The chief of South Korea’s capital investment business association on Tuesday urged the nation to prepare for a looming global “investment war,” which he views as a global phenomenon that will soon supersede the ongoing trade war in importance. Kwon Yong-won, chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association, stressed the need for investment firms to keep pace with global “innovative growth” and to lay the groundwork for tech entrepreneurship with substantial c

Market Nov. 13, 2018

While South Korean commercial bank Woori Bank and its subsidiaries are inching closer to a holding company structure, possibilities of aggressive mergers and acquisitions to expand the banking group remain low for the time being.Such skepticism comes amid a possible fall in the capital adequacy ratio of the nation’s fourth-largest commercial lender, despite the banking group’s higher capacity to leverage private investment after the holding company is reintroduced in 2019. Under Kore

Market Nov. 11, 2018

South Korea’s financial institutions suffered insolvency of asset-backed commercial papers Friday at midnight, following a Chinese firm’s default on payments due for bonds.The ABCPs were backed by dollar-denominated bonds worth $150 million that were declared insolvent Thursday. This accounts for some 7 percent of all bonds issued by CERCG Overseas Capital, a Hong Kong subsidiary of China Energy Reserve & Chemicals Group. ABCPs refer to short-term money-market securities collater

Market Nov. 10, 2018

South Korean stock markets were bullish Thursday on strong foreign buying, as the midterm elections results in the United States stoked investors’ appetite for risk. The benchmark index of top-tier market Kospi closed at 2,092.63 Thursday, up 0.7 percent from Wednesday. The second-tier Kosdaq was 1.7 percent higher. Market giants saw mild gains. On Kospi, Samsung Electronics inched up 0.1 percent, chipmaker SK hynix climbed 3 percent and biosimilar drugmaker Celltrion was 2.1 percent highe

Market Nov. 8, 2018

Woori Bank nominated its incumbent Chief Executive Officer Sohn Tae-seung as the chairman of a new holding company set to control the nation’s fourth-largest commercial bank, officials said Thursday.At an extraordinary board of directors meeting, the 59-year-old CEO was named the chairman of the holding company while keeping his CEO post at Woori Bank. Sohn has led Woori Bank since December 2017.  This came a day after the Financial Services Commission approved a plan to reestablish a

Market Nov. 8, 2018

Woori Bank, South Korea’s fourth-largest commercial bank and the parent company of 19 financial subsidiaries, has gained regulatory approval to adopt a financial holding company structure. The Financial Services Commission’s decision in a regular meeting Wednesday laid the groundwork for reintroduction of a holding company of the banking group after four years. The new company, set to be established in January 2019, will own six subsidiaries -- Woori Bank, Woori FIS, Woori Finance Re

Market Nov. 7, 2018

Some 15 billion won ($13.4 million) will be allocated in the national budget next year to assist Korean small and medium-sized companies making inroads into the Southeast Asian market, a presidential aide said Wednesday, calling the region “a blue ocean” for Korean companies.“Even if it is a blue ocean market, financial assistance is needed for companies entering the market with insufficient capital,” said Kim Hyun-chul, presidential adviser for economic affairs, at a mee

Economy Nov. 7, 2018

Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku hinted Tuesday at cutting or removing the securities transaction tax on the Korean equity market and to discuss the matter with tax authorities.“It’s high time to take (a securities transaction tax cut) into consideration,” Choi said during a session with parliament, in response to a question from Rep. Jeon Hae-cheol of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Choi took issue with double taxation potentially caused by the securit

Market Nov. 6, 2018

The Financial Services Commission, South Korea’s financial regulator, unveiled Tuesday a set of standards for QR codes for electronic payment, in a nation where the smartphone penetration rate is high and credit card payment terminals are ubiquitous among merchants here.A QR code refers to a matrix barcode used in infrastructure that allows mobile payment between customers and vendors without intermediaries. By using a mobile phone app to scan a QR code, a user will be authenticated, and t

Market Nov. 6, 2018

South Korea’s local currency edged down against the greenback on Monday on robust jobs readings in the United States that sparked an upsurge in the US dollar, and on renewed threats of a US-China trade war that put a dent in global risk-tolerance levels.The dollar-to-won currency exchange rate came to 1,123.5 won in closing Monday, down 0.2 percent compared with the Friday session’s close. A lower exchange rate translates into a stronger local currency. This drop marked an end to the

Market Nov. 5, 2018

While South Korea’s stock market took a strong rebounding leap last week amid signals of trade war alleviation between the United States and China, analysts remained in a cautious note ahead of the midterm elections in the United States slated for Tuesday, fueled by concerns that news favorable to stock rallies might have come in disguise. Analysts issued warnings over the weekend on possible post-election volatility in the domestic stock market, saying optimism in the global financial mar

Market Nov. 4, 2018

As South Korean companies have recently withdrawn their earlier plans to go public, concerns have been mounting that the lackluster initial public offering market remains exposed to lingering external uncertainties in the fourth quarter.Since October, two companies -- Dreamtech and Plakor -- said in financial statements they would withdraw from IPO plans, citing “the current stock market situation that makes it hard for investors to discover the price of a company.” Dreamtech, an ele

Market Nov. 4, 2018

It has been a decade since South Korea started issuing short-term visas for foreigners seeking medical treatment here as part of measures to boost medical tourism.Since then, the medical tourism market has expanded rapidly, with the number of annual foreign visitors for medical treatment here rising 52.2 percent in the four years through 2017 to some 321,600, according to data compiled by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute.However, the number dropped by 11.7 percent on-year in 2017

Technology Nov. 1, 2018

SK Holdings has been recognized for the best practices in environmental responsibility, social responsibility and governance and for its shareholder-friendly approach and sustainability in entrepreneurship, the company said Thursday. SK Holdings CEO Jang Dong-hyun (SK Holdings)The firm earned the “A+” ESG rating from the Korea Corporate Governance Service for a second consecutive year in 2018. This year, KCGS evaluated ESG scores of some 930 listed companies and financial companies in Korea. A h

Industry Nov. 1, 2018

South Korea’s National Pension Service, the third-largest pension fund in the world, has taken over 5 percent in losses from domestic stocks from January to August, hit by the ongoing bearish trend in the local stock market this year.  The public pension fund, overseeing 650.9 billion won ($571.8 million) in assets as of end-August, yielded 2.3 percent return from its investments, according to its disclosure Tuesday. The NPS invests in various asset classes including equities and fixe

Market Oct. 31, 2018