Hana Financial Group has reached an agreement with Lone Star Funds on lowering the takeover price for Korea Exchange Bank, Dow Jones Newswires reported Thursday.An anonymous source was quoted by the U.S.-based news provider as saying that “Hana Financial agreed to a deal with Lone Star Funds to buy a 51.02 percent stake in Korea Exchange Bank for 3.916 trillion won ($3.48 billion), 11 percent lower than the original sales price of 4.41 trillion won.”A Hana spokesman declined to confirm the repor

South Korean financial firms listed on the local bourse saw their consolidated earnings for the April-September period slump 13.7 percent from a year earlier due mainly to global financial uncertainties, a report showed Thursday.The combined net profit of 28 securities firms and insurance companies with assets over 2 trillion won, such as Daewoo Securities Co. and Samsung Life Insurance Co., totaled 2.47 trillion won ($2.17 billion) in the fiscal first half, compared with 2.86 trillion won a yea

Conglomerate units, public firms relying on external support likely to see their ratings dropKorea’s financial regulators are considering the introduction of stand-alone ratings to weed out nonviable affiliates which have inflated their corporate ratings through their links with parent firms with better ratings. According to officials at local ratings firms and financial authorities, the new system is being reviewed so that investors could check the viability of listed companies. The Financial S

More than half of the debts South Korean lenders borrowed overseas were from European banks, data showed Thursday, raising concerns about a possible foreign liquidity drain amid the spiraling eurozone debt crisis.As of end-June, South Korean lenders’ borrowing from European banks stood at $187.3 billion, or 53.6 percent of its total $349.4 billion foreign claims, according to the data by the Bank of International Settlements.By country, Britain was the largest creditor with $100.4 billion, follo

Korean firms’ solid earnings help local bourse retain foreign capitalForeign investors increased their holdings of Korean shares despite the continued turbulence in financial markets around the world, data showed Wednesday.According to Korea Exchange and Korea Financial Investment Association, foreign holdings reached 32.86 percent as of Nov. 28, slightly up from 32.14 percent at the end of July when the global financial turmoil was yet to have an impact on the local bourse. In August, concerns

Hana Financial Group has reportedly been striving to ask Lone Star Funds to agree on lowering the takeover price of Korea Exchange Bank.The alleged price negotiation between Hana Financial and the U.S.-based equity fund comes after the Financial Services Commission instructed the financial group to submit a revised application for the deal.Though Hana Financial applied for the FSC’s regulatory approval in acquiring a 51.02 percent stake in KEB from Lone Star one year ago, the regulator has yet t

South Korean stocks finished 0.49 percent lower on Wednesday as investor sentiment was dented by outlook cuts on U.S. banks and concerns about Chinese manufacturing data, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar. Snapping a two-day gaining streak, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 9.01 points to 1,847.51.Trading volume was moderate at 329 million shares worth 6.41 trillion won ($5.61 billion) with loser leading gainers 456 to 375.“It is not a big decli

South Korean stocks finished 2.27 percent higher on Tuesday as foreign investors picked up tech exporters and shipyards on eurozone optimism, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 41.24 points to 1,856.52. Trading volume was moderate at 323 million shares worth 6.21 trillion won ($5.41 billion) with 606 gainers leading 229 losers. “Reports that the International Monetary Fund would rescue Italy and the U.S. wou

The amount of land here owned by foreigners grew 1.2 percent in the third quarter, continuing its steady growth since the country opened its real estate market to foreign investors in 1998, the government said Tuesday.As of the end of September, foreigners owned a combined 229.29 square kilometers of land in South Korea, up from the 226.52 square kilometers owned by foreigners at the end of the second quarter, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.Foreigners’ land own

Financial Services Commission chief Kim Seok-dong pushed ahead with the decision to impose a “mild sanction” on Lone Star Funds despite some working-level officials’ resistance, financial sources said.The sources said Kim finalized the heated issue on how to sanction the U.S. buyout fund, convicted of stock manipulation, despite reluctance among a group of investigators in the FSC.“I have found that the staff were unwilling to (issue a light sanction),” a former high-ranking official of the FSC

South Korean stocks closed 2.19 percent higher on Monday as investor sentiment was underpinned by prospects that the International Monetary Fund may consider a bailout for Italy, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index jumped 38.88 points to 1,815.28. Trading volume was moderate at 272.2 million shares worth 4.2 trillion won ($3.63 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 555 to 267.“Speculation about the IMF’s help for Italy l