The unprecedented coronavirus pandemic has presented an opportunity for ESG investments -- those in companies that comply with environmental, social and governance standards -- according to market experts Thursday.  According to the experts, ESG investing will continue to grow in the capital market that is now reeling from uncertainty and volatility, citing rising demand for sustainability in corporate management and investment. Despite the renewed global attention to ESG investing, Sout

Market April 23, 2020

JB Financial Group has completed the acquisition of a Vietnam-based brokerage previously owned by global investment bank Morgan Stanley, as part of the local banking group’s effort to make inroads into Southeast Asia. JB Financial Group said Wednesday it paid 19.9 billion won ($16.1 million) for a 100 percent stake in Morgan Stanley Gateway Securities, a midsized brokerage headquartered in Hanoi. Founded in 2006, the firm posted some 300 billion Vietnamese dong ($12.7 million) as capita

Market April 22, 2020

State-run Industrial Bank of Korea said Tuesday it has agreed to pay $86 million in penalties to New York State authorities over illegal cash transfers to Iran. As part of the settlement, IBK will pay $51 million to the New York State Attorney General’s office and $35 million to the New York State Department of Financial Services. The US authorities charged the Korean lender with violating the anti-money laundering laws in 2014. One of its clients has reportedly transferred more than $

Market April 21, 2020

Total “jeonse” rent loans supplied by commercial banks grew around 2 trillion won ($1.62 billion) for the second consecutive month, as the number of house hunters looking for two-year leases instead of purchases increased, industry data showed Tuesday.  The jeonse loan balance of the country’s five major commercial banks -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana and Nonghyup -- came to 86.25 trillion won at the end of March, up 2.28 trillion won from a month before. The figu

Market April 21, 2020

Korea’s benchmark Kospi rose 3.1 percent, recovering past the 1,900 mark Friday as investors went mining higher-risk stocks on hope of curving the peak of the novel coronavirus with a drug developed for ebola virus treatment.  The local currency closed at 1,217.90 won against the US dollar, strengthening 10.80 won from the previous session’s close.  The benchmark bourse Kospi opened slightly up, at 1,893.31 -- rising 44.15 points, or 2.38 percent, from the previous sess

Market April 17, 2020

Meritz Securities paid the highest average remuneration among financial companies last year, industry data showed Thursday. According to online job information provider Saramin, the average annual paycheck of employees at the company stood at 130 million won ($105,940), outrunning the industry average of 96 million won. The data was compiled on the annual reports of 26 commercial banks, life insurance companies, reinsurers and brokerage houses. Local reinsurer Korean Re ranked second with 12

Market April 16, 2020

Gold prices are hitting the roof in South Korea -- highest level in six years -- as investors are flocking to safe-haven assets amid escalating fears given market uncertainties, latest data showed Wednesday.  According to the Korea Exchange Gold Market, the price stood at 66,740 won ($54.90) per gram at Tuesday’s close, surging 2.4 percent from the previous session. The price had surged to 68,240 won the same day, the highest since March 2014 when the gold market first opened. 

Market April 15, 2020

Individual subscribers are rapidly losing faith in savings deposits amid ultralow rates and volatile markets, with withdrawals topping 7.7 trillion won ($6.36 billion) in March, nearly a 35 percent increase from each of the previous two months.  According to data compiled by five commercial banks -- KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank and NH Bank -- the combined withdrawals from individuals’ savings and deposit accounts last month reached some 7.7 trillion won from

Market April 13, 2020

Shinhan Card said Thursday it has launched a facial recognition-based payment system that replaces the use of plastic cards for purchases. Branded as Shinhan Face Pay, the new payment system is the first service of its kind here, the local credit card issuer said. To authorize payment, customers take a photo of their faces and a kiosk then matches their facial information with the one registered in advance at Shinhan Bank’s local branches. “As long as customers register their ph

Market April 10, 2020

The sucess behind South Korea’s fast action toward containing the spread of COVID-19 is in its legal access to private information of credit card tranaction, according to observers on Wednesday. Despite disputes on infringing on individuals’ privacy, the method is being touted in and out of the country for its efficiency, as it can take just 10 minutes to track the movement of patients infected with the virus. Since the first case of the novel coronavirus was confirmed on Jan. 20,

Economy April 9, 2020

Small business owners have increasingly turned to nonbanking lending despite the higher-interest loans to withstand the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. According to the Korea Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, a mutual financial institution, its banks extended emergency rescue loans worth 15.5 billion won ($12.67 million) to coronavirus-hit small business owners without credit ratings between March 11 and Friday. The demand for loans from KFCC

Market April 8, 2020

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves last month posted the sharpest drop in over a decade due to the government’s intervention in the foreign exchange market and the strengthened US dollar value, the central bank said Friday. As of the end of March, the nation’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $400.21 billion, down $8.96 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. It fell by the largest margin since November in 2008 when the global financial crisis wa

Market April 3, 2020

NH Investment and Securities, a local brokerage firm under NH Financial Group, last year paid 123 million won ($99,600) in annual salary on average, higher than any company with assets over 10 trillion won, industry data showed Thursday.  According to Infobigs, a local industry tracker, an employee at NH Investment and Securities received a paycheck higher than the average figure of Samsung Electronics’ employees, which stood at 108 million won.   The average annual salary of

Market April 2, 2020

Hana Bank said Wednesday that it has selected Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun as its new model for TV commercials. “Kim Soo-hyun embodies the bank’s global image,” said an official. “His strong public impression will boost our public relations move for overseas branches in Southeast Asian countries.” Kim previously modeled for Hana Financial Group in 2014. He will star in the bank’s new TV commercial for Hana 1Q Bank, a mobile banking application.  The b

Market April 1, 2020

Amid plunging crude oil prices, the nation’s gasoline retail prices dipped below 1,400 won ($1.15) per liter, the lowest level in a year, industry data showed Tuesday.  As of March 30, nearly 12,000 gas stations here are selling gasoline at 1,398 won per liter on average, the lowest since April last year when the South Korean government cut the fuel tax, according to the Korea National Oil Corp.’s oil information provider Opinet.  The weekly gasoline prices also continu

Economy March 31, 2020