Articles by Son Ji-hyoung
Son Ji-hyoung
consnow@heraldcorp.com-
[Market Close-up] Korean market gains momentum from individual investors
Cho Young-hoon, a 40-year-old office worker living in Seoul, had no interest in capital investment, before the pandemic hit last year. Following in his parents’ footsteps, he strongly believed in real estate investment, and considered buying stocks to be too risky and not as profitable as owning an apartment in Seoul. Buying an apartment using his savings, jeonse deposit and a mortgage loan was his strategy for over a decade. But then, in December 2019, the government made an unprecedent
Market Jan. 3, 2021
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Samsung Electronics’ record run continues over optimism for foundry biz
The share price of Samsung Electronics on South Korea’s stock market has reached an unprecedented high yet again, surpassing 80,000 won ($73) during intraday trading Monday. Hitting 80,100 won per share in the early morning trade, Samsung Electronics rose 1.2 percent to close at 78,700 won -- the highest closing price since a 50-to-1 stock split in 2018 -- bringing its market cap to a new high of 469.8 trillion won. This accounted for over 24 percent of all 906 constituents of the Kospi,
Market Dec. 28, 2020
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Kospi crosses 2,800 mark on chip rally
South Korea‘s stock market hit a new all-time high Thursday as the Korea Exchange’s main board Kospi crossed the 2,800 mark on massive institutional buying of chip shares. The Kospi rose 1.7 percent to 2,806.86 on Thursday, pushing its total market cap to reach 1,936.5 trillion won ($1.8 trillion). Kospi crossing the 2,800 mark came three weeks after it passed the previous threshold of 2,700 on Dec. 4, which was then a fresh high. Institutions net purchased 628.2 billion won worth
Market Dec. 24, 2020
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Shinhan Life OKs merger with ex-ING's Korean arm
Shinhan Financial Group has approved a merger of its two wholly-owned life insurer subsidiaries -- Shinhan Life Insurance and Orange Life Insurance -- into a single entity next year, filings showed Thursday. As a result of the move, Orange Life, formerly the Korean arm of Amsterdam-based ING Group, will be merged into Shinhan Life. The two firms’ combined valuation exceeded 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion), according to the filings. Orange Life‘s 82 million shares will be converted i
Market Dec. 24, 2020
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Korea to launch 1st tranche of New Deal policy fund by March
The South Korean government is poised to launch the first batch of its 20 trillion-won ($18 billion) government policy fund aimed at supporting Korean New Deal projects by March, the Finance Minister said Wednesday. With the first batch to start in March, the government is looking to raise 4 trillion-won commitments in the first year of the five-year scheme, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, who doubles as deputy prime minister, said in a pangovernmental meeting held at Seoul Government Complex.
Market Dec. 23, 2020
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[News Analysis] SsangYong Motor halts trading as bankruptcy court grants breather
Stocks of SsangYong Motor halted trading starting Tuesday as the cash-strapped automaker is now under bankruptcy court supervision and has effectively been given a three-month grace period before it enters court receivership. Eyes are on whether SsangYong Motor to avoid the court-led rehabilitation proceedings by soliciting a new investor in that time. On Monday, SsangYong Motor said it had applied for an autonomous restructuring support program, when filing for bankruptcy to Seoul Bankruptcy
Market Dec. 22, 2020
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Mirae Asset subsidiary lists 1st ETFs on London Stock Exchange
Mirae Asset Global Investments said Monday that its US exchange-traded funds provider subsidiary Global X has launched two products to be traded on the London Stock Exchange starting Friday. The thematic ETFs -- Global X Telemedicine & Digital Health UCITS ETF and Global X Video Games & Esports UCITS ETF -- mark the first ETFs of a Korean-owned company to be listed on a European exchange. According to data from market researcher ETFGI, the total size of listed ETFs and exchange-traded
Market Dec. 21, 2020
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IFC provides $50m loan to KB Kookmin Card's Indonesian lending arm
