goods stocks

At the end of a sluggish year, South Korea is gradually coming to anticipate the recovery of its consumer goods stocks, placing its hopes on the latest trilateral talk with China and Japan.The key point of interest comes down to whether Seoul will break free of the consequences of economic retaliatory measures taken by Beijing in response to the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system in 2016.On Tuesday, the leaders of the three Northeast Asian states reaffirmed their shared goals of

Dec. 25, 2019

Banking groups’ overseas assets grow 40% in 3 years

The combined assets of the overseas subsidiaries of South Korean financial groups have expanded nearly 40 percent over the past three years, data showed Wednesday.According to data by the state-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp., the total assets owned by overseas subsidiaries of South Korea’s major 10 financial groups tallied 61.6 trillion won ($529.2 billion) as of end-June.The list includes Shinhan Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, Woori Financial Group, KB Financial Group, JB Finan

Dec. 25, 2019

Kakao M carries on M&A push with $23m deal

Kakao M, a subsidiary of South Korean internet giant Kakao, is again adding momentum to mergers and acquisitions to consolidate its content production capacity and generate synergy among its media units.In the latest move, Kakao M subsidiary Starship Entertainment inked a deal to buy a 100 percent stake in a local performing arts company, Shownote, for 26.8 billion won ($23 million) in cash. Starship Entertainment also announced a plan to raise 11 billion won in capital, part of which will come

Dec. 25, 2019

Investors turned to real estate, gold and foreign stocks in 2019: KRX

Reflecting the slowing economy and prolonged low interest rates, investors here have increasingly turned their eyes to real estate, gold and overseas securities, South Korea’s stock market operator said Wednesday.Based on a survey of industry experts and media correspondents, the Korea Exchange selected its top 10 news stories about the domestic stock and derivative markets this year.A representative phenomenon was the soaring demand for real estate investment trusts, or REITs, led by the

Dec. 25, 2019

Glenwood PE signs W608b deal to acquire SKC Kolon PI

South Korea’s investment house Glenwood Private Equity has inked a deal to buy a controlling stake in the world’s leading polyimide film maker SKC Kolon PI for 608 billion won ($523.2 million) from its two major stakeholders, according to regulatory filings on Tuesday. The purchase price of a 54.07 percent stake in SKC Kolon PI has shrunk from earlier market estimates of some 700 billion won. The transaction is poised to take place by Feb. 28. SKC Kolon PI is a joint venture of Korea

Dec. 24, 2019

What Korean commercial banks face in 2020

With unresolved problems set to drag into the new year, South Korean commercial lenders face a number of burdens that will keep them occupied throughout 2020. One of the major issues that drew public flak earlier this year was the misselling of derivatives products worth a combined 800 billion won ($688 million) by Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank, putting its customers at risk of losing large sums. The banks failed to provide customers with adequate information about the high-risk nature of the pro

Dec. 24, 2019

Hyundai Investments partners with La Francaise to create European office-focused fund

Seoul-based Hyundai Investments said Tuesday it has joined hands with French investment house La Francaise to create a blind pool fund that focuses on small and midsized office buildings in Western Europe. The new fund seeks 8 percent internal rate of return through a 10-year investment, according to Hyundai Investments. The Korean vehicle did not disclose the fund’s volume and its limited partners committed to the fund. The fund will target core-plus commercial buildings in key citie

Dec. 24, 2019