Analysts forecast won to weaken on U.S. rate rise expectations

KOFIA chairman shares insights on capital market, Korean people’s potential in finance

Hyundai Merchant Marine expects its liquidity crunch to ease in the second half of the year, after selling its stake in Hyundai Securities at possibly triple the price of the brokerage’s current equity value.“We expect some breathing room in the second half once the sale is completed,” said Choi Young-man, a spokesman for the cash-strapped shipping company. KB Financial Group, the preferred bidder for Hyundai Merchant Marine’s stake in the brokerage unit, has reportedly offered more than 1 trill

Five bidders have been taken through to the final round in the auction of Sambu Construction Industrial, a local building materials-maker with annual revenue of around 50 billion won ($43,400), the deal’s manager Samjung KPMG said Friday.  Sambu Construction Industrial’s headquarters in downtown Seoul. (Yonhap)They include ready-mix concrete-maker Tong Yang, Daewon Construction and Keystone PE, a Seoul-based buyout firm set up by former Woori Bank CEO Lee Duk-hoon. Sambu Construction Industrial

Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea‘s top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, has been included in a government list of large business groups whose mutual investments and loan guarantees will face restrictions, the Fair Trade Commission said Friday.The FTC said Kakao’s total assets surpassed the 5-trillion-won level following its takeover of music streaming and download service provider Melon in January.Every year, the antitrust agency announces an updated list of large business groups with assets

Chief says takeover of Hyundai Securities will help bolster its nonbanking portfolio

South Korean share prices opened lower on Friday as large cap shares started bearish on foreign selling. Seoul share prices are displayed on an electronic board at the Korea Exchange. (Yonhap)The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 5.37 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,990.48 in the first 15 minutes of trading. As of 10:02 a.m., the index was trading 0.6 percent lower at 1983.81.Analysts said sentiment was down on foreign net selling, which stood at over 60 billion won ($52.4 millio

 KB Financial Group has emerged winner of the hotly contested takeover battle for Hyundai Securities, the sale’s manager announced Thursday. “KB Financial has been chosen as the preferred bidder,” accounting firm EY Han Young said in a statement. KB may have offered close to 1 trillion won for a combined 22.56 percent stake in the brokerage house, valued at around 340 billion won ($273.4 million) based on Thursday’s stock price of 6,875 won apiece. Hyundai Group is selling its stake -- owned by

South Korean stocks closed 0.3 percent lower on Thursday after foreign investors sold large cap shares, analysts said. The local currency rose to a four-month high against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.29 points to close at 1,995.85. Trade volume was moderate at 322.88 million shares worth 4.84 trillion won ($4.23 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 411 to 402. Samsung share prices are shown on an electronic board in front of the company’s headquar

Corporate profitability improved in 2015 as more Korean companies implemented cost-cutting measures. They also benefited from lower commodity prices, according to data from the Korea Exchange. The combined net profit of 516 firms listed on the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index -- excluding financial firms and those that underwent mergers or divisions -- rose 3 percent from 2014 to 635 trillion won ($556 billion) last year. “After bottoming out in 2014, listed companies are showing bett

BOK expands dollar share of foreign exchange reserves in 2015Korea's central bank increased the portion of U.S. dollar-denominated assets in its foreign exchange reserves from a year earlier in 2015 amid the strengthening of the U.S. greenback, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday. Bank of Korea (Yonhap)In its annual policy report, the BOK said its dollar-denominated holdings accounted for 66.6 percent of its overall foreign reserves at the end of 2015, up 4.1 percentage points from 62.5 percen

Excess funds held by Korean households and non-profit institutions rose from a year earlier in 2015 backed by a rise in their income, central bank data showed Thursday.Excess funds held by households and non-profit institutions came to 99.2 trillion won ($86.5 billion) at the end of last year, up 5.7 trillion won from the previous year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Apartment complex in Seoul (Yonhap)"Excess funds of households and non-profit institutions expanded f

South Korean share prices were trading lower in the late morning session on Thursday after opening higher on overnight gains in the U.S.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index was trading half a percent lower at 1991.85 as of 11:20 a.m.  Traders monitor Seoul stocks at a local bank. (Yonhap)The market got off to a strong start but the upward trend was weakened much by expanded net foreign selling, which came to over 50 billion won ($43.6 million).Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial avera

Rumors are swirling over the auction of Hyundai Securities, with its seller, Hyundai Group, again delaying the announcement of a preferred bidder. The group said Wednesday it will unveil its choice on Friday, at the earliest, delaying the announcement initially scheduled for Tuesday for the second time. It needs more time to study offers, the group said. Three groups submitted their final offers by the March 25 deadline. They are KB Financial Group, Korea Investment Holdings and Hong Kong-based