[Herald Interview] Screening matters in crowdfunding: Crowdy

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 21st installment. -- Ed.In June, the South Korean mobile game software developer iPeoples reneged on a promise to give 10 percent returns to those investing through an equity crowdfunding platform.The developer of the mobile game “Blue Marble M” was estimated to have crowdsourced 700 million won ($626,300) from some 770 investors by issuing bonds. It promised

Aug. 21, 2018

Alipay launches mobile tax refund service for tourists to Korea

Chinese mobile payment platform Alipay announced Monday it had launched a mobile tax refund service so users could claim refunds without visiting offline duty-free shops in airports or cities. To launch Alipay’s first tax refund service via mobile phone, the Korean unit Alipay Korea partnered with Global Tax Free, a Kosdaq-listed tax refund service provider for foreign tourists.Those buying products at shops supporting services by Global Tax Free -- in seven airports and three harbors

Aug. 20, 2018

Weaker dollar eases S. Korea market woes

Downward pressure on South Korea’s markets appears to be on the wane, as the US dollar is taking a breather against currencies in emerging markets including Korea.  After opening higher on Monday morning, both the Kospi and the Kosdaq lost their earlier gains in the afternoon. The top-tier Kospi remained nearly flat, edging up 0.04 percent at closing, while the Kosdaq was down 0.3 percent. Markets here rebounded Friday from the price floor they had hit earlier last week, while signs o

Aug. 20, 2018

[Kosdaq Star] Strong Q2 backs DoubleU Games’ plan to move to Kospi

This is the 60th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.Listed game software developers in South Korea suffered lackluster performance in the second quarter this year due to sparse new releases coupled with external uncertainties.Moreover, analysts have considered the second quarter a typically low season for the gaming industry.This downtrend makes social casino game developer DoubleU Games’ earnings surprise in the quarter stand ou

Aug. 19, 2018

Seoul shares likely to drift in cautious mode amid uncertainties

South Korean stocks may move in a tight range as investors are likely take a cautious approach due to lingering risks over various global issues, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,247.05 on Friday, losing 1.57 percent, or 35.74 points, from a week ago. In the beginning of the week, a collapse of the Turkish lira sent a shockwave throughout the world. The Turkish currency had been on a sharp decline since the beginning of this year, but the pace ac

Aug. 18, 2018

S. Korea says Elliott's claim over Samsung merger groundless

South Korea has denied a claim by US activist fund Elliott Associates that it gave discreet backing for a 2015 merger of two Samsung units and caused the firm to suffer losses from what it calls an unfair deal, a document from Seoul's justice ministry showed Friday. The Ministry of Justice released its official government response to the notice of arbitration lodged by Elliott in April. The two sides failed to settle the matter and they face an investor-state dispute through an international tri

Aug. 17, 2018

Indonesians in South Korea can send money home faster with new service

Seoul-headquartered KB Kookmin Bank said Friday that it had launched a more efficient money-transfer service Thursday for its Indonesian customers, who can now convert South Korean won directly to Indonesian rupiah with no need to convert funds to US dollars first.  The commercial bank teamed up with Bank Negara Indonesia to lower the cost of converting currencies and make it possible to send money faster, KB Kookmin Bank said. Normally, to remit funds to Indonesia, a double-conversion proc

Aug. 17, 2018

[Advertorial] Eximbank to finance Peruvian copper mine project

The Export-Import Bank of Korea will finance a copper mine project in Peru, seeking to support South Korean companies in securing strategic resources in the overseas market, officials said Thursday. The state-run bank on Thursday signed an agreement to inject some $200 million into the development of the Mina Justa Copper Mine in Peru, a project by local firms Minsur and Copec.Minsur, the mining arm of the South American state’s largest conglomerate Breca, is currently the world&rsquo

Aug. 16, 2018

Samsung Electronics pulls along H1 growth in Kospi earnings

South Korea’s listed companies experienced lackluster earnings in the second quarter despite on-year growth in the first half of the year largely driven by Samsung Electronics, data showed Thursday. The combined first-half operating profit of 641 companies trading on the Kospi, including Samsung Electronics, jumped 18.6 percent on-year, while combined net profit surged 7.6 percent. However, if the data excludes Samsung Electronics, the figures significantly slid. The combined operating pro

Aug. 16, 2018

Emerging market woes send Kospi to 15-month low

South Korea’s stock markets sank Monday on emerging market instability triggered by the sliding Turkish lira coupled with negative investor sentiment toward listed Korean biotech companies. The top-tier Kospi dipped 1.5 percent to close at 2,248.45, the lowest since May 4, 2017, following a foreign sell-off of 172.5 billion won ($152.2 million). The second-tier Kosdaq shed 3.7 percent to close at 755.65. Foreign and institutional investors net sold shares worth 158.1 billion won on Kosdaq.

