Shares of Hybe, the South Korean entertainment agency behind the hugely popular boy band BTS, plummeted more than 7 percent on Tuesday after a major investor, STIC Investment, unloaded its holdings via a block deal. Before closing down 7.37 percent to 289,000 won ($256), Hybe’s shares dropped by as much as 8.17 percent to 286,500 won on Tuesday. South Korea’s leading private equity fund STIC Investment sold 2.86 million shares, or 7.57 percent of the total shares in Hybe, a regu

South Korean banks' lending rates edged down in May amid a slight decline in deposit rates, central bank data showed Tuesday. The average interest rate charged on new bank loans came to 2.72 percent in May, down 0.02 percentage point from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The BOK cut the key interest rate to a record low of 0.5 percent in May last year after delivering an emergency rate cut of half a percentage point in March to cushion the impact

The self-employed's debts grew 3.1 percent in 2019 from a year earlier as their income declined amid an economic slowdown, data showed Tuesday. Financial institutions' loans extended to the self-employed averaged 172 million won (US$151,800) as of end-2019, compared with 167 million won the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Self-employed people took out more loans to cover rising costs as they tackled a fall in sales amid an extended economic slowdown. Since last yea

South Korea is currently facing 216 trade barriers from 28 countries, data showed Tuesday, amid the looming protectionism around the globe. The figure includes 11 additional trade barriers imposed against South Korea in the first half of 2021, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Of the additional regulations, anti-dumping tariffs accounted for eight and safeguard measures took up three. The steel and metal sectors were among major victims, taking up 1

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as concerns of new coronavirus variants weakened investors' appetite for risky assets. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.55 points, or 0.23 percent, to trade at 3,294.34 points as of 9:15 a.m. The KOSPI got off to a muted start, taking a cue from new travel bans against the new COVID-19 variants in many parts of the world. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics retreated 0.49 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix added 0

KakaoBank, the country’s second internet-only lender, said on Monday that it would raise up to 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 million) in its initial public offering. The banking arm of mobile giant Kakao Corp. will offer a total of 65.45 million new shares at an indicative range between 33,000 won and 39,000 won per share through its upcoming debut on August 5, the IPO application filed with the Korea Exchange showed. The offering prices put the company’s market capitalization somewhere

South Korean government ups growth outlook to 4.2%, plans to vouchers, cash rewards to lift consumption in H2

The Korea Development Bank and Korea Growth Investment Corp. (K-Growth) said Monday they had selected 12 external managers to create a fresh 750 billion-won ($664 million) fund by the end of 2021 to support South Korea’s New Deal policy. With the announcement, the two institutions approached their year-end fundraising target of a total of 4 trillion won in commmitments for the policy fund this year, out of the total 20 trillion-won target for 2021 to 2025, in the plan first unveiled in S

In line with the digitalization of its services, South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank is rolling out mobile loans and other products for its millennial and Generation Z customers seeking quick access to cash. Millennial and Gen Z customers can now borrow up to 3 million won ($2,639.68), regardless of their creditworthiness and income, by applying with the lender’s NH Smart Banking and All-One Bank apps. Approval is based on a credit rating that is calculated based on the applicant&rsquo

Shinhan Card in March announced a launch of a co-branded hotel credit card product Marriott Bonvoy The BEST Shinhan Card, offered by Visa. The card allows cardholders to accelerate the number of Marriott Bonvoy points they earn, which can be redeemed for free nights at more than 7,600 hotels under Marriott International’s 30 brands including JW Marriott, Sheraton and Courtyard, across 133 countries including Korea. The idea of a hotel credit card during the pandemic stemmed from the an

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Monday, snapping a four-day winning streak amid increased valuation pressure and virus concerns, after the key stock index closed at an all-time high the previous session. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) inched down 0.95 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 3,301.89 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.4 billion shares worth some 13.5 trillion won ($11.9 billion), with gainers ou

South Korea's finance ministry on Monday sharply raised its 2021 growth outlook for the country's economy amid robust exports and reviving consumption. The government forecast Asia's fourth-largest economy to expand 4.2 percent this year, up from its December estimate of 3.2 percent. The Korean economy is projected to grow 3 percent next year. If realized, it would mark the fastest growth since 2010 when the Korean economy expanded 6.8 percent. The ministry's forecast is higher than the Bank

Two presidential candidates of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea chose the Korea Exchange as a rare location to make a political announcement Monday, saying they will open up a new era of the nation’s benchmark Kospi, and help it reach 5,000 points -- about 50 percent higher than the current index. In an apparent gesture to woo retail investors, Chung Sye-kyun, formerly prime minister under the Moon Jae-in administration, and three-term lawmaker Lee Kwang-jae visited the stock trading

Cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea considered to have “too many” coins on their trading platforms are apparently at risk of being denied access to personal bank accounts here, a report showed Monday. In a document acquired by a lawmaker here, a risk assessment guideline to be used by commercial lenders here classifies exchanges with “a high number and frequency of virtual money transactions” as high risk. The guideline was drawn up in April by the Korea Federation

Seoul citizens' economic sentiment rebounded to near pre-COVID-19 levels in the second quarter, a report showed Monday. According to the report by the Seoul Institute, a city-run think tank, a survey of 1,200 households in the capital found that the consumer sentiment index (CSI) rose 3.9 points from the previous quarter to 92.9. This marks the first time Seoul's CSI, which reflects consumers' economic sentiment, surpassed the 90-point threshold since the fourth quarter of 2019, just before th