Korean equity market safe from emerging market trap: AllianceBernstein

Despite a gloomy outlook on emerging countries’ equity market due to the pandemic impact and corporate regulations hindering growth, prospects for South Korea remain positive, driven by quality companies’ exceeding performance on long-term growing industries, an analyst at global asset management firm AllianceBernstein said Tuesday. “Korea is quite sensitive to global growth. Since global growth especially in developed markets remain quite strong, we also have a fairly constr

July 27, 2021

SK joins consortium for AirAsia’s digital banking business in Malaysia

South Korean conglomerate SK Group’s Southeast Asian investment arm has joined a consortium for AirAsia’s digital bank business in Malaysia, reports said Tuesday. SK South East Asia Investment has participated as a financial investor in a consortium led by the Malaysian budget airline’s financial technology unit BigPay vying for a digital banking license in the Southeast Asian country, according to Malaysian news reports. Due to SK’s nondisclosure agreement with BigPa

July 27, 2021

Kakao Bank's IPO subscription draws relatively lukewarm response from retail investors

South Korean internet-only bank Kakao Bank Corp. is set to draw relatively low subscription from retail investors for its initial public offering (IPO), with deposits for the stock offering at a smaller-than-expected 22 trillion won ($19.1 billion) as of 11 a.m., its IPO managers said Tuesday. On the last day of the two-day subscription, retail investors may pour additional deposits to subscribe for one of the largest IPO deals. Kakao Bank's IPO subscription for individual investors closes at

July 27, 2021

Seoul stocks post strong opening on earnings hope

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investor sentiment improved over optimism for strong corporate earnings. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23.62 points, or 0.73 percent, to 3,248.57 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks rebounded after the KOSPI closed down nearly 1 percent the previous session on market jitters about China's clampdown on education tech firms and its property market. Local large caps of various sectors continued to report

July 27, 2021

Emart in talks to take full control over Starbucks Korea

Retail giant Shinsegae Group’s affiliate Emart, which holds a 50 percent stake in Starbucks Korea, is in talks to buy the remaining 50 percent held by the headquarters of the global coffee chain, the company said Monday. Shinsegae’s hypermarket chain unit Emart is reportedly seeking to raise its stake in the Korean unit of Starbucks from the current 50 percent to 70 percent while Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC will buy a 30 percent stake. While revealing the ongoin

July 26, 2021

Seoul stocks sink almost 1% on virus woes, China risk

South Korean stocks retreated nearly 1 percent Monday as investors remain cautious about the local resurgence of the new coronavirus and uncertainties from China's clampdown on tech firms. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 29.47 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 3,224.95 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 813 million shares worth some 12 trillion won ($10.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 662 to 212.

July 26, 2021

Krafton aims to expand globally via W4.31tr IPO

Krafton, the South Korean game maker behind global smash hit PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, said Monday that it looks to expand its foothold in the global market through its market debut on the nation’s main board Kospi early next month. “Our goal is to attain a leadership position preemptively in high-growth emerging markets such as India and the Middle East. Krafton’s strategy (for the goal) is expanding content to nongaming media and platforms by utilizing our intelle

July 26, 2021

Wadiz separates into two units to expand offline business

Crowdfunding platform Wadiz said Monday it has completed a organization overhaul by spliting the company into two entities in charge of financial and non-financial businesses to transform itself into a platform directly linking consumers and startups, both online and offline. Following the revamp, the parent company Wadiz Co Ltd. will be in charge of non-financial business while the subsidiary companies Wadiz Finance and Wadiz Partners will lead the financial business, the company said. &ldq

July 26, 2021

[ESG Talk] Enabling blockchain to be the foundational technology for ESG

Blockchain has been around for some time now, yet it still remains mysterious to many. Most people assume it is a disruptive technology to the current monetary system. However, in a vastly digitalized world where data is a valuable, fungible resource that brings endless innovations, blockchain tops the list as the game-changing technology. It can revolutionize nearly all industries such as finance, pharmaceuticals, and entertainment. Furthermore, blockchain can transform all company’s val

July 26, 2021

Banking groups post record H1 profits

Major banking groups here have been posting record earnings for the first half of the year amid ongoing COVID-19 woes, buoyed by lucrative earnings from their brokerages, insurers and card issuers, data released as of Monday showed. So far, four out of five major banking groups here – KB, Woori, Hana and NH – have announced robust net profits for the first six months of the year, eclipsing their stellar performances shown in the same period last year. KB’s net profit for th

July 26, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower amid COVID-19 concerns

