South Korea gets ready for short selling under watchful eyes

South Korea resumes the short selling of stocks Monday, ending a 14-month ban imposed to protect investors from a sudden market fall triggered by the pandemic.  Despite the government’s cautious moves -- leaving some restrictions in place even after the temporary ban expires -- retail investors are still wary over a possible drop in stock prices, according to industry sources Wednesday. The regulator’s decision to permit short selling within limits starting May 3 came after

April 28, 2021

Lime makes Time’s list of 100 most influential companies

Lime said Wednesday it had been named as one of the world’s top 100 influential companies by Time magazine. According to the world’s leading e-scooter and e-bike operator, it has been categorized among the “disruptors,” along with 19 other companies including Tesla, Airbnb, Robinhood and Didi Chuxing. “Despite pandemic-related disruptions, the micro-mobility company announced its first profitable quarter last year and launched in dozens of new cities. In 2021,

April 28, 2021

‘US-China conflict may accelerate US membership in trans-Pacific trade pact’

The United States, which under former President Donald Trump ditched talks toward a trans-Pacific trade order, may now be moving to rejoin the club, mostly due to the continuing conflict with China, market observers said Wednesday. Their remarks came during the second CPTPP Trade Forum, organized jointly by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the nation’s largest law firm, Kim & Chang. CPTPP stands for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partner

April 28, 2021

Ocean freight charge hike weighs upon small exporters

Facing continuous rises in sea freight charges, South Korea’s industries have showed mixed reactions, with major shippers benefiting from surplus demand and small exporters reeling under the cost burden, industry data shows. While brokerages set to raising their target stock price for prosperous top-tier shippers, policymakers here are struggling to provide fiscal relief measures for exporters under pressure. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, showing the level of the current sea

April 28, 2021

Serveone and Korin to sign agreement to strengthen business cooperation in Indonesia

Serveone, the largest maintenance, repair and operation procurement company in South Korea, announced April 22 that it has signed a strategic business agreement with Korin to expand business for both companies in Indonesia. The two companies agreed to promote cooperation to expand opportunities in Indonesia for raw materials procurement and logistics business through this partnership. Serveone provides professional purchase solutions based on domestic and international B2B platforms, considered

April 28, 2021

Nexon joins Tesla in bitcoin bet

Korean-Japanese game maker Nexon on Tuesday said it spent $100 million to purchase bitcoin, joining companies like Tesla and MicroStrategy who bet on cryptocurrencies. The company listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange said it purchased 1,717 bitcoins at $58,226 on average. Bitcoin was being traded at $54,910 as of 1:35 p.m. on Wednesday. “In the current economic environment, we believe bitcoin offers long-term stability and liquidity while maintaining the value of our cash for future investme

April 28, 2021

S&P affirms stable outlook for Mirae Asset Securities

Global credit ratings agency S&P Global Ratings revised its credit rating on South Korean brokerage Mirae Asset Securities from negative to stable Tuesday, assigning the firm’s rating of BBB in the long term. S&P said its revised rating reflected its expectation that the local securities firm will likely to improve and maintain an adequate capital buffer over the next 18-24 months. “Mirae Asset Securities’ diversified business lines underpin its largely stable earni

April 28, 2021

Samsung returns to top spot in European smartphone market in Q1: report

Samsung Electronics Co. regained the top spot in the European smartphone market in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Wednesday, on the back of robust sales of its new handsets. The South Korean tech giant represented 32 percent of smartphone sales in Europe in the January-March period, up 2 percentage points from a year earlier, and beat its US rival Apple Inc., which settled for 28 percent, according to market tracker Counterpoint Research. Samsung was in the runner-up spot with

April 28, 2021

Population mobility falls for 3rd month in March

The number of South Koreans who moved to different residences in the country fell for the third straight month in March as housing transactions declined, data showed Wednesday. The number of people who changed their residences fell 4 percent on-year to 735,000 last month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the third straight month of decline after population mobility rose for the seventh consecutive month in December 2020 amid skyrocketing home prices. The fall was

