The antitrust regulator is considering cracking down on irregular deals between conglomerates and their overseas subsidiaries, whereas only domestic units have been subject to probes for intra-group trading.The new potential policy of the Fair Trade Commission was proposed after some lawmakers argued that “big firms’ overseas units have been a regulatory loophole as the authorities focus on the illegal cross-affiliate trading in the domestic market.”During a parliamentary hearing on the FTC, Rep

Oct. 31, 2013

Shinhan Financial Group has launched the process to select its next chief to succeed incumbent chairman Han Dong-woo, whose three-year term ends in five months.While Han’s tenure expires in March 2014, market insiders predict he will seek a second term, citing his success in resolving woes in the wake of the group’s internal feud among senior executives in late 2010.Shinhan had suffered a management crisis due to allegations surrounding its top three executives, who eventually resigned.While a n

Oct. 30, 2013

The Financial Services Commission is set to approve the investment banking businesses of major brokerage firms here to improve the local financial market.Officials at the FSC said Tuesday that the authorities would unveil the list of approved IB-oriented securities firms later this week.According to market insiders, the list may include KDB Daewoo Securities, Woori Investment & Securities, Samsung Securities, Korea Investment & Securities and Hyundai Securities.Each of the five holds equity capi

Oct. 29, 2013

Samsung Electronics, the flagship unit of Samsung Group, and the two automakers of Hyundai Motor Group make up more than a quarter of the combined net profit of about 460,000 companies in the nation.According to the Bank of Korea and financial data provider FnGuide, the three firms ― Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors ― collectively logged 24.8 trillion won ($22.5 billion) last year.The figure takes up 28.6 percent of the total 86.6 trillion won in earnings reaped by 464,425 enter

Oct. 28, 2013

HSBC Korea was voted the best domestic cash management bank in South Korea for the fourth consecutive year in U.K.-based magazine Euromoney’s survey on the cash management sector.The bank also won Best Global Cash Management Bank in both the financial and nonfinancial institution categories for the second year running.The recognition is based on a recent poll of more than 24,000 senior finance executives, cash managers and treasurers worldwide.HSBC Korea president Martin Tricaud said that “the a

Oct. 28, 2013

An opposition lawmaker claimed Sunday that customs authorities have serious difficulty in collecting back taxes from multinational companies manipulating prices of goods for tariff benefits.The Korea Customs Service levied multinational companies 285 billion won ($260 million) in back taxes in 2011 for seeking to evade or enjoy lower tariffs on goods, according to Rep. Lee In-young of the Democratic Party.Citing the KCS data, the main opposition lawmaker said that the authorities have collected

Oct. 27, 2013

A group of overseas investors are likely to participate in the coming bidding for the public-funds-injected Woori Bank and Woori Finance Holdings, according to market insiders on Thursday.Financial market participants raised the possibility, noting that Kyobo Life Insurance is reportedly considering forming a consortium with global firms to bid for the largest financial group in Korea.Among the firms are investment banks such as Softbank, Macquarie Group and JPMorgan, according to the report.A s

Oct. 24, 2013

The credit card industry was found to have taken profit by bullying its subcontractors over the past few years, a lawmaker said Wednesday, citing financial regulatory data.The card issuers involved in improprieties during their deals with suppliers were BC, Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Hyundai, Samsung, Lotte, Hana SK, Korea Exchange Bank and NongHyup Bank, according to Rep. Kim Young-joo of the main opposition Democratic Party.Her document, which was tendered by the Financial Supervisory Service, showe

Oct. 23, 2013

Stock market insiders are focusing on the future moves of foreign investors, who have tended to dump Korean shares whenever the U.S. dollar trades below 1,060 won.Although foreigners have had a strong buying spree on the Korea Exchange over the past few weeks, research analysts point to the past when overseas investors based their decisions largely on Korean firms’ export price competitiveness.Since the 2008 global financial crisis, foreigners have net-sold 3.6 trillion won ($3.3 billion) worth

Oct. 22, 2013

The chief financial regulator said Friday that four more local conglomerates had been involved in dubious funding schemes similar to embattled Tong Yang Group. “We have documents on cases (of irregular funding) at four local business groups,” said Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Choi Soo-hyun during the National Assembly’s audit of the regulatory agency.Choi, however, declined to reveal the names of the four. His remarks came after Rep. Kim Young-hwan of the main opposition Democratic Party a

Oct. 18, 2013

South Korean conglomerates saw their earnings gain at a faster pace last year than smaller firms, data showed Wednesday, reigniting concerns over the prolonged inequality among industries. According to the compiled data by the parliament’s Trade, Industry and Energy Committee, the productivity index for South Korean conglomerates came to 164.9 points in 2012, while small and medium firms held a comparable figure of 125.8 points.The number tracks how a firm’s productivity has improved over previo

Oct. 16, 2013

South Korea’s listed firms saw their debt ratios plunge last year from 15 years earlier, data showed Wednesday, indicating their significantly improved financial health since the Asian financial crisis.According to the data compiled by the Korea CXO Institute, a private research organization, local listed firms saw their average debt ratio reach 145 percent in 2012 on average, falling significantly from 451.2 percent tallied in 1997.Debt ratio refers to the portion of debts in comparison to a fi

Oct. 16, 2013

The government’s growth outlook for next year is “neutral,” the finance minister said Wednesday, shrugging off criticism that the projection is too optimistic considering current economic conditions. “It is a neutral position to predict that the economy will grow 3.9 percent next year,” Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok told lawmakers during a parliamentary audit session held here.The remarks came amid worries that the government’s growth forecast for next year might be too optimistic, compared with

Oct. 16, 2013

Only one in every three chief executives in South Korea has extended his or her term in office, with their average term period turning out to be shorter at large enterprises, data showed Wednesday.The number of senior management-level officials at top 500 local firms who have been reappointed at least once came to 188, or 36.4 percent, out of 516 respondents, according to the data compiled by local corporate information provider CEO Score.Chances for executives at larger firms to renew their thr

Oct. 16, 2013