S. Korea's current account surplus reaches $7.38 b in June

Korea's current account surplus continued its upside mode in June on an improved goods account surplus and reduced travel deficit, central bank data showed Friday.The country's current account surplus came to $7.38 billion in June, up from $6.94 billion in the black a year ago, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. From a month earlier, the June figure declined from an eight-month high of $8.68 billion.Asia's fourth-largest country has maintained a current account surplus for

Aug. 3, 2018

Duped investors vent anger, with losses, remorse of ‘treasure ship scam’

Before it backtracked, the claim of a South Korean company that it had discovered a “treasure battleship” in South Korean territorial waters was a ray of hope for digital asset investors in search of a financial bonanza.But the hope quickly diminished for investors holding what is thought to be a digital asset called Shinil Gold Coin, after a recent press conference by the Korean business entity. On July 26, officials of Seoul-based Shinil Group, declaring that it had changed its nam

Aug. 2, 2018

Bank of Korea moves to allow payment with QR codes

South Korea’s central bank on Tuesday unveiled plans to create an equivalent to China’s Alipay or WeChat Pay by the first half of 2019, in a move to cut “social costs” of consumers and merchants caused by card networks here. The new infrastructure for smartphone-based mobile wallet service will allow an online payment to be settled between customers and vendors without intermediaries like a card network, where card companies, payment gateway providers and virtual account

July 31, 2018

P2P lenders’ repayment on Tera Funding tops W200b

Peer-to-peer borrowers on South Korean lending platform Tera Funding had repaid 202.4 billion won ($180.6 million) in loans without becoming overdue, as of end-June, according to the startup on Monday. This marked the first time that a Korean P2P lending platform extended loans over 200 billion won and had the borrowing fully compensated, the startup said. Founded in 2014 by former banker and foreclosure freelancer Yang Tae-young, Tera Funding has been dedicated to financing projects for real es

July 30, 2018

[Advertorial] Citibank Korea Awarded ‘Best Foreign Bank in Korea’ by FinanceAsia

Citibank Korea was named "Best Foreign Bank in Korea" in 2018 FinanceAsia Country Awards, a prestigious financial magazine. Citibank Korea has won the award a total of nine times between 2008 and this year.According to FinanceAsia, Citibank Korea reported a 15% year-on-year increase in annual net income, thanks to a staggering 192% jump in non-interest income including foreign exchange and derivatives gains, as well as investment and insurance product sales. At

July 30, 2018

[Kosdaq Star] Asia Pacific Satellite to ride 5G momentum

This is the 59th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.Asia Pacific Satellite, a communications satellite hardware manufacturer based in Seoul, has seen swift recovery following a plunge in the past few weeks. While the stock price has suffered a heavy fluctuation, analysts have said the future market performance of the manufacturer has a reason for an upsurge, on anticipation for an upcoming introduction of fifth-generational network her

July 30, 2018

Samsung Securities fined W144m, imposed suspension over dividend fiasco

Samsung Securities on Thursday was fined 144 million won ($128,500) and imposed a six-month suspension for parts of its business by the financial authorities over a failure to prevent a dividend fiasco that broke out in April this year. The brokerage arm of Samsung conglomerate will be banned from brokering equity securities transactions of new investors from Friday to Jan. 26, 2019, according to the Financial Services Commission. Incumbent Chief Executive Koo Sung-hoon was slapped with a three-

July 26, 2018

Samsung Securities steps up efforts for NK investment opportunities

South Korean brokerage house Samsung Securities is stepping up its support of foreign investors seeking investment opportunities in North Korea. The efforts are being spearheaded by the securities firm’s in-house North Korea Investment Strategy Research Team, established on June 8 as a first in the securities industry here. A recent example is a session on July 19 targeting officials of private equity funds or asset management firms, during the two-day AVCJ Private Equity & Venture For

July 26, 2018

SC Bank Korea’s Miles card targets young customers

To the young generation increasingly placing work-life balance over career progression or income, an airline miles credit card could be attractive to those who make more overseas trips, Standard Chartered Bank Korea said in a release. The Korean unit of the London-based banking giant has offered its flagship airline miles card since March, called Plus Mile, so that miles earned can be used for airlines in Korea. The card offers a maximum bonus of 3.5 miles to fly with Asiana Airlines o

July 25, 2018

[Herald Interview] DeepSearch spearheads financial data analytics

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 19th installment. -- Ed.Offshore institutional investors have often come across a lack of financial information about South Korean securities when building an investment portfolio for Asian markets.Some 3 million privately held Korean companies are barely on the map. Relevance from overflowing information about listed companies in Korea -- largely embellished -- was also

