Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
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Pandemic is negatively affecting overseas property fund: FSC
The market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service said Wednesday the novel coronavirus outbreak has been posing a negative impact to the country’s real estate funds that invest in overseas properties. A real estate fund is an investment vehicle designed to pool money from both individual and institutional investors to trade in properties. To profit, the funds usually either purchase commercial real estate for lease or provide loans to companies working on infrastructure and industri
Dec. 16, 2020
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Seoul stocks open higher on US stock gains
South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday after overnight Wall Street gains, as investors pinned their hopes on a US stimulus deal. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.31 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,771.13 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI rebounded after a two-session retreat, despite the country's surging COVID-19 cases. Stocks increased on rosy expectations of a Santa rally, in addition to anticipations that the world's largest economy would ha
Dec. 16, 2020
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MSCI advanced index listing key to attracting foreign capital: expert
An extra 60 trillion won ($54.91 billion) worth of foreign funds could flow into the South Korean stock market if the nation joins the Morgan Stanley Capital Investment Advanced Market Index, a market expert suggested Tuesday. Korea, the world’s 10th-largest exporter, ranked No. 9 in terms of stock market capitalization, making it a candidate for the MSCI list of developed markets, said Lee Hyo-seob, a senior research fellow at the Korea Capital Market Institute, at a forum co-hosted by
Dec. 15, 2020
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Seoul stocks down for 2nd day on profit-taking
South Korean stocks slumped for the second consecutive session Tuesday, as investors sought to cash in part of recent gains amid spiking virus cases. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.38 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 2,756.82, with construction and bio sectors having led the KOSPI's retreat. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 15.3 trillion won ($14.5 billion), with gainers outnumberin
Dec. 15, 2020
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Housing affordability at worst level on record
The Korea-housing affordability index, or K-HAI, which measures median household income relative to the income needed to buy a median-priced house, in Seoul reached a record high in 11 years in the July-October period this year. The index increased 1.7 points from the previous quarter to 144.5—the highest since the figure came to 150.8 in the fourth quarter of 2009. A value of 100 means that a family would have to put 25 percent of their income toward paying off the mortgage. A higher r
Dec. 15, 2020
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S. Korea's money supply gains at faster pace in October
South Korea's money supply continued to grow quickly in October on increased loans to households and firms amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's M2 stood at 3,150.5 trillion won ($2.87 trillion) as of end-October, up 1.1 percent, or 34.7 trillion won, from September, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). October's gain marked the second-highest monthly growth since May this year, when M2 grew by 35.4 trillion won, according to the B
Dec. 15, 2020
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Seoul stocks open lower amid lockdown concerns
South Korean shares opened lower Tuesday tracking overnight Wall Street gains, as lockdown concerns in major economies offset optimism over the emergency launch of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccinations in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 13.22 points, or 0.48 percent, to 2,748.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local large caps dipped on foreign and institutional selling, as well as on aggravating the pandemic toll in the US, Europe and Asia. So
Dec. 15, 2020
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Citibank to pay partial compensation in KIKO derivative dispute
Citibank Korea on Monday said it would pay partial indemnities to local businesses that signed currency-linked derivatives sold by the bank more than a decade ago. The decision was made during a board meeting held in an apparent response to the financial watchdog’s arbitrary recommendation last year to compensate the firms that had faced losses from KIKO -- or “knock-in, knock-out” -- contracts. “Citibank Korea has been reviewing compensation for firms that have been
Dec. 14, 2020
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FSC chief says too early to discuss expanding access to short-selling
South Korea’s top financial regulator said Monday it is premature to discuss plans on opening individual investors‘ access to short-selling activities of Korean shares, stressing the danger of small investors taking potentially massive risks. “Considering potential financial damage from short-selling, I personally hope ordinary retail investors don’t participate in it,” said the FSC Chairman Eun Sung-soo during a press conference held online due to the COVID-19 r
Dec. 14, 2020
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UK becomes biggest net buyer in S. Korean stock market in Nov.
