[Advertorial] KRX’s ETN business scales up in 3 years

After Barclays created structured debt security products called exchange-traded notes in 2006, the Korea Exchange in November 2014 opened markets to trade the structured products to meet growing demand for high-return investments amid low key rates and an aging society. Three years later, the market operator has seen visible growth of its ETN market, on the back of the sole market operator’s efforts to diversify the types of products, ranging from ones designed to hedge losses to those wit

Nov. 27, 2017

[Kosdaq Star] TissueGene’s epic debut represents bio boom

This is the 45th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- EdMid-stage osteoarthritis treatment developer TissueGene’s market cap rose by more than 2 trillion won ($1.84 billion) within three weeks of making its debut, becoming the fifth-largest firm on South Korea’s second-tier Kosdaq market Friday. The stock performance of the Maryland-headquartered firm reflects a market-wide biotech boom built on overheated investor anticipation

Nov. 26, 2017

Watchdog probes Samsung chief’s alleged borrowed name accounts

Financial authorities started to investigate financial companies in relation to the accounts under borrowed names allegedly belonging to Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, an issue raised during the parliamentary audit last month.The Financial Supervisory Service on Friday said that it has since earlier this week been carrying out inspections on all the banks and securities firms which opened accounts under borrowed names for Lee.The currently bed-ridden conglomerate chief is thought to have 1,021 of

Nov. 24, 2017

Kosdaq ends down after brief surge past 800

Korea’s second-tier Kosdaq market is continuing to soar, exceeding the 800-marker for the first time in more than a decade on Friday. 　The Kosdaq index rose 4 points (0.50 percent) to 800.80 as of 9:32 a.m., surpassing 800 for the first time since Nov. 7, 2007. The index opened at 797.97, jumping 1.17 points (0.15 percent). 　The Kosdaq ended up closing at 792.74 on Friday, down 4.06 points, however, managed to exceed 800 in intraday trading .　“The US stock market is closed for the ni

Nov. 24, 2017

Seoul stocks mildly lower amid wait-and-see stance by investors

South Korean stocks finished slightly lower Thursday as investors took a wait-and-see stance amid the lack of momentum, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched up 3.36 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 2,537.15. Trade volume was slim at 248.4 million shares worth 5.2 trillion won ($4.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering loser 499 to 272.On Wednesday (local time), the major US indexes retreated from their latest record hi

Nov. 23, 2017

Watchdog to empower auditors in accounting reform

South Korea‘s top financial watchdog on Thursday unveiled measures to enhance external auditors’ independence, by making it mandatory for auditors to add risk assessments on auditors’ reports.A task force under the Financial Services Commission, steered by the watchdog‘s vice chairman Kim Yong-beom, said that from 2019, an accountant in an auditor’s report must include key audit matters such as risks from revenue recognition, as well as clients’ actions after

Nov. 23, 2017

Q3 ratio of short-term debt to foreign reserves hits highest in two years

The ratio of South Korea's short-term foreign debt to its foreign reserves hit the highest level in two years in the third quarter, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's short-term external debt -- with a maturity of one year or less -- totaled $119.8 billion as of the end of September, up $2.5 billion from three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.The end-September figure accounted for 29.3 percent of the country's total external debt, the highest percentage sin

Nov. 23, 2017

ETF trading shoots up on KOSDAQ boom

The trading volume of South Korea's exchange traded funds has jumped more than seven times this month amid the white-hot run of the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market, industry data showed Thursday.The combined trading volume of three ETFs operated by Samsung Asset Management Co. came to 29.44 million shares as of Tuesday, up 7.33 times from the start of November.The net asset value of the three ETFs stood at about 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion), the largest among the local ETF markets. Their turnover al

Nov. 23, 2017

Short sellers target KOSDAQ's two high flyers

Biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion Inc. and biotech company SillaJen Inc. have been the main targets of short sellers on the secondary KOSDAQ market this month after leading the market's recent red-hot run, industry sources said Thursday.The volume of short-sold Celltrion shares came to 3.39 million shares in the first 21 days of this month, the largest among companies registered on the tech-laden stock market.The figure accounts for slightly over 10 percent of the total amount of short-sold share

Nov. 23, 2017

Savings banks' household loans spike 20% over past year

South Korean savings banks' household lending has soared nearly 20 percent over the past year to top the 20 trillion-won ($18.3 billion) mark despite their high interest, central bank data showed Thursday.Savings banks' outstanding household loans stood at 20.6 trillion won as of end-September, up 19.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Amid softer property regulations and easier access to credit, such loans had been growing at a fast clip since 2013, with

