Electric vehicle maker Tesla’s promises of a $25,000 electric car and affordable batteries were good enough to receive honks from its fans seated in EVs at the annual Battery Day conference and shareholder meeting. They, however, fell short of exciting investors as the company‘s stock price dropped. The disappointment among global investors also dragged down stock prices of Korean companies in the electric vehicle segment. Many Korean firms in the EV battery industry, including LG

Market Sept. 23, 2020

South Korea’s leading card issuer, Shinhan Card, is ratcheting up its efforts to tap into global markets. As part of its recent global expansion scheme, it has joined hands with global credit card giant Visa to offer joint consulting services based on data analysis. The two firms plan to deploy their data analysis capacities to provide consulting services for local and global governments and companies. The partners will also try to develop solutions to monitor global payment and consump

Market Sept. 22, 2020

Confusion in South Korea‘s real estate market has continued with the transaction volume of Seoul apartments taking a dive while a buying drive by 30-somethings concerned over further price hikes remained strong last month, data showed Monday. According to data released by the state-run Korea Appraisal Board, a total of 6,880 apartment units changed hands in Seoul last month, down 57 percent from 16,002 in July. Apartment transactions reached a fever pitch in 2019 with the sales volume

Market Sept. 21, 2020

The Military Mutual Aid Association, which provides pension services for military personnel, has been the most profitable mutual aid association in South Korea for the past three years, business data tracker CEO Score Daily said Friday. Currently, the nation has seven large mutual aid associations, including the Public Officials Benefit Association, the Korea Local Finance Association, the Police Mutual Aid Association and the Korean Teachers’ Credit Union. The MMAA’s return on

Market Sept. 18, 2020

The International Olympic Committee has sent a congratulatory letter to life insurance firm Kyobo Life Chairman Shin Chang-jae, who has been appointed as the organizing chief for the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games. While congratulating Shin’s appointment, Thomas Bach, the IOC president, expressed expectations for the quadrennial global sports event, which is scheduled to be held in Gangwon Province. “Considering the chairman’s contributions to youth sports and cult

Market Sept. 17, 2020

The amount of money local retail investors have poured in the local and overseas stock markets has reached more than 100 trillion won ($85.2 billion), according to data released by the nation’s sole securities operator Korean Exchange on Thursday. Individual traders bought a total of 55.9 trillion won in the local market this year as of Wednesday. Of the total, 43.5 trillion won went to the main bourse Kospi, and the rest, or 12.4 trillion won, to the tech-heavy Kosdaq. Investor deposit

Market Sept. 17, 2020

Korea’s three leading credit card companies -- Kookmin Card, Lotte Card and NongHyup Card -- have been slapped with fines for mishandling customer data. The Supreme Court on Monday confirmed a lower court’s verdict to fine the three card issuers between 10 million won ($8,450) and 15 million won for violating the Personal Information Protection Act. The companies were accused of mishandling customer data as they had let subcontractors freely gain access to customers’ infor

Market Sept. 14, 2020

South Korea made a top 10 list of attractive investment destinations around the world, but remained at the bottom among comparable Asian nations, according to a report Sunday. The report recently published by European think tank The European House Ambrosetti showed Korea scored 80.06 in the global attractiveness index, ninth highest among 144 nations. The GAI is decided by gauging a nation’s capability to attract foreign investment and its investment environment. In 2016, when such

Market Sept. 13, 2020

Hyundai Card, the credit card company under automotive giant Hyundai Motor Group, said Thursday that it has issued 450 billion won ($379 million) in green bonds to fund alternative energy and environmental projects. The won-denominated bonds that mature in one year and two months to 10 years are sold only to Korean institutional investors. The company issued the same bonds in August last year. Proceeds from the green bonds will be used in providing financing for eco-friendly vehicles, such

Market Sept. 10, 2020

The state-run Korea Development Bank said on Wednesday that it has recently completed the process to acquire the Indonesian company Tifa Finance. The latest takeover, which is in line with the government’s drive to beef up economic and geopolitical relations with countries in Southeast Asia, is aimed at expanding operations in the local market. In December, the Korean bank signed a contract to acquire an 80.65 percent stake in the Indonesian financial company from DSU Group, a manufact

Market Sept. 9, 2020

Despite the government’s claim that the housing market is stabilizing, apartment prices in Seoul increased in August from the previous month and the same was true for other cities across the nation, data showed Tuesday. The number of listings for “jeonse” rentals, which involve a large lump-sum deposit in lieu of monthly rent, and regular monthly rentals have dramatically decreased in recent weeks. Furthermore, landlords began raising rents before the government implemented

Market Sept. 8, 2020

KakaoPay Securities, the stock brokerage arm of mobile messenger giant Kakao, said Monday that it saw its number of subscribers exceed 2 million some six months after the firm’s official launch on Feb. 27. The number of stock trading accounts has been on an upward trend ever since -- 600,000 in March, 800,000 in April, 1.2 million in May, 1.4 million in June, and 1.7 million in July. The number of new accounts grew by 27.8 percent monthly.　 Monthly fund investments made via the brokerag

Market Sept. 7, 2020

The scheduled initial offering of Big Hit Entertainment, the label behind K-pop boy band BTS, is likely to make its CEO Bang Si-hyuk one of the wealthiest people in South Korea The Big Hit CEO is currently holding 12,377,337 shares, or 43.44 percent, of the company, according to the recent regulatory filing for the IPO. The entertainment agency plans to offer 7.13 million shares at a price between 105,000 won ($88) and 135,000 won. Should the offering price be set at 135,000 won, Bang&rsq

Market Sept. 6, 2020

Although mobile game publisher Kakao Games’ initial public offering subscription last week was the talk of the town in South Korea, some retail investors who took part in the preorder session did not even receive a single share due to heated competition, according to news reports on Sunday. The gaming firm attracted a total of some 58.5 trillion won ($49.3 billion) from 417,000 people during its IPO subscription for retail investors, which took place Tuesday and Wednesday. The subscrip

Market Sept. 6, 2020

With Big Hit Entertainment, the label behind K-pop sensation BTS, pursuing an initial public offering next month, investors appear to be increasingly drawn to South Korea’s entertainment stocks. Some market analysts also painted a rosy picture of the scheduled IPO, forecasting that Big Hit will continue the momentum created in the market thanks to offerings of pharmaceutical firm SK Biopharmaceuticals and game publisher Kakao Games. The news of Big Hit filing an application for its mar

Market Sept. 3, 2020