Investors from the UK became the biggest net buyers in the South Korean stock market, as they bought shares worth 2.2 trillion won ($2.02 billion) in November, which accounted for nearly 36 percent of stocks purchased by foreign investors in the month, according to data Monday. The data from the nation’s watchdog Financial Supervisory Service showed that foreign investors net purchased shares worth some 6.1 trillion won in November, the highest monthly purchase since September 2013, whe
Dec. 14, 2020
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Seoul stocks slump amid spiking COVID-19 cases
South Korean stocks finished lower Monday as investors remained wary of the country's spiking new coronavirus outbreaks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 7.86 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 2,762.2 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 16.8 trillion won ($15.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 577 to 276. Foreigners sold a net 360 billion won, while retail investors
Dec. 14, 2020
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Retail investors rush to buy soaring Samsung Electronics shares
South Korean retail investors last week injected over 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion) to buy Samsung Electronics shares that touched the 70,000 won mark for the first time earlier this month, data showed Monday. During the five trading sessions, small domestic investors scooped up nearly 1.26 trillion won of the blue chip shares, while foreign and institutional investors offloaded a net 1.07 trillion won and 286.4 billion won worth of the shares, respectively, according to the Korea Exchange da
Dec. 14, 2020
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NH-Amundi's ESG-oriented equity fund raises W100b
NH-Amundi Asset Management said Monday that its equity fund dedicated to environmental, social and governance factors in investment decisions has surpassed 100 billion won ($91.7 million) by the size of assets it was managing, indicating South Korean retail investors’ appetite for the green theme. The product, dubbed NH-Amundi Century Enterprise Green Korea Equity Fund, was launched on Sept. 3. It has attracted 60 billion won worth of retail investment, while 40 billion won stemmed from
Dec. 14, 2020
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'Decentralization to unfold in Seoul office market'
South Korea is expected to witness a decentralization of the office market in its capital city Seoul over the next few years as major tenants are planning to relocate and new submarkets emerge, a report showed Monday. Chaebol tenants such as Samsung, Doosan, Hyundai Heavy, LG are planning relocations within the Greater Seoul area, while banking group Hana Financial Group and public institutions are considering moving out of Seoul, leading to a “great reshuffling” of the Seoul offic
Dec. 14, 2020
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Woori Bank ditches postal notification service to go paperless
Major South Korean lender Woori Bank said Monday it is set to launch a mobile-based notification service on Tuesday to replace its current postal delivery of documents regarding customer banking activities. After completing a personal identification process in the bank’s mobile application, its users will receive e-notifications of 21 pieces of banking information on deposits or loans, including repayment due dates, which previously have been mailed to their home address. Marking
Dec. 14, 2020
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Seoul stocks open tad higher on tech gains amid COVID-19 concerns
South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Monday on the back of strong tech and pharmaceutical gains, but investors remain wary of the country's spiking new coronavirus outbreaks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 3.96 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,774.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Contact-free shares, such as giant chipmakers, drugmakers and online platform operators, advanced as South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases broke the 1,000 mark for the first tim
Dec. 14, 2020
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Retail investors swoop on Samsung Electronics amid price surge
South Korean retail investors loaded up on shares of top-cap Samsung Electronics Co. last week amid a surge in its share price, data showed Monday. Individual investors bought a net 1.26 trillion won ($1.15 billion) worth of Samsung from Monday to Friday, their top pick among local companies, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. In contrast, foreign investors and local institutions sold a net 1.29 trillion won worth of Samsung shares during the five-session period. Individuals' stro
Dec. 14, 2020
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Foreigners' net buying of Korean stocks hits nearly 7-year high in Nov.
Foreign investors' net purchase of South Korean stocks reached a near seven-year high in November, with Britons emerging as the biggest buyers, data showed Monday. Foreigners bought a net 6.1 trillion won ($5.6 billion) worth of local stocks in November, the largest monthly net tally since September 2013, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Britons were the biggest net buyers of South Korean equities with 2.2 trillion won last month, which accounted for 36 perce
Dec. 14, 2020
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[Women in Finance 3] Women who broke the glass ceiling
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of special reports on the glass ceiling in the financial industry, focusing on South Korea’s market compared with other major economies. Funded by The Korea Press Foundation, the series will evaluate where Asia’s fourth-largest economy stands in terms of gender equality, will reflect on changes being made and will explore ways to boost inclusion in the sector. -- Ed. Looking back at her 41-year career in South Korea’s finance sector, Soh
Dec. 13, 2020
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Seoul shares likely to further advance next week; vaccinations in focus
South Korean stocks are likely to further rise next week despite some correction, as investors pin high hopes on a quick economic recovery from the pandemic's fallout. Despite a surge in new daily COVID-19 cases, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at an all-time high of 2,770.06 points Friday, up 1.41 percent from a week ago. The KOSPI moved like roller coaster on vaccination reports, rising more than 2 percent Wednesday on the world's first mass COVID-19 vaccination in Britain. The
Dec. 12, 2020