Jan 16, 2020

Seoul Real Estate Forum names new head

The Seoul Real Estate Forum said Thursday that it had named Wang Jeong-han as its sixth president.Wang, 57, will double as head of the SREF and the Seoul-based Ara Group Architects and Planners, dedicated to architecture, design, construction management and audits in South Korea. Wang has led Ara since 1998. Founded in 2003, the SREF is a forum comprising some 200 members, including real estate professionals and professors in Korea. The forum holds monthly seminars that center on the latest

Jan 16, 2020

FSC pledges to step up efforts to grow fintech industry

With bills on personal data and credit information passing the legislature, Korean financial authority Financial Services Commission and other financial organizations on Thursday vowed to make joint efforts to create a better, fair environment for the financial technology market.“The FSC hopes to see fintech firms achieve successful results of their businesses this year, and for that, it will not spare efforts to support them,” said Kwon Dae-young, director general of FSC’s fin

Jan 16, 2020

KEB Hana, Woori tense up on DLF penalty decision

FSS holds sanctions committee to review ‘warning’ decision on both bank CEOs

Jan 16, 2020

Shinhan reviews legal action against Lime Asset

Shinhan Bank is considering taking legal action against Lime Asset Management, claiming the fund operator made a unilateral decision last year to hedge its portfolio with a fund sold through the commercial lender, officials said Thursday. According to Shinhan, Lime Asset didn’t inform the lender of its plans to use Lime Credit Insurance Trade Fund assets to prevent payment delays from other funds that were facing liquidity issues at the time and that its decision amounted to a breach of tr

Jan 16, 2020

Foreigners ownership on Kospi hits 13-year high

Foreign stock ownership on Seoul’s benchmark Kospi bourse reached the highest level this week since 2006, industry data showed Thursday.According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, offshore investors held a net 585.98 trillion won ($431 billion) as of Tuesday -- 38.90 percent of the bourse’s market capitalization of 1,506 trillion won. The figure is the highest since Aug. 8, 2006, that accounted for 38.91 percent of Kospi’s market value. Foreign investors’ str

Jan 15, 2020

Reinsurance firm Korean Re launches second branch in China

The Korean Reinsurance Co. (Korean Re), a leading domestic reinsurance firm here, announced the launch of its Shanghai office on Wednesday. The opening came after it received approval from China’s banking and insurance authorities in December. The new office is the second Chinese location for the Korean firm, which has run its business in Beijing since 1997. The new branch will be in charge of sales while the Beijing office will continue to lead the management and market research.The

Jan 15, 2020

Eased data protection rules to benefit fintech giants and startups: analysts

The recent passage of bills on personal data and credit information of individuals by the National Assembly will likely give a boost to fintech giants and startups in South Korea, according to analysts.The three revised bills regarding the protection of private information, information and communications networks, and the use and protection of credit information will allow companies as well as government agencies to utilize personal information for various research and business purposes without

Jan 15, 2020

Lime Asset to freeze additional W500b, FSS likely to launch new probe

Local fund operator Lime Asset Management has recently decided to freeze an additional 500 billion won ($431.4 million) of its funds, prompting the Financial Supervisory Service to launch a new probe of the firm’s risky funds.With the suspension of withdrawals, the total volume of the fund operator’s delayed payments to investors has risen to nearly 2 trillion won. In its latest notice sent to financial institutions that had worked as sales channels, Lime Asset said it has decided to

Jan 15, 2020

Foreigners' buying binge of Korean stocks continuing this year: data

Foreign investors have raked in some 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) worth of South Korean stocks this year on improved economic outlook and the imminent signing of a preliminary Sino-American trade deal, data showed Wednesday. During the Jan. 2-14 period, foreigners net purchased a total of 1.52 trillion won worth of local stocks, continuing their buying streak for an eighth straight session through Tuesday."Foreign buying has been strong on hopes for further progress in the US-China trade

Jan 14, 2020

Investors turn to overseas funds amid slow growth, low interest rate

An increasing number of South Korean investors are picking foreign investment funds, seeking alternative profits amid slow growth and low interest rates here, data showed Tuesday.The total amount invested in FIFs tallied 183.7 trillion won ($159.3 billion) as of last year, accounting for 28.3 percent of total fund deposits, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association.Of them, private equity funds accounted for 79.5 percent with 146 trillion won, while public funds stood at 20.5 perce

Jan 14, 2020

NH-Amundi, SSIAM partner to develop products tracking Vietnam stock indexes

Seoul-based NH-Amundi Asset Management and Ho Chi Minh City-based SSI Asset Management have agreed to partner to develop products that track benchmark indexes in the Vietnamese stock market, according to NH-Amundi on Tuesday.On Monday, they signed a memorandum of understanding guaranteeing an exclusive partnership to launch new financial instruments that track indexes of blue-chip companies, including the VN50 listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange and VN30 that seeks listing on the Ho Chi Minh Stoc

Jan 13, 2020

Foreign investors turn net buyers of stocks, continue bond pullout

Foreign investors turned net buyers in the South Korean stocks in December, after snapping a four-month streak of selling. However, they continued their net outflow of investment in the local fixed-income market for a third consecutive month, the financial watchdog said Monday.Foreign investors net-bought 810 billion won ($699.6 million) worth of local listed stocks during the month -- 350 billion won on Seoul’s benchmark Kospi and 460 billion won on the tech-focused secondary Kosdaq -- ac

Jan 13, 2020

Samsung, SK hynix hit historic highs on earnings recovery hopes

South Korea's two largest chipmakers -- Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. -- finished at all-time highs on Monday on expectations that the chipmaking sector is recovering after bottoming out in the fourth quarter of last year.Stocks in Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chipmaker, closed at a record-high of 60,000 won ($51.88), up 0.84 percent from the previous session's close. SK hynix Inc., the world's second-largest DRAM maker, finished at 100,500 won, up 1.62 percent fro

Jan 13, 2020

K-pop stocks likely to gain traction on improved Seoul-Beijing ties: analysts

Big-cap K-pop stocks are projected to rally again this year given positive Seoul-Beijing relations and the return of some big players, analysts here said Monday.Shares of the three biggest entertainment agencies in South Korea -- YG, S.M. and JYP -- were volatile in 2019, weighed down by a sex-bribery scandal involving Seungri, former member of K-pop boy band Big Bang. The scandal broke out early last year leading to a turmoil in the industry. Of the three, YG Entertainment is expected to see th