Nov. 23, 2017

FSS warns banks' overseas branches on weak risk management

The overseas corporations of major South Korean banking groups have been recommended to build up their pre-emptive risk management capacities, according to financial supervisors.The Financial Supervisory Service recently issued an attention-level management recommendation to Woori America Bank, the US corporation of Woori Bank, asking that it level out its loan portfolio, officials said Wednesday.As the notice is a nonbinding administrative guidance, it is up to the company to voluntarily make t

Nov. 22, 2017

Seoul stocks end higher on tech gains

South Korean stocks closed higher Wednesday as investors scooped up large-cap tech shares following overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.81 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,540.51. Trade volume was slim at 254 million shares worth 4.7 trillion won ($4.2 billion), with losers outnumbering advancers 475 to 341.The broad index opened higher taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street. On Tu

Nov. 22, 2017

SC Bank Korea promotes fixed deposit product

Standard Chartered Bank Korea is promoting a fixed deposit product online that offers an interest rate of up to 2.3 percent, before tax, the bank said in a statement Wednesday. The interest rate of the product will go up according to the amount of deposits raised through the promotion.  If the product raises more than 100 billion won ($91.7 million), the bank will offer an annual interest rate of 2.3 percent for depositors, with the minimum rate guaranteed at 1.7 percent even if the volume

Nov. 22, 2017

Market value of KOSDAQ-listed biopharmaceuticals soars

Pharmaceutical and biotech firms traded on South Korea's secondary KOSDAQ market have seen their combined value top 20 percent of the total market capitalization for the first time on jumps in big-cap prices, data showed Wednesday.According to the data from the Korea Exchange, the combined market value of 73 KOSDAQ-listed pharmaceutical and biotech companies stood at 59.2 trillion won as of Monday, accounting for 21.5 percent of the total market cap. The percentage, which came to 17.3 percent at

Nov. 22, 2017

Game makers help power KOSDAQ boom

South Korean game makers have contributed greatly to the recent boom of the country's secondary stock market as their stock prices are on an upswing on hopes of rising earnings, industry sources said Wednesday.Driven mainly by strong earnings momentum, the tech-laden KOSDAQ market has been recently on a roll with its benchmark price index flirting with the 800-point level. It closed 0.52 percent up at a new all-time high of 789.38 on Tuesday.According to the Korea Exchange, Pearl Abyss finished

Nov. 22, 2017

Korea to delay opening of FX market by 1 hour on college entrance exam day

The opening of South Korea's foreign exchange market will be delayed by one hour on the day of the college entrance exam this week, the committee in charge of the foreign exchange market said Tuesday.The foreign exchange market is set to open at 10 a.m. and close at 3:30 p.m. Thursday as part of efforts to ease traffic, according to the Seoul Foreign Exchange Market Committee.The committee also delayed the opening of the foreign exchange market by one hour last Thursday due to the college entran

Nov. 21, 2017

Short-term time deposits soar on rate hike hopes

South Korean banks saw their short-term time deposits jump more than 10 percent on-quarter in the third quarter amid expectations of interest rate hikes down the road, central bank data showed Tuesday.The outstanding balance of short-term time deposits at local lenders came to 221.6 trillion won ($202 billion) as of the end of September, up 19.4 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.It was up 10.1 percent from the second quarter, the largest quarter

Nov. 21, 2017

Local think tank expects won to remain strong next year

The Korean won will remain strong against the US dollar next year, hitting its peak in the third quarter, a local economic think tank said in its report Tuesday.The Hana Institute of Finance predicted that the won will reach 1,130 won per dollar in the last quarter of this year and rise to 1,115 won in the first quarter next year. It will climb more to 1,095 won in the second quarter before ending the third quarter at 1,080 won, according to the institute. The fourth quarter next year will see t

Nov. 21, 2017

Card loans swing to upturn in Q3

South Korean credit card firms saw their card loans pick up in the third quarter from a slight decline three months earlier, industry data showed Tuesday.The country's six stand-alone card firms -- Shinhan, KB, Woori, Hana, Samsung and Lotte -- extended 9.4 trillion won ($8.6 billion) in combined card loans in the July-September period, up 7.2 percent from a year earlier.The figure marks a turnaround from a slight fall in the previous quarter. Card loans edged down 0.4 percent on-year in the Apr

Nov. 21, 2017