Banking leaders need to ditch top-down approach, be ready for speedy decision to solve multifaceted conflicts　

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to allocate up to $700 million for the lower-interest loan program with the Asian Development Bank, in line with efforts to support developing nations. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki held a virtual meeting with ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa and signed a memorandum of understanding to expand the Economic Development Cooperation Fund program between South Korea and the regional development bank, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The newly earmark

South Korean private equity firm VIG Partners is eyeing private credit strategies with a new team it established Monday, the company said Tuesday. The company, overseeing 3.8 trillion won ($3.4 billion) worth of private funds mainly dedicated to midmarket buyout strategies, added that it had hired Han Young-hwan as head of credit at VIG Partners. The credit arm will focus on special situations in private credit space, looking to take advantage of price dislocation in the belief that the debt a

Bank will review Citigroup’s withdrawal from Asia markets amid its aggressive global market entries, digital acceleration

More than half of Koreans favor taxation on gains from cryptocurrency trading, a survey showed on Monday, lending support to the government’s move to levy tax on the digital assets. 　 According to a poll by local survey firm Realmeter, 53.7 percent of the people polled said they back the planned taxation on cryptocurrency next year while 38.3 percent of them said they opposed the plan. Female respondents were more supportive over the taxation scheme over male respondents. The percentage

A growing number of South Koreans in their 40s have increased savings to prepare for life after retirement, a report said Monday.  The survey published by Hana Bank’s in-house research center showed that nearly 42 percent of 1,000 people born between 1972 and 1981 answered that they feel the urge to save money for their later lives, among other things. The list of their priorities on spending included home purchases and children’s private education with 36 percent and 16 perc

South Korea’s Woori Financial Group said Sunday it has decided to launch a comprehensive mobile payment solution platform to establish ground in the digital payment market, currently dominated by fintech firms. The solution will integrate and offer the payment services for all of the group’s subsidiaries and affiliates, including Woori Bank and Woori Card. Through the platform, the group is seeking to reach beyond its existing customers. It will grant access to users with no Woor

Blockchain technology -- not just the cryptocurrencies that rely on it -- is becoming mainstream, as evidenced in the recent market debut of US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and nonfungible tokens gaining popularity, said advocates of digital assets on Thursday. “There are many promising blockchain companies but they are overshadowed by cryptocurrencies (for now),” said Lee Han-joo, the co-CEO of SparkLabs, a leading South Korean accelerator, at the company‘s demo day that

Children of the late Samsung chairman are set to receive massive loans from local lenders to pay more than 12 trillion won ($10.8 billion) in inheritance taxes, the largest-ever amount in the country’s history, according to industry sources on Thursday.  Two domestic commercial banks, which were not identified, will issue credit loans of hundreds of billions of won to the family of the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, later in the day, they said.  The decisions were m

Hyundai LNG Shipping on Tuesday signed a 20-year contract to hire up to six liquefied natural gas carriers owned by Malaysia-based Petronas LNG starting in 2024, amid a global race to achieve economies of scale in the wet bulk shipping industry.　 The deal, which involves 174,000-cubic-meter LNG vessels, could be the largest in South Korea’s history in terms of cargo capacity, said IMM Private Equity, which controls the shipping agent dedicated to LNG carriers. The vessels will

Standard Chartered Bank Korea said Tuesday it signed an agreement with a city-funded women rights organization to nurture young talent and foster the development of the tech-driven financial services sector. Under the memorandum of understanding, the bank and Seoul Foundation of Women and Family will jointly run an incubator program dubbed Women in FinTech Academy, which is to target young women who aspire to launch fintech startups. The program is expected to increase women’s stake in

Amid soaring financing demand in the Asia-Pacific region, international private debt investors should weigh in on the sector with local presence to address differences in language, currency and legal system.

Shinhan Financial Group said Monday it has dedicated its first chunk of a 240 billion-won fund ($215 million) into a wind turbine project, as part of an ongoing initiative to support the government’s New Deal programs. The Shinhan Green New Deal Fund was designed to double down investments in the renewable energy sector for the country to achieve sustainable development after the COVID-19 pandemic. Affiliates of Shinhan Financial Group including Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Life Insurance

Standard Chartered Bank Korea will extend a special promotion aimed at helping young customers build better savings habits for an extra month until end-May, the lender said Sunday. The promotion, which was initially planned to run from March to April, offers 10,000 won ($9) to those aged 18 or under who open SC Bank Korea savings accounts if they meet certain conditions. The customers would need to open a Dream-Youth Deposit checking account as well as a First Household Installment Deposit s

Woori Financial Group said Sunday it has established “ESG financing principles,” a framework for the incorporation of environmental, social and corporate governance factors into the group‘s business portfolios.  The ESG finance principles introduce a definition and initial purpose of ESG finance, while stipulating how to integrate ESG values when making business decisions regarding various business models, including credit loans, project financing and wealth management,