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

German carmaker BMW said Thursday that it had opened a large-scale cultural complex on a 13,200-square-meter site in Songdo International City in Incheon, South Korea.　The cultural complex was built through a joint investment by BMW and Bavarian Motors, Bavarian Motors, a Korean dealer of BMW and its Mini Brand. The construction project took 1 1/2 years. It is the largest integrated facility opened by a BMW dealer worldwide. From left: Lee In-seok, chief executive officer of Bavarian Motors , Hi

Mobility May 10, 2018

South Korean builder SK Engineering and Construction’s top official has expressed intent to lead a canal project in Turkey, citing its track record in multiple projects in the nation. Dubbed Canal Istanbul, the project involves building a 45-kilometer-long waterway that connects the Black Sea with the Marmara Sea. It is reportedly estimated to cost some $15 billion. “(Canal Istanbul) is a major project both in terms of value and importance,” Lee Seung-soo, vice president of SK E&C, was quoted as

Industry May 10, 2018

The state-run Korea Post chief Kang Seong-ju said artificial intelligence and big data are key to addressing a global decline in mail volume, in a panel discussion at Universal Postal Union World CEO Forum held Wednesday, according to Korea Post.As a panelist in a session of the forum, Kang introduced Korea Post’s efforts to adopt AI and drones to “develop a future delivery system” that helps mail to be delivered to remote areas that are difficult to reach. Korea Post President Kang Seong-ju (th

Industry May 10, 2018

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 14th installment. - Ed.The advent of financial technology has minimized a South Korean smartphone user’s effort to manually collect personal information registered across the Web when submitting filings needed to buy a financial product online.Upon agreement by a user who logged on to a financial company‘s website, his or her set of private information from pu

Market May 9, 2018

South Korea’s financial watchdog said Tuesday it will take legal actions against Samsung Securities for failing to operate with due internal standards for safe electronic financial transactions, which had resulted in a dividend fiasco last month involving the trade of unauthorized shares worth tens of billions of won. Such flaws are respectively violations of the Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies and the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, according to the Financial Sup

Market May 8, 2018

South Korea‘s state-owned electric utility has conjured up a plan to build a power plant in North Korea that generates electricity for industrial facility operation there, according to reports Tuesday.The preliminary plans came amid the blossoming relationship between the two Koreas following an inter-Korean summit on April 27, although the feasibility remains farfetched due to outstanding economic sanctions.  (Yonhap)According to the plan by the Korea East-West Power, a subsidiary of the state-

Industry May 8, 2018

South Korea’s financial regulator is likely to decide the fate of Samsung BioLogics on May 23 at the earliest over allegations that the company had doctored its accounting books. The nation’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission, said it would review the case by holding an in-house oversight panel next Thursday. If a breach of accounting regulations is found, the Securities and Futures Commission, a legal entity within the FSC, will decide the level of penalty i

Market May 7, 2018

The Mongolian Stock Exchange chief hailed South Korean financial companies’ engagement with its fledging stock market as a “positive catalyst” in its search for increased attention from foreign investors. Speaking in an interview with The Korea Herald, Altai Khangai, chief executive officer of the MSE, cited the initial public offering of LendMN, Mongolia’s first financial technology company that began trading in March, as well as another upcoming IPO involving Korean inv

Market May 7, 2018

The local currency strengthened against the greenback for two consecutive trading days until Monday on heightening expectations of a thaw in inter-Korean relations after a summit between North and South Korea. As of the trading session’s close Monday, the US dollar was trading at 1,068 won, according to the Seoul Money Brokerage. The market closed Tuesday due to the Labor Day holiday. The won-dollar exchange rate dropped 12.9 won from Thursday’s close and 8.6 won from Friday’s

Market May 1, 2018

Overly-hyped sentiments have begun to give way to skepticism toward a flurry of promises made by founders of distributed ledger systems like blockchain and the digital currencies encrypted and traded on them.Fanning such cynicism was the global race to place cryptocurrency transactions into regulatory frameworks to deter speculation and prevent crimes like money laundering. Such moves have resulted in noticeable declines in prices of cryptocurrencies.The volatility in the cryptocurrency market o

Market April 30, 2018

Mirae Asset Global Investments, South Korea’s asset management firm, had its target date fund product rank No. 1 in terms of yearly return on the Korean market. A TDF refers to a collective investment scheme in the form of a mutual fund or collective trust fund, whose asset allocation mix of the portfolio becomes conservative -- largely from equities to bonds -- in the coming of an individual investor‘s target date, typically for retirement. The scheme was introduced in the early 199

Market April 29, 2018

Korea Credit Data, a South Korean startup providing accounting software to small and mid-sized companies, will embark on a project to develop a blockchain-powered solution for SMEs, the company said Friday. Dunamu, operator of Korea‘s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, will coordinate with KCD to develop the blockchain solution to lower procurement cost and help SME operators get easier access to structured securities.The project will be on the back of investment from Dunamu &

Market April 27, 2018

South Korea’s stock markets ended higher Friday in the wake of a historic inter-Korean summit that signaled the path to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The top-tier Kospi closed at 2,492.40, up 0.7 percent from Thursday’s close, while the second-tier Kosdaq came to 886.49, up 0.8 percent. Earlier Friday morning, the Kospi had breached the 2,500 mark, hitting an intraday high of 2,508.13 for the first time in over a month.The Kospi and the Kosdaq saw net purchases by foreign

Market April 27, 2018

With drummed up expectations for a more stable Korean Peninsula upon the inter-Korean summit on Friday, stocks of South Korean firms related to cross-border businesses have seen sharp gains.The firms are associated with the inter-Korean business initiative pledged by South Korean President Moon Jae-in.  Named “New Economic Map of the Korean Peninsula,” it contains plans to jointly develop areas across the peninsula, including Kumgangsan, Kaesong industrial park and the Korean De

Market April 26, 2018