KB Financial Group Chief Yoon Jong-kyoo has decided not to seek his fourth term, the group said on Sunday, just days before the conglomerate's planned announcement of its shortlist of candidates for the head position. Yoon said he made the decision for the group's "new future and transformation." The incumbent chairman has held the post since 2014 and his three-year-long third term is set to expire on Nov. 20. Yoon also hoped to see a new chief driving sustainable growth, ena

Industry Aug. 6, 2023

KB Kookmin Bank said on Sunday that it has received final approval to merge its two affiliates in Cambodia ― Prasac Microfinance and Kookmin Bank Cambodia ― on Friday. This announcement came after the bank sought the green light from Cambodian authorities to merge its two affiliates and launch a new commercial bank, KB Prasac Bank, in early 2022. Preliminary approval for this new commercial bank was granted July 16. In 2009, KB Kookmin Bank made its initial entry into the Cambodian market with t

Industry Aug. 6, 2023

Hana Financial Group announced on Sunday that it had signed a contract with the State Bank of India to establish a strategic partnership, aiming jointly to expand their global business. The SBI is India's largest government-owned commercial bank, operating in 25 different regions worldwide, including the US and China. This partnership came after the two financial firms conducted a sideline business meeting during the 56th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank Board of Governors in Ma

Industry Aug. 6, 2023

Bank KB Bukopin, the Indonesian subsidiary of Korean lender KB Kookmin Bank, has continued its loss-making run in the first half of the year, with its losses reaching over 1.49 trillion rupiah ($98.1 million) as of the end of May, according to data Wednesday. It also showed a notable surge from the loss of 26.82 billion rupiah recorded in the first quarter, indicating a dramatic increase in losses over just the two-month period. The incurred loss holds significance for KB Kookmin Bank, as Indone

Industry Aug. 2, 2023

Korea's Financial Supervisory Service has requested the Seoul branch offices of two securities firms -- Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch -- to enhance their internal management in response to identified deficiencies in their books. Morgan Stanley had two instances of such management caution cases, while Merrill Lynch had one case identified during the inspections conducted by the financial regulator. Although these deficiencies do not involve legal violations, both securities firms are obli

Industry July 31, 2023

The Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure board has gotten a new update from Monday, providing foreign investors with more English information on financial disclosures. With the update, when firms file disclosures on DART, the name of the company, report title and name of the attached files will be available in English on the English version of the website at the same time as the Korean one. Previously, English disclosures were only available when Kospi and Kosdaq-listed c

Industry July 30, 2023

The state-run Korea Development Bank has decided to push for "a full relocation" of its headquarters from Seoul to Busan and submitted a plan to the country's financial regulator for approval, according to industry sources on Friday. According to KDB's plan, the bank intends to retain a minimal workforce of approximately 100 employees in Seoul while transferring the entire headquarters to Busan. Under the existing law, KDB is required to be located in Seoul. In order to proce

Industry July 28, 2023

KB Financial Group reclaimed its position as the top financial group in Korea with a net profit of 2.99 trillion won ($2.34 billion) in the first half, surpassing other players. The group's flagship KB Kookmin Bank also regained the leading bank title with a net profit of 1.85 trillion won in the same period. Although KB set aside more than 1.31 trillion won for bad debt reserves in the first half of 2023, the expansion of net interest income and robust profits from nonbanking businesses dr

Industry July 27, 2023

The total market capitalization of the secondary bourse Kosdaq surpassed 458.4 trillion won ($354.8 billion), reaching an all-time high on Wednesday morning. However, in the afternoon, stock prices began fluctuating. Just a day after hitting a record-high of 454.57 trillion won on Tuesday, the Kosdaq market capitalization continued to expand, surpassing the previous day's record. The recent rise and drop can be attributed to significant influence of the market capitalization of battery mate

Industry July 26, 2023

A new bourse operator is looking to shake up the Korean stock market next year, with a launch that would break up Korea Exchange's monopoly for the first time in nearly seven decades. On July 19, the Financial Services Commission granted preliminary approval for the alternative trading system called Nextrade. A total of 34 companies, including leading brokerage houses and ICT firms, as well as the Korea Financial Investment Association, a non-profit, self-regulatory organization which has

Industry July 25, 2023

By Manpreet Gill One of the biggest investment debates of our times is whether to own cash or government bonds. In the developed markets, one of the most rapid policy rate hiking cycles in history has meant that short-term returns from cash are now higher than what one can earn on a longer maturity bond. Unsurprisingly, this has led to a significant move into cash deposits or money market funds across major economies around the world. Despite this, many asset allocators (ourselves included) co

Industry July 25, 2023

South Korean credit card issuer BC Card announced on Sunday it has decided to establish a joint venture with a Kyrgyz state-run payment provider to offer a unified card payment processing service in the central Asian country. The joint venture firm, called BC Card Kyrgyzstan (BCKG), will be set up in Kyrgyzstan's capital city, Bishkek, in August in collaboration with two firms -- Korean payment services firm Smartro, and Kyrgyz state-run payment provider Interbank Processing Center (IPC). &

Industry July 23, 2023

South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service has ordered three Chinese banks operating in Seoul to take disciplinary action after they were found to have violated disclosure and reporting obligations. The lenders in question are the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank. The FSS ordered the Chinese firms to autonomously handle their employees involved in these violation cases. Autonomous handling refers to the practice where the FSS

Industry July 23, 2023

  KB Financial Group on Thursday announced the details of its candidate selection process for a new chairman ahead of the upcoming shareholders’ meeting, set to take place in November. The group's Chairman Candidate Recommendation Committee held its first meeting on Thursday and decided on the procedure to shortlist candidates. On Aug. 8, the committee plans to draw up a shortlist of six candidates, and on Aug. 29, it will conduct the first round of interviews and narrow down the sh

Industry July 20, 2023

Samsung Electronics announced Wednesday that it will not charge any fees to card issuers in Korea for its digital wallet service, Samsung Pay. "We have decided to keep Samsung Pay commission-free," a Samsung official said in a statement. “Samsung Electronics is dedicated to enhancing the development of the domestic payment ecosystem by maintaining ongoing partnerships with local card companies, all while delivering the finest Samsung Pay service to consumers.” Samsung has

Industry July 20, 2023