The Korea Exchange, the country's sole bourse operator, has recently voiced alarm about excessive and speculative trading of biopharmaceutical stocks tied to the resurgence of COVID-19 and the spread of mpox. Retail investors' interests in pharmaceutical and biotech stocks have soared in recent weeks amid the country’s heightened caution against infectious diseases. Buoyed by short-term speculations, stock prices of some biopharmaceutical companies have experienced a sharp gain r

Market Aug. 29, 2024

South Korean investors remain unable to promptly respond to changes in the US stock market, as local brokerage firms' suspension of their trading service during the Korean daytime is expected to continue. Following the shutdown fiasco from the market meltdown earlier this month that led to the cancellation of orders worth 630 billion won ($471 million) in trades here, 19 brokerage houses have temporarily suspended the daytime trading service of US shares from Aug. 16. Blue Ocean ATS is the

Market Aug. 28, 2024

SK Innovation and SK E&S, two major energy affiliates of the country's second-largest conglomerate SK Group, received shareholders’ approval for their merger on Monday, paving the way for the launch of an integrated entity with assets over 100 trillion won ($75 billion). Some 85.76 percent of the attendees at SK Innovation's extraordinary general shareholders meeting voted in favor of the merger. The merger was approved by SK E&S shareholders, too. SK Inc., the group&rsqu

Industry Aug. 27, 2024

Mastern America, the US arm of Mastern Investment Management, said Monday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with US real estate investor Woods Capital to attract investment for tech hub projects across the US. In October 2023, the US Economic Development Administration designated 31 regional technology and innovation hubs, which are regional coalitions dedicated to core technologies such as quantum computing, precision medicine, autonomous systems, clean energy and critical mineral sup

Industry Aug. 26, 2024

Overdue settlements for vendors on ecommerce platforms Tmon and WeMakePrice have surged to 1.3 trillion won ($978 million) in total, impacting over 48,000 businesses, according to data released by the government on Sunday. The final figures showed the two struggling online marketplaces owned by Singapore-based Qoo10 owe a total of 1.3 trillion won to their vendors, surpassing the government’s initial forecast of 1 trillion won. The figure also marks a jump of over 400 billion won from the

Industry Aug. 25, 2024

The Bank of Korea kept the base rate steady at 3.5 percent Thursday while slashing the projection for economic growth by 0.1 percentage point to 2.4 percent due to slow domestic demand. All members of the monetary policy board agreed on the rate freeze. Of the six members, excluding BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong, four suggested leaving room for a rate cut within the next three months, according to Rhee. With the rate decision, the BOK has kept the rate steady for the 13th straight time since it raise

Economy Aug. 22, 2024

Though the introduction of the bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds has paved the way for more institutional investors globally to embrace the cryptocurrency into their portfolios, Korean institutions are still taking a cautious approach. With the US Securities and Exchange Commission approving spot bitcoin ETFs earlier this year, more institutional investors overseas, from hedge funds to private equities, are growing their exposure to the coin. According to Coinbase, a major crypto exchange in th

Industry Aug. 21, 2024

SK Group, the country's chip-to-energy conglomerate, is considering the sale of its gas supplier SK Specialty, amid the massive reshuffle across its affiliates to focus on future growth drivers. The company is "considering diverse strategies, including the sale of a stake in SK specialty" but "nothing has been decided in detail yet," SK Inc. said through a regulatory filing made Tuesday. SK Inc., the holdings company behind SK Group, owns a 100 percent stake in the gas u

Industry Aug. 20, 2024

Overseas private equity firms are increasingly eyeing to acquire a stake in waste management companies here, in an attempt to expand their footprint in the environmental sector. Swedish investment company EQT announced Friday that it is set to acquire the local plastic recycler KJ Environment and its affiliates through a stock purchase agreement. EQT is a Stockholm-based buyout firm with 246 billion euros ($272 billion) in total assets under management. The deal, reportedly worth around 1 trilli

Industry Aug. 19, 2024

The number of young people not in education, employment or training was the highest last month for any July on record, revealing South Korea’s deepening troubles in the labor market. The number of NEET Koreans between the age of 15 and 29 who were not actively seeking work stood at 443,000 in July, up 42,000 on-year, according to data from Statistics Korea. The figure had stayed below 300,000 between 2013 and 2017, before surpassing it in 2018. It peaked at 441,000 in 2020 amid the COVID-1

Economy Aug. 18, 2024

Local securities firms that offer daytime trading of US stocks for South Korean investors are to tentatively suspend the service, following the order cancellation fiasco that happened earlier this month. A total of 19 brokerage houses, affected by the cancellation of orders by the US overnight trading platform operator Blue Ocean Technologies, are to temporarily suspend the service from Friday, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association. “Representing local securities firms,

Market Aug. 14, 2024

Han Myung-jin, the new chief executive officer of SK Group’s investment arm SK Square, took office Wednesday, pledging to build a more chip-central business portfolio. SK Square shareholders approved the appointment of Han during a meeting held in central Seoul on Wednesday, where he won 99.4 percent of the votes. Han officially took the post as the chief of SK Square at a board meeting, the company said. The inauguration comes more than a month after he was nominated to the post on July 3

Industry Aug. 14, 2024

More South Korean investors are eyeing lucrative opportunities in the booming Indian market with its equity funds yielding more returns than those comprising US and Japanese stocks. In June, India’s total stock market value reached the $5 trillion milestone, making it one of the world’s biggest markets, following those of the US, China, Japan and Hong Kong. With remaining hurdles in foreign direct investment regarding registration and taxation, local retail investors are choosing to

Market Aug. 14, 2024

With the US stock market representing more than half of the world’s total equity market capitalization, adopting a US perspective for investment decisions can be helpful for Korean investors, Hamish Preston, head of US Equity Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a recent interview held online with The Korea Herald. Over the years, Korean investors have been showing an increased appetite in US-listed stocks. Their holdings of US equity stood at $88.23 billion in end-July, displayin

Market Aug. 12, 2024

Hana Financial Group said Sunday that it will inject 10 billion won ($7.32 million) over the next three years to bring awareness to the dangers of illegal gambling for youngsters. The project is co-organized by Hana Financial Group and Korea Center on Gambling Problems, joined by public institutions including the Financial Supervisory Service, National Gambling Control Commission, National Police Agency and Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. "The Financial Supervisory Service, in charg

Industry Aug. 11, 2024