South Korea‘s benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index hit another record high for 2017 Thursday, thanks to individual investors’ buying, offsetting its weak start earlier affected by Samsung’s refusal to reshape corporate structure. Kospi continued a seven-trading-day rally, closing at 2,209.46 points. It was up 0.07 percent, or 1.62 points from a day earlier, when it crossed the 2,200 mark for the first time in six years. The stock market index dropped to 2,199.76 at

Market April 27, 2017

Green & Blue Solutions, a local manufacturer of odor eliminators based on bio-enzyme technology, has dedicated itself to addressing concerns over the environment of pig farms and helped improve their productivity by reducing the health risks of livestock. Its signature product Biomagic has improved farm productivity by reducing toxic gases from livestock excrement, such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, which not only generates odor, but also affects the respiratory health of livestock, the firm

Industry April 27, 2017

South Korea’s stock market stayed bullish, with its benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index crossing the 2,200 mark for the first time in six years Wednesday, amid world market rallies and the earnings parade of local corporations. The main bourse closed at 2,207.84 Wednesday, up 0.5 percent, or 10.99 points compared to the previous day. It surpassed the 2,200 mark for the first time after May 4, 2011, when the market ended at 2,201.69. It opened at 2,202.37 Wednesday, up 5.52 points,

Market April 26, 2017

Standard Chartered Bank Korea announced Wednesday it plans to hold a forum dedicated to financial technology at its main branch in Korea on May 17.Michael Gorriz, group chief information officer at the London-based Standard Chartered Bank and Lim Jung-wook, managing director of Startup Alliance in Korea, will deliver keynote speeches at the forum.Under the theme of “Digital Technology Reshaping the Banking Industry,” the forum will involve sessions on the innovation of financial serv

Market April 26, 2017

South Korea’s benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index topped 2,200 points, for the first time in six years when it opened Wednesday.The main bourse soared 5.52 points, or 0.25 percent, to reach 2,202.37 at 9 a.m. After 36 minutes of trading, it reached 2,206.22, up 9.37 points, or 0.43 percent. 　The Kospi closed at 2,196.85 Tuesday. This is the first time in six years that Kospi has surpassed the 2,200 mark. On May 4, 2011, the market closed at 2,201.69. The first-tier stock market has

Market April 26, 2017

ING Life Insurance Korea announced Monday that it would set its share price at 33,000 won ($29.19), above its minimum suggested price at 31,500 won.This marks the first time an insurance company set a share price within the suggested range of the offering price -- between 31,500 won and 40,000 won -- in seven years, after the initial public offering of Samsung Life Insurance. Other insurance firms listed afterwards, including Tongyang Life Insurance, Hanwha Life Insurance and Mirae Asset Insuran

Industry April 24, 2017

The earnings surprise of major commercial banks in South Korea in the first quarter was partly driven by their improved net interest margins, data showed Monday. The combined net profit of the four major commercial banks -- Shinhan Bank, Kookmin Bank, KEB Hana Bank and Woori Bank -- in the first quarter came to 2.28 trillion won ($2.01 billion), a 22.3 percent rise on-year, according to earnings reports by each bank last week. Excluding one-off profits, such as sell-offs of bank branches or loan

Market April 24, 2017

The Financial Supervisory Service of Korea announced Friday that it took punitive action against Korea‘s four securities firms for receiving rebates from a securities-financing services company.The firms -- Mirae Asset Daewoo, NH Investment & Securities, Yuanta Securities Korea and Korea Investment & Securities -- were found to have received rebates in return for depositing customers’ money in the money market wrap run by Korea Securities Finance Corp.  Combined they too

Market April 21, 2017

Kakao, the second-largest company by market cap on the second-tier Kosdaq, is mulling moving to the main bourse Kospi, according to the firm Thursday.“Listing on the Kospi is one option we are considering, but nothing has been fixed,” read a statement on the disclosure. This came in response to the market operator Korea Exchange’s request to clarify relevant rumors on the relisting that had been spreading.Kakao, the operator of the nation’s largest mobile messenger KakaoTalk and web portal Daum,

Technology April 21, 2017

KB Financial Group, the second-largest banking group in net assets, posted 870.1 billion won ($763.7 million) of net profit in the first quarter, a 59.7 percent rise on-year, according to the group’s earnings report Thursday. The net profit of the holding company, which operates financial units including Kookmin Bank, the second-largest commercial lender in market cap, skyrocketed 91.7 percent compared to the previous quarter, the report indicated Thursday Kookmin Bank in the first quarter

Market April 20, 2017

The Financial Services Commission of Korea announced Thursday it would ease regulations for lenders in streamlining the debt restructuring of financially troubled firms. By revising the enforcement ordinance of the Financial Holding Companies Act, lenders will be more easily able to exclude debt-ridden firms under their receiverships from their subsidiaries in the process of converting debt into equity.Currently, a lender, upon becoming the biggest financer of a debt-ridden company subject to re

Market April 20, 2017

South Korean investment firm Samsung Asset Management announced Wednesday that it would build a $480 million worth private equity designed to fund infrastructure, by teaming up with the Australian investment company IFM Investors. The fund is slated to be earmarked by four Korean institutional investors, but a target for injection has yet to be chosen, according to the deal sealed in Seoul on Wednesday. The Seoul-based investment arm under the nation’s largest conglomerate will m

Market April 19, 2017

K bank, South Korea’s first internet-only bank and seventh commercial bank, had drawn more than 200,000 new customers and 230 billion won ($203 million) in deposits as of Tuesday morning, data from the bank showed.Nearly half of the deposits of K bank, which officially opened for business on April 3, had come from low-cost current and savings accounts, the bank said. K bank’s current and savings account ratio marked nearly 50 percent, 1.6 times higher than the average figure of 12 co

Market April 18, 2017

The Korea Public Procurement Expo 2017 kicks off Wednesday, seeking to reach out to a wide range of global buyers. It is held by the state-run Public Procurement Service. The number of international buyers participating in the annual event this year will reach 114 from 25 countries, a 8 percent increase from the previous year, which had 106 from 24 nations, according to PPS Administrator Chung Yang-ho, in an interview with The Korea Herald.Among the buyers this year, 75 will be from the United S

Industry April 18, 2017

Nearly half of almost 120,000 employees at 20 major financial firms in South Korea are women, but only 21 of them were in executive positions as of 2016, according to data cited in news reports Monday.　The data also showed that among the 21, only two of them -- Jung Soo-kyung, an auditor at Woori Bank, and Park Soon-ae, a non-executive director at Kookmin Bank -- were board members. There were 845 executive workers in total for both genders. None of the 21 women were in positions of vice preside

Industry April 17, 2017