Plastic cards may be new hot merchandise items for K-pop fans

A growing number of South Korean teenagers bought apartments in Seoul with financial support from their parents, data showed Monday.  People in their teens bought a total of 69 new homes for speculative purposes in the January-May period, a tenfold increase from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport submitted to Rep. Park Sang-hyuk of the ruling Democratic Party. The young homeowners’ parents appeared to have handed cash to their

South Koreans' transactions of foreign stocks reached a new high in the first half of the year on an overseas investment boom, data showed Monday. Local investors' trading of overseas shares was valued at $207.74 billion in the January-June period, up 63 percent from six months earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). It also represents the largest half-year amount since data tracking began in 2011 and hovers above the $198.32 billion for the entirety of 2020.

Kakao Bank, South Korea's largest internet-only bank, said Monday it will carry out a demand forecasting session this week for its planned initial public offering (IPO). Demand forecasting for domestic institutions is slated for Tuesday and Thursday, with that for overseas institutional investors set to take place Monday through Wednesday. Kakao Bank has offered an IPO price range between 33,000 won ($28.9) to 39,000 won per share, while seeking to raise up to 18.5 trillion won via the share s

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Monday amid concerns of the resurgence of new coronavirus cases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slumped 32.26 points, or 0.98 percent, to 3,244.65 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks retreated as the fourth wave of the new COVID-19 at home weakened investor sentiment for risky assets. The infection of 247 South Korean sailors in waters off Africa -- the worst mass infection case in the virus' recent resurgence --

To find new revenue source, the lender eyes acquisition to enter other Asian markets with nonconventional financial services

Dunamu, operator of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Sunday its top five digital asset index with financial market tracker FnGuide, amid a growing interest in cryptocurrency investment. The index is based on Dunamu’s real time transaction data of digital assets in the Korean won market, while FnGuide analyzes that data to rank the top five cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. The top two cryptocurrencies on Friday were Bitcoin and Ethereum, the ind

South Korean companies seeking to go public are being sent back to the drawing board time and again, as the Financial Supervisory Service insists on clearer grounds for proposed share prices in its attempt to prevent overvaluation. Whether intended or not, this often leads to the downward revision of the price band by companies seeking initial public offerings, according to market observers, who stress growing macroeconomic uncertainties in the liquidity-driven market and a lack of consistency

The majority of cryptocurrencies, which enjoyed records highs only three months ago, are on the downswing, with many of them halving, market data showed Sunday. Out of 102 digital coins listed on Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, only one coin was up since April. Among the 101 coins that lost value, 84 of them plummeted more than 50 percent from three months ago. AXS, developed by Axie Infinity, was the only digital coin that bucked the trend, rising more than 150

After witnessing a string of successful initial public offerings this year, retail investors in South Korea are rushing to trade unlisted shares ahead of their grand market debuts, pinning hopes on large profit-taking. Over-the-counter trading platforms show an upward trend in the prices of unlisted stocks seeking to go public soon due to investors’ stronger demand over early investments on unicorns. According to OTC platform U-stockplus on Friday, game maker Krafton traded at 580,000 wo

South Korean shipbuilders are forecast to report sluggish earnings in the second quarter of the year due to a sharp rise in prices of steel plates despite brisk orders, analysts said Sunday. POSCO, South Korea's leading steelmaker, has raised the prices of steel plates for ships to 1.15 million won ($1,007) per ton, up nearly two times from a year ago, they said. "A hike in prices of raw materials, including steel plates, will eat into leading shipbuilders' profits in the second quarter,&

The fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to put the brakes on South Korea’s economic recovery, darkening the nation’s growth outlook for the third quarter, according to economists Sunday. "Daily new infections rose sharply during the summer vacation season, when private consumption is expected to grow. Possibilities remain that the local economy could contract in the third quarter, affected by the virus resurgence and the toughest Level 4 social distancing," sa

Kakao Pay, the financial technology arm of mobile giant Kakao, is likely to push back its initial public offering schedule as South Korea’s financial authority asked the company to make some corrections to its prospectus Friday. According to DART, the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure board, Kakao Pay was ordered to either add or clarify important information on a prospectus it filed on July 2 as part of the registration process to go public. The FSS issues su

South Korean stocks closed lower Friday amid concerns about faster-than-expected inflation in the United States and the spreading new coronavirus pandemic at home. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.31 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 3,276.91 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 14.6 trillion won ($12.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 489 to 354. Foreigners sold a net 8

Citibank Korea’s planned announcement concerning details of its consumer banking business exit strategy was delayed by nearly a month on Friday, indicating that it may be facing more hurdles in the sell-off process. The firm previously said it would reveal the details of its exit plan -- whether it would sell off the entire retail banking business or in parts -- in July. A complete pull-out of the business in phases has been mentioned as a viable option as well. Citibank Korea CEO Yoo