Most Popular
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Ador CEO denies allegations, accuses Hybe of mistreating NewJeans
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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Medical reform committee kicks off despite boycott from doctors
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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Over 9,000 hotline calls made by stalking victims in 2023
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Monthly users on local streaming platforms outpace Netflix, Disney+
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[Hello India] Hyundai Motor vows to boost 'clean mobility' in India
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Seoul to promote luxurious side of the city
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S. Korea to post negative GDP growth due to coronavirus: reports
South Korea is likely to post negative economic growth this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, data showed Sunday. The average estimate of the nation’s gross domestic product growth for this year recently came to negative 0.9 percent, drastically down from the previous suggestion of around 2 percent. The forecasts were tallied from 11 global financial services firms, including Standard Chartered, UBS, Morgan Stanley, Nomura Holdings and Credit Suisse. The plunge is attributed
April 5, 2020
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Korea’s listed firms’ earnings to shrink 17% in Q1 amid coronavirus pandemic
South Korea’s listed companies are likely to post poor earnings results for the first quarter due to the escalating fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic, a financial market tracker said Sunday. The combined operating profits of 141 listed companies are expected to mark 16.79 trillion won ($13.6 billion) in the January-March period this year, down 20.22 trillion won, or 16.92 percent, from a year ago, according to data compiled by FN Guide. If the projection turns out to be roughl
April 5, 2020
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Korean stocks close nearly flat, won sinks
South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Friday as a recovery in global oil prices boosted investor sentiment against the new coronavirus pandemic. The local currency dropped against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.58 point, or 0.03 percent, to close at 1,725.44. Trading volume was high at some 986 million shares worth a little over 1 trillion won ($811 million), with gainers outnumbering losers 506 to 328. The index got off to
April 3, 2020
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Korea’s FX reserves sharply drop in March
South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves last month posted the sharpest drop in over a decade due to the government’s intervention in the foreign exchange market and the strengthened US dollar value, the central bank said Friday. As of the end of March, the nation’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $400.21 billion, down $8.96 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. It fell by the largest margin since November in 2008 when the global financial crisis wa
April 3, 2020
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Hana Bank, Woowa Brothers to create rating model based on online food orders
Restaurants available on delivery app Baedal Minjok will have a broader access to loans from a commercial bank, if they show proof that they were winning more online food delivery orders. This will be part of commitments in a memorandum of understanding by Korea’s mobile food delivery unicorn Woowa Brothers and commercial lender Hana Bank, Woowa Brothers said Friday. Under the MOU, the door-to-door food delivery company and the bank pledged to create a credit rating model that uses the
April 3, 2020
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S&P puts Hyundai on negative watchlist amid virus pandemic
S&P Global Ratings on Thursday placed Hyundai Motor Group on its watchlist of firms with a negative outlook, citing the impact of the new coronavirus pandemic on the global automobile industry. "The COVID-19 pandemic is causing production suspensions and weakening demand in the global auto industry, which was already facing slowing demand in 2019," S&P said in a report as it placed the South Korean auto giant on "CreditWatch with negative implications," hinting its r
April 2, 2020
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Deal shows virus-hit airlines can sell debt but cost steep
A bond deal by South Korea’s biggest airline showed that while carriers pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic can still sell debt, they will need to pay a steep price. The fee Korean Air Lines paid underwriters to issue won notes jumped to a record 1.157percent, four times what it was charged in a similar deal in September. And an unusually numerous 15 sales managers took part in the offering this week of 600 billion won ($490 million) of debt backed by sales of future passenger tickets, a
April 2, 2020
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Korea's proposed M&As shrink to half in Q1
The volume of proposed mergers and acquisitions in South Korea has shrunk to about half in the first quarter of 2020, reflecting the impact of the novel coronavirus, data showed Thursday. The first quarter saw 5.23 trillion won ($4.22 billion) worth of deals announced, falling 50.6 percent on-year, according to a league table by news outlet thebell. This comes as the coronavirus pandemic is causing delays in reaching agreements between parties due to market uncertainties. Major deals annou
April 2, 2020
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BlackRock offloads W130b stake in NCSoft
US investment house BlackRock Fund Advisors has offloaded its 1.01 percent stake in South Korea’s game software developer NCSoft to cash out 129.57 billion won ($105.1 million), a filing showed Thursday. As a result, BlackRock Fund Advisors and its 13 specially related parties hold 6.05 percent voting rights in the company as of March 25 as a nonengagement shareholder. NCsoft share price rose 6.15 percent. The investor said its transactions from September to March were “meant to se
April 2, 2020
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KRX to ditch 30% cap on index weighting