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Monday as investors remain cautious about the country's resurgence of new coronavirus cases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 2.02 points, or 0.06 percent, to 3,252.4 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks retreated after a two-day gain, as the spiking cases sapped demand for risky assets. On Friday, the government extended the highest Level 4 quarantine measures in the Seoul metropolitan area for another two wee

July 26, 2021

Eximbank to invest W100b into future mobility business

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said Sunday it will invest 100 billion won ($87 million) in future mobility businesses to ensure local firms can gain an upper hand in those fields amid a rapidly changing global market. The areas it will allocate investments include electronic, hydrogen-fueled or automatic driving cars, urban air mobility, eco-friendly vessels and aerospace craft. The lender made the investment decision in line with the government-led Korean New Deal initiative, whic

July 25, 2021

[Feature] From cows to Rolex, young investors in Korea eye new alternative investment

High liquidity in the market has led some young retail investors on relatively small budgets to look into unconventional, and perhaps “fun,” ways of investing. By joining fractional investments in such areas as livestock and limited-edition Rolex watches, they expect somewhat stable returns, rather than entirely relying on volatile stock markets or cryptocurrencies that carry higher risks, according to industry insiders. What makes this new way of alternative investing possible are

July 25, 2021

Deferred loan payments for businesses total W108tr under COVID relief program

Deferred loan and interest payments owed by businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea added up to an alarming 108 trillion won ($97 billion) this month, data showed Sunday. Since the launch of the deferral program in February last year, the combined amount of loans yet to be repaid totaled 99.7 trillion won as of Friday, data provided by the five major commercial banks here showed. Additionally, overdue payments set to be paid in installments amounted to 8.4 trillion won and overdu

July 25, 2021

Kakao looks to join W100tr club with financial subsidiaries’ IPOs

The combined market capitalization of Kakao and its affiliates is anticipated to reach 100 trillion won ($86.8 billion), as South Korea’s fifth-largest business group’s two financial subsidiaries ready themselves for initial public offerings. 　 As of Friday’s closing bell, the mobile messenger giant and its two listed affiliates Kakao Games and Neptune marked an aggregate market cap of 74.84 trillion won, according to the Korea Exchange on Sunday. Of that total, Kakao’s

July 25, 2021

Seoul stocks likely to tread on thin line next week amid earnings hope, virus woes

South Korean stocks are likely to face volatility next week as the virus resurgence continues to sap demand for risky assets, while optimism for robust earnings provides some relief. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 3,254.42 points Friday, down 0.69 percent from a week ago. The key stock index retreated in the first three sessions of this week, as daily virus cases again spiked, hitting a fresh high of 1,842 Thursday, despite the toughest virus curbs in the greater Se

July 24, 2021

Seoul stocks up for 2nd day on earnings hopes, ECB comments

South Korean stocks advanced for the second consecutive session Friday, largely as optimism for strong earnings and dovish signals from the European Central Bank (ECB) offset concerns over the extended virus curbs in greater Seoul. The Korean won strengthened against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 4.21 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 3,254.42 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 761 million shares worth some 12.7 trillion won ($11 billi

July 23, 2021

Hyundai E&C to continue coal power project in Vietnam despite criticism

Climate activists on Friday blasted South Korean builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction for its decision to continue its 1,200-megawatt Quang Trach 1 coal power project along with Mitsubishi and Vietnam’s Construction Corp. Seoul-based not-for-profit organization Solutions for Our Climate said the failure to scrap what was proclaimed to be Hyundai E&C’s final coal project “directly contradicts the company’s own ESG vision” and neutralizes the impact of

July 23, 2021

Thrasio-like Korean startup raises seed funding

NextChapter, a South Korean startup designed to acquire small online native brands active on ecommerce platforms including Coupang, has raised a seed round equity funding to scale up its business largely inspired by a success of US unicorn Thrasio. Joining the round were domestic venture capital houses Klim Ventures and Fast Ventures, as well as foreign VCs BlueRun Ventures and Goodwater Capital. The amount of equity funding remains to be undisclosed. NextChapter said the company will use the

July 23, 2021

Tongyang Life sells entire stake in Woori Financial

Tongyang Life Insurance sold its entire stake in Woori Financial Group on Friday to secure more capital, in preparation for a stricter rule on local insurers’ fiscal soundness. According to a regulatory filing, the company had decided to sell all of its 3.74 percent stake (27.04 million shares) in the banking giant to some 60 domestic and foreign institutions, during its shareholders meeting held Thursday. The sale price was 301.5 billion won ($262 million), which accounts 9.7 percent

July 23, 2021