JB Financial joins UN initiative of net zero banking

South Korea’s JB Financial Group said Tuesday it has joined a UN-convened alliance of global banks, committed to aligning their portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050. The holding group of regional Jeonbuk Bank and Kwangju Bank said its latest move to join the Net-Zero Banking Alliance was to uphold its environmental, sustainable and governance goals. The alliance represents more than a third of global banking assets, with a total of 87 members from 36 countries, including investme

Nov. 2, 2021

K bank Q3 net profit doubles

K bank, South Korea’s first internet-only bank, saw its third-quarter earnings surge 115 percent from the previous quarter on the growing number of customers and amount of money deposited, officials said Tuesday. It was the first time the bank posted a net profit for two quarters in a row since its inception in 2017. It posted its first quarterly profit of 3.9 billion won ($3.32 million) three months ago, marking a sharp turnaround from a deficit of 12.3 billion won in the first quarter.

Nov. 2, 2021

Money moving to savings as ultralow rate era nears end

South Korean banks’ lending rates neared 5 percent following the central bank’s first pandemic-era rate hike in August, which ramped up cash flows into bank deposits, data showed Tuesday.  The adjustable rate charged on mortgage loans extended by the nation’s four major banks -- KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan, Hana and Woori -- remained between 3.31 and 4.8 percent, as of Monday. Both the bottom and upper ends of the range rose nearly 0.6 percentage point from 2.62 to 4.2 perce

Nov. 2, 2021

Baobab Partners to launch NFT marketplace this week

Blockchain and information technology consulting firm Baobab Partners will launch a nonfungible token marketplace on Thursday, the firm said Tuesday. The platform, named Baobab NFT, can be accessed through the firm’s blockchain portal and website at bao-bab.co.kr. Through the marketplace, Ethereum- and Klaytn-based NFTs can be issued, sold and purchased with crypto and NFT wallets MetaMask and Kaikas. Klaytn is Korea’s No. 1 mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp.’s global bloc

Nov. 2, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investor sentiment was uplifted by overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 38.03 points, or 1.28 percent, to 3,016.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.26 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.63 percent. The local stock market got a boost from gains in tech and auto shares. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. added 2.29

Nov. 2, 2021

Kakao Pay to go public on Wednesday

Kakao Pay, the mobile payment service arm of Kakao Corp., South Korea‘s top messenger app, will make its market debut on Wednesday, the country’s bourse operator said Monday. Kakao Pay has set the IPO price at 90,000 won (US$76.50) per share, which will enable the company to raise 1.53 trillion won through the initial public offering. Kakao Pay‘s market capitalization is expected to reach 11.7 trillion won after its market debut, which would rank the fintech firm among the to

Nov. 1, 2021

VIG Partners seeks exit from Bodyfriend in over 6 years

South Korean midcap buyout fund VIG Partners said Monday it has selected domestic private equity firm Stonebridge Capital as the preferred bidder to sell its stake in massage chair company Bodyfriend. The selling price will be announced when the proposed buyer and seller sign a binding deal by the end of this year, according to VIG Partners. VIG Partners said in a statement the deal will prompt the fund house’s exit from the portfolio companies for its second flagship blind pool fund, c

Nov. 1, 2021

Sheraton Seoul D Cube to be turned into offices in Keppel-led deal

Keppel Investment Management, the South Korean arm of Singapore-based real estate investor Keppel Capital Holdings, has purchased Sheraton Seoul D Cube for 131.7 billion won ($117.9 million) to embark on a redevelopment project to turn the hotel into a commercial office building. In the latest indication that luxury hotels in Seoul are increasingly losing their luster, Sheraton Seoul D Cube, located in Guro-gu, western Seoul, shut down Sunday after opening in 2011, according to the hotel franch

Nov. 1, 2021

Shinhan acquires BNP Paribas’ non-life-insurance unit

Shinhan Financial Group said Monday that it has signed a deal to acquire BNP Paribas Cardif’s non-life-insurance subsidiary in South Korea in a bid to diversify its business portfolio to include the digital insurance sector. Through the share purchase agreement inked Friday, the Korean banking group will hold a 94.54 percent stake in BNP Paribas Cardif General Insurance, a firm that BNP Paribas Cardif and Shinhan Life jointly established in 2014. The transaction price was not disclosed,