The Korea Exchange (KRX) said Thursday it has decided not to implement a new rule meant to prevent major indices from dominant influence of a single stock. The stock market operator previously considered applying the so-called “30 percent cap” rule on market bellwether Samsung Electronics by June, as its weight on Kospi 200 increased to 33.5 percent as of Jan. 20 from 29.8 percent of Dec. 2. “The purpose of applying the rule was to comply with regulations. Due to the revisio
April 2, 2020
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Temasek sells Celltrion stake in block deal
Ion Investments, an affiliate of Singaporean investment firm Temasek Holdings, sold millions of shares of Korean biosimilar giant Celltrion and its distribution affiliate Celltrion Healthcare in a block deal before markets opened, according to news reports Thursday. The Singapore-based investment firm sold 2.57 million shares, or 1.9 percent, of Celltrion, and 2.21 million shares, or 1.5 percent, of Celltrion Healthcare via the block trading deal. The stock price of Celltrion fell 8.08 perc
April 2, 2020
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Net asset values of funds dive in March
Investment funds in South Korea posted a sharp valuation fall in March over fears of the novel coronavirus, marking the largest decline so far, data showed Thursday. The combined net asset value of public offering and private placement funds, excluding private equity funds that entail management involvement in companies, sank to 646.19 trillion won ($520.74 billion) as of end-March, down 45.66 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association. The t
April 2, 2020
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NH brokerage unit tops list of average salary
NH Investment and Securities, a local brokerage firm under NH Financial Group, last year paid 123 million won ($99,600) in annual salary on average, higher than any company with assets over 10 trillion won, industry data showed Thursday. According to Infobigs, a local industry tracker, an employee at NH Investment and Securities received a paycheck higher than the average figure of Samsung Electronics’ employees, which stood at 108 million won. The average annual salary of
April 2, 2020
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Korean stocks up over 2%, won edges up
South Korean stocks spiked by more than 2 percent Thursday, helped by stimulus measures and a rise in oil prices. The local currency slightly rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 39.40 points, or 2.34 percent, to close at 1,724.86. Trading volume was moderate at 752 million shares worth some 9.5 trillion won ($7.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 708 to 154. The sharp increase came one day after the index plunged over 4 perce
April 2, 2020
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Seoul stocks open lower on deepening virus woes
South Korean stocks opened slightly lower on Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 4.18 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,681.28 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The weak start follows another market crash in New York, apparently caused by fears of the new coronavirus outbreak bringing the US economy to a halt. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 973.65 points, or 4.44 percent, to close at 20,943.51 on Wednesday (
April 2, 2020
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Listed firms' net profits more than halve in 2019: data
The net profits of South Korean firms listed on the country's main stock exchange more than halved last year, the bourse operator said Wednesday. The combined net profit of 583 Kospi-listed companies, excluding financial firms, came to 52.42 trillion won ($42.5 billion) in 2019 on a consolidated basis, down 52.82 percent from a year ago, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX). The combined annual sales rose 0.47 percent on-year to stand at 2,006.45 trillion won in 2019, but operating profits p
April 1, 2020
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[Market Close-up] Doosan Heavy looks to sell affiliates
Debt-saddled Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction was once considered South Korea’s leading power equipment maker for coal fire, nuclear and gas energy. But over the past few years, it has been losing investors’ interest, as it won fewer bids amid the global attempt to shift reliance on fossil fuel and nuclear energy, leaving its businesses dependent on debt to continue its faltering operations. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Doosan Heavy is facing a liquidity cris
April 1, 2020
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Hana Bank picks actor Kim Soo-hyun as new model
Hana Bank said Wednesday that it has selected Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun as its new model for TV commercials. “Kim Soo-hyun embodies the bank’s global image,” said an official. “His strong public impression will boost our public relations move for overseas branches in Southeast Asian countries.” Kim previously modeled for Hana Financial Group in 2014. He will star in the bank’s new TV commercial for Hana 1Q Bank, a mobile banking application. The b
April 1, 2020
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Hyundai Capital’s global assets surpass W50tr
Hyundai Capital said Wednesday that assets of its global offices surpassed 50 trillion won ($40.9 billion) in value for the first time since it launched its first overseas branch in the US in 1989. The Seoul-headquartered auto financier said its global branches owned 50.8 trillion won of financial assets last year, double that of the domestic market. Hyundai Capital’s global branches also posted a record pretax income of 766.3 billion won. “The company’s standardized busin
April 1, 2020
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Korean stocks dip 4% on extended foreign selling, won sharply drops
South Korean stocks sank 4 percent Wednesday as foreign investors continued to sell local shares on fears of the economic fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak. The local currency dropped sharply against the US greenback. After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 69.18 points, or 3.94 percent, to close at 1,685.46. Trading volume was high at 123 million shares worth some 11.9 trillion won ($9.67 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 574 t
April 1, 2020