The International Finance Corp. said Monday it plans to provide a loan of up to $50 million to KB Finansia Multi Finance, an Indonesian subsidiary of South Korean credit finance company KB Kookmin Card. The loan will contribute to a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery in Indonesia by addressing the liquidity squeeze in the nation’s multifinance sector, the IFC said. Multifinance companies like KB Finansia Multi Finance are considered the main source of funding for micro, small an
Market Dec. 21, 2020
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Hanjin Group speeds up asset divestments to cope with pandemic
Hanjin Group, which controls South Korea‘s largest aviation firm Korean Air Lines, is speeding up asset divestments to secure cash in an apparent effort to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, filings showed Sunday. Hanjin Group’s holding company Hanjin KAL is poised to sell a 100 percent stake in a golf course developer Jedong Leisure to an undisclosed buyer for 23 billion won ($20.9 million). The company, located in Jeju Island, has sought to lay out a golf course development project
Market Dec. 20, 2020
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[Women in Finance 4] Pandemic highlights power of gender diversity to improve decision-making
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of special reports on the glass ceiling in the financial industry, focusing on South Korea’s market compared to other major economies. Funded by The Korea Press Foundation, the series will evaluate where Asia’s fourth-largest economy stands in terms of gender equality, reflect on changes being made, and explore ways to boost inclusion in the sector. -- Ed. The COVID-19 pandemic has been both an opportunity and a crisis for the world of financ
Market Dec. 17, 2020
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NH-Amundi's ESG-oriented equity fund raises W100b
NH-Amundi Asset Management said Monday that its equity fund dedicated to environmental, social and governance factors in investment decisions has surpassed 100 billion won ($91.7 million) by the size of assets it was managing, indicating South Korean retail investors’ appetite for the green theme. The product, dubbed NH-Amundi Century Enterprise Green Korea Equity Fund, was launched on Sept. 3. It has attracted 60 billion won worth of retail investment, while 40 billion won stemmed from
Market Dec. 14, 2020
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'Decentralization to unfold in Seoul office market'
South Korea is expected to witness a decentralization of the office market in its capital city Seoul over the next few years as major tenants are planning to relocate and new submarkets emerge, a report showed Monday. Chaebol tenants such as Samsung, Doosan, Hyundai Heavy, LG are planning relocations within the Greater Seoul area, while banking group Hana Financial Group and public institutions are considering moving out of Seoul, leading to a “great reshuffling” of the Seoul offic
Market Dec. 14, 2020
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Mirae Asset's Korean New Deal-themed ETFs top W700b in NAV
Mirae Asset Global Investments said Friday its five exchange-traded funds investing in stocks dedicated to batteries, biotechnology, internet and gaming sectors have topped 700 billion won ($642 million) in their combined net asset value as of Thursday, two months after their listing. The ETFs are its signature Tiger suite of products -- Tiger KRX BBIG K-New Deal ETF, Tiger KRX Bio K-New Deal ETF, Tiger KRX Secondary Battery K-New Deal ETF, Tiger KRX Internet K-New Deal ETF and Tiger KRX Game
Market Dec. 11, 2020
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Fidelity unloads W111b Hyundai Marine & Fire stocks since Oct.
US-based investor Fidelity Management & Research has offloaded common shares of Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance worth 111.6 billion won ($102.2 million) on the local stock exchange since October, filings showed Friday. Before the transactions, Fidelity was the third-largest shareholder of Hyundai Marine & Fire, listed on South Korea‘s main stock bourse Kospi, holding 11 percent of its voting rights. That followed Chairman Chung Mong-yoon’s 24.65 percent and the National
Market Dec. 11, 2020
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ICT Ministry to commit W16b to digital media startups
The Ministry of Science and ICT said Friday it plans to commit 16 billion won ($14.7 million) to Seoul-based venture capital house K & Investment Partners as part of the government-led initiative to foster the domestic digital media ecosystem. The commitment from its fund-of-funds, managed by Korea Venture Investment Corp., will be used to create a 26 billion-won fund by March next year. K & has been selected as the ICT Ministry’s only external partner to manage the fund out of 1
Market Dec. 11, 2020
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