Most Popular
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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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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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Ship linked to NK arms shipments to Russia is moored in China: State Dept.
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[News Focus] Are foreign investors behind stock market drop?
Amid the accelerating volatility of South Korea’s stock market, discontent is brewing over foreign investors, accused of being responsible with their rampant short selling. Short sellers, either institutional investors or foreign investors here, place bets on stocks that they think would fall in value. They sell borrowed shares in companies, and later repurchase them at lower prices to profit, which is called short covering. Short selling is often criticized for causing excessive pric
March 23, 2020
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Hyundai heir apparent buys Hyundai Motor, Mobis stocks to boost prices
Hyundai Motor Group's heir apparent Chung Euisun on Monday bought 19 billion won ($15 million) worth of stocks in two key affiliates to prop up their declining prices. Hyundai Motor Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun purchased 139,000 shares of Hyundai Motor Co. and 72,552 shares of Hyundai Mobis Co. before the stock market closed on Monday, the companies said in separate regulatory filings. Chung bought the two companies' stocks for 19 billion won--Hyundai Motor stocks at 68,435 won per s
March 23, 2020
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Standard Chartered Bank Korea donates face masks to virus-hit Daegu hospital
Standard Chartered Bank Korea, wholly owned by London-based Standard Chartered Bank, donated 5,000 face masks to a hospital in Daegu, which has become the epicenter of the novel coronavirus here since early last month, the bank said Monday. The masks were provided by Standard Chartered PLC via its Greater China and Northeast Asia headquarters in Hong Kong in a bid to help its Korean employees and clients, the firm said. SC Bank Korea donated the masks to Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Cen
March 23, 2020
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Foreign IBs face flak for short selling stocks in Korea
Despite a six-month ban on short selling, foreign investment banking houses remain dominant players betting on falling prices of South Korean shares, raising hackles due to stock market volatility. According to data compiled by bourse operator Korea Exchange (KRX) on Monday, 6,662 cases of short sales worth more than 1 billion won ($790,330) occurred on the main bourse Kospi and tech-heavy Kosdaq from the beginning of this year to Wednesday. Morgan Stanley & Co. International’s dis
March 23, 2020
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Shinhan Financial asks unit CEOs to take digital leadership
Shinhan Financial Group said Monday that it has decided to adopt a new digital leadership system, assigning tasks of fostering different innovative technologies to the executive officers of its subsidiaries. The decision is based on Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung’s remarks during a management meeting held Wednesday, where he said “in order to achieve a successful digital transformation, harmony of strategy and culture and the digital leadership of CEOs are crucia
March 23, 2020
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Coronavirus wipes off IPO plans in March
The coronavirus pandemic and ensuing market volatility are disrupting listing plans of South Korean firms that could otherwise have raised at least 289.5 billion won ($227.8 million), filings showed Monday. Seven companies have withdrawn or put off their initial public offerings in March. They include stem cell therapy developer SCM Life Science, telemarketing service provider Metanet Mplatform, electric vehicle parts maker LS EV Korea, diabetes treatment developer NovMetaPharma and construct
March 23, 2020
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S. Korea to unveil measures to stabilize markets this week
South Korea's financial authorities are expected to announce a set of measures this week to help stabilize financial markets roiled by the spread of the new coronavirus, industry sources said Monday. The measures include a bond market stabilization fund worth more than 10 trillion won ($7.94 billion), according to officials. Last week, Financial Services Commission chief Eun Sung-soo decided to create the bond market stabilization fund during a meeting with the heads of eight banks and other r
March 23, 2020
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S. Korea logs 2nd-biggest foreign capital outflow in Asia over virus
South Korea has suffered the second-largest outflow of foreign stock investment funds among major Asian emerging nations over the past month amid a dollar shortage sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Offshore investors withdrew $10.24 billion from the South Korean stock market between Feb. 20 and Wednesday, according to the data compiled by the Korea Center for International Finance (KCIF). It was the second-largest outflow among major Asian emerging markets after Taiwan's
March 23, 2020
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Citibank Korea’s WM strategy pays off amid market fluctuations
Citibank Korea has seen the pool of high-net-worth clients grow on the back of its unique wealth management program, which focuses on strict product screening for the sake of investor security. The number of wealth management clients at the local subsidiary of the New York-based bank soared 124 percent on-year in January, according to officials. Also, its Aggressive Model Portfolio yielded a 19.8 percent return last year, while its Moderate Model Portfolio returned 17.2 percent, despite the
March 22, 2020
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[Economy in Pandemic 3] Overseas property investments to take hit from coronavirus
Highly volatile exchange rates and dampened investment sentiment around the world are now posing challenges to South Korea’s asset management firms, which have been accelerating their expansion into global real estate markets in recent years, according to market watchers. Seeking out new opportunities beyond the nation, Korean investment companies have inked a number of multibillion-dollar deals to acquire flagship buildings in cities around the world. The most prominent deal, among othe
