Articles by Son Ji-hyoung
Son Ji-hyoung
consnow@heraldcorp.com-
SC offers maximum 1.7% rate to investors looking to park cash
Amid widening market volatility on looming rate hikes at home and abroad, investors have been taking to money market accounts to park their cash. One of such accounts by Standard Chartered Bank Korea, the local unit of the London-based banking group, offer investors not only a place to park cash, but also interest rate up to 1.7 percent a year before tax. South Korea’s current base rate is 1.5 percent.Subscribers to the bank’s “SC My Zoom Account” are offered a maximum of
Market May 28, 2018
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[Herald Interview] Crypto frenzy to give way to market sophistication
Four years have passed since Alex Tapscott, then a Canadian investment banker, published a seminal white paper that pictures bitcoin blockchain’s potential financial use free of intermediaries.The 32-page paper titled “A Bitcoin Governance Network” -- generated upon the request of his father, the author of “Wikinomics” Don Tapscott -- laid the foundation for the 368-page “Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin is Changing Money, Business, and
Market May 25, 2018
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Stock market faces limited impact from summit collapse
South Korea‘s stock markets erased their morning loss in the afternoon Friday, dwarfing investor concerns about US President Donald Trump’s announcement to cancel a planned summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un in June. In Friday closing, the top-tier stock market Kospi edged down 0.2 percent from Thursday‘s close, narrowing down 0.9 percent loss in early morning trade. The tech-heavy Kosdaq capped its loss to 0.6 percent, from 1.6 percent in the morning. On Kospi, foreign
Market May 25, 2018
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BOK freezes key rate on emerging market woes
South Korea’s central bank kept the interest rate steady at 1.5 percent for six straight months in a unanimous board decision Thursday, citing external uncertainties due to an upshot in capital influx and currency woes from emerging markets.Despite relatively solid economic growth at home and abroad, the lingering uncertainties and low inflationary pressure on the demand side here led to the “accommodative monetary policy stance,” according to the seven-member Monetary Policy B
Market May 24, 2018
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CME sanctions Hana Financial Investment's derivatives trading
US exchange operator CME Group has immediately suspended South Korea’s brokerage Hana Financial Investment‘s access to electronic trading or clearing platforms and markets run by the US derivatives exchange operator.Following the disciplinary action effective starting Tuesday, customers of the Korean securities firm are being banned from trading futures or options on CME Group’s platforms including Globex, using Hana‘s home trading system. The access will be denied for 60
Market May 23, 2018
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[Herald Interview] Gopax seeks to win back public trust in cryptocurrency
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 15th installment. - Ed.Four cryptocurrency exchanges -- Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit -- have dominated South Korean trades on the highly volatile market, riding the bandwagon of futuristic technology and a wave of speculation. But with the volatile market now facing a waning public trust, cryptocurrency exchange Gopax, through its six-month operation, is seeking to
Market May 22, 2018
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Korean banks to see eased regulation on offshore expansion
Banks in South Korea will see eased regulation when opening physical offshore units, as a revision bill gained approval from the Cabinet on Monday. Following the revision of the Enforcement Decree of the Banking Act, banks will be exempt from the obligation to report to authorities about the establishment of foreign offices or branches prior to the setup, unless the investment into the foreign unit exceeds 1 percent of its capital. Before the revision, banks were required to submit a repor
Market May 21, 2018
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Kospi-listed firms see higher indebtedness in 2017: KRX
Companies listed on South Korea’s top-tier stock market Kospi saw their debt-to-capital ratio come to 111.4 percent in 2017, up 0.9 percentage point on-year, data showed Monday. The combined amount of liabilities of Kospi-listed firms reached 1,182.8 trillion won ($1.1 trillion), up 2.5 percent compared to a year prior, whereas the volume of capital came to 1,061.9 trillion won, up 1.7 percent, according to data compiled by the Korea Exchange.The market operator analyzed data on 598 firms
Market May 21, 2018
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Daejeon offers to partner with Adobe to bolster digital literacy
The Daejeon Metropolitan City Government offered to partner with US computer software company Adobe Systems, seeking to bolster the digital literacy of its citizens, officials said Sunday.Han Sun-hee, director-general of the city government’s science and economy bureau, suggested Adobe establish a digital literacy education center in Daejeon, in a meeting on May 14 with Adobe Systems Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen at the US company‘s headquarters in San Jose, California. Han Sun-hee (third fr
Technology May 20, 2018
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Ledger-free blockchain to tokenize 1st business
PureChain, a ledger-free blockchain running on an inter-device communication system, seeks to tokenize its first business that it expects to shape the “gift economy,” its developers said Thursday.Called “Colorchain,” the new decentralized platform by Singapore-headquartered Pax Datatech will have its tokens distributed using PureChain’s technology that does not require a third-party consensus or a process for user authentication.PureChain is a decentralized system p
Market May 17, 2018
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Advocacy group urges policy for defense against hostile activist funds
The nonprofit Korea Listed Companies Association, which represents some 2,000 listed companies, urged the government Wednesday to come up with a policy to allow companies to defend against hostile moves from foreign activist shareholders.Such attempts have undermined Korean firms’ efforts to embark on long-term growth and instead lead to them sticking to short-term gains, said Jung Koo-ryong, chairman of the advocacy group, in a press conference held at the Korea Exchange headquarters on Wednesd
Industry May 16, 2018
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Korean stocks newly added to MSCI EM moderately rally
Large and mid-cap South Korean stocks set to be added to global and regional equity indexes by MSCI moderately rallied Tuesday, after an announcement by the US index publisher to rebalance its indexes. MSCI, formerly Morgan Stanley Capital International, is an American provider support tool widely used as investment guidance. In the May 2018 Semi-Annual Index Review for the MSCI Equity Indexes released Monday, MSCI unveiled five Korean won-denominated shares to be added starting June 1. New to
Market May 15, 2018
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Kakao Games applies for IPO on Kosdaq
Kakao Games, South Korea‘s online and mobile game software developer and publisher, has applied for a preliminary screening for an initial public offering on the second-tier Kosdaq, according to the Korea Exchange Monday. If the game arm of internet giant Kakao passes the screening process by the market operator KRX, it is projected to go public in the second half of 2018. Korea Investment & Securities is the sole underwriter for the IPO. The company’s value is estimated at 1.5 trillion won ($1.
Technology May 14, 2018
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[Kosdaq Star] 3-D inspection tech pioneer Koh Young avoids market slump
This is the 55th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed. While leading sectors of South Korea’s second-tier stock market Kosdaq have suffered downward pressure over the past few weeks, some powerhouses have pulled through.One of the firms is Koh Young Technology, which has striven to make a linear growth since it was listed a decade ago. On the back of it was its earnings increase with its unrivaled tech prowess suitable for manufact
Market May 14, 2018
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[News Focus] Samsung BioLogics’ alleged accounting fraud brings 2015 merger back under scrutiny
Growing allegations that biopharma firm Samsung BioLogics fabricated financial statements, coupled with checks by authorities and activist shareholders, are bringing questions on a controversial deal between two Samsung affiliates back to the fore, according to market experts Friday.The Financial Services Commission plans to review the case of Samsung BioLogics next week via an oversight panel. The financial regulator is reportedly seeking clues on whether the change in accounting method was ass
Industry May 11, 2018
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