[THE INVESTOR] LIG Investment and Securities said on July 20 that Kia Motors will restore profits in the second quarter as robust domestic demand is filling up its slowing overseas sales. The brokerage predicted the carmaker would post 13.3 trillion won (US$11 billion) in sales and 700 billion won in operating profit in the April-June period, up 7.2 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively. On its home turf, car sales increased 16.3 percent largely due to the hot-selling K7 sedan, coupled with tax

[THE INVESTOR] Busan Bank, a subsidiary of BNK Financial Group, has sold contingent convertible bonds, or CoCos, worth US$250 million, the lender said on July 20. The 10-year additional tier 1 bond, which drew orders of almost US$2.4 billion, is priced with a coupon of 3.675 percent. “It is the lowest rate among US dollar-denominated CoCos ever issued in Asia since Basel III came into effect,” an official at Busan Bank said. The Basel III is a global regulatory framework on bank capital requirem