Korean companies are facing imminent threats of credit downgrades, as they face a double whammy of weak 2019 earnings and novel coronavirus fears weighing on the global economy. Some of the firms have already experienced credit rating downgrades by agencies in the past week. Seoul-based NICE Investors Service last week downgraded credit ratings of panel maker LG Display and retailer E-mart by one notch each, as their business prospects are clouded and they are shouldering increased debt. LG

Market Feb. 18, 2020

Investors in beleaguered hedge fund Lime Asset Management are facing a bumpy road to get compensation for their losses. By no later than Friday, every investor in the hedge fund is expected to find out their confirmed individual losses in their combined 1.7 trillion-won ($1.4 billion) investment made under the convoluted master-feeder fund structure -- involving four master funds and 173 feeder funds as of end-2019. The losses of Lime Asset’s feeder funds may vary, but in some cases be

Market Feb. 17, 2020

South Korean investment houses are moving to reap windfalls from listed companies here involved in the production of Oscar-winning film “Parasite.” As the shares of producer Barunson E&A and its affiliate saw a strong upshot over the past week, investors in the firms’ mezzanine instruments are exercising options to convert them into shares to boost valuation in their asset holdings and seek an easier exit opportunity. Winasia Partners, a Seoul-based private equity firm,

Business Feb. 16, 2020

South Korean fund operator Lime Asset Management and its seller Shinhan Investment deliberately duped investors by concealing their losses and continuing the sale of the related products, the watchdog Financial Supervisory Service said Friday. Based on an intermediary inspection and accounting audit, the FSS estimated that two of the disputed parent funds may suffer losses of up to 730 billion won ($617.5 million). Considering other parent funds yet under inspection, the total amount of investo

Market Feb. 14, 2020

Hana Financial Group said Friday it had inked a sales and purchase agreement with the Korea Teachers’ Credit Union to buy a 70 percent stake in The-K Non-Life Insurance for 77 billion won ($65.1 million). This is the first acquisition deal for Korea’s third-largest banking group since the takeover of Korea Exchange Bank in 2013. The-K Non-Life will become the 14th affiliate and second insurer arm to be under Hana’s umbrella. KTCU will remain a minority shareholder of t

Market Feb. 14, 2020

A coalition of Korean Air heiress and a local activist fund Korea Corporate Governance Improvement on Thursday proposed former SK Group Vice Chairman Kim Shin-bae as an inside board director of Hanjin Group in a bid to oust the current chairman at the March shareholders meeting. Other candidates include former Samsung Electronics Vice President and head of China Bae Kyung-tae and ex-Korean Air executive Kim Chi-hoon. Hahm Chul-ho, a former Korean Air senior vice president and T’way Air CE

Market Feb. 13, 2020

The office building transaction volume in major districts of Seoul came to 11.5 trillion won ($9.7 billion) for 2019, showing favorable cash flow in the city’s commercial real estate market, data showed Thursday. The figure comes amid an improved vacancy rate in prime office properties in the central, Gangnam and Yeouido business districts here, coupled with a low interest rate environment. According to real estate service firm Savills Korea’s research on Seoul prime office propert

Market Feb. 13, 2020

Barings Asset Management Korea has named its Chief Investment Officer John Park as its joint head in a revamp to pursue efficiencies in management. Park will serve as one of BAMK’s two representative directors along with the incumbent CEO Ike Bae, as the firm adopts a multiple representative director system. The board approved the plan Wednesday. Park will lead investment management and support client relationships, while Bae will continue to lead the overall corporate management, inclu

Market Feb. 13, 2020

Busan Metropolitan City said on Wednesday it plans to inject a total of 205.6 billion won ($174.4 million) this year to launch a new technology hub in South Korea’s second-largest city and back the startup ecosystem in line with the nationwide venture boom. The fund is a combination of the state-budget of 82.7 billion won, 84.3 billion won from the private sector and the rest coming from Busan. It is meant to finance early-stage startups to help them overcome the negative cash flow at it

Market Feb. 12, 2020

Techstars Korea, a South Korean unit of Colorado-based global startup accelerator Techstars, said Wednesday applications for its first accelerating program in the nation will close on March 1. The first batch of Techstars Korea, composed of 10 startups, will take part in a 13-week accelerating program in tech hub Pangyo starting June, along with mentorship and a combined $120,000 seed funding. Techstars has joined hands with Hillstone Partners for the program. Startups adept at lifestyle tec

Market Feb. 12, 2020

South Korea is poised to employ a Silicon Valley-style venture capital instrument starting from July, to let startups raise funds with fewer strings attached. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups promulgated on Tuesday a separate set of laws that center on venture investment schemes here, which have been recognized under two different laws: the Act on Special Measures for the Promotion of Venture Business and the Support for Small and Medium Enterprise Establishment Act. The new rule gives legal

Market Feb. 11, 2020

South Korea’s logistics startup Mesh Korea -- operator of algorithm-powered micro delivery service Vroong -- denied rumors Monday that it is selling the stakes of its executives, amid a growing conflict between its CEO and other major stakeholders. The deal manager Samjong KPMG is reportedly looking for potential investors in Mesh Korea’s newly issued stocks and shares of existing investors. The exact stake a new investor will control remains unknown, while 

Market Feb. 10, 2020

South Korea's institutional investor Military Mutual Aid Association said Monday its Chief Executive Kim Do-ho held a closed-door meeting with a batch of top officials at US-based private equity house Rhone Group, including former US national security adviser John Bolton, in its headquarters in Seoul. Bolton, a former adviser to US President Donald Trump, attended the meeting as the senior adviser to the US private equity firm. He served the same position before joining the White House and

Market Feb. 10, 2020

South Korea’s financial authorities on Sunday unveiled a new set of guidelines on public disclosure of information for listed biopharma firms, in a move to ward off market uncertainty. Clinical trial-stage pharmaceutical companies listed on the tech-heavy Kosdaq are required to disclose any significant progress in their business -- including each stage of clinical trials, from success to suspension or termination, approval or cancellation for drug production, distribution and sales, techn

Market Feb. 9, 2020

The fast-emerging silver economy and changes in consumer behavior have given birth to theme-driven investment strategies. And South Korea is not an exception. Those aged 65 or older take up nearly 15 percent in the country, while technologies in one of the most penetrated countries in the world are reshaping the way consumers purchase goods, order food or make payments. This potentially puts Korean assets on the radar of Adams Street Partners, an international investment house with over $40 bil

Market Feb. 9, 2020