South Korean investors holding $550.3 million worth of shares in Chinese drone maker EHang Holdings appear to be left in disarray as the Nasdaq-listed firm’s stock price plummeted on a short seller report on Tuesday. EHang Holdings was the ninth-largest stock listed on the United States bourse to be in custody of the Korea Securities Depository until last week, according to the latest data by the KSD. It was also the seventh-most active US-listed stock this year, as Korean individuals a

Market Feb. 17, 2021

South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund, managing $183.1 billion in assets, has cut its coal stock exposure in the United States, but its investment in coal-related US listed shares still stands larger compared with other sovereign wealth funds in the world. 　 The findings indicated that Korea Investment Corp. has room for more aggressive action to fight greenhouse gas threats posed by coal, and to perform its fiduciary duty to take environmental risks into account. According to its regulat

Market Feb. 17, 2021

The state-run lender Korea Development Bank said Tuesday it was working with the Ministry of Environment to foster a standardized framework for its green bond issuance in a bid to cut greenhouse gas emissions.  KDB officials said the move will ensure that issuers, including KDB, will use the green bond proceeds for environmental purposes and prevent issuers from “greenwashing,” in which companies make green gestures without meaningfully improving their environmental impact. KD

Market Feb. 16, 2021

South Korea‘s fund manager KB Asset Management said Monday it has launched an equity fund to target companies at home and abroad dedicated to hydrogen supply chain. The instrument will become the first fund product publicly sold to investors in Korea’s fund management industry to bet on the growth of the global hydrogen mobility ecosystem. The equity fund will invest in companies devoted to production, storage, transportation and distribution of hydrogen, as well as hydrogen-power

Market Feb. 15, 2021

The Military Mutual Aid Association has named Kim You-geun, former deputy director of South Korea‘s National Security Council, as its new chief executive officer of the institutional investor, officials said Monday. Kim, retired Korean Army Lt. Gen., became the 15th president of the institution dedicated to providing financial welfare to the Korean military community. He replaced the predecessor Kim Do-ho after receiving final approval from Defense Minister Suh Wook. Kim called for tra

Market Feb. 15, 2021

Activist fund managers at home and abroad are expected to play a bigger role in the forthcoming proxy season this year in South Korea that starts in March. Seoul-based proxy advisory services firm Korea Corporate Governance Service said in a report Tuesday the shareholders of the companies subject to proxy battle needs closer monitoring, as their results are “unpredictable.” Homegrown private equity firms including Korea Corporate Governance Improvement and HYK Partners are expecte

Market Feb. 13, 2021

A top researcher of the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock expressed regrets on Tuesday over the retaliation aimed at hedge funds for taking short positions in the United States’ stock market in the GameStop saga. Henny Sender, managing director of the asset manager‘s internal think tank BlackRock Investment Institute, said it was “a sad thing” that retail stock traders had directed their anger at hedge funds. Ensuring hedge funds are given an option to perce

Market Feb. 9, 2021

Once the fastest emerging source of foreign capital into European real estate asset investments, South Korea‘s investors were seen redirecting their attention to the Americas in 2020, data showed Monday. According to data from US-based property market tracker Real Capital Analytics, Korea’s capital going directly into assets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, each valued at $10 million or greater, fell by 78 percent on-year to $3 billion in 2020. Koreans in 2019 were the

Market Feb. 8, 2021

South Korea‘s outbound real asset investors are looking to set up operations in the United States to get around restrictions in foreign due diligence, deal sourcing and property management, as the coronavirus pandemic has added to uncertainties in the market dynamics. Aside from the need for a breakthrough in cross-border alternative investment, Korean capital moving to property -- one of the fastest-growing sectors in the US -- is seen as preemptively laying the groundwork for a local pr

Market Feb. 7, 2021

South Korea‘s investment house Mirae Asset Global Investments said on Thursday it has launched a new equity fund to invest in domestic companies with clean technology prowess. With the launch, Mirae Asset aims to ride on the green wave among financiers that is triggering a seismic shift across the industries. Its portfolio will mainly comprise of Korean firms dedicated to solar, wind and hydroelectric power resources, waste management, electric vehicles, hydrogen cars, as well as smart

Market Feb. 4, 2021

South Korea‘s law firm Yulchon said Wednesday it has signed a strategic partnership with international consultancy firm Environmental Resources Management to strengthen its corporate legal advisory capability with respect to environmental, social and governance, or ESG, issues. The partnership is a leap forward from Yulchon’s move in December to establish an in-house unit devoted to legal advice as to how corporate clients should cope with ESG issues, such as regulatory risk manage

Market Feb. 3, 2021

JPMorgan Asset Management has increased its stake in the ailing Korean travel agency Modetour Network to 7.47 percent, banking on a rebound in the post-COVID era despite piling losses, a filing showed Wednesday. Three of JPMorgan Asset Management subsidiaries obtained an additional 1.07 percent stake, or some 200,000 ordinary shares, in Modetour from December 2019 to January this year, according to the filing. This solidified JPMorgan’s position as the firm’s second-largest share

Market Feb. 3, 2021

An investor consortium led by US auto retailer HAAH Automotive is ready to lay out plans to buy a stake in troubled South Korean automaker SsangYong Motor once it presents its reorganization plan to creditors, Korea’s state-run lender Korea Development Bank said Tuesday. SsangYong Motor is a lossmaking South Korean arm of Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra. Senior officials of KDB, SsangYong Motor’s main creditor, said that the reorganization plan is a prerequisite to the co

Market Feb. 2, 2021

South Korea‘s institutional investor, the Public Officials Benefit Association, is poised to commit 300 billion won ($268.6 million) to alternative asset manager Koramco Asset Management for its investment in commercial real estate, Koramco said Monday. Using the fresh fund, Koramco will mainly target prime office buildings in Seoul and the neighboring Bundang business district in Gyeonggi Province. The fund will be managed under the POBA guideline where 60 percent of the cash will be de

Market Feb. 1, 2021

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday it has partnered with state-run lender Korea Development Bank to create a fund of 74.5 billion won ($66.6 million) to support open innovation of the South Korean automaker giant and its supply chain. The fund primarily targets domestic startups dedicated to eco-friendly cars and smart cars, as well as companies with futuristic mobility technologies with regards to urban air mobility and purpose-built vehicles. Major backers of the fund include Hyundai Motor, K

Market Feb. 1, 2021