[THE INVESTOR] NH Investment & Securities has maintained a buy rating on POSCO and kept the price target of 300,000 won (US$ 261.50) on projection that the firm will continue its earnings improvement due to the increase in steel prices. “POSCO’s second-quarter sales will meet expectations but its operating income will fall shy,” analyst Byun Jong-man said.He expects the steelmaker’s consolidated sale for the second quarter to decrease 8.3 percent on year to 13.92 trillion won and its operating p

[THE INVESTOR] KB Financial Group, Korea’s leading banking group, seeks to set up a universal banking system to provide a wide variety of financial services from insurance to investment services, the firm said on June 23.After acquiring Hyundai Securities in April, the operator of KB Kookmin Bank plans to diversify its business portfolio to depart from its role of offering traditional financial products such as deposits and installment savings. Wealth management business and commercial investmen

[THE INVESTOR] Korean pharma company BioLeaders will list on the secondary bourse KOSDAQ on July 7.Established in 1999, the company develops drugs for immune disorders and other incurable diseases. CEOs of BioLeaders: Sung Moon-hee (left) and Kim Sang-sukPrior to listing on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ, BioLeaders was traded on KONEX -- a securities exchange exlusively for small and medium enterprises and venture companies. It will issue 1.2 million shares within the range of 11,000 won (US$9.5) to 15,

Korea Development Bank, a state policy bank under fire for mismanagement of bailed-out companies, said Thursday it would exit from its ownership of 46 companies this year, raising the count by 10 from its earlier plan. “From 2016 to 2018, we’ll be exiting from our investments in 132 nonfinancial companies,” the Seoul-based bank said in a statement.  Korea Development Bank headquarters (Yonhap)After the planned 46 sales this year, the auction process will begin for 44 companies in 2017 and for an

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Merchant Marine is considering joining the 2M Alliance, a vessel-sharing agreement between Denmark’s Maersk Line and Switzerland’s Mediterranean Shipping Company -- the world’s first and second largest container carriers. Amid growing speculation that Korea’s second-largest shipping company is set to join the alliance, a HMM official confirmed that discussions are ongoing with the alliance parties on June 23. Previously, HMM had tried to enter another six-party partnership

[THE INVESTOR] Minor shareholders of Samsung SDS are reaching out to the National Pension Service in their fight against the company’s reorganization plans. Samsung SDS is reviewing plans to spin off some of its businesses including the logistics operations. Since Oct. 19, Samsung SDS stock has been on a downward slope with prices down by half since then. The minor shareholders’ association has put the blame squarely on the company’s spin-off plans, and has been demanding action from Samsung SDS

[THE INVESTOR] Korea Exchange plans to revamp its commission fee structure, the country’s bourse operator said on June 23. KRX will hire an external agency to examine its current commission rate and standards on the imposition of fees and compare it with other major stock exchanges worldwide.The decision comes as the country’s stock market faces an industrial transition as the exchange seeks to transform itself as a holding firm and financial authority pushes to adopt alternative trading system

[THE INVESTOR] Hanwha Corp.’s decision to raise 400 billion won by issuing new preferred shares may lead to profit squeeze due to growing dividend payments, NH Investment & Securities said in a report on June 23. The trading unit of Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group said that it would issue new 20 million preferred stocks to enhance its financial stability in a regulatory filing on June 22. Hanwha GroupShares of Hanwha shed 1.08 percent to trade at 36,700 won ($US31.90) as of 2:22 p.m.Kim Dong-ya

Korean shares closed lower Thursday snapping a four-day consecutive rise, as investors wait for Britons to cast their ballots to decide whether to exit from the European Union. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 5.87 points, or 0.29 percent, to 1986.71. Trade volume was moderate at 449.59 million shares worth 4.16 trillion won.As the biggest issue in the market is the upcoming British referendum, investors took to the sidelines

South Korea’s financial authorities are increasing their monitoring of the financial market in light of the vote opening on Thursday on whether Britain should leave the European Union. Global analysts have been cautioning that an exit vote would be devastating for the global economy, including Korea where British capital invested in local stocks accounts for over 8 percent of the total as of May this year. British Prime Minister David Cameron meets citizens in London on May 30, 2016. (Yonhap)“Th

A visitor observes Galaxy S7 and Gear Fit 2 at Samsung Galaxy Studio set up at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France. The studio runs through June 25. (Samsung Electronics)

South Korean shares opened lower Thursday due to lingering worries over Britain's possible withdrawal from the European Union.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.28 points, or 0.32 percent, to 1,986.20 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The outcome of the Brexit vote is scheduled to be officially announced at around 3 p.m. Friday (Korean time) after the referendum ends at 6 a.m. on the same day. Two separate polls, conducted after the murder of a pro-EU lawmaker Jo Cox last we

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Securities plans to sell its stake in K Bank, one of Korea’s first Internet-only banks, the firm said on June 23. The brokerage firm is the third-largest shareholder of K Bank, to be launched by No. 2 telecom operator KT, with 10 percent shares.It will seek a board approval for the transaction at a meeting on June 28. “We gained the consent from K Bank’s other shareholders regarding the share sell-off,” a Hyundai Securities official said. “We will begin the disposal proced

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s credit card spending rose more than 22 percent from a year earlier in May, data from the Credit Finance Association showed on June 23.Overall credit card purchases came to 63.2 trillion won (US$54.8 billion) last month, up 22.3 percent from the same month last year. The on-year rise marks a significant acceleration from a 7.1 percent on-year gain posted in May 2015.Such an increase was partly attributed to a surge in the amount of tax payments made with credit cards,