The Korea Herald

Seoul shares end higher on eased global woes

Jan 25, 2016

South Korean stocks closed higher Monday as major economies' pledge to extend stimulus measures and rising oil prices eased concerns over a global downturn. The local currency closed higher against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 14 points, or 0.74 percent, to end at 1,893.43. Trade volume was moderate at 311.41 million shares worth 4.01 trillion won ($3.36 billion), with winners beating losers 622 to 188.After going through a seesaw week, local shar
Exim Bank chief downplays woes over financial health

Jan 25, 2016

The chief of South Korea's state-run trade bank played down growing concerns over the lender's financial soundness Monday, claiming a recent fall in its capital adequacy ratio is a necessary and inevitable result of state policies aimed at boosting economic growth.The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Exim Bank) has been under criticism the bank is trapped in moral hazard after the government injected over 1.1 trillion won ($921 million) in fresh funds last year."The most difficult issue while workin
Stock market turnover ratio hits 3-year high in 2015

Jan 25, 2016

The turnover ratio of South Korean stocks soared to a three-year high in 2015 as market volatility increased amid unfavorable external conditions and a protracted economic downturn, the bourse operator said Monday.The turnover ratio of shares listed on the main bourse, the KOSPI, came to 319.13 percent, up from 199.84 percent the previous year according to data by the Korea Exchange (KRX).The corresponding ratio for shares in the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market was tallied at 637.23 percent in 2015, wh
Seoul shares open higher on oil price recovery

Jan 25, 2016

South Korean share prices opened higher on Monday after oil prices recovered from last week’s multiyear lows. Traders monitor share prices on screens at a local bank. (Yonhap)A rebound on Wall Street also boosted investor sentiment, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.13 points, or 0.38 percent, to 1,886.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The index was trading at 1894.61, up 0.81 percent, as of 10:13 a.m. On Friday, oil prices rebounded from 13-year lows on
Equity crowdfunding poised for takeoff

Jan 24, 2016

Hopes to channel capital for start-up ecosystem; provide investment opportunities for individuals
Korea, Macao agree on exchanges of tax documents

Jan 24, 2016

South Korea and Macao agreed on Sunday to exchange tax documents to root out South Koreans in the special administrative region of China who are trying to evade taxes.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said the deal will allow local authorities to look into financial and taxation information of South Korean companies and citizens based in Macao in case of tax evasions.The sides can also make requests for business information, including transactions and management structures.The information, ho
Seoul shares forecast to remain flat ahead of FOMC meeting

Jan 23, 2016

South Korean shares are expected to trade in a limited range next week ahead of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, with volatile oil prices likely to weigh down on investor sentiment, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,879.43 points on Friday, up 0.05 percent from a week earlier. South Korean stocks closed nearly flat earlier this week as China's stock volatility took a breather. Seoul shares, however, gained ground
Kosdaq expects 154 IPOs in 2016

Jan 22, 2016

KOSDAQ expects another boom year for initial public offerings in 2016, with over 150 companies preparing to float their shares on the country‘s secondary stock market, the bourse’s operator said Friday.“We expect 154 IPOs this year,” Kim Jae-joon, chairman of Korea Exchange’s KOSDAQ market committee, told a press conference in Seoul. KOSDAQ is also working to attract Samsung Biologics, a unit of Samsung Group said to be preparing for an IPO in the first half of this year on the U.S.’ Nasdaq or e
Seoul seeks to bolster loans for mid-credit borrowers 　

Jan 22, 2016

Korea is moving to encourage local banks to lend more to mid-credit borrowers, a segment typically underserved in Korea’s retail loan market, polarized between cheap, but hard-to-get, bank loans and expensive nonbank loans. According to industry sources and multiple local reports, the Financial Services Commission is currently devising measures to bolster retail banks’ middle-market lending, with its sights set on borrowers with credit scores just below levels that would qualify them for a bank
Standard Chartered Korea puts wealth at center of vision

Jan 21, 2016

Standard Chartered Bank Korea plans to invest 10 billion won ($8.24 million) in its wealth management, aiming to double the size of operations over the next five years, a top company executive said Thursday.“We have set a target of 100 percent growth in the number of clients, revenue and assets under management at our wealth business by 2020,” Chang Ho-june, head of wealth management at SC Bank Korea, said at a press conference in Seoul. The London-based bank has about 5 trillion won of assets u
Korea needs to expand currency swap deals

Jan 21, 2016

Policymakers in the government and the central bank have refuted an argument by a local research institute that the country’s foreign exchange reserves are far from enough to cope with another bout of global financial crisis.A report released by the Korea Economic Research Institute this week suggested Korea needs nearly $80 billion more in forex reserves to guard itself against a possible global emergency. The suggestion cast a shadow on what has been perceived as a robust aspect of the country
Shinhan Financial ranks 18th in global sustainable company list

Jan 21, 2016

Shinhan Financial Group came in at 18th place on a list of the world’s 100 most sustainable companies, announced Wednesday at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Seoul-based group said Thursday. It is the highest ranking that a Korean company has ever reached on the list, which is known as the Global 100 and compiled annually by Canada-based Corporate Knights since 2005. German carmaker BMW topped this year’s list. Aside from Shinhan, three other Korean companies made it
KRX eyes 30-minute extension of trading hours

Jan 21, 2016

Korea’s bourse operator said Thursday that it will seek to extend the regular trading hours by 30 minutes to go in tandem with a global trend and increase its overlap with other markets in the region. Headquarters of KRX in Yeouido, central Seoul“Currently, the Korean market runs for six hours from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., which is 2-3 hours shorter than global peers,” said Choi Kyung-soo, chairman and CEO of Korea Exchange, in a press conference in Seoul. “I will strive for a 30-minute extension t
China stocks rise after PBOC takes measures to ease cash squeeze

Jan 21, 2016

China’s stocks rose for the third time in four days, led by small-company shares, after the central bank injected the most cash in almost three years in its open-market operations to ease a cash squeeze.The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.5 percent at the break, erasing a loss of as much as 1.6 percent. The ChiNext index of small caps advanced 1.5 percent, while gauges of health-care and technology shares posted the biggest gains among industry groups. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises
Global stocks battered as oil pushes below $27

Jan 21, 2016

NEW YORK - Global stocks suffered another rout Wednesday as US oil prices slid to fresh 12-year lows, heaping further pressure on financial markets from London and Paris to Moscow and Manhattan.Asia's main stock indices fell more than three percent, as did a number of indices in Europe -- wiping out the previous day's rally spurred by hopes of Chinese stimulus.With a loss of 3.5 percent, London joined a number of other markets in bear territory -- a fall of more than 20 percent from a recent pe