South Korea’s state pension operator on Tuesday decided to vote against Hanjin Group and SK Group’s chairmen continuing their terms, citing concerns of possible damage to corporate value and infringement of shareholder rights.  The announcement came as a result of a meeting of the NPS’ fund management committee, which is the group’s highest decision-making body, on Tuesday afternoon. The meeting was a follow-up from the first of such meeting held Monday, as they were unable to reach a decision a

Industry March 26, 2019

South Korea’s Mirae Asset will make a foray into the Japanese market by the end of the year, while expanding its business in China and India, its founder said in an email to employees on Monday. “Demand for global financial products will only continue to grow,” wrote Park Hyeon-joo from New York, on his last leg of a business trip around the world, in his first letter to the employees in two years. After stepping down as chairman of Mirae Asset Financial Group in Korea las

Market March 26, 2019

Hyundai Motor Group’s IT services unit plans to go public on South Korea’s main bourse this week, which is expected to turn the odds further in favor of heir apparent Chung Eui-sun, according to analysts Monday. Hyundai AutoEver won approval for an initial public offering on the Kospi bourse earlier this year with the price per share being set at 48,000 won ($42.28). It aims to raise around 168.4 billion won through the listing scheduled for Friday. The IPO is expected to play a key

Market March 25, 2019

South Korea’s tax authorities have launched an industrywide tax evasion probe into local entertainment and nightclub businesses, fueled by scores of allegations surrounding K-pop star Seungri’s sex bribery scandal. The National Tax Service said Friday it had launched a crackdown on 21 nightlife businesses suspected of evading taxes. The NTS is to cooperate with prosecutors on obtaining warrants for search and confiscation, it added.  (Yonhap)Though the NTS has yet to confirm, industry watchers s

Industry March 24, 2019

Hours following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to leave its key interest rate unchanged, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol ruled out the possibility of a policy rate cut in the near future, early Thursday.“The US’ current wait-and-see mode will help stabilize the global financial markets and has given us some room to maneuver regarding our monetary policy,” Lee told reporters at the headquarters of the nation’s central Bank in Seoul. “However, now is not the r

Economy March 21, 2019

Mirae Asset Global Investments is seeking to further solidify its presence in the overseas financial markets by strengthening its global portfolio. The South Korea-based asset management company has made bold moves in recent years and left footprints both in advanced and developing markets. One example was its decision to acquire Global X, a US-based sponsor of exchange-traded funds, in 2018.  It also set up a joint venture with a Vietnamese state-run investment corporation and became the f

Market March 20, 2019

Hit by waves of concern prompted by last week’s deadly crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8 jet and a possible spike in oil prices, South Korean airline stocks took a dive throughout Wednesday’s trading. Asiana Airlines, the nation’s second-largest carrier by sales, closed 0.37 percent lower from the previous day, trading at 4,050 won ($3.58) per share. Budget airlines T’way and Jin Air also slipped 1.35 percent and 0.64 percent to 8,010 won and 23,450 won, respectively.  Tho

Market March 20, 2019

Companies have recently restarted discussions on creating an alternative trading system in South Korea, encouraged by the government and financial sector’s moves to encourage more active trading.Neoframe, a local IT firm and home trading system developer, said Monday it had developed an ATS platform that provides the same service as the Korea Exchange, the operator of the nation’s main stock exchange.But the company will need to work with financial partners to run a trading system.Kn

Market March 19, 2019

Overseas financial firms are losing their grip on the South Korean securities market, and their lackluster performance is making possible newcomers nervous amid concerns there will a mass withdrawal from the local market. Natixis, a France-based financial services provider, had announced last year its plans to enter the local securities market by the first half of 2019, but it is now reportedly skeptical. Its shift in attitude apparently stems from the almost $300 million loss from its portfolio

Market March 18, 2019

South Korea’s second largest tire maker Kumho Tire has decided to delist its shares from the London Stock Exchange for cost efficiency, the firm said in a regulatory filing Friday. Its 76,034 shares are scheduled to be pulled out of the bourse on April 30, after which Seoul will be the only market where it will be listed, according to officials. Struck by the struggling replacement tire market last year, Kumho Tire had reported an operating loss of 89.9 billion won ($79.1 million) in

Market March 15, 2019

Prosecutors raided South Korea’s main bourse on Friday, as part of a probe concerning the accounting fraud by Samsung BioLogics.Officials of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office were sent to search the Korea Exchange in western Seoul, officials said. The raid, which reportedly started late Thursday, was part of a probe into Samsung BioLogics, which allegedly violated accounting rules by deliberately overstating the value of affiliate Samsung Bioepis ahead of its initia

Market March 15, 2019

Hyundai Card, South Korea’s credit card service provider, has been selected to provide its cloud-based credit card IT system to an affiliate of IBM Japan, the firm said Thursday. Exa Systems, a Japan-based major information technology solutions provider, will now utilize Hyundai Card’s Hyundai-Advanced Library System, which was developed in consideration of Japan’s pursuit of a “cashless society,” according to the Seoul-based firm. The system was also developed ahea

Market March 14, 2019

South Korean hypermarket chain operator Homeplus said Thursday it has scrapped its plans to list its REIT on the nation’s main bourse, dissolving all anticipations surrounding what was expected to be the nation’s first real estate investment with an initial public offering worth more than 1 trillion won.“We have decided to cancel our plans to go public, considering that a recent survey pointed to difficult circumstances to properly assess our market value,” the firm said

Market March 14, 2019

The Export-Import Bank of Korea held a meeting of its advisory committee on inter-Korean exchanges on Wednesday, the agency said, to discuss the outcome of the recent US-North Korea summit in Hanoi. A panel of eight experts gathered to discuss how the summit last month -- which ended without an agreement -- would affect inter-Korean economic cooperation as well as other matters surrounding the Korean Peninsula. Wednesday’s meeting was the 10th of its kind. Eximbank Chairman Eun Sung-s

Economy March 13, 2019

Hit by the snowballing sex scandal surrounding an ex-member of boy band Big Bang, shares of major K-pop management agencies in South Korea have been wavering this week. Share prices of the Kosdaq-listed YG Entertainment -- home to former Big Bang member Seungri -- ended 5.2 percent higher from the previous day at 37,750 won ($33.32) Wednesday. They had opened 0.7 percent higher and steadily rose throughout the day.  The figure was a noteworthy rebound from the firm’s performance Tuesd

Market March 13, 2019