South Korea’s financial behemoth Shinhan Financial Group is slated to gain full ownership of its newly-acquired subsidiary Neoplux -- a former venture capital arm under Doosan Group -- as soon as the two sides complete a small-scale stock exchange at the end of this month, a filing showed Wednesday.  According to DART, the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure board, the banking giant will carry out the small-scale stock exchange with Neoplux on Dec. 30. Starti

Market Dec. 9, 2020

An exchange-traded fund operated by the Vietnam branch of South Korea‘s leading asset management firm Mirae Asset Global made a market debut in the Southeast Asian country‘s stock market, the company said Wednesday. The so-called Mirae Asset VN30 Exchange Traded Fund is designed to invest in 30 blue-chip Vietnamese companies, including Vingroup Joint Stock Company, Vietcombank and Vinamilk. Its shares account 76 percent of the total market capitalization of the nation’s public

Market Dec. 9, 2020

South Korea’s major banks have been asking employees to accept early retirement to cut costs amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said Wednesday.  More than 1,700 employees at the nation’s five major commercial banks here -- Woori, Hana, Shinhan, KB Kookmin, NH NongHyup -- were offered early retirement between the end of December last year and early this year, industry data showed. To cope with financial setbacks stemming from the pandemic, local banks ar

Market Dec. 2, 2020

As South Korea’s largest agricultural bank, NH NongHyup has played a key role in supporting local communities that have been hit hard by the prolonged coronavirus crisis with a series of vibrant social contribution activities throughout the year. So far, the key affiliate of NH NongHyup Financial Group spent more than 1 trillion won ($903 million) on its social contribution activities and programs, the largest amount among major lenders here. The lender has put more money than any othe

Market Nov. 29, 2020

South Korea’s first vice finance minister said Friday the global food insecurity worsened by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will not have a serious impact on the local food supply chain, but the government will continue to keep an eye on the market condition. “According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the FAO Food Price Index has continued its upward trend in recent months, signaling food insecurity around the globe,” Kim Yong-beom, first vice

Economy Nov. 27, 2020

NH Financial Group Chairman Kim Kwang-soo has officially been tapped to lead the Korea Federation of Banks, a representative body of commercial banks, officials said Friday.  The KFB board of directors unanimously approved Kim’s nomination as its 14th chairman during a general meeting held early in the morning. The appointment came after Kim was picked as the sole candidate to be KFB chief Tuesday, among seven candidates initially recommended for the post. Kim’s three-year te

Market Nov. 27, 2020

CU provided details Thursday on plans to allow foreign currency exchange at its convenience stores early next year. BGF Retail, the operator of the convenience store brand, has signed a partnership with a local fintech startup U Fintech Hub, which provides a small overseas remittance service, in a step to launch foreign currency exchange service at its local branches, they said. Under the deal, the retail giant will receive technical support from the fintech firm to develop the service platf

Market Nov. 26, 2020

Woori Financial Group said Wednesday that it has set up a 200 billion won ($180 million) fund to invest in social infrastructure projects, called the “Woori Global Infra New Deal Fund.”  In September the government announced its New Deal Fund, a state-led fund worth 20 trillion won aimed at investing in tech and green sectors, including artificial intelligence, renewable energy and hydrogen vehicles, through money pooled from government agencies, private financial institutions

Market Nov. 25, 2020

NH Financial Group Chairman Kim Kwang-soo is likely to offer resignation soon as he was named the sole candidate to represent the nation’s largest bankers’ club, according to reports quoting insiders said Tuesday. On Monday, board members of the Korea Federation of Bank unanimously nominated Kim, among six other candidates. The federation is set to hold a general meeting on Friday to put Kim’s nomination to vote. If elected, Kim will officially start his term on Dec. 1, rep

Market Nov. 24, 2020

Robo-adviser startups in South Korea saw their funds increase by more than 1 trillion won ($896.7 million) in a year, driven by stock trading fever amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, industry data showed Sunday.  According to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association, the amount of funds entrusted to the country’s four major robo-adviser firms -- Fount, Aim, December & Company and Doomoolmori -- stood at 1.29 trillion won in the third quarter, up some 1.03 trillio

Market Nov. 22, 2020

South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corp. said Sunday that it was now a member of the One Planet Sovereign Wealth Fund, the world’s largest multilateral working group convened by sovereign wealth funds across the globe to promote cooperation on climate change.  Established Dec. 12, 2017, at the “One Planet Summit” -- a global coalition launched by the French government and the UN to work together on climate change -- the fund exists to develop a f

Market Nov. 22, 2020

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Thursday it has decided to relax regulations on five promising services proposed by local companies in continued efforts to spur innovation in the finance sector.  The move is part of the government‘s “regulatory sandbox” policy, which took effect in April last year. Under the regulatory program, the financial authorities suspend legal and regulatory requirements imposed on local financial companies, including both traditio

Economy Nov. 19, 2020

  Starting next year, financial consumers will be able to manage their banking histories, shopping patterns at beauty stores as well as cellphone data usage via a single digital platform. Shinhan Bank said Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with CJ Olive Networks, an online retail arm of CJ Group and Korean mobile carrier LG U+ in order to jointly set up a digital platform for MyData services, the bank said.  MyData is a government-led business model that collect

Market Nov. 18, 2020

The Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, the nation’s leading financial cooperative, has been strengthening global cooperation with its foreign counterparts in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federation said Tuesday. 　 Under KFCC President Park Cha-hoon’s initiative, the financial cooperative has been exchanging messages with cooperatives around the world via Facebook and Twitter to encourage each other to stay strong during the pandemic. A total of 21 foreign

Market Nov. 17, 2020

South Korea’s government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea have decided to lower the maximum legal lending rate to 20 percent from the current 24 percent starting next year to ease financial burdens on beleaguered debtors, the nation’s top financial regulator said Monday. Through the rate cut, nearly 87 percent or 2.08 million of 2.39 million borrowers across the country -- being charged with 20 percent interest rate per annum or more -- are expected to see their debt shrin

Market Nov. 16, 2020