July 24, 2018

Kospi undergoes most bearish H1 in 5 years

The Kospi, a benchmark index representing South Korea’s top-tier market, experienced the most bearish first half this year in five years, data showed Monday.From January to June, the Kospi fell 5.7 percent to 2,326.13, the sharpest since a 6.7 percent drop in the first half of 2013, according to data compiled by the Korea Exchange. Analysts cited a market impact from US-China trade war threats and strengthening US dollar that are associated with sluggish earnings of local manufacturers in

July 23, 2018

[Herald Interview] Small-cap index can ‘reduce risk’ as long as qualities are checked

In February this year, the Korea Exchange, South Korea’s market operator and stock index developer, birthed the KRX 300 benchmark index that represents the tiered stock market in Korea. The KRX unveiled the mid-cap index called KRX Mid 200 in June, comprising constituents from the top-tier Kospi and second-tier Kosdaq, and released plans for another index for small caps in the near future. The moves aimed to balance institutional influx into tiered stock markets in Korea and enable investo

July 22, 2018

30 richest stockholders' share value tumbles this year

South Korea's 30 richest stockholders have lost more than 10 trillion won ($8.81 billion) combined in the value of their shares this year amid a bearish equities market, data showed Sunday.As of last Wednesday, the aggregated value of shares owned by the top 30 stockholders stood at 77.69 trillion won, down 11.84 percent from the end of last year, according to the local financial information provider FnGuide Inc.The benchmark KOSPI has lost 7.19 percent this year, dropping to 2,290.11. On the fi

July 22, 2018

Proclaimed discovery of wrecked Russian cruiser disrupts stock market

A South Korean company’s proclaimed discovery of the armored Russian cruiser Dmitrii Donskoi that was scuttled off the sea near the Korean islet Ulleungdo in 1905 has disrupted local stock market.The stock price of Jeil Steel Mfg, a rolling steel product maker listed on the second-tier Kosdaq, fluctuated throughout this week on the rumored connection with Shinil Group, the Korean company that claimed to have found the sunken vessel.  Jeil Steel Mfg sank 20.5 percent Thursday in closin

July 19, 2018

SK Securities selloff up for final regulatory decision next week

South Korea’s Securities and Futures Commission on Wednesday approved SK Holdings’ 51.5 billion-won ($45.6 million) deal plan, putting the matter up for final regulatory decision by the top regulator, the Financial Services Commission. SK Holdings’ deal is designed to sell off its controlling stake of brokerage house SK Securities to local private equity firm J&W Partners. As the SFC approved the eligibility of J&W Partners as the securities firm’s major sharehold

July 18, 2018

Nearly 300 workers caught for unfair stock trading over 3 yrs: data

A total of 281 officials of listed companies have been caught for unfair stock trading over the past three years, data by the state watchdog showed Wednesday.Between 2015 and 2017, the Financial Supervisory Service caught 184 executives and 97 employees of the listed firms for illegal acts involving stock trading. Of them, 30.6 percent were from companies listed on the main KOSPI bourse (43 executives and 25 employees), while 69.4 percent worked for KOSDAQ-listed firms (129 executives and 66 emp

July 18, 2018

Warrant for Naturecell CEO issued over stock-rigging

The South Korean district court has issued an arrest warrant for Ra Jeong-chan, chief executive of Korean biotech firm Nature Cell, on allegations that he manipulated stock market using false and misleading company information since 2017. This came after the prosecution sought an arrest warrant against Ra on Friday. Ra has been under custody for interrogation since Tuesday. The company said in a disclosure Wednesday it has nominated an acting CEO, adding that no allegations had been proven.Ra is

July 18, 2018

Credit unions to adopt stricter rules for mortgage loans next week

Credit unions will adopt stricter guidelines for mortgage loans next week, officials said Tuesday, in the government's latest effort to rein in household debt.The stricter lending calculation for home mortgages, called the Debt Service Ratio, uses a new system that measures all debt principal and interest payments as a proportion of annual income.Financial authorities said the DSR system, which was already adopted at commercial banks in March, better assesses a borrower's repayment ability and r

July 17, 2018

Calls grow to deregulate market for online-only banks

Panelists from academic circles at a roundtable discussion Monday called on financial authorities to lower the regulatory bar for South Korea’s digital banks, which face difficulties in launching new financial services due to failures in raising capital.Among issues at debate were calls to ease regulation on nonfinancial firms’ maximum ownership of banking firms, with some panelists saying such a regulation is outmoded. The ban was put in place to prevent companies from using banks a

July 16, 2018

K bank faces impasse on capital increase failure, regulation

K bank, South Korea’s first online-only bank, has come under financial pressure over its failure in capital increase through issuing new stocks, as pledged in May. By Thursday, K bank shareholders were scheduled to buy 24 million newly issued common stocks and 6 million convertible preferred stocks without voting rights, worth a combined 150 billion won ($132.4 million). Of the total pledges with 5,000 won per share, only 30 billion won for the convertible securities purchase had been paid

July 15, 2018