BlackRock becomes 3rd-largest shareholder of Hanwha Solutions

US-based investment manager BlackRock has become the third-largest shareholder of energy services company Hanwha Solutions, a filing showed Wednesday. BlackRock’s 11 affiliated entities were holding a combined 5.08 percent stake in Hanwha Solutions -- which is dedicated to petrochemicals, advanced materials and solar energy -- as of Friday, according to the disclosure filed with the Financial Supervisory Service. Solely on Friday, BlackRock had invested 65.4 billion won ($55.6 million)

Oct. 20, 2021

Seoul stocks retreat on institutional selling

South Korean stocks retreated Wednesday, led by strong institutional sell-offs. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 15.91 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 3,013.13 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 668 million shares worth some 11 trillion won ($9.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 521 to 337. Institutions sold a net 208 billion won, while retail investors bought 284 billion won. Foreigners offloaded

Oct. 20, 2021

Only 15% of Kospi firms pursue ESG management: survey

Despite industrywide efforts to promote sustainable corporate management through environmental, social and governance aspects, many South Korean companies appear to be struggling to integrate the values into their businesses, a survey suggested Wednesday. Only 123 companies, or 15 percent of all Kospi-listed firms, have established committees to deal with ESG issues, according to the survey conducted by CEO Score, a local corporate tracker. Most of the ESG management committees included chief

Oct. 20, 2021

Analysts upbeat over Kakao Pay’s valuation

South Korean mobile payment app operator Kakao Pay embarked on a two-day book building process targeting institutional investors Wednesday, following delays due to local authorities’ requests. The result will determine at which price a share of Kakao Pay, the Ant Group-backed financial technology firm, would be offered, as well as the proceeds Kakao Pay will be able to attract through the initial public offering, ahead of its proposed market debut on Nov. 3. Korean analysts are valuing

Oct. 20, 2021

KB Kookmin acquires remaining stake in Cambodia’s Prasac Microfinance

South Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank said Wednesday that it has acquired the remaining stake in Prasac Microfinance Institution, to wholly own Cambodia’s largest microfinance deposit-taking firm. KB Kookmin had acquired 70 percent stake in Prasac Microfinance for $603.4 million from Sri Lanka-based nonbanking lender LOLC Holdings in April 2020, becoming the majority and largest shareholder of the institution. The price of the 30 percent stake which KB Kookmin recently acquired has yet t

Oct. 20, 2021

Number of retail investors' overseas stock accounts soars 74% in H1

The number of overseas stock accounts held by South Korean retail investors jumped 74 percent in the first half of the year from six months earlier amid their brisk investment in foreign shares, data showed Wednesday. Local individual investors held about 3.31 million overseas stock accounts as of end-June, up from some 1.89 million at the end of last year, according to the data submitted to the National Assembly for an annual parliamentary audit by the Financial Supervisory Service. The numbe

Oct. 20, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 5.66 points, or 0.19 percent, to 3,034.7 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.71 percent to 15,129 points on hopes of strong corporate earnings, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.56 percent to 35,457 points. South Korea's new virus cases stayed below 2,000 for the 12th consecutive day Wedn

Oct. 20, 2021

Seoul halves recommended agency fees to relieve housing price burden

Legally suggested brokerage fees were lowered around 50 percent starting Tuesday, over implementation of the related law revised to reduce burden on soaring housing prices. For those selling or buying a house worth more than 1 billion won, real estate agents can receive commissions up to 5 million won, 4 million won down from up to 9 million won, according to new guidelines. For “jeonse” and monthly rent contracts worth also over 1 billion won, agents can demand brokerage fees up to

Oct. 19, 2021

Seoul stocks rebound on easing virus woes, stabilizing currency market

South Korean stocks rebounded Tuesday on easing concerns about the new coronavirus and the volatility in the currency market. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 22.36 points, or 0.74 percent, to close at 3,029.04 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 833 million shares worth some 10 trillion won ($8.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 449 to 381. Foreigners bought a net 146 billion won, while retail investors

Oct. 19, 2021

Falling Samsung shares: what it means to S. Korean investors

A 39-year-old investor in Seoul, surnamed Choi, had a strong belief that the share value of Samsung Electronics would soon reach 100,000 won ($84.80). Despite its continuous fall, recently to below 70,000 won, Choi has no plan to sell shares of the nation’s largest conglomerate and the world’s largest chipmaker. Instead, he sees the falling price as an investment opportunity. “I believe in Samsung Electronics. Although it appeared to go into free fall from some 90,000 won-leve

