Mirae Asset Global Investments said Wednesday that it has acquired 15 premium hotels in the United States, marking the single highest number in overseas alternative investments by a Korean company.The asset management unit of Mirae Asset Financial Group recently signed a contract with China’s Anbang Insurance to acquire 15 five-star hotels and resorts in key US cities, officials said. The total figure on the package deal was not revealed. Competitors in the bid were top-tier global investo

Market Sept. 11, 2019

Lee Dong-gull, chairman of the state-run Korea Development Bank, suggested Tuesday that the government should consider merging the country’s two policy finance institutions -- KDB and the Export-Import Bank of Korea -- for state budget efficiency.“It is about time that we reshuffled the government’s policy finance functions so as to keep in step with the fast-changing market trends,” Lee said in a press briefing to mark two years in office in his three-year tenure.“

Market Sept. 10, 2019

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to look into the weakening of global economic frameworks in light of fading liberalism and rise of trade protectionism and nationalism. This is the first installment. -- Ed.This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Agreement, which laid the foundation of the liberal economic order in the post-World War era and led to the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.But it is also likely to be remembered as the

Economy Sept. 8, 2019

South Korea’s top fiscal policymaker said Wednesday that public institutions will expand the size of their combined investments to 55 trillion won ($45.5 billion) this year as part of the government’s continued struggle to revitalize domestic economy amid growing uncertainties.“(The government) will ensure that public institutions make investments of 55 trillion won within the year, by advancing the timeline of some incoming investment projects,” said Deputy Prime Ministe

Economy Sept. 4, 2019

Inflation in South Korea hit a record low of zero percent in August, with prices remaining unchanged from a year earlier, government data showed Tuesday.According to Statistics Korea, inflation in August recorded precisely minus 0.038 percent growth from a year earlier, dipping below zero for the first time since the government started to tally such data in 1966.While the reading was mostly attributed to on-year price falls for agricultural and petroleum products, fiscal and monetary policymaker

Economy Sept. 3, 2019

K bank and Kakao Bank, South Korea’s two internet-only banks, saw their financial soundness index decline in the second quarter this year due to reinforced credit risk regulations, data showed Monday.According to regulatory data by the Financial Supervisory Service, the average capital adequacy ratio of 19 commercial and state-run banks here stood at 15.34 percent as of end-June, down 0.07 percentage point from the previous quarter.The given barometer refers to the BIS ratio, established b

Market Sept. 2, 2019

South Korea’s top fiscal policymaker said Sunday that South Korea will struggle to achieve its economic growth target this year but has enough fiscal space to handle its plans to increase expenditure.“Domestic investments and exports are supposed to recover in the second half of the year (in order to reach the growth rate target) but (we are) experiencing difficulties,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki in a live television interview with KBS.In July,

Economy Sept. 1, 2019

 South Korea’s fiscal spending will climb 9.3 percent on-year in 2020, amid the government’s expansionary policy measures in response to growing economic uncertainties such as US-China friction and Japan’s trade curbs, according to officials.The Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday laid out next year’s state budget bill and a five-year fiscal road map at a Cabinet meeting, as a preliminary step to parliamentary submission slated for Tuesday. If the budget bill

Economy Aug. 29, 2019

Shinhan Bank Vietnam, the local subsidiary of South Korea’s major lender, opened four new branches in the Southeast Asian country this week, officials said Friday.It also became the first Korea-based bank there to run a complete nationwide network that covers the central region, with a branch in the popular tourist city of Da Nang. Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong attended the opening ceremony on Thursday, along with key officials from the local government and the country’s central bank,

Market Aug. 16, 2019

South Korea on Wednesday started the legislative process to exclude Japan from its list of preferential trading partners, as part of the snowballing trade row between the two neighbors.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has posted an advance legislative notice to revise its whitelist of trade partners, removing Japan from the top-tier list.Feedback will be accepted until Sept. 2, after which it will be put through a regulatory screening and legal review, before taking effect. Earlier thi

Economy Aug. 14, 2019

The Korean financial circle is expected to undergo extensive reshuffling in the upcoming months as the chief executive officers of major banking groups will finish their terms early next year. Among them are Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung, whose term will last until the general shareholders meeting slated for March next year. While a candidate recommendation committee will kick off in January, Cho’s bid for reappointment will largely depend on the result of an ongoin

Market Aug. 13, 2019

Tension built up in Seoul’s housing market on Sunday, a day ahead of a scheduled government announcement about details of a price ceiling system for apartment complexes in key bubble-prone areas.The forthcoming actions, intended to stabilize the overheated real estate market and discourage speculation, are set to play out amid uncertain economic conditions aggravated by US-China economic tensions and South Korea-Japan strife.According to major local real estate industry trackers including

Economy Aug. 11, 2019

When inter-Korean relations appeared to be improving in 2018, there were expectations that North Korea would open its markets and South Korean companies would have an upper hand due to their cultural similarities.But the on-ground situation is different. What is often overlooked is that doing business in North Korea is not as easy as it seems. The accounting system of the long-secluded area is not up to international rules standards, according to a senior accountant with expertise in inter-Korea

Industry Aug. 11, 2019

South Korea’s financial authorities vowed Wednesday to take preemptive stabilizing measures, responding to the latest local stock market crash incurred in line with the intensifying US-China trade feud and Japan’s export curbs against Korea.Their action plan includes aggressive government interferences such as reinforced regulations on stock short-selling and alleviated rules on treasury stock purchases, as well as possible intervention in the currency market.“The government wi

Economy Aug. 7, 2019

As South Korea’s financial market continued to totter Tuesday after a “Black Monday,” experts observed that the key reason behind the current anxiety is the prolonged US-China trade conflict rather than the escalating feud with Japan.Tense about the US-China situation and its anticipated leverage in the global financial markets, authorities here vowed to take stabilizing steps in case of increased volatility, signaling a possible intervention in the local foreign exchange marke

Economy Aug. 6, 2019