Kyobo Life Insurance chief awarded Legion of Honor

Shin Chang-jae, Kyobo Life Insurance chairman and chief executive, will be awarded the French Legion of Honor Thursday for his contribution to fostering cultural exchanges between France and South Korea, the firm said Wednesday. Shin will receive the Chevalier merit from French ambassador to Korea Fabien Penone at French Embassy in Seoul.Shin, 64, was recognized for establishing the Daesan Foundation in 1992 and serving as a chairman of the nonprofit organization, designed to translate and promo

Nov. 29, 2017

Korea to write off bad debt for 1.59 million people

South Korea's financial authority on Wednesday announced that it will forgive up to 6.2 trillion won ($5.7 billion) worth of bad debt, in the latest measure to help hard-pressed people who cannot pay back their debts. The move, which will affect 1.59 million debtors, is aimed at reducing the nation's nonperforming consumer loans, as the Bank of Korea is expected to raise its key interest rate in the coming months. Starting in February, the government will receive applications for write-offs from

Nov. 29, 2017

Seoul stocks open higher on eased Chinese restrictions on Korea

Seoul stocks opened higher Wednesday on China's decision to partially lift its ban on group tours to South Korea.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.12 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,515.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Cosmetic and other shares related to China gained ground as China's National Tourism Administration made a decision to allow offline tourist agencies in Beijing and Shandong Province to sell package tours to South Korea, said Park Chun-young, an analyst at

Nov. 29, 2017

Stock funds for Asia's emerging markets shine this year

South Korean funds for stock investment in Asia's emerging economies have posted the highest returns among local overseas equity investment funds this year, a market tracker said Wednesday.The average return of equity investment funds for Asian emerging markets came to 37.4 percent as of Monday, the biggest yield among overseas stock funds with net assets of 1 billion won ($920,000) or more, according to KG Zeroin.Funds for investing in Chinese stocks came next with a return rate of 37.3 percent

Nov. 29, 2017

NK missile launch to have limited impact on financial market: finance minister

North Korea's latest missile launch is expected to have a limited impact on South Korea's financial market, but authorities vowed to take swift actions, if necessary, to cushion any fallout from the latest provocation, Seoul's top economic policymaker said Wednesday.Earlier in the day, North Korea fired an apparent long-range missile from an area north of Pyongyang, resuming its provocations after a 75-day lull, according to the South Korean and US militaries. The missile flew some 960 kilo

Nov. 29, 2017

State pension fund grows sharply over 30 years

South Korea's state-run pension fund has posted exponential growth since its inception about 30 years ago, but it still has a long way to go in order to serve its intended purpose, analysts said Tuesday.South Korea adopted the state pension program in 1988 to guarantee income for the elderly after retirement, and to provide coverage for disabilities and surviving family members.  According to data from the National Pension Service, the number of subscribers to the National Pension Fund came

Nov. 28, 2017

[Advertorial] KRX’s ETN business scales up in 3 years

After Barclays created structured debt security products called exchange-traded notes in 2006, the Korea Exchange in November 2014 opened markets to trade the structured products to meet growing demand for high-return investments amid low key rates and an aging society. Three years later, the market operator has seen visible growth of its ETN market, on the back of the sole market operator’s efforts to diversify the types of products, ranging from ones designed to hedge losses to those wit

Nov. 27, 2017

[Kosdaq Star] TissueGene’s epic debut represents bio boom

This is the 45th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- EdMid-stage osteoarthritis treatment developer TissueGene’s market cap rose by more than 2 trillion won ($1.84 billion) within three weeks of making its debut, becoming the fifth-largest firm on South Korea’s second-tier Kosdaq market Friday. The stock performance of the Maryland-headquartered firm reflects a market-wide biotech boom built on overheated investor anticipation

Nov. 26, 2017

Watchdog probes Samsung chief’s alleged borrowed name accounts

Financial authorities started to investigate financial companies in relation to the accounts under borrowed names allegedly belonging to Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, an issue raised during the parliamentary audit last month.The Financial Supervisory Service on Friday said that it has since earlier this week been carrying out inspections on all the banks and securities firms which opened accounts under borrowed names for Lee.The currently bed-ridden conglomerate chief is thought to have 1,021 of