Aug. 13, 2018

BOK calls for Korea’s 'fundamental' shift in exports to China

South Korea’s exports to China maintained on-year growth, overcoming the downtrend until 2016, while new research by the central bank hinted at the need for Korea to shift away from its focus on exporting manufactured goods to China to continue the uptrend.From Aug. 1-10, the volume of Korean exports to China jumped 28.8 percent compared to the previous year, according to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service on Monday. This came alongside the on-year growth streak in 2018 until July.

Aug. 13, 2018

Govt.-issued bonds surpass W1,000tr for first time

South Korea-issued bonds hit 1,000.2 trillion won ($885.52 billion) as of early last week, surpassing the 1,000 trillion-won mark for the first time, the Korea Financial Investment Association said Monday.Government bonds accounted for 671.64 trillion won of the total, and purpose bonds 328.56 trillion won Tuesday. The sum is more than double the 427 trillion won in 2008, the year the country was swept up in a global financial crisis. Bond issuance has been on the increase in recent years, recor

Aug. 13, 2018

Weaker Q2 earnings weigh on market

Preliminary earnings of South Korean listed companies are vindicating analysts’ downward revisions of their Q2 projections, due to a lingering US-China trade war impact, data showed Sunday. Of 145 companies listed on the top-tier Kospi, covering nearly three-quarters of the market cap or a combined 1,099.3 trillion won ($973.3 billion), 72 reported earnings within 10 percent of the market consensus, according to data compiled by KB Securities as of Thursday. Of the remainder, the majority

Aug. 12, 2018

S. Korean shares to move in tight range next week

South Korean shares are expected to be locked in a narrow range next week as investors take to the sidelines amid global trade tension worries, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,282.79. points on Friday, slightly down from 2,287.68 points a week earlier.The local stock market started mildly lower Monday as institutional and foreign buyers offloaded large-cap shares, mostly offsetting a massive selling spree by individuals. The index, howev

Aug. 11, 2018

Foreigners turn to net buyers of KOSPI shares in July

Offshore investors shifted to a net buying mode on South Korea's main KOSPI market last month, ending a five-month selling streak that weighed down the index, data showed Saturday.Foreigners picked up a net 373.4 billion won ($332.2 million) worth of local stocks listed on the top-tier market during the one-month period, according to the data from the Korea Exchange (KRX).It is the first time that they bought more shares than they sold since January, when they scooped up 1.98 trillion won worth

Aug. 11, 2018

Moin resumes cross-border wire transfer with China

South Korean financial technology startup Moin resumed its cross-border money transfer service without currency conversion fees double-charged to residents in China, starting Aug. 1, according to Moin on Wednesday. This came after Moin’s remittance service with China was suspended since May 2017.  Taking advantage of Moin’s prefunding scheme, those who receive money transferred from Korea will not be charged won-to-dollar and dollar-to-yuan conversion fees, unlike interbank meth

Aug. 8, 2018

Unionized bank workers vote to go on strike

Unionized workers at South Korean banks voted Tuesday to go on strike amid a feud with management over the introduction of the shorter workweek system and other key pending issues, officials said.The decision was made in voting that ended at 6 p.m., according to the officials. The workers' detailed action plan will be announced on Thursday.  Preliminary counting showed that more than 80 percent of the workers participated in the voting, of which over 90 percent approved the move, an officia

Aug. 7, 2018

[Herald Interview] Balancehero urges govt. to support firms targeting India entry

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 20th installment. -- Ed.Since taking office in 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to level the playing field for offshore and domestic companies in financial services, declaring an end to bureaucratic “red tape.”For example, Indian financial authorities lowered regulatory hurdles in late 2016 that were set particularly for foreign business en

Aug. 7, 2018

Remittance startup Sentbe steps up operation in Vietnam

South Korean remittance startup Sentbe said Tuesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietcombank Remittance. The move will allow recipients to pick up wired money in an hour on average from some 2,500 automated teller machines or some 500 branches that belong to Vietcombank, as well as some 500 nonbank cash pickup centers, with up to 95 percent lower commission fees, the startup said. This is a step up from the Korean startup’s existing partnership with Vietnam. Vitecombank

Aug. 7, 2018

Kyobo Life’s insurance for education cost celebrates 60 years

South Korea’s Kyobo Life Insurance has launched a variable life insurance product that covers an individual’s education expenses for college in line with the company’s original philosophy, the firm said Monday.Since it was founded in 1958, Kyobo, formerly known as Daehan Kyoyuk Insurance and short for “life insurance for educational expenses,” was the first to introduce insurance products for education cost to promote literacy in the nation torn by the Korean War at

Aug. 6, 2018