With South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund sparking a media debate over its investment in marijuana producers, some experts here said Wednesday that the case can hardly be seen as breaching its commitment to socially and environmentally responsible investing. Marijuana production itself cannot be the target of criticism, although it carries a heavy social stigma in Korea where the recreational use of marijuana is banned. Even if the investment was made by sovereign wealth fund Korea Investm

Market May 28, 2020

One Equity Partners, a spinoff of JPMorgan dedicated to middle market investment, is reportedly looking to unload part of its stake in South Korea’s drug distributor Celltrion Healthcare through a block trade for roughly 350 billion won ($283.6 million). The price of some 4 million Celltrion Healthcare shares, a 2.6 percent stake, was set at between 85,000 won and 87,000 won per share after the market closed Tuesday, according to news reports. The price was lower than the Tuesd

Market May 27, 2020

Viva Republica, a leading financial technology startup in South Korea that operates the money transfer app Toss, said Tuesday that it had joined hands with the Korea Electronic Certification Authority (Crosscert) to accelerate the expansion of its electronic signature business. The partnership will make it possible to use Toss e-signatures for civil affairs, bidding procedures, contracts and online tax payments, with Crosscert serving as the certificating authority, Viva Republica said. The n

Market May 26, 2020

Seoul-based NH-Amundi Asset Management on Monday named Kim Seung-ho as its new chief marketing officer. Kim was formerly headed the fund management unit at NongHyup Bank. He will serve a one-year term. He will replace Moon Young-sik, whose term ended in April. NH-Amundi Asset Management is a 70:30 joint venture of NongHyup Financial Group and France-based Amundi Asset Management. NongHyup Bank is a wholly owned banking arm of NongHyup Financial Group. Kim started his career in 1985 at Nat

Market May 25, 2020

Seoul-based KB Asset Management said Monday it has launched a fund that targets blue chips listed in the US stock exchanges. The open-ended fund is raising funds from South Korean retail investors and is expected to invest in US firms that generate stable income supported by their new growth engine, such as Amazon, Apple and Alphabet. At least 70 percent of the funds will go to large-cap stocks, KB Asset said. “The US is taking the lead in new growth engine industries, and is expected

Market May 25, 2020

South Korea’s financial watchdog vowed Sunday to stamp out ill-advised sales promotion of offshore retirement plans through unauthorized online channels such as social media. The Financial Supervisory Service also pledged to monitor such sales activities online and issued the mildest level of alert to consumers to protect them. This comes as the online sales promotion of offshore life insurance schemes including retirement plans from outside Korea, such as Hong Kong, became widespread w

Market May 24, 2020

South Korea’s private equity house Hahn & Co. and Hana Financial Group have agreed to buy a 100 percent stake in H-Line Shipping, former dry bulk cargo arm of bankrupt carrier Hanjin Shipping, for 1.8 trillion won ($1.45 billion), according to sources on Sunday. The two firms will create a project fund for the leveraged buyout of H-Line Shipping, which is now fully owned by another fund of Hahn & Co. Under the plan, nearly 45 percent of the acquisition cost will be leveraged. T

Market May 24, 2020

A consortium composed of D&D Investment and NH Investment & Securities has completed its acquisition of Young City office complex from UK-based investment house Actis for 550 billion won ($447.2 million), the deal manager Cushman & Wakefield Korea said Thursday. D&D Investment, an affiliate of SK conglomerate’s real estate development arm SK D&D, seeks to establish a real estate investment trust called Young City REITs by securitizing the properties. The deal allowe

Market May 21, 2020

South Korea’s construction equipment maker Doosan Bobcat is under credit pressure as its US subsidiary Clark Equipment is looking to leverage $300 million via five-year senior secured notes in May, filings showed Thursday. Clark Equipment’s leveraging plan is adding a financial burden to Doosan Bobcat, as affiliates and subsidiaries of conglomerate Doosan Group‘s liquidity crunch might spill over to Doosan Bobcat that is already suffering a sharp fall in sales due to the ongo

Market May 21, 2020

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said Thursday it has issued a three-year Australian dollar-denominated bonds worth AU$700 million ($460 million) to investors. Following the deal, Eximbank said it has become the first Asian financial institution to sell Kangaroo bonds, or Australian dollar-denominated bonds issued by a non-Australian entity, since the coronavirus outbreak. The bonds were oversubscribed as Eximbank received AU$1.7 billion subscriptions from 57 investors. JPMorgan, Mits

Market May 21, 2020

South Korea’s public pension fund National Pension Service on Wednesday has affirmed its plan to shrink its exposure to domestic stocks in a move to ward off uncertainties due to fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo told reporters Wednesday. “(NPS) is certainly lowering the allocation of Korean stocks from the mid- to long-term perspective,” said Park, who also heads NPS Investment Management Committee. He added NPS Investment Management Comm

Market May 20, 2020

South Korea’s Ryukyung PSG Asset Management and retailer Lotte Shopping are facing legal action from entities that proposed to buy four Lotte Mart discount stores for some 550 billion won ($448.4 million) in 2019, according to industry sources on Tuesday. The prospective buyers, real estate developer Moon Development Marketing and subsidiary the Korea Asset Investment Trust, filed a lawsuit in April against Ryukyung PSG -- a local asset management company that oversaw some 1.59 trillion

Market May 19, 2020

As the number of moviegoers, air passengers and shoppers shrank sharply largely due to the coronavirus outbreak and social distancing, related companies have recently turned to fundraising efforts to meet the deadline for debt repayment or refinancing. Also, those raising share capital are offering equities at a discounted price to subscribers in order to ensure success. A leading example is multiplex cinema operator CJ CGV, which aims to raise 250.2 billion won ($202.9 million) in July from in

Market May 17, 2020

Yuanta Securities Korea said Thursday it has partnered with multinational financial market data provider Refinitiv to mount a new stock search engine function on its trading system for investors in US stocks. The service, dubbed “Reuters tRadar,” will allow users to access Refinitiv’s stock reports related to US stocks and their forecasts on the company performance based on its Institutional Brokers’ Estimate System database, which comprise the combined estimates of som

Market May 14, 2020

In the climate finance world, money goes not only to the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but also to innovative, eco-friendly infrastructure projects that help the world reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Striking the balance between the two themes -- adaptation and mitigation -- is one of the primary missions of the Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest fund dedicated to helping developing countries take climate actions. The fund serving the Paris Agreement on

Market May 13, 2020