The Korea Herald

Korea to expand system for digital currency

Oct 24, 2016

South Korea announced Monday it will lay the systemic groundwork for the spread of digital currency as part of efforts to promote financial technology, also called fintech."The government will push for the systematization of digital currency on a full scale in tandem with a global trend in the U.S., Japan and other countries," Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said in a speech at the 12th Fintech Center Demo Day event.He added the government and the local financial in
P2P lending on sharp rise

Oct 24, 2016

Peer-to-peer lending in South Korea grew at a fast pace in the third quarter of the year, as individuals with low credit ratings flocked to the burgeoning lending scheme and yield-hungry investors funneled more money into it, industry data showed Monday.According to the data compiled by industry tracker Crowd Institute, P2P lending in the country was tallied at 188 billion won ($166 million) in the third quarter of the year, sharply rising from 104 billion won in the second quarter and 49.6 bill
FSC to support credit finance firms overseas

Oct 23, 2016

The Financial Services Commission said Sunday that its chairman Yim Jong-yong said he would aggressively support Korean credit finance companies to help them make inroads into overseas markets.“If they have difficulties in overseas markets due to administrative approvals and lack of market information, I will help them resolve such issues,” Yim said at a meeting with officials from credit card companies and capital firms on Friday. “At regular meetings with financial authorities overseas, I will
[News Focus] Chinese real estate buying has limited impact in Seoul: experts

Oct 23, 2016

Chinese nationals have been increasingly making inroads into the expensive real estate market in Seoul and its surrounding cities, but the move will not be powerful enough to drive up the overall home prices, experts said.According to data by the Seoul Metropolitan City, the number of land lots owned by Chinese nearly doubled to 4,139 in the first half of this year from 2,113 at the end of 2014. By land size, property owned by Chinese nationals rose 29 percent to 171,600 square meters from 133,5
Fitch unexpectedly keeps Korea’s credit rating unchanged

Oct 21, 2016

Expectations that Fitch Ratings would upgrade South Korea’s sovereign credit rating have been dampened as the agency decided to keep the country’s level at “AA-” for four consecutive years. Fitch Ratings announced Thursday night it kept South Korea’s sovereign credit rating at the current level, due to the remaining long-term challenges of the fourth-largest economy in Asia. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s made upgrades in the country’s ratings in August and last December, respectively.
[HERALD INTERVIEW] 'US Fed should be more patient on rate hike'

Oct 21, 2016

Amid anticipation building on the US Federal Reserve raising its funds rate in December, an economist from the US suggested the world’s most influential central bank should be more patient, as strong parts of the US economy have started to show signs of weakening.　In the last couple of years, the labor market, housing market and corporate profitability have been strong, buttressing the US economy. But the weakening strength of the three factors could further slow economic growth and this would m
Brazil-focused funds samba their way to stellar returns

Oct 21, 2016

South Korean funds investing in Brazilian stocks and resources have posted stellar returns this year on higher raw materials prices and a recovery in the Brazilian economy, a fund evaluation firm said Friday.According to Zeroin, this year's cumulative return of local Brazil-related investment funds with net assets of 1 billion won ($890,000) or more stood at a whopping 60.5 percent as of Wednesday, far outshining other overseas funds.Overseas equity funds came next with a cumulative yield of 36.
Money market funds draw huge money amid US rate woes

Oct 21, 2016

Investors in South Korea are pouring their money into short-term financial instruments as they turn increasingly risk-averse amid expectations of a US rate hike in December, a market tracker said Friday.According to fund rater Zeroin, local money market funds registered a net capital inflow of 12.2 trillion won ($10.9 billion) in the first 18 days of October, a turnaround from a net outflow of 13.8 trillion won the previous month and 4.8 trillion won in August.MMFs are short-term debt securities
[FUTURE OF FINANCE] Poultry firm discovers promising young artists with new financial program

Oct 20, 2016

The newly built headquarters of Harim Group towers over the main entryway of Garosu-gil -- one of the most trendy streets in Seoul -- with thousands of light-emitting diode bulbs. On the second floor of the 16-story building in Sinsa-dong, the works of young Korean artists are being exhibited at the Eco Rock Gallery run by Eco Capital, a financial unit of Harim.Harim Group’s new headquarters in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, and inside the Eco Rock Gallery (Eco Capital)“We selected about 200 pieces
[Feature] Tough rules curb adoption of robo advisers

Oct 20, 2016

When 36-year-old office worker Kim wanted to switch her 5 million won ($4,400) bank savings to a better yielding investment vehicle, the first thing that came to mind was a low-cost robo-adviser that could manage her money with an automated asset allocating algorithm.For the tech-savvy and busy Seoulite, an automated financial adviser, or “robo-adviser,” sounded appealing in that the advice cuts out human emotions in unexpected events, requires just a minimum account of 5 million won and costs o
Gov't urges financial firms' boards to act on pay reform

Oct 20, 2016

South Korea's top financial regulator on Thursday stressed the role of boards of directors at financial services firms in spreading the performance-linked pay system for employees."A board of directors representing shareholders should demand a change (in the pay mechanism), wisely judging what's important in the growth and development of their companies," Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said. Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, speaks at a
FSC to finance more mortgages for low earners

Oct 19, 2016

The Financial Services Commission announced Wednesday it would provide an additional 2 trillion won ($1.78 billion) for issuances of mortgages for stable supply of the loans for the working class by the end of the year. Conforming mortgages, or “Jeokgyeok Loans,” here issued by the state-run Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF), have already surpassed the initial supply limit of 16 trillion won, the FSC confirmed. The announcement came amid mounting public confusion after HF unilaterally annou
Korea’s inbound M&A activities plunge in value

Oct 19, 2016

The value of merger and acquisition deals in South Korea plunged 57.5 percent as of the third quarter of this year compared to a year earlier, said a report by Mergermarket on Wednesday. There were a total of 247 M&A deals in the Korean market for the first nine months of the year. The aggregate value of the deals stood at $32.2 billion, down from $75.8 billion from the same period in 2015. Despite the drop in numbers, this was still the country’s third-highest first quarter to third quarter val
[HERALD INTERVIEW] BNP Paribas Korea 'cautiously optimistic'

Oct 19, 2016

Philippe Noirot, head of BNP Paribas South Korea, is “cautiously optimistic” about the growth of South Korea next year. Despite gloomy outlooks for global trade due to slower-than-expected recoveries of major economies, the Belgian veteran on finance and economy said Korea can benefit from its major trading partner China whose economy is still growing. Philippe Noirot at BNP Paribas’ Seoul office (BNP Paribas)“If the major partner is growing by around 6 percent, chances are high you are going to
Won-dollar volatility eases in Q3

Oct 19, 2016

The volatility in the won-dollar exchange rates eased in the third quarter from a quarter earlier as a possible US rate hike and other uncertainties have already been factored in the markets, central bank data showed Wednesday.The average gap between the daily high and low of the won-dollar exchange rates came to 7.2 won in the July-September period, smaller than the 7.7 won fluctuation a quarter earlier, the Bank of Korea said. A Seoul bank's foreign exchange dealing room (Yonhap file photo)Th