Kakao becomes largest shareholder of internet-only bank

Kakao is set to become the largest shareholder of its internet-only bank on Friday, marking it as the first nonfinancial services firm to have majority stake in a South Korean lender. The Financial Services Commission on Wednesday approved Korea Investment Holdings’ request to transfer 15 percent and 29 percent of its current 50 percent stake in Kakao Bank to Kakao and Korea Investment Value Asset Management, respectively. Korea Investment Value Asset Management is a second-tier subsidiary

Nov. 21, 2019

Foreigners continue selling spree of Korean stocks despite trade volume rebound

Foreign investors continued to offload Korean stocks despite a rebound in daily trading volume, a Korea Exchange data showed Wednesday.Analysts cited the lingering uncertainties surrounding the ongoing US-China trade war that has dampened global investor sentiment behind the move. According to the bourse operator, foreigners were net sellers of shares on the benchmark Kospi worth nearly 1.4 trillion won ($1.2 billion) from Nov. 7 to Wednesday. The offloading observed throughout 10 consecutive tr

Nov. 20, 2019

Foreign currency deposits surge nearly $6b in Oct.

Foreign currency deposits held by banks in South Korea rose sharply from a month earlier in October, largely on local companies seeking to stash the US dollar at its weakest, central bank data showed Tuesday.The outstanding foreign currency savings held by banks here came to $78.54 billion as of end-October, up $5.9 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. The reading marks the third consecutive month of increase, and also an acceleration from a $1.67 billion o

Nov. 19, 2019

Investment banking becomes primary profit source for brokerages

For South Korea’s largest brokerages, investment banking has replaced traditional income sources such as stock trading and wealth management as the No. 1 profit maker this year, data showed Monday.Local brokerages are bolstering their investment banking divisions and looking to this business area as a steady income source due to the sluggish stock market. According to regulatory filings compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service, Mirae Asset Daewoo’s investment banking unit posted

Nov. 18, 2019

BOK chief calls for bank's preemptive, practical changes

The head of South Korea's central bank called for preemptive measures Monday to actively prepare the bank for future changes, but insisted such measures must be practical enough to win the support of not only bank officials but also the general public."Changes and innovations are becoming much faster and more complicated than ever before in each sector of our society," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a biennial meeting of top BOK officials. "Should we not react activel

Nov. 18, 2019

SC Bank Korea to introduce ‘Frozen 2’ character check cards, bankbooks

SC Bank Korea, the local subsidiary of British banking giant Standard Chartered, said Monday that it will launch a limited edition of its check cards and bankbooks featuring characters from the upcoming Disney animation “Frozen 2.”To commemorate opening of the highly anticipated sequel to the Disney hit “Frozen,” slated to hit local theaters on Thursday, the Korean subsidiary is offering 30,000 Ace Plus Check Cards and 60,000 deposit and savings accounts.  Under the

Nov. 18, 2019

Equity fund supporting local parts makers raises W100b

A local equity fund in which President Moon Jae-in invested has amassed more than 100 billion won ($85 million), fund operator NH-Amundi Asset Management said Sunday.Since its launch in August this year, the NH-Amundi Victorious Korea Equity Fund has logged 6.98 percent in return rate as of Friday.The fund was designed to invest in local firms that manufacture industrial equipment, components and materials impacted by Japan’s export curbs. Its popularity has grown about two weeks after Pre

Nov. 17, 2019

Top 30 firms’ investment volume dips 16.6%

The amount of investments by South Korea’s top 30 conglomerates as of the third quarter fell over 16 percent on-year amid slow growth and sluggish trend of the semiconductor business, a market tracker said Sunday.The combined investments totaled 54.33 trillion won ($46.3 billion) as of the end of September, down 16.6 percent from 65.17 trillion won a year earlier, CEO Score said in a statement.The tally covered the 272 conglomerate subsidiaries that have unveiled their half-year business r

Nov. 17, 2019

Penguin character Pengsoo’s popularity excites stock investors

South Korea’s obsession with a penguin character is nothing new, with Pororo the “little penguin” having charmed kids with his orange goggles and innocence for more than a decade. However, Pengsoo -- a penguin character that bears a striking resemblance to Pororo, but armed with a blunter persona -- has gained cross-generational popularity in recent months, even nudging investors to purchase related stocks.Digital education contents producer Uangel -- which signed a memorandum

Nov. 15, 2019

Seoul stocks open almost flat on lack of market momentum

South Korean stocks opened almost flat on Friday as investors attempted to cash in recent gains amid a lack of market momentum.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched down 0.91 point, or 0.04 percent, to 2,138.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Large caps were mixed, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics unchanged.No. 1 portal operator Naver shed 2.78 percent and carmaker Hyundai Motor was down 0.4 percent.In contrast, chipmaker SK hynix climbed 0.48 percent and POSCO, the No

