[Advertorial] KDB Foundation begins 2017 art education for marginalized kids

The state-run Korea Development Bank said Tuesday its KDB Foundation has begun its annual art education project for elementary school children in low-income households, as part of its long-term social corporate responsibility activities.Initiated in 2014, the annual program invites scores of elementary school students in the third to sixth grades in low-income households and offers them 18 rounds of integrated art education in cooperation with Dongdeok Women’s University’s art educat

June 27, 2017

Seoul stocks close at all-time high for 2nd session

South Korean stocks closed at an all-time high Tuesday for a second straight session, helped by a net purchase by retail investors. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 3.29 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 2,391.95. Trade volume was moderate at 289 million shares worth 5.2 trillion won ($4.5 billion). The local stock market opened lower on profit-taking but turned positive on the back of retail investors' buying. Individual invest

June 27, 2017

Banks urged to mitigate risks from household lending

Financial authorities have urged banks to take measures to mitigate risks from household lending, before tightening rules on home lending early next month, an official said Tuesday. At a meeting with heads of some 20 retail banks on Monday, Financial Supervisory Service Governor Zhin Woong-seob called for them to improve their risk and compliance management, according to an FSS official who attended the meeting.Effective next Monday, the lending ceiling for homes located in areas designated by t

June 27, 2017

Korean shares hit fresh intraday high on retail buying

South Korean shares hit a fresh intra-day high late Tuesday morning, thanks to a retail investor buying spree. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 1.51 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,390.17 as of 11:20 a.m. The index rose to as high as 2,391.86 at one point in morning trading.  Large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 0.25 percent, while global chipmaker SK hynix surged 1.48 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 1.52 percent and its smalle

June 27, 2017

Oil-focused funds lose big on falling crude prices

South Korea's three oil commodity exchange traded funds have posted abysmal returns over the past month due to falling international crude prices, a fund evaluation firm said Tuesday.With crude prices on the skids for five weeks running, the oil ETFs chalked up an average return of over minus 16 percent in the month to Friday, according to Zeroin. Oil ETFs consist of either crude firm stocks or futures and derivative contracts to track the price and performance of oil, or in some cases oil-relat

June 27, 2017

Price index gap between major, minor bourses hits new high

The price index gap between South Korea's main and secondary bourses has hit a new high as the current bull run of the local stock market is driven largely by big caps, data showed Tuesday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 0.42 percent to finish at a fresh high of 2,388.66 on Monday, while the key index of the minor KOSDAQ market fell 0.09 percent to 668.36.The difference between the price indexes reached an all-time high of 1,720.30, surpassing the previous record set on J

June 27, 2017

Seoul stocks start lower on profit-taking

South Korean shares opened marginally lower Tuesday as investors opted to cash in part of recent gains.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 1.34 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,387.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 0.62 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor declined 0.91 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO fell 0.37 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,135.00 won against the US dollar, up 2.1 wo

June 27, 2017

Kospi resumes record run in 2 weeks

The main bourse in South Korea resumed its record run in 11 trading days on Monday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Market Index closed at 2,388.66, up 0.42 percent, or 10.06 points from Friday closing. The index hit the record-high after it closed at the previous record at 2,381.69 on June 9. The Kospi inched close to the 2,400 mark by hitting its intraday high at 2,390.70 in the late afternoon trade.Offshore investors purchased shares valued at 34.1 billion won ($30 million) in total, while

June 26, 2017

Legal battle continues between Mirae Asset and SME head

The ongoing lawsuit raised in 2016 by a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf franchise in China against Mirae Asset Financial Group and Chairman Park Hyeon-joo has become more complicated, as the franchise’s CEO has filed another lawsuit against the group’s private equity CEO and an executive on perjury charges.The legal battle dates back to May 2014 when Kwon Joon, CEO of TNPI HK, sued Mirae Asset Chairman Park Hyeon-joo for “unlawfully” using the franchise’s confidential repo