Nov. 24, 2017

Kosdaq ends down after brief surge past 800

Korea’s second-tier Kosdaq market is continuing to soar, exceeding the 800-marker for the first time in more than a decade on Friday. 　The Kosdaq index rose 4 points (0.50 percent) to 800.80 as of 9:32 a.m., surpassing 800 for the first time since Nov. 7, 2007. The index opened at 797.97, jumping 1.17 points (0.15 percent). 　The Kosdaq ended up closing at 792.74 on Friday, down 4.06 points, however, managed to exceed 800 in intraday trading .　“The US stock market is closed for the ni

Nov. 24, 2017

Seoul stocks mildly lower amid wait-and-see stance by investors

South Korean stocks finished slightly lower Thursday as investors took a wait-and-see stance amid the lack of momentum, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched up 3.36 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 2,537.15. Trade volume was slim at 248.4 million shares worth 5.2 trillion won ($4.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering loser 499 to 272.On Wednesday (local time), the major US indexes retreated from their latest record hi

Nov. 23, 2017

Watchdog to empower auditors in accounting reform

South Korea‘s top financial watchdog on Thursday unveiled measures to enhance external auditors’ independence, by making it mandatory for auditors to add risk assessments on auditors’ reports.A task force under the Financial Services Commission, steered by the watchdog‘s vice chairman Kim Yong-beom, said that from 2019, an accountant in an auditor’s report must include key audit matters such as risks from revenue recognition, as well as clients’ actions after

Nov. 23, 2017

Q3 ratio of short-term debt to foreign reserves hits highest in two years

The ratio of South Korea's short-term foreign debt to its foreign reserves hit the highest level in two years in the third quarter, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's short-term external debt -- with a maturity of one year or less -- totaled $119.8 billion as of the end of September, up $2.5 billion from three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.The end-September figure accounted for 29.3 percent of the country's total external debt, the highest percentage sin

Nov. 23, 2017

ETF trading shoots up on KOSDAQ boom

The trading volume of South Korea's exchange traded funds has jumped more than seven times this month amid the white-hot run of the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market, industry data showed Thursday.The combined trading volume of three ETFs operated by Samsung Asset Management Co. came to 29.44 million shares as of Tuesday, up 7.33 times from the start of November.The net asset value of the three ETFs stood at about 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion), the largest among the local ETF markets. Their turnover al

Nov. 23, 2017

Short sellers target KOSDAQ's two high flyers

Biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion Inc. and biotech company SillaJen Inc. have been the main targets of short sellers on the secondary KOSDAQ market this month after leading the market's recent red-hot run, industry sources said Thursday.The volume of short-sold Celltrion shares came to 3.39 million shares in the first 21 days of this month, the largest among companies registered on the tech-laden stock market.The figure accounts for slightly over 10 percent of the total amount of short-sold share

Nov. 23, 2017

Savings banks' household loans spike 20% over past year

South Korean savings banks' household lending has soared nearly 20 percent over the past year to top the 20 trillion-won ($18.3 billion) mark despite their high interest, central bank data showed Thursday.Savings banks' outstanding household loans stood at 20.6 trillion won as of end-September, up 19.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Amid softer property regulations and easier access to credit, such loans had been growing at a fast clip since 2013, with

Nov. 23, 2017

FSS warns banks' overseas branches on weak risk management

The overseas corporations of major South Korean banking groups have been recommended to build up their pre-emptive risk management capacities, according to financial supervisors.The Financial Supervisory Service recently issued an attention-level management recommendation to Woori America Bank, the US corporation of Woori Bank, asking that it level out its loan portfolio, officials said Wednesday.As the notice is a nonbinding administrative guidance, it is up to the company to voluntarily make t

Nov. 22, 2017

Seoul stocks end higher on tech gains

South Korean stocks closed higher Wednesday as investors scooped up large-cap tech shares following overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.81 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,540.51. Trade volume was slim at 254 million shares worth 4.7 trillion won ($4.2 billion), with losers outnumbering advancers 475 to 341.The broad index opened higher taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street. On Tu

Nov. 22, 2017

SC Bank Korea promotes fixed deposit product

Standard Chartered Bank Korea is promoting a fixed deposit product online that offers an interest rate of up to 2.3 percent, before tax, the bank said in a statement Wednesday. The interest rate of the product will go up according to the amount of deposits raised through the promotion.  If the product raises more than 100 billion won ($91.7 million), the bank will offer an annual interest rate of 2.3 percent for depositors, with the minimum rate guaranteed at 1.7 percent even if the volume

Nov. 22, 2017