Foreign investors turned net sellers of South Korean stocks in October and their net investment in local bonds also shrank, data showed Wednesday. Foreigners sold a net 3.34 trillion won ($2.84 billion) worth of local stocks last month, compared with their net purchase valued at 2.51 trillion won in September, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). As of end-October, foreigners held 742.17 trillion won worth of local stocks, down 27 trillion won from a month earlie

One out of 10 small and midsize company owners are selling their firms because their children are refusing to take over the family business, preferring a cash inheritance by selling the companies their parents built, a survey showed Tuesday. According to Korea M&A Exchange, a platform that mediates buyers and sellers of small and medium-sized enterprises, of the 5,481 business owners looking for buyers, 515 said they were looking for new owners to take over their firms as their children di

South Korean stocks edged up Tuesday after a choppy session, led by institutional buying. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 2.26 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,962.46 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 699 million shares worth some 9.6 trillion won ($8.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 540 to 317. Institutions bought a net 274 billion won, while foreigners sold 138 billion won. Retail investors offloade

South Korea's financial watchdog is closely monitoring the recent fast-rising interest rates banks impose on loans, its head said Tuesday, amid the government's beefed-up efforts to tighten regulations on household borrowing. Jeong Eun-bo, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remarks amid complaints that some top-tier banks are imposing higher interest rates on loans than cooperative banks, an unusual reversal of borrowing costs. "Interest rates are determined by the

The US-based global banking giant Citigroup will reportedly spend up to $1.5 billion, or 1.8 trillion won, on the withdrawal of its retail business in South Korea, according to news reports Tuesday. The group said in a regulatory filing that its expenditure on severance pay for employees at the Korean subsidiary’s retail banking operations will range between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion. It will pay the envisioned personnel costs in phases by the end of next year, the Wall Street Jour

South Korea’s exchange-traded fund market is getting very competitive and growing in a healthy way, in line with local asset management firms’ fierce competition, an executive from S&P Dow Jones Indices said Tuesday. “The Korean ETF market’s 10-year compound annual growth rate is around 25 percent, which is way above the global market’s rate of growth of 16 percent,” John Davies, global head of exchange-traded products at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said

Despite grand plans, banking giants take baby steps towards ESG at the moment, according to critics

South Korea said Tuesday it has identified thousands of tons of urea held by local importers and plans to use them to produce urea water solution, a key fluid used in diesel vehicles to cut emissions, amid its supply shortage. Special inspection teams began crackdowns on hoarding of urea or its solution Monday and found local importers to have held a combined 3,000 tons of urea, according to the government. Of the 2,000 tons of urea to be used for vehicles, the government plans to send 700 ton

South Korea’s focus on forging a complete hydrogen energy ecosystem in line with its climate pledge is presenting new investment opportunities, as the country is in dire need of a technological breakthrough to reduce the cost of green transition, a report by German investment bank Deutsche Bank showed Tuesday. The country’s ambition to increase fiscal spending to nurture hydrogen-related research and development, combined with the legal and institutional framework in the m

South Korea's tax agency said Tuesday it has launched probes into suspected tax evasion by 30 people who pocketed corporate profits for personal gains or handed down wealth to their children by illegal means. The National Tax Service (NTS) said it has cracked down on corporate chiefs and their family members who allegedly misused corporate profits or made illegal off-shore tax evasions and capital transactions. Of them, nine people made illegal property-related transactions or traded intangibl

Seoul-based family office Topor & Co. Korea, co-led by investment banking professional and TV celebrity Mark Tetto, said Tuesday the company has obtained an asset management license in South Korea to expand services for its client base. The move is aimed at expanding its current client offerings to include the privately placed fund business for qualified professional investors under Korean law, TCK said. In line with the move, TCK was rebranded as Topor & Co. Korea Asset Management in

Local governments across South Korea recorded steep budget deficits last year due to increased spending to cope with COVID-19, the interior ministry said Tuesday. According to an analysis by the ministry, the consolidated fiscal balance of 243 local governments for the fiscal year of 2020 recorded a deficit of 8.7 trillion won ($7.4 billion). Last year's deficit tally marked a sharp contrast with a budget surplus of 6 trillion won recorded in 2019. The ministry cited the local government's ex

South Korea and Mexico have "closely discussed" the possible resumption of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement, an official of Seoul's trade ministry said Tuesday. The two nations began talks on a strategic economic complementary agreement in 2006, but the negotiations have been stalled since 2008 amid opposition from businesses in the Latin American country. "The two sides have been in close consultation on whether to resume talks for the bilateral FTA," Chun

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investor sentiment was uplifted by overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 24.47 points, or 0.83 percent, to 2,984.67 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.29 percent amid market optimism that the economic recovery is able to accommodate the inflation risks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.07 percent. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electr

South Korean full-service law firm Yoon & Yang said Monday it has partnered with US-based consulting service company Cadmus Group to address the new demand for legal services in the wake of Korea’s toughening regulation over occupational safety. The partnership will allow Yoon & Yang to assist Korean companies with identifying risks and help them be better prepared for their disaster response mechanism, Yoon & Yang said in a statement. Under a memorandum of understanding si