South Korean banks' non-performing loans have soared to a 15-year high amid an extensive revamp of troubled shipbuilding and shipping companies, government data showed Thursday.As of end-March, the total amount of bad loans held by local banks reached 31.3 trillion won ($26.3 billion), up 1.3 trillion won from the end of last year, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service.The figure was also up 6.6 trillion won from a year earlier and marks the highest level since 38.1 trillion w

Troubled Hyundai Merchant Marine has won bondholders’ full support on restructuring total bond debt over 800 billion won ($670 million), bringing much needed relief to the cash-strapped firm. Bondholders approved the nation‘s second-largest container transporter’s proposal to reschedule debt worth 174.2 billion won with nearly full consent during two meetings held at Hyundai Group’s headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. “I agreed with the plan with the expectation that the company has survival pro

Korea’s largest institutional investor National Pension Service said it will increase the proportion of overseas investment in private equities in the Asian region to around 30 percent in its long term strategy.Out of the 512 trillion won ($429 billion) pension fund, 19.5 trillion won is allocated as global private equity investment, according to Yang Young-sig, the head of global private market at the investment division of the National Pension Service.National Pension Service (Yonhap)“NPS aims

Troubled Hyundai Merchant Marine has won bondholders’ full support on restructuring total bond debt of over 800 billion won ($670 million), bringing much needed relief to the cash-strapped firm. Bondholders approved the nation‘s second-largest container transporter’s proposal to reschedule debt worth 174.2 billion won with full consent during two meetings held at Hyundai Group’s headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. “I agreed with the plan with the expectation that the company has survival probabi

Ham Jong-ho, CEO of Deloitte Anjin, plays darts with other employees in a game designed to donate money the more a player scores during the 2016 Deloitte Impact Day in Seoul on Wednesday. Some 700 Deloitte workers, including laywers and accountants, participated in the event to help underprivileged people. (Deloitte Anjin)

KB Financial Group will focus on wealth management, corporate and investment banking services, expecting synergy with its newly acquired Hyundai Securities, the group said Wednesday. The Seoul-based group on Tuesday completed the 1.25 trillion won ($1.05 billion) purchase of the securities firm’s shares from Hyundai Merchant Marine of Hyundai Group. With that, KB now controls 22.6 percent of the brokerage company which ranks fourth in the local industry with 3.2 trillion won in assets. “With Hyu

South Korean stocks closed little changed Wednesday as investors took to the sidelines waiting for a slew of economic data and events coming this week. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.68 point, or 0.03 percent, to close at 1,982.72. Trade volume was moderate at 496 million shares worth 5.31 trillion won ($4.45 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 447 to 363.  (Yonhap)On Tuesday, U.S. stocks dropped as investors remained cautio

The government will fully support venture capital to finance start-ups in financial technology business, as digital innovation will play a critical role in the fourth industrial revolution, Korea’s top financial regulator said Wednesday. “With the advent of fintech and ICT-based firms, once-exclusive financial services are evolving into new types of services,” Financial Services Commission chairman Yim Jong-yong said at a forum in Seoul.Financial Services Commission chairman Yim Jong-yong (Yonha

Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho suggested last week the government would no longer adhere to its projection that the country’s economy would grow by 3.1 percent this year.Yoo, who doubles as deputy prime minister for economic affairs, said the government would be “cool-headed” in adjusting the growth target when it announces in late June the economic policy directions to be pursued in the latter half of the year.Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (Yonhap)His remarks came a day after the Korea Development Ins

Foreign investors have continued to dump shares of Samsung C&T Corp., the fashion and trading arm of South Korea's top conglomerate, since its merger last year, dragging down its share prices, the bourse operator said Wednesday.The foreign ownership at Samsung C&T stood at 7.62 percent as of Tuesday, the lowest level since Sept. 15, when its shares resumed trading on the Seoul bourse, following the merger with then-Cheil Industries to become the group's de facto holding firm, the Korea Exchange

Power and construction equipment conglomerate Doosan Group raised a total of 3.3 trillion won by selling affiliates, business units and assets over the past two years to shore up its shaky balance sheet, industry sources said Tuesday.Earlier in the day, Doosan sold off its defense unit, Doosan DST, to Hanwha Techwin Corp., a defense unit of major South Korean business group Hanwha, for 354 billion won, according to the sources.In March, Hanwha Techwin was picked as the preferred bidder for Doosa

Bondholders of Hyundai Merchant Marine have approved a debt restructuring proposal by the ailing shipper, clearing one of the major hurdles of its rehabilitation program. During three separate meetings Tuesday, bondholders gave the nod to HMM’s proposal on some 630 billion won ($529 million) debt to unanimously swap more than half of it for the shipper’s stocks. The remaining amount will be paid back after two years.“Above all, avoiding a court receivership is more favorable for us to collect ou

South Korea has contributed more than $100 million to trust funds operated by the Inter-America Development Bank for the past 10 years to help the region develop further, the finance minister said Tuesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy joined the IDB in 2005 and has made contributions to three trust funds -- the Knowledge Partnership Fund for Technology and Innovation, the Korea Poverty Reduction Fund and the Public Capacity Building Korea Fund for Economic Development. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho

Korea’s overall production and consumption fell last month on the back of slow manufacturing and retail sales, despite a slight pickup in the services industry led by the finance and insurance sectors, according to Statistics Korea on Tuesday.The index of all industry production, which tracks industrial production, services, public administration and construction, stood at 110.9 in April, down 0.8 percent from the month before.“Low production and an increase in finance reflect a change in activi

The delinquency rate for loans extended by South Korean banks edged up in April from a month earlier as some loans extended to households and businesses turned sour, government data showed Tuesday. The average delinquency rate for bank loans stood at 0.64 percent at the end of April, up 0.01 percentage point from a month earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service said in a statement. Financial Supervisory Service (Yonhap)Year-on-year, the figure fell 0.12 percentage points from 0.76 percent, it