June 26, 2017

Crude oil slump casts shadow on monetary tightening

The prolonged slump in crude oil prices may put a damper on the South Korean central bank’s anticipated monetary tightening, industry watchers said Monday. This came after oil prices spiraled to a record-low the previous week and the Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol picked the latest fluctuation on the oil price as one of the “external downside risks” in carrying out its monetary policy.“The prolonged crude slump has dampened the expectations for the inflation and normaliza

June 26, 2017

FSS’ new data to bring Moon’s attention to self-employed

The Financial Supervisory Service said Sunday it has been in talks with the Financial Services Commission to raise the attention of the debts of the self-employed.The FSS and the FSC are reportedly focusing on breaking down the debts owed by the self-employed and helping the Moon Jae-in administration tackle and contain the rise of household debt. The government is set to announce a comprehensive measure against skyrocketing household debt in August.In doing so, the FSS is currently drawing up a

June 25, 2017

[Advertorial] KRX commits to social responsibilities via foundation

Korea Exchange’s Happy Foundation is closing off the first half of this year with expanded social responsibility projects nationwide and overseas, ranging from offering financial education to information technology training.The foundation, set up in March, 2011, operates under the mission of sharing the growth from the capital market and the stock exchange market to ultimately create a positive sentiment towards the KRX. The projects are divided into four parts. One is to offer tailored ed

June 25, 2017

KB’s job fair completes 12th successful session

From 31-year-old Kim Ka-ram, who landed a marketing job after some 100 tries, to 49-year-old Kim Eun-young, who was hired by a manufacturing company after seeking to rejoin the workforce after raising her children, scores of job seekers have come out satisfied from a job fair hosted by KB Kookmin Bank.They were part of the nation’s largest single job fair, named KB Good Job, held from Thursday to Friday last week at Kintex in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, drawing some 250 companies and over 20

June 25, 2017

More households will face default risk with market rate hikes: BOK

South Korea’s central bank on Thursday warned that the number of highly-indebted households at default risk could go even higher with interest rates in the financial market likely to rise in coming years.In a bi-annual financial stability report submitted to the National Assembly, the Bank of Korea said households’ debt-to-disposable income rose to 153.3 percent as of the end of March, up 8.6 percentage points from a year earlier.The BOK projected that a market interest rise by up to

June 22, 2017

[News Focus] Behind NCsoft’s stocks plunge lies the power of tradable items

Item trading involving cash exchange is often seen as the culprit behind game-related crimes in South Korea, even causing cases of fraud or physical violence among game players. The feature is also behind the popularity of, or the gamers’ obsession with, South Korea‘s first-generation massively multiplayer online role-playing PC game “Lineage.”More recently, item trading has apparently become the deciding factor in the game developer’s stock prices.Ahead of the rele

June 22, 2017

Korean shares end higher on large-cap gains

South Korean stocks ended slightly higher Thursday as investors scooped up large-cap stocks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 12.84 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,370.37.Individuals bought a net 75.68 billion won ($65 million) worth of stocks. Foreigners also turned net buyers of domestic stocks worth more than 17 billion won. But institutions dumped their holdings.  Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities,

June 22, 2017

KDB’s ‘Next Round’ program targets start-ups

To help startups prepare for the future, Korea Development Bank has been running the “KDB Next Round” program that helps link companies with new investors.　First launched in August last year, KDB’s Next Round was introduced in an effort to minimize market friction and promote market expansion in order to further develop startup investments in the wake of the “fourth industrial revolution.”　The KDB’s investment platform does not involve a funding model or direc

June 22, 2017

Korean shares extend gains on tech, airline stocks

South Korean shares extended gains late Thursday morning as foreigners turned net buyers. The won traded higher against the dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.19 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,364.72 as of 11:20 a.m.Individuals bought a net 148.91 billion won ($131 million) worth of stocks. But institutions dumped holdings.   Large-cap stocks were mostly trading higher. Technology and airline stocks led gains, helped by rising overseas demand and declin

June 22, 2017