March 22, 2020
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S. Korean companies brace for liquidity crisis in April
South Korean companies are bracing for a possible liquidity crisis in the bond market next month, amid sagging investor sentiment and signs of capital flight due to the coronavirus pandemic, market data showed Sunday. The illiquidity -- triggered by continuously escalating novel coronavirus fears -- will pose a hurdle to companies when they attract new capital or carry out a refinancing scheme. A combined 6.5 trillion won ($5.2 billion) in corporate bonds is due to reach maturity in April, ac
March 22, 2020
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Foreign brokerages suffer big hit amid price-cutting race
Foreign brokerages operating in South Korea have reported a drastic fall in their earnings in 2019, with their commission income falling sharply as domestic rivals chewed on their market share. The five securities arms of foreign investment banks -- Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas, Deutsche, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. and UBS -- disclosed that they saw over a 30 percent drop in their annual earnings, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association. The latest was France-based C
March 22, 2020
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Hankuk Paper signs W55b deal to acquire local paper maker Seha
An investor group led by South Korean pulp product manufacturer Hankuk Paper agreed to buy a majority stake in Korea’s third-largest domestic industrial paper maker, Seha, for 55 billion won ($44.2 million) from Korean nonperforming loan manager United Asset Management Co., a filing showed Sunday. This marks the private bad bank’s first exit from a distressed buyout strategy that traces back to 2014. The consortium -- comprising Hankuk Paper and Daesung Industrial -- will acquire
March 22, 2020
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Shinhan Investment CEO steps down over Lime scandal, derivatives misselling
Shinhan Investment CEO Kim Byung-cheol resigned on Friday, taking responsibility for the brokerage’s role as a key sales channel for now-frozen Lime Asset funds and derivatives that caused huge losses for investors. “In order for the company to win back customer trust and get back on track to normalize business, it would be right for me to take responsibility and step down,” Kim said during the company’s board meeting, according to Shinhan. “I have been delayin
March 20, 2020
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Officials, experts divided over impact of S. Korea-US currency swap deal
While the financial authorities on Friday welcomed the $60 billion bilateral currency swap deal signed between South Korea and the US the previous day, some experts voiced concern that it may be too soon to rejoice because it is not yet clear what impact it will have on the market. The deal is the first of its kind since the 2008 global financial crisis and will remain in effect for six months, unless both parties decide to extend. “The $60 billion Korea-US bilateral currency swap wil
March 20, 2020
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Seoul stocks rebound 7% on currency swap deal with US
South Korean stocks rebounded sharply on Friday as investors were buoyed by the currency swap deal between Seoul and Washington, snapping a freefall of seven consecutive sessions. The Korean won was also sharply up against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index soared 108.51 points, or 7.44 percent, to close at 1,566.17. Trading volume was high at 807 million shares worth 10.4 trillion won ($8.41 billion), with gainers far outpacing losers 824 to 68. The combined marke
March 20, 2020
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Bidding war for Prudential Life intensifies amid coronavirus risks
An intense bidding war for the takeover of Prudential Life Insurance of Korea, valued at some 2 trillion won ($1.6 billion), kicked off early Thursday as major banking groups and private equity houses vied to get their hands on the insurer. The bid for a 100 percent stake in the insurer came as the risks stemming from the novel coronavirus compounded those from the Bank of Korea’s latest rate cut. Those risks have slowed the momentum for the bid, which could be the largest acquisition d
March 19, 2020
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NPS to vote against chiefs of Shinhan, Woori, Hyosung
The National Pension Service, South Korea’s public pension fund, said Thursday it would disapprove of the chiefs of Shinhan Financial Group, Woori Financial Group and Hyosung as board directors in their respective shareholders meetings in March. The decisions came as the pension fund overseeing 736.7 trillion won ($576.7 billion) has moved to ramp up shareholder activism and exercise its voting power to keep large corporations in check as a minority shareholder. The NPS’ nine-membe
March 19, 2020
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[Exclusive] Foreign residents still locked out of online banks
Concerns about the fast-spreading novel coronavirus are fueling growing demand for “untact banking,” but foreign residents in South Korea still cannot subscribe to online banking services, due to the lack of a verification system. Untact banking refers to online or mobile banking services without physical contact between bank staff and customers. Online-only banks, which have been in Korea since 2015, allow a totally contactless service, but regulatory issues meant that the
March 19, 2020
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Kospi plummets below 1,500, lowest in 11 years
South Korean stocks crumbled again Thursday, hitting the lowest point in nearly 11 years, as foreigners’ selling spree continued over growing global uncertainties. The benchmark Kospi closed at 1,457.64 -- down 133.56 points, or 8.39 percent, from the previous session. It marked the lowest closing price since July 23, 2009, at 1,496.49 points. The tech-heavy Kosdaq also crashed by 56.79 points, or 11.71 percent, to close at 428.35. It recorded the lowest closing since Oct. 5, 2011,
March 19, 2020