The Korea Herald

Seoul shares forecast to seesaw amid global uncertainties

Sept 5, 2015

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks are expected to move in a wide range next week as investors await key economic data from the United States and China for clues over their impact on the global financial market, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.6 percent this week to close at 1,886.04 on Friday.Trading volume was light as investors took to the sidelines following a wild ride in the previous week, responding to mixed data from the w
FSC to ease rules for foreign lenders

Sept 4, 2015

Financial Services Commission chairman Yim Jong-yong attends a meeting with heads of foreign banks operating here in Sogong-dong, central Seoul, on Friday. (Yonhap)Korea’s top financial regulator promised on Friday to ease regulations for foreign lenders seeking to expand their banking operations. 　In a meeting with the heads of foreign banks operating here, Financial Services Commission chairman Yim Jong-yong said he will actively engage in improving the regulatory system for foreign lenders as
KOSPI follows Shanghai index despite U.S. stock crash

Sept 2, 2015

South Korea’s stock market weathered the overnight plunges of equities on the European and U.S. bourses, despite the aggravated concerns about possible global deflation from China’s economic slowdown.The KOSPI gained 0.99 points or 0.05 percent from a trading session earlier to close at 1,915.22 on Wednesday, though the benchmark index started in a bearish position earlier in the day.While some analysts claimed the Korean index is considered to have hit the bottom in late August, others say the
KEB Hana Bank sets sail as No. 1 lender

Sept 1, 2015

KEB Hana Bank, the result of a merger between Korea Exchange Bank and Hana Bank, was launched on Tuesday, vowing to lead the banking industry with stronger asset management services. Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Jung-tai (center, front row) and KEB Hana Bank president Ham Young-joo (fourth from right, front row) attend the launching ceremony of KEB Hana Bank in the bank’s headquarters in central Seoul on Tuesday. (KEB Hana Bank)Upon officially capping the KEB-Hana merger, the new entity ros
Korea’s minting agency diversifying business

Sept 1, 2015

Challenged by the expanding cashless society, South Korea’s state-run minting agency is diversifying its business domain and actively tapping more export destinations to offset a sharp drop in demand for coins and banknotes.Rapidly increasing credit card usage and the digital payment revolution are making Koreans’ wallets slim. Under its initiative in finding a prospective niche, the Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corp. is strengthening its non-minting segment. Among the in
KEB Hana Bank sets sail as No. 1 lender

Sept 1, 2015

Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Jung-tai (center, front row) and KEB Hana Bank president Ham Young-joo (fourth from right, front row) attend the launching ceremony of KEB Hana Bank in the bank’s headquarters in central Seoul on Tuesday. (KEB Hana Bank)KEB Hana Bank, the result of a merger between Korea Exchange Bank and Hana Bank, was launched on Tuesday, vowing to lead the banking industry with stronger asset management services.　Upon officially capping the KEB-Hana merger, the new entity ros
Seoul stocks drop on China's grim manufacturing data

Sept 1, 2015

South Korean stocks ended lower on Tuesday as investor sentiment was dampened by China's bleak manufacturing data and disappointing local export figures. The South Korean won firmed against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 1.4 percent, or 27.27 points, to 1,914.22. Trading volume was light at 320 million shares worth 4.75 trillion won ($4.05 billion), with losers far surpassing gainers 600 to 223.An official index of Chinese manufacturing fell to a three-ye
BOK saddled with U.S., China risks

Aug 31, 2015

South Korean monetary policymakers are struggling to cope with the prospects of an interest rate hike in the U.S. and further currency devaluation in China.Should the U.S. Federal Reserve raise its key rate, the Bank of Korea would have no choice but to follow suit in a bid to minimize capital outflow, as economists and analysts predict.If the People’s Bank of China chooses to devalue the yuan, following its artificial depreciation of it for three consecutive days in August, the BOK will face ag
Allianz Life sees strong demand for new product

Aug 30, 2015

　An insurance product of the Korean unit of Allianz Life attracted insurance premiums worth 30 billion won ($25.4 million) in less than two months since its debut on July 1.　The company said Sunday that policyholders’ collective premium for its variable universal insurance product named the Allianz Team Challenge Variable Universal came to 30.21 billion won as of Aug. 21.The print ad to promote the Allianz Team Challenge Variable Universal product (Allianz Life Korea)　A policyholder of the produ
Delegation flies to Middle East to gauge interest in Woori Bank

Aug 30, 2015

A group of high-profile financial officials from Korea flied to the Middle East on Sunday to check foreign demand for a stake in Woori Bank, a state-run lender that has been put up for sale. The delegate, led by Financial Services Commission vice chairman Jeong Chan-woo, left the country two days after Woori Bank received a letter of intent from the Abu Dhabi Investment Council. ADIC, launched in 2007, is one of several sovereign wealth funds managed by the United Arab Emirates with assets of a
Calm on Wall Street: A turbulent week ends on a placid note

Aug 29, 2015

Well, that was exciting.Days after China threw the biggest scare into Wall Street in years, U.S. stocks have come surging back and ended the week Friday on a placid note that suggested the worst may be over for now.Even so, investors are buckling their seat belts for more turbulence ahead.The Dow Jones industrial average fell a scant 11.76 points Friday, or 0.1 percent, to 16,643.01, capping a week that saw stomach-churning losses and gains of around 600 points per day. The Standard & Poor‘s 500
[Weekender] Who will take on currency redenomination?

Aug 28, 2015

In the early 2000s, Korean tourists to Turkey saw a foreign exchange rate of 1 million won to about 1.3 billion lira.When it comes to South Korea’s economic scale, its won-denominated gross domestic product is estimated at about 1.6 quadrillion won last year, or 1,600,000,000,000,000 won. Its outstanding household debt, fully written out in the local currency, is 1,100,000,000,000,000 won.Inbound tourists can sometimes get confused by the multiple-unit conversions such as thousands of dollars to
[Weekender] Korean currency evolves over millennium

Aug 28, 2015

Hwan-denominated notes, issued in 1953. (Bank of Korea)King Sejong, whose portrait is printed on South Korea’s 10,000 won banknote, was a key figure of the 15th century in the Joseon era (1392-1910).　Other historical figures on the three other denominated bills (50,000 won, 5,000 won and 1,000 won) and the 100 won coin lived during the 16th century.　While the figures lived in the Joseon era’s earlier half, during which historians say currency usage was rare, their counterparts in the latter half
[Weekender] Bitcoin designed to shake central bank-driven frame

Aug 28, 2015

A virtual currency is shifting the idea of a centralized, corporeal currency while debates -- with their pros and cons -- on its safety and efficacy matters are underway.Bitcoin is a digital currency that was created in 2009 by an individual or group called Satoshi Nakamoto, whose identity is still unknown.One of bitcoin’s biggest features is that it is decentralized -- not managed by typical monetary policymakers including central banks and finance ministries.Instead, it is managed by groups or
UAE sovereign fund interested in buying stake in Woori Bank: official

Aug 28, 2015

The Abu Dhabi Investment Council has expressed its interest in buying a stake in state-run Woori Bank, which has been put up for sale, a government official said Friday.The Seoul government has been trying to sell its 51.04 percent stake in the bank since 2010 in a bid to retrieve public funds worth 13 trillion won ($11.3 billion) that were spent to bail it out following the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. Earlier this month, the Financial Services Commission, the country's financial r