Four crypto exchanges join hands to comply with global anti-money laundering regulations

South Korea’s four major cryptocurrency exchanges have decided to launch a joint venture ahead of the upcoming implementation of domestic and global anti-money laundering regulations, the companies announced Wednesday. The heads of the four exchanges -- Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit -- got together Tuesday and signed a memorandum to create the joint venture, which will develop a system that will help them comply with the “travel rule.” The travel rule is a global standa

June 30, 2021

After 25-year ride, Kosdaq’s market cap jumps over 50-fold

The value of stocks traded on South Korea‘s tech-laden Kosdaq market had reached 427.7 trillion won ($379 billion) as of Tuesday, soaring more than 50 times since its launch on July 1, 1996, data showed Wednesday. According to a report released from the Korea Exchange, the market began with a combined market capitalization of 7.6 trillion won 25 years ago, but as the number of listed firms increased from 341 to 1,506 over the cited period, the secondary bourse has rapidly increased its si

June 30, 2021

Sustinvest hands Shinhan with highest ESG rating

South Korean proxy advisory firm Sustinvest on Wednesday said it has given Shinhan Financial Group the highest rating for environmental, social and governance values for the first-half of this year. Sustinvest, which also provides ESG analytics and advisory services here, assesses and rates some 1,000 listed businesses annually on their ESG initiatives. The ESG advisor said its criteria includes whether the firms’ management are eco- and society- friendly and have sustainable corporate g

June 30, 2021

SK REITs gears up for IPO

SK Inc. said Wednesday that its board had approved an initial public offering of its wholly-owned subsidiary SK REITs in the second half. This opens doors to SK REITs' plan to raise 231.2 billion won ($204.3 million) from the IPO, or 5,000 won apiece, as suggested in the prospectus earlier this month. Korea Investment & Securities, Samsung Securities and SK Securities will be underwriters of the IPO. SK REITs will start trading on the Korea Exchange‘s main board Kospi, followin

June 30, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on US stock gains, following a US drugmaker's announcement that its vaccine turned out effective against the spreading virus variant. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 11.25 points, or 0.34 percent, to trade at 3,297.93 points as of 9:15 a.m. The Kospi got off to a bullish start, taking a cue from Moderna's announcement that its COVID-19 vaccine produced protective antibodies against the highly contagious delta variant. Ov

June 30, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 2nd day amid spreading virus woes

South Korean stocks retreated for the second straight session Tuesday as concerns of new coronavirus variants weakened investors' appetite for risky assets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 15.21 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 3,286.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 14.2 trillion won (US$12.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 549 to 303. Foreigners sold a net 550 b

June 29, 2021

Gap between highest and lowest-priced apartments hits record high

Housing polarization is rapidly deepening in South Korea, with the gap between the highest- and lowest-priced apartments widening to its greatest level on record in June, data showed Tuesday.  According to data from KB Kookmin Bank’s real estate services platform Liiv On, apartment prices in the top 20 percent range reached an average of 1.1 billion won ($978,000) this month, gaining nearly 200 million won on-year. This marked the highest number since the lender started to compile

June 29, 2021

Kakao Pay’s Kospi debut likely to come in August: watchers

Kakao Pay, the payment services unit of mobile giant Kakao, could make its market debut in August, the same month its sister company KakaoBank goes public, industry watchers suggested Tuesday. The company received approval on its application for a preliminary qualification examination for listing from the Korea Exchange on Monday, also the same day KakaoBank, a banking arm of the messenger giant, made its August IPO official. After discussing the timeline with its lead underwriters Samsung Sec

June 29, 2021

Hybe shares plunge almost 8% after a block deal

Shares of Hybe, the South Korean entertainment agency behind the hugely popular boy band BTS, plummeted more than 7 percent on Tuesday after a major investor, STIC Investment, unloaded its holdings via a block deal. Before closing down 7.37 percent to 289,000 won ($256), Hybe’s shares dropped by as much as 8.17 percent to 286,500 won on Tuesday. South Korea’s leading private equity fund STIC Investment sold 2.86 million shares, or 7.57 percent of the total shares in Hybe, a regu

June 29, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on virus concerns

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as concerns of new coronavirus variants weakened investors' appetite for risky assets. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.55 points, or 0.23 percent, to trade at 3,294.34 points as of 9:15 a.m. The KOSPI got off to a muted start, taking a cue from new travel bans against the new COVID-19 variants in many parts of the world. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics retreated 0.49 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix added 0

