South Korean credit appraisers award far more favorable ratings to large domestic corporations than Moody's Investors Service and other global players, a market tracker said Wednesday.The country's three major ratings agencies -- NICE Investors Service, Korea Investors Service and Korea Ratings -- granted an average credit rating of AA+ to 51 local big businesses from 2014 to 2016, according to CEO Score. The logos of South Korea's top 30 companies (Yonhap)In contrast, Moody's Investors Service,

South Korea’s Shinhan Bank said it is increasing efforts to better assist the growing population of foreigners here and Koreans heading abroad. The bank said Tuesday it will expand its existing channels to better assist foreigners who face difficulties here because of the language barrier and cultural difference.  (Yonhap)“Even if they can communicate in Korea, the financial jargon and financial system in South Korea could be difficult for them to understand,” the bank said. Shinhan has opened a

South Korea’s commercial lender KEB Hana Bank said its executive nomination committee decided to renew the two-year term of its incumbent CEO Ham Young-joo. Ham’s second term still requires approval at the bank’s shareholders meeting in late March.  Ham Young-joo, CEO and President of KEB Hana Bank. (KEB Hana Bank)Ham became the first CEO and president of the bank in September 2015, after Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank merged. His term was to expire at the end of March.The bank attributed Ham

South Korea's fund market looks set to exceed 500 trillion won ($436 billion) on the growth of real estate and other alternative funds, data showed Tuesday.Funds under management totaled 498.6 trillion won, the largest-ever amount here, according to Korea Financial Investment Association. An image of real estate funds in a photo provided by Yonhap News TV. (Yonhap)It marks an increase of 43.1 trillion won from a year earlier.The volume stood at 317.2 trillion won at the end of 2012 and rose to 3

The net income of South Korea's insurance companies dropped 2.3 percent on-year in 2016 due to low performance by life insurers, data showed Tuesday.They reported a combined net profit of 6.16 trillion won ($5.37 billion) for the year, versus 6.3 trillion won in 2015, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. An image of car insurance in a photo provided by Yonhap News TV. (Yonhap)Life insurers' net income decreased 25 percent to 2.69 trillion won, while that of nonlife ones jumped 27.7 pe

A growing number of households in South Korea are exposed to debt risks, especially people in their 30s and the elderly, data showed Monday.The number of "marginal households," whose debt-to-disposable income ratio is over 40 percent, came to 1.81 million last year, up 14.7 percent from 1.58 million recorded in 2015, according to National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun's policy office. An image of rising household debts. (Yonhap)It analyzed data compiled by Statistics Korea.Among the country's

South Korea will sell 300 billion won ($260.8 million) worth of the longest 50-year state bonds next month in a bid to meet growing market demand for safer assets, the Finance Ministry said Monday.“When we first introduced the longest Treasury last year, we planned to float some 1 trillion won in 2017,” Vice Finance Minister Song Eon-seog told reporters in a briefing in Sejong. “The first batch of 300 billion won will be put on auction in late March.” (Yonhap)The detailed timing and the amount o

South Korean banks' credit exposure to the country's three major shipbuilding companies was reduced by 5.4 trillion won ($4.7 billion) in 2016 due to their restructuring efforts, data showed Monday.According to the data by the Korea Enterprise Data, eight state-run and commercial banks' credit exposure to the three shipbuilding companies -- Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. -- came to 46.35 trillion won as of the end of 20

South Korea’s stock investors are aging as the younger generation, partly from lack of extra money and disappointing profit rates, shuns active participation, data indicated Monday.According to securities information portal SEIBro operated by the Korea Securities Depository, the age of the main investors in the country’s top 10 market cap companies has been increasing over the past 10 years. (Yonhap)For Samsung Electronics, 2.77 percent of the investors were in their 20s as of the end of last ye

South Korea’s main stock market posted a sharp drop in the share turnover rate in 2016, with the benchmark index stuck in a tight range, data showed Monday.The Kospi’s turnover rate stood at 247.15 percent, down 39.84 percentage points from 2015, according to the Korea Exchange. (Yonhap)A stock turnover rate is a measure of stock liquidity, calculated by dividing the total number of transactions by the number of listed stocks. A higher turnover rate indicates high transaction levels relative to

The head of South Korea’s federation of banks urged financial authorities to allow banks to offer broader money trust and asset management services, in a tit-for-tat move against the chief of the financial investment association representing brokerages and asset management firms. Ha Yung-ku, chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks, said the current law banning banks from offering unspecified money trusts is unfair, given that the regulator recently allowed large-sized brokerages to enter the c

With their competitive edge in building infrastructure, South Korean companies can tap the growing needs of urban development in the Persian Gulf region, a Qatari bank CEO said.Raghavan Seetharaman, CEO and president of Doha Bank Group, recently visited Seoul to hold a seminar for Korean builders and financial firms interested in investing in the region.“It is the strength of Korea -- building, contracting, procurement, supply chain systems and logistics for airports, roads, rails, sea ports and

South Korean shares are expected to come under pressure next week as lingering concerns over US President Donald Trump’s policies, coupled with increased currency volatility, may continue to sap market sentiment, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,080.58 points Friday, slightly up from 2,075.08 points a week earlier. (Openas)This week, the local stock market started a tad higher on hopes for the Trump administration’s tax policies, and the US Fed C

Foreign investors have received almost 15 trillion won ($13 billion) in dividends from South Korea’ top 10 conglomerates over the past three years on the back of shareholder-friendly policies, industry data showed Sunday.According to the data compiled by industry tracker Chaebul.com, Samsung Group, Hyundai Motor Group and eight other business groups have paid a combined 14.67 trillion won in dividends to foreign investors over the past three years. (Yonhap)In 2014, foreign investors received a c

KB Kookmin Bank, a major South Korean bank, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar's Construction Ministry and its state-run Construction and Housing Development Bank, KB Financial Group said Friday.Under the deal, KB Kookmin Bank plans to provide financial support to Myanmar's plan to expand houses for its working-class people.(Yonhap)KB Microfinance Myanmar Co., the local unit that's owned 100 percent by KB Kookmin Bank, plans to offer loans to Myanmar's people when they renovat