Oct. 19, 2021

[News Focus] Seoul housing prices climb 7% since May

SEJONG -- Housing prices in Seoul have continued to renew their all-time highs this year, in addition to a surge over the past few years since the mid-2010s. Many apartment complexes in the capital have recorded a 100-150 percent increase in price between 2016 and 2020. According to KB Kookmin Bank and Naver.com, the average trading price of homes in Seoul reached 39.33 million won ($33,100) per 3.3 square meters as of Oct. 15. This posted a 7.3 percent increase in just five months from&n

Oct. 19, 2021

VR, AR videos to be registered as intellectual property in S. Korea

Virtual reality and augmented reality videos alongside designs on streets, walls and human bodies will be eligible to be registered as intellectual property in South Korea from Thursday, the nation’s IP office said Tuesday. According to the Korean Intellectual Patent Office, the newly revised law would protect digitally produced designs with various purposes including communication, medical and security. Previously, such designs were able to be filed as IP when they formed part of items.

Oct. 19, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on US tech gains, easing virus woes

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight advances on Wall Street and eased concerns over the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 25.48 points, or 0.85 percent, to 3,032.16 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a strong start on overnight gains on Wall Street and easing virus woes. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.84 percent to 15,022 points as investors monitor the inflation factors, while the Dow Jones

Oct. 19, 2021

Kakao Bank, Dell heads discuss future finance platform

Kakao Bank CEO Yoon Ho-young and Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technology, discussed further cooperation between the two companies and ways to improve competitiveness in the midst of the digital transformation, officials in Seoul said Monday. Dell provides server, network and data storage services to Korea’s largest internet-only bank. The online meeting between the two was held last month to seek cooperation in cloud and big data solutions, Kakao said, without elaborating on w

Oct. 18, 2021

Chaebol families borrow almost W5tr against stocks

Stock-secured borrowing by the families of South Korea’s conglomerate founders amounted to almost 5 trillion won ($4.3 billion), led by managerial transfers and business restructuring, data showed Monday.  According to local market analysis company Leaders Index, as of October the nation’s 29 family-controlled conglomerates had received a combined 4.82 trillion won worth of loans backed by stocks in the groups’ affiliates, up 92 percent from 2.5 trillion in the first half

Oct. 18, 2021

Hana partners with Hyundai, Kia for connected car financial services

South Korea’s Hana Bank on Monday said it has teamed up with the nation’s top automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia alongside fintech startup Finda to develop financial services and products tied to connected car technologies. A connected car refers to a car equipped with internet access, usually a wireless local area network. This allows the car to share internet access and data with other devices inside and outside the vehicle. Though details are currently in the works, Hana plans to

Oct. 18, 2021

[Herald Interview] Rethinking emissions as investing opportunities

The world has been witnessing deadly catastrophic events like wildfires and heat waves over the past couple of years, and climate change is considered a major culprit behind them. Such extreme weather events show no signs of abating despite decreased greenhouse gas emissions due to COVID-19 pandemic since last year, which signals that climate change is a problem of the present, not a problem of the future. Addressing the urgency of the matter, Je Hyun-joo, managing partner at impact investment

Oct. 18, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on profit-taking

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as investors attempted to cash in gains from the key stock index's three-day advance. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 22.9 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,992.16 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Kospi got off to a lackluster start amid sell-offs in most sectors. In Seoul, Samsung Electronics lost 0.86 percent to 69,500 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix retreated 1.42 percent to 97,000 won. Top automaker Hyundai

Oct. 18, 2021

Boxed-in Kospi leads to surge in forced liquidations

As South Korea’s benchmark Kospi plunged below 3,000 points last week for the first time in nearly seven months, the daily volume of forced selling of stocks by local brokerages reached a 14-year high. The daily average amount of forced liquidations marked 26.5 billion won ($22.4 million) from Oct. 1 to Thursday, according to data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association. It marked the highest level since April 2007, when the daily average volume came to 29 billion won. The

Oct. 17, 2021

Tightened credit lending continues despite eased rules on housing loans

South Korea‘s major banks are set to loosen control on extension of “jeonse” loans for homes, but their tightened grip over personal credit loans will continue under pressure from financial authorities, industry sources said Sunday. Jeonse is a housing lease system unique to Korea whereby tenants pay a lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent on a two-year contract. NH NongHyup Bank, which in August decided to temporarily stop offering jeonse loans until Nov. 30, will resume

Oct. 17, 2021