Nov. 1, 2021

Seoul stocks snap 3-day losing streak on bargain hunting, strong exports

South Korean stocks advanced Monday after a three-day loss, largely on investors' move to cash in the recent gains and strong exports in October. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 8.26 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 2,978.94 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 469 million shares worth some 9.3 trillion won ($7.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 496 to 358. Foreigners sold a net 358 billion won, whil

Nov. 1, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on bargain hunting

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, as investors seek to buy oversold stocks after the key index's three straight days of losses. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 14.03 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,984.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks rose on institutional buying, led by bio and tech stocks. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. added 0.57 percent to 70,200 won, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. increased 1.46 percent to 104,500 won, and top aut

Nov. 1, 2021

Banks urged to prevent loan bottleneck amid toughened lending rules

  South Korea’s financial authorities have called on local banks to take action to ensure a stable supply of credit loans and tighter supervision of household debts, officials said Sunday.  The policymaking Financial Services Commission and the market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service reportedly advised the nation’s commercial banks to submit the action plans, which can be either monthly or quarterly, for personal unsecured loans. The authorities also ur

Oct. 31, 2021

[Newsmaker] Kospi’s average daily transaction volume hits 1-year low in October

South Korea’s main stock market saw its trading volume hit its lowest level in a year this month, data showed Sunday, amid market instability ahead of monetary policy meetings at central banks here and in the United States. The Kospi’s daily average trading volume stood at 11.75 trillion won ($10 billion) in October, its lowest level since the 10.85 trillion won posted a year ago, according to data compiled by the Korea Exchange. The figure had nearly halved since January, wh

Oct. 31, 2021

Krafton secures Unknown Worlds takeover in 1st M&A since IPO

South Korean gaming firm Krafton has inked a deal to acquire 100 percent ownership of US video game developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment for $750 million, in the first takeover deal it has announced since the company went public in August, a filing showed Sunday. According to the disclosure filed with the Financial Supervisory Service, Krafton, a Tencent Holdings-backed company behind the battle-royale style PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds franchise, signed a sales and purchase agreement

Oct. 31, 2021

PDI Japan Korea Week to unveil KIC’s post-pandemic strategies

Private Debt Investor, a publication covering the global private debt investing scene, said Sunday it plans to hold a virtual investor event in November and feature post-pandemic strategies of Korea’s sole sovereign wealth fund, Korea Investment Corp. During the event, named PDI Japan Korea Week, Choi Jin-suk, senior director of investment strategy group at KIC, will share the allocator’s key considerations when applying its environmental, social and governance factors in private de

Oct. 31, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 3rd day on tech slump

South Korean stocks ended lower for a third straight day Friday as tech shares declined following the release of weaker-than-expected earnings by major US tech firms. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 38.87 points, or 1.29 percent, to close at 2,970.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at 535.48 million shares worth 10.789 trillion won ($9.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 663 to 210. Foreigners and institution

Oct. 29, 2021

BTS’ agency denies link to Army Coin

Hybe, the K-pop corporation behind BTS, released a statement Friday that it has nothing to do with a cryptocurrency called Army Coin and warned it take legal action against the crypto exchange for violating portrait rights. “We have received information that Army Coin has been listed on Bitget, a crypto exchange located in Singapore. However, we have nothing to do with the crypto whatsoever,” Hybe said in a statement. Hybe stressed that the crypto agency has used BTS photos to prom

Oct. 29, 2021

Moody’s changes A1 credit rating of Citibank Korea on review for downgrade

Global credit rating agency Moody’s said Friday it has placed the credit rating of Citibank Korea on review for a downgrade citing the bank’s decision to close its retail banking business. The agency had kept the bank’s credit rating at A1, the same as estimates from February 2019. It signaled Citibank Korea’s current a3 Baseline Credit Assessment would be on review for a downgrade as well. “The review for a downgrade is triggered by the bank’s plan to exit

Oct. 29, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday as investor sentiment was uplifted by overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.25 points, or 0.47 percent, to 3,023.80 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.68 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 1.39 percent. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics added 0.99 percent, and LG Electronics rose 5.74 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK

Oct. 29, 2021

Court grants injunction to nullify Namyang Dairy chief’s voting rights

A local court granted an injunction request by South Korean buyout firm Hahn & Co. to block Namyang Dairy Products Chairman Hong Won-sik from exercising his voting rights, noting that a sales and purchase agreement between the two parties is valid, according to a recent ruling obtained by The Korea Herald Thursday. The court’s decision indicated that Hong and his family members had failed to present evidence of Hahn & Co.’s breach of nondisclosure agreement, unlawful interv

Oct. 28, 2021