Nov. 15, 2019

Toss operator converts shares to nonredeemable

Viva Republica, operator of mobile financial service Toss, said Thursday that it has converted all of its redeemable convertible preferred shares to convertible preferred shares, in a move to enhance capital stability.Redeemable shares, or RCPS, refer to preferred stocks that the issuing company may trade for cash, while convertible shares, or CPS, allow the shareholder to exchange for common stocks. The latter is recognized as capital under both Korean Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (K

Nov. 14, 2019

Regulator unveils measures to bolster investor protection over risky assets

South Korea's financial regulator on Thursday unveiled a raft of measures to better protect consumers in the wake of improper sales of derivatives linked to overseas interest rates that carry the risk of losing nearly all the money invested in them.Under the measures, banks will be banned from selling high-risk privately placed funds, according to the Financial Services Commission.Banks and other financial firms will be required to strengthen their internal control systems when they sell high-ri

Nov. 14, 2019

Hyundai Card bets on ‘super customization’

Hyundai Card, the credit card unit of Hyundai Motor Group, is preparing to level up its business with “super customized” marketing, officials said Wednesday.The new system, heavily based on the data of over 8 million customers accumulated by the company over the years, uses artificial intelligence to measure a customer’s real-time circumstances, such as location and weather, and uses that information to provide tailored marketing messages.The company explains that super customi

Nov. 13, 2019

Hanwha Systems’ listing signals accelerating succession plan

Hanwha Group’s defense technology unit was listed Wednesday, suggesting that succession plans are being hastened and Chairman Kim Seung-youn is ready to hand over the reins to his sons. Hanwha Systems currently has a market cap of nearly 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion) and traded slightly below its initial public offering price of 12,250 won at 11,100 won on its first day of trading on the benchmark Kospi.According to analysts and industry insiders, the company’s Kospi debut will hel

Nov. 13, 2019

S. Korea's key rate in new territory but not in trouble: BOK board member

The gap between South Korea's policy rate and that of the United States may have placed South Korea in unexplored territory, but the rate gap has yet to cause any serious problems for Asia's fourth-largest economy, a member of the Bank of Korea's monetary policy board said Wednesday."(Future rate decisions) will have to be made after carefully examining various factors as South Korea is exploring an unwalked territory," Lim Ji-won said in a meeting with reporters. Lim's remarks came le

Nov. 13, 2019

Credit card firms entice e-shoppers ahead of Black Friday

With Black Friday falling in the US on Nov. 29, South Korea’s credit card operators are rolling up their sleeves to lure online shoppers with discounts and giveaways, industry data showed Wednesday.Overseas online retail customers -- dubbed “jikgu-jok” in Korean -- are expected to flock to various shopping sites in the upcoming season, running from Black Friday in end-November, to Cyber Monday in early December, up to Christmas and year-end.According to Korea Customs Service, b

Nov. 13, 2019

S. Korea’s issuance of green bonds more than doubles on-year

Green bond issuance in South Korea has more than doubled so far this year, compared to the cumulative total floated last year, data provided by local companies showed Tuesday.Green bonds are fixed-income securities that fund eco-friendly projects. The size of the bond market and diversity of its issuers have been increasing in recent years as firms deem it helpful to improve their corporate image and make investors feel environmentally conscious. According to disclosures issued by the firms, the

Nov. 12, 2019

Young chaebol scions own W1.8tr worth of stocks: data

Among South Korea’s chaebol owner family members, 51 are aged 30 or younger and also own stocks worth 10 billion won ($8.6 million), industry data showed Monday.According to conglomerate tracker Chaebul.com, the total value of such stocks amounted to over 1.8 trillion won, with the per capita average of 36.8 billion won, as of the closing price Wednesday. Compared to the previous survey in January 2017, the number of young superrich dropped by one while the aggregated value of their assets

Nov. 11, 2019

Samsung, SK, Hyundai see gain in market cap

Amid a sluggish stock market, the top three South Korean conglomerates -- Samsung, SK and Hyundai Motor Group -- saw their market capitalizations rise this year, while values of the other top 10 plunged in the same period, data compiled by a local market tracker showed.According to FnGuide, the combined market cap of Samsung’s 16 listed subsidiaries increased nearly 18 percent, from Jan. 2 to Oct. 30, to 434.9 trillion won ($382 billion). Of the 16 subsidiaries, nine saw a growth in their

Nov. 10, 2019

[Feature] S. Korean banks in heated competition over ‘open banking’

Struggling to innovate in a fast-changing, competitive market, South Korean banks have their eye on a new integrated financial service -- open banking.The service lowers the threshold for bank customers by allowing them to use virtually all banking services of different banks via a single mobile application. While this new financial technology service increases user convenience, it has also raised concerns about excessive competition.On Oct. 30, 10 major commercial banks here started offering th

Nov. 8, 2019