The South Korean entertainment agency behind the global sensation BTS saw its market valuation exceed 10 trillion won ($8.95 billion) for the first time, as the boy band’s new single “Butter” swept global charts. After closing at 282,000 won per share on the nation’s main bourse Kospi Monday, Hybe’s market valuation exceeded 10 trillion won and continued its winning streak on Tuesday rising 2.48 percent to 289,000 won at close. The benchmark Kospi, the country&ls

New vision includes to become west coast tourist attraction

Korea Development Bank’s plan to invest 100 billion won ($89.4 million) in the nation’s latest internet-only bank backed by Viva Republica, the operator of fintech app Toss, is meant to keep local unicorns in the local market, the head of the state-run bank said. The announcement follows the nation’s financial regulator’s decision last week to grant final approval to a consortium led by Viva Republica to launch and operate the nation’s third internet-only bank. To

Fueled by the contactless boom across the country amid the ongoing pandemic, the market capitalization of South Korean internet giants Naver and Kakao soared over 44 trillion won ($39.35 billion) to surpass the 120 trillion-won-mark when combined this year. According to Korea Exchange on Tuesday, shares of Naver rose 3.89 percent to close at 387,000 won, while Kakao advanced 5.17 percent to 142,500 won at the closing bell a day earlier. Following the stock price jumps, the market valuations

South Korean renewed its all-time record for the second straight day Tuesday, backed by investors' optimism for the US Federal Reserve meeting this week. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.5 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 3,258.63 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.7 billion shares worth some 14.5 trillion won ($13 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 443 to 399. Foreigners sold a net 154 billion won

Economies with solid demand for home-backed lending, including South Korea, are likely to see housing prices decrease merely 3 percent in the event of a 1 percentage point hike in the benchmark interest rate, a report showed Tuesday.  Korea’s ratio of mortgage loans to gross domestic product came to 47.1 percent last year, up 14.7 percentage points from the 2010 estimate, according to a report from the London-based Centre for Economic Policy Research on how monetary policy affects

South Korea's money supply continued to grow in April, as loans to households and firms increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's M2 stood at 3,363.7 trillion won ($3 trillion) as of end-April, up 1.5 percent from a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, M2 jumped 11.4 percent, the BOK said. A key economic indicator closely monitored by authorities, M2 is a measure of the money supply that

South Korea's exports of strawberries rose nearly 25 percent on-year in the first five months of this year on the back of robust output and rising demand amid the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The country's exports of strawberries reached $49 million in the January-May period, up 24.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The gain was mainly attributable to an increase in strawberry output and the use of chartered flights for outbound s

South Korea plans to expand investment in research and development (R&D) of key future technologies, such as system semiconductors, as part of the country's key digital policy projects, a senior government official said Tuesday. Without elaborating on the amount of the investment, First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said the country will focus on sharpening its competitive edge in new industries, including artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors and super high speed computers. Sou

Hybe Co., the K-pop powerhouse behind BTS, has seen its market capitalization exceed the 10 trillion-won ($8.95 billion) mark amid the boy band's global popularity, data showed Tuesday. Shares in Hybe closed at 282,000 won on Monday, up 2.36 percent from the prior session and marking a three-day winning streak. Monday's tally was well above the 258,000 won ($252) closing price recorded on Oct. 15 last year, or the day of its debut on South Korea's main stock market. The current price is nearl

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday ahead of the upcoming US Federal Reserve meeting this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.82 points, or 0.27 percent, to trade at 3,260.95 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI started off with mild gains as investors are awaiting clues about when the world's largest economy will start tapering its asset-buying policy. The Federal Open Market Committee rate decision comes on Wednesday (US time). Overnig

Main creditor denies reports on pool of potential buyers, says sincere ones absent

KB Asset Management announced Monday that it has launched the industry’s first metaverse fund. KB Asset Management said it will invest in 30 to 50 stocks after considering 200 to 300 stocks in South Korea, the US, China and Japan that meet the investment conditions. The US stocks will account for 70 percent, the highest proportion of any country, while hardware and platforms will make up 30 percent each. The fund will be investing in Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Autodesk, NVDIA, Unity So

Nearly 16,000 people have enjoyed international “flights to nowhere” offered by South Korean airlines to boost revenue during the prolonged pandemic last year, the customs office said Monday. A total of 15,983 passengers boarded 152 international sightseeing flights between December last year and May this year, according to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. The planes, which took off from Korea, entered airspace above other countries without stopping at any overseas destin

Nation’s debt-to-GDP ratio highest among advanced economies, report shows