Mirae Asset Financial Group will not make a bid for Hyundai Securities, the fourth-largest brokerage with 3.2 trillion won in assets, a local report said Wednesday. Mirae Asset decided to turn down a proposal from LK Investment Partners to join forces to acquire the 22.56 percent stake in Hyundai Securities, the Korea Economic Daily reported, citing an unidentified source at Mirae Asset. LK is among the six suitors for Hyundai Securities shares, being sold by Hyundai Group. The group is to open

Candle Media, a KOSDAQ-listed mobile content producer, said in its disclosure report Wednesday that its largest shareholders are considering “various options” with regards to their ownership in the company.It added, however, that no decisions have been made. This statement comes as the Korea Exchange sought clarification from the company to verify rumors that the company’s largest shareholders -- SK Telecom’s investment funds -- will sale their shares and exit the company on Tuesday.SK Telecom’s

Pan Ocean, a listed bulk carrier services company, said in its disclosure report Wednesday that it has secured a long-term contract to ship iron ore for Vale, Brazil’s metals and mining giant.The contract is worth some 419 billion won ($362 million), accounting for about 25 percent of Pan Ocean’s sales, the shipping company reported. Pan Ocean will start shipping iron ore for Vale from October this year to October 2036 via destinations including China, Malaysia and Brazil.Jeil Holdings is the la

Korea Investment & Securities has purchased bonds issued by Hyundai Capital Services, according to the auto financing company’s disclosure filing Wednesday.Hyundai Capital said that it has issued bonds worth 10 billion won through its manager Standard Chartered Bank Korea, and Korea Investment & Securities acquired all the bonds with a yield of 2.058 percent. The bonds’ maturity date is Dec. 21, 2020. Buildings of securities firms in Seoul (Yonhap)Korea Investment can demand a “put option” by re

South Korea’s major business groups picked scholars and corporate figures over retired public officers as outside directors this year, data showed Wednesday.According to corporate researcher CEO Score, 43.2 percent of 125 outside directors newly appointed at 94 listed firms affiliated with the nation’s top 30 conglomerates, came from academic and business circles. Entrance to the Seoul Bar Association (Yonhap)The number was up eight from last year’s figure. The data also showed that 40.8 percent

South Korean share prices opened lower on Wednesday following threats from North Korea that it will wage a “retaliatory war” against the Park Geun-hye administration.But the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index soon edged up, trading nearly flat at 1997.63 points as of 10:28 a.m.  Traders monitor Seoul share prices at the Korea Exchange. (Yonhap)Earlier this morning, a North Korean committee handling inter-Korean relations said Pyongyang and its army “will push for a retaliatory war to el

Dongbu 4th Special Purpose Acquisition, a KOSDAQ-listed SPC, said in its regulatory filing Wednesday that it has acquired Creative Leaders Group Eight, a privately-held content production house.The acquisition fund of Dongbu Securities said that it will help Group Eight finance content such as TV dramas and musicals. Following the takeover, Group Eight’s corporate name will cease to exist, but its production operations will continue, according to Dongbu’s disclosure filing.Headquarters of Dongbu

Hyundai Cement said in its disclosure filing Wednesday that the Seoul Central District Court had dismissed an injunction filed by former chairman Chung Mong-sun against the company’s executives, including CEO Lee Joo-hwan.Chung filed for an injunction with the court last October to suspend the appointments of the executives amid a battle over the company’s ownership. The Seoul court said Chung’s claims did not suffice to justify an injunction.Chung tried in vain to plead his case to take over th

Koreans’ use of plastic overseas hit an all-time high last year due to an increase in their outbound travel and direct buying from overseas online shops, according to industry data released Monday. The Credit Finance Association said overseas credit and debit card spending reached a combined $13.26 billion in 2015, up 8.7 percent from a year earlier. Card spending by foreign visitors in Korea fell 13.2 percent on-year to $10.05 billion during the same period, as foreigners delayed planned trips

Just days after it inked a $2 billion deal to take over a bigger rival, Mirae Asset Securities is looking at another acquisition target.  The brokerage unit of Mirae Asset Financial Group is exploring a takeover of Hyundai Securities, Korea’s fourth-largest securities firm with 3.2 trillion won ($2.76 billion) in assets, it said.    Behind Mirae Asset’s seemingly relentless push for expansion is its charismatic boss Park Hyeon-joo who harbors an ambition to grow his Korean empire to be Asia’s to

FSS holds annual forum to introduce new tasks for foreign financial companies

U.S. credit rating agency Moody’s said Tuesday that credit outlooks for Korea’s nonfinancial corporations are stable and are likely to remain so for this year due to their austerity efforts and steady earnings.  But it warned that a further slowdown in the Chinese economy could have a major impact on Korean exporters.  "Most rated companies are leaders in their respective markets and have stronger than average financial profiles, enabling them to cope better with external challenges,” Moody’s as

Doosan Corp. is expected to open bids for its defense subsidiary Doosan DST on March 25, according to news reports. Doosan DST's armored vehicle (Doosan DST)Doosan, which owns a 51 percent stake in DST through its special purpose company, DIP Holdings, has been seeking to sell the armored vehicle manufacturer since late last year, as it has been realigning its core business to improve the group’s finances amid a liquidity crunch. Credit Suisse is managing the sale of DST. Doosan’s private equity

South Korea's finance minister on Tuesday called for making all-out efforts to achieve its plan to pour out nearly half of its annual budget in the first quarter in order to pump-prime an economy struggling with faltering exports.The government earlier said it will spend 144 trillion won ($116.6 billion) out of the 330.6 trillion won budget for 2016 in the first three months of the year, as key economic data showed that the country is facing some tough challenges, including a sharp downturn in o