[THE INVESTOR] Masamoto Kobayashi, chief executive of Lotte Capital, has resigned, according to Lotte Group on July 29.Kobayashi is known as the central link between the flow of funds between Lotte’s Korean and Japanese operations. “We understand he stepped down to focus on Japan’s Lotte Holdings business,” said one Lotte official, declining to be identified. Kobayashi has concurrently held the post of chief finance officer of Lotte Holdings. He was CEO of Lotte Capital since 2007 and was the on

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean securities saw a net outflow of foreign funds amounting to 2.7 trillion won (US$ 2.40 billion) during the first six months of the year, the Bank of Korea said in a report on July 29.  (123rf)The bank said that the net outflow was recorded due to investors choosing not to invest funds they reclaimed from matured bonds, despite the net inflow seen from March to May. By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] Rent has become the biggest contributing factor to inflation since 2013, a Bank of Korea report showed on July 29.According to the report, rent has come to account for 0.36 percentage points of the 1.1 percent consumer price rise recorded between the beginning of 2013 and June this year. In comparison, rent accounted for 0.29 percent of the inflation rate of 3.1 percent recorded for 2006 to 2012 period. The changes are thought to have been fueled by the spike in residential proper