South Korean stocks started higher on Friday, led by gains in Samsung Group shares after the conglomerate said it will sell non-core chemical units to Lotte Group to streamline its businesses.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.74 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,036.9 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics increased 2.26 percent after the company on Thursday announced plans to buy back its own shares worth a total of 11.3 trillion won ($10 billion)

The world's largest leading public investment fund operators will be gathered in Seoul next week for a meeting aimed at promoting cooperation between public funds, as well as private equity funds, event organizers said Friday.The second biannual meeting of the Co-Investment Roundtable of Sovereign and Pension Funds will begin Monday, involving some 170 public and private fund operators, according to the state-run Korea Investment Corp.The two-day meeting seeks to tackle four major issues that in

By Kim Yon-seMore companies are seeking to go public on the tech-focused Kosdaq market this year on the back of the Korea Exchange’s active coordination with government policies aimed at vitalizing venture start-ups.According to the Korea Exchange, the number of companies that issued initial public offerings came to 73 in the first 10 months of 2015, skyrocketing 192 percent from 25 in the same period last year.Meanwhile, the number of firms that submitted their IPO proposals for registration on

The number of holding companies in South Korea increased over the past year, keeping its upward trend since the government introduced the system in the late 1990s, the antitrust watchdog said Thursday.As of end-September, the number of holding companies reached 140, up from the previous year's 132, according to a report by the Fair Trade Commission.A holding company refers to a corporation that owns voting stock in another company or its affiliate and can influence management. Holding firms usua

South Korean stocks traded almost flat late Thursday morning as a fall in domestic-focused firms offset gains in tech blue chips, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 1.72 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,044.23 as of 11:20 a.m.Top mobile carrier SK Telecom slipped 2 percent, with state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Power Corp. losing 2.3 percent. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics continued its bullish run from earlier, climbing 2.5 percent. Its smaller h

South Korea's stock market for venture firms and startups has been in the doldrums after reaching a peak in July despite a series of measures to kickstart it, data showed Thursday.The daily average turnover of the Korea New Exchange market in October came in at 1.29 billion won ($752,000), down from the previous month's 1.48 billion won, according to the data by the Korea Exchange.It marks the third consecutive on-month fall after the turnover reached a peak of 3.34 billion won in July. The comp

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Thursday, driven by a sharp rise in top-cap Samsung Electronics, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 11.34 points, or 0.56 percent to 2,053.85 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics, which accounts for 15 percent of the market capitalization, shot up more than 3 percent after the company said it will buy back its own shares worth a total of 11.3 trillion won ($10 billion) over the

Naver Corp., South Korea's No. 1 Internet portal operator, said Thursday its third-quarter net profit fell 24 percent from a year earlier due largely to a one-off factor. But it performed better overall compared with the previous three months, backed by solid growth in advertising revenue generated from its offshore mobile and content businesses. Net income amounted to 116.8 billion won ($103.2 million) in the July-September period, compared with 153.7 billion won a year earlier, the company sai

South Korean top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday its net profit soared nearly 30 percent on-year in the third quarter, backed by strong chip sales and favorable foreign exchange rates. Net income came to 5.45 trillion won ($4.82 billion) in the July-September period, up 29.3 percent from 4.22 trillion won from a year earlier and the first on-year rise in six quarters, Samsung said in its regulatory filing.Sales gained 8.9 percent on-year to 51.6 trillion won in the third quarter

Samsung C&T Corp., the fashion and trading arm of Samsung Group, said Wednesday it posted a net profit of 2.8 trillion won ($2.4 billion) in the third quarter of the year.Operating profit came to 68.09 billion won in the July-September period, while sales reached 3.53 trillion won, the company said in a regulatory filing.Samsung C&T didn't provide on-year or on-quarter comparisons because it was launched in September following a merger between Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C&T Corp., a const

GS Engineering & Construction Co., a South Korean construction firm, said Wednesday that its third-quarter net profit soared 67 percent from a year earlier on a boom in the local property market.Net profit reached 53.4 billion won ($47.2 million) in the July-September period, compared with a profit of 1.2 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Operating income dropped 54 percent on-year to 11 billion won in the third quarter, while sales surged 21 percent to 2.79 tri

South Korean stocks closed little changed Wednesday as investors took a wait-and-see approach amid jitters about a U.S. rate hike. The local currency ended flat against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 2.14 points, or 0.1 percent, to finish at 2,042.51. Trading volume was moderate at 387.8 million shares worth 4.93 trillion won ($4.34 billion) with decliners outstripping gainers 487 to 314. "Investors stayed on the sidelines as they're looking for answers (ab