June 29, 2021

KakaoBank to raise up to W2.5tr in August IPO

KakaoBank, the country’s second internet-only lender, said on Monday that it would raise up to 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 million) in its initial public offering. The banking arm of mobile giant Kakao Corp. will offer a total of 65.45 million new shares at an indicative range between 33,000 won and 39,000 won per share through its upcoming debut on August 5, the IPO application filed with the Korea Exchange showed. The offering prices put the company’s market capitalization somewhere

June 28, 2021

KDB, K-Growth to hit W4tr target for New Deal funds

The Korea Development Bank and Korea Growth Investment Corp. (K-Growth) said Monday they had selected 12 external managers to create a fresh 750 billion-won ($664 million) fund by the end of 2021 to support South Korea’s New Deal policy. With the announcement, the two institutions approached their year-end fundraising target of a total of 4 trillion won in commmitments for the policy fund this year, out of the total 20 trillion-won target for 2021 to 2025, in the plan first unveiled in S

June 28, 2021

[Best Brand] NH NongHyup Bank woos millennials, Gen Z with mobile products

In line with the digitalization of its services, South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank is rolling out mobile loans and other products for its millennial and Generation Z customers seeking quick access to cash. Millennial and Gen Z customers can now borrow up to 3 million won ($2,639.68), regardless of their creditworthiness and income, by applying with the lender’s NH Smart Banking and All-One Bank apps. Approval is based on a credit rating that is calculated based on the applicant&rsquo

June 28, 2021

[Best Brand] Shinhan Card launches hotel credit card on post-COVID hopes

Shinhan Card in March announced a launch of a co-branded hotel credit card product Marriott Bonvoy The BEST Shinhan Card, offered by Visa. The card allows cardholders to accelerate the number of Marriott Bonvoy points they earn, which can be redeemed for free nights at more than 7,600 hotels under Marriott International’s 30 brands including JW Marriott, Sheraton and Courtyard, across 133 countries including Korea. The idea of a hotel credit card during the pandemic stemmed from the an

June 28, 2021

Seoul stocks snap 4-day winning streak amid valuation pressure, virus woes

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Monday, snapping a four-day winning streak amid increased valuation pressure and virus concerns, after the key stock index closed at an all-time high the previous session. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) inched down 0.95 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 3,301.89 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.4 billion shares worth some 13.5 trillion won ($11.9 billion), with gainers ou

June 28, 2021

Presidential hopefuls woo retail investors, vow to help Kospi reach 5,000 points

Two presidential candidates of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea chose the Korea Exchange as a rare location to make a political announcement Monday, saying they will open up a new era of the nation’s benchmark Kospi, and help it reach 5,000 points -- about 50 percent higher than the current index. In an apparent gesture to woo retail investors, Chung Sye-kyun, formerly prime minister under the Moon Jae-in administration, and three-term lawmaker Lee Kwang-jae visited the stock trading

June 28, 2021

Crypto exchanges with ‘too many’ coins likely to be denied real-name accounts

Cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea considered to have “too many” coins on their trading platforms are apparently at risk of being denied access to personal bank accounts here, a report showed Monday. In a document acquired by a lawmaker here, a risk assessment guideline to be used by commercial lenders here classifies exchanges with “a high number and frequency of virtual money transactions” as high risk. The guideline was drawn up in April by the Korea Federation

June 28, 2021

More than half of Koreans unaware of inflation impact on home prices

More than half of adults in South Korea tend not to review the effects of inflation on real estate prices when making housing transactions, a phenomenon known as the “money illusion,” according to a report from the Bank of Korea. Money illusion is a term coined by the American economist Irving Fisher in the late 1920s to describe people’s tendency to view their wealth and income in nominal dollar terms, wrongly believing that they have a fixed value, rather than recognize thei

June 28, 2021

Seoul stocks open nearly flat amid valuation pressure

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday on increased valuation pressure after the key stock index closed at an all-time high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged up 1.45 points, or 0.04 percent, to trade at 3,304.29 points as of 9:15 a.m. The Kospi finished the previous session at a record high of 3,302.84 points, fueled by a massive infrastructure package in the United States. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched up 0.12

June 28, 2021

KakaoBank to join first-ever credit rating agency specialized for mom-and-pop stores

KaKakaoBank, South Korea’s leading mobile-only bank, said Sunday that it would join forces with industry partners to launch a credit scoring service specialized in mom-and-pop stores as a means to expand loans for low credit holders. The lender will be a major shareholder in a new credit-scoring company, with a 33 percent stake. Korea Credit Data -- provider of Cash Note, business management software for small and medium-sized businesses that has 800,000 users -- will own 43 percent.

June 27, 2021