[THE INVESTOR] The latest financial regulations released by the government in efforts to secure foreign currency stability met with mostly positive responses from industry watchers.Regarding one of the key features requiring banks to raise their foreign exchange liquidity coverage ratio for banks, experts said the move would eventually lead to reinforcing the health of the banking sector. As a part of the stability plans, financial regulators said local banks will be required to raise their FX L

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Group has given up its plans to acquire Duty Free Americas Inc., the largest duty-free operator in the U.S., amid the widening probe that had earlier forced the South Korean retail giant to withdraw plans to list its hotel unit, The Korea Herald found Thursday.“The group has effectively given up on the potential acquisition of a U.S. duty-free operator worth 1.7 trillion won ($1.5 billion), now that the initial public offering of its hotel unit has been indefinitely delayed

[THE INVESTOR] In a move expected to further boost bilateral trade, the Korea-Colombia free trade agreement will take effect next month, the government said on June 16.Colombia informed South Korea earlier in the day that it has completed the ratification process of the deal clinched in 2013, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, adding that the deal will go into effect on July 15. South Korean cars are waiting to be shipped overseas.                                               Hera

[THE INVESTOR] Hotel Lotte’s decision to scrap what would have been the nation’s largest-ever initial public offering is benefiting companies that are preparing to list on the local stock exchange in June.As Hotel Lotte’s IPO faces a major setback, firms expect to share the spotlight that had been focused on the Korean retail giant Lotte Group’s hotel unit. Hotel Lotte and Lotte Duty Free Shop.Some companies, which are set to go public on the benchmark KOSPI or secondary KOSDAQ market, are alrea

[THE INVESTOR] The online shopping business in Korea has expanded more than 16-fold over the past 15 years due to the rapid development of online transactions, government data showed on June 16.Total online sales reached 53.9 trillion won ($46.1 billion) last year, compared with 3.3 trillion won in 2001, with an average 22 percent on-year growth every year, according to Statistics Korea. (123rf)Mobile shopping amounted to 24.5 trillion won in 2015, more than tripling from 6.6 trillion won in 201