April 28, 2021

Daily retail payments grow 15.2% in 2020 amid pandemic

The value of daily retail payments grew 15.2 percent on-year in 2020 as online financial transactions increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The value of daily retail payments, which are typically made between individuals and non-financial firms on a small sum of money, stood at 80.2 trillion won ($72 billion) last year, compared with 69.6 trillion won in 2019, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). With COVID-19 spreading, more consumers are using

April 28, 2021

Biz sentiment improves for 3rd straight month amid pandemic: poll

South Korea's business sentiment continued to improve on recovering demand in the non-manufacturing business sector, a local think tank said Wednesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales reached 107.7 for next month, up 1.7 points from April, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. The index stayed above 100 for the third straight month after its March reading exceeded 100 for the first time in 34 months, it said. A reading ab

April 28, 2021

Samsung family decides on W1tr donation to boost medical sector

The founding family of Samsung Group will donate 1 trillion won ($899 million) to bolster the country’s medical infrastructure, including building Korea’s first hospital for infectious diseases, Samsung Electronics announced on Wednesday. The announcement was part of the bereaved family’s plan on inheritance tax payments on assets of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who died on Oct. 25. The Lee family has decided to donate 700 billion won to better equip the medical s

April 28, 2021

Auto exports rise 31% in Q1 on robust demand

South Korea's exports of autos grew 31.4 percent on-year in the first quarter on the back of brisk shipments of sedans and eco-friendly vehicles, data showed Wednesday. The country's outbound shipments of cars came to $11 billion in the January-March period, compared with $8.37 billion the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. Imports of autos rose 21.8 percent on-year to $2.9 billion, the data showed. Overseas shipments of sedans and eco-friendly vehicle

April 28, 2021

Major firms' overseas sales drop 4% in 2020 amid pandemic

Major South Korean companies saw their overseas sales shrink 4 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. Combined overseas sales of 230 out of the country's top 500 firms by revenue totaled 804.1 trillion won ($723 billion) last year, down 33.4 trillion won from a year earlier, according to CEO Score. The figure accounts for 45.6 percent of the 83.6 trillion-won decrease in their sales at home and abroad. The 230 companies cover thos

April 28, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower ahead of US FOMC results

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday as investors awaited the results of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.05 points, or 0.19 percent, to 3,209.37 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI traded bearish as the yield rate of the US 10-year Treasury bounced back above the 1.6 percent level amid expectations of faster-than-expected global recovery from the pandemic. Tech shares slumped, while insu

April 28, 2021

ADB ups its 2021 growth outlook for S. Korean economy to 3.5%

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday revised up its growth outlook for the South Korean economy this year, citing robust exports of chips and the country's fiscal and monetary support. The Manila-based bank expected Asia's fourth-largest economy to grow 3.5 percent this year, up from its earlier estimate in December last year of 3.3 percent. The ADB forecast predicted the Korean economy to grow 3.1 percent for next year. The bank's outlook is higher than the growth estimates by the Ba

April 28, 2021

Consumer sentiment rises for 4th month in April

South Korea's consumer sentiment increased for a fourth consecutive month in April, as exports showed signs of a strong recovery and health authorities vowed to speed up the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, central bank data showed Wednesday. The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came in at 102.2 for April, up 1.7 points from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The latest reading marks the fourth on

April 28, 2021

S. Korea to press ahead with taxation on cryptocurrencies as planned: minister

South Korea will levy taxes on capital gains from cryptocurrencies next year as scheduled despite growing calls by investors to postpone the taxation, the finance minister said Tuesday. The government plans to impose a 20 percent tax on capital gains from transactions of virtual assets starting next year. Amid a bull run, investors of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have cried foul over the plan, claiming that authorities should apply the same taxation standards as those imposed on stock

April 27, 2021

PE-owned shipping firm inks deal with Malaysia’s Petronas

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

April 27, 2021

SC Bank Korea to run incubator program for women-led fintech startups

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

April 27, 2021