South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday on investors' hopes of strong corporate earnings in the January-March quarter amid speculation of a global economic rebound. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.86 points, or 0.18 percent, to 3,204.7 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a strong start despite increased valuation pressure from the six-day winning streak, as brokerages projected strong quarterly performances by local big-name companies.

South Korea will keep close tabs on the impact of possible greater global financial volatility on the country's economy and private-sector debt, a senior finance ministry official said Tuesday. Concern has been escalating over the possibility of rising interest rates and consumer prices across the globe, which could make world financial markets more volatile. "The global financial market, which has long been accustomed to low prices and rates, could suffer from a tantrum if worries over h

The state-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) lapsed into a complete capital erosion in 2020 as its liabilities exceeded assets due to continued losses, data showed Tuesday. KNOC's liabilities stood at 18.64 trillion won ($16.7 billion) as of the end of last year, up nearly 514 billion won from a year earlier, according to the data posted on the state portal All Public Information in One (ALIO). In contrast, its assets amounted to 17.5 trillion won, down 1.12 trillion won from the previous yea

Lee overturns image of KDB pumping state money into failing firms, but carmaker’s bleak prospects tests market-oriented approach

Private Debt Investor, a publication dedicated to the global private debt investing scene, said Monday it plans to hold a virtual event this week on exploring opportunities and challenges in private debt investing across the Asia-Pacific region. The PDI APAC Summit Virtual Experience 2021 will be held from Wednesday to Thursday. The inaugural two-day virtual event will feature investors Aware Super, Allianz Investment Management, NGS Super, International Finance Corp. and Japan Post Bank,

The nation’s top financial regulator said Monday it will launch a new stock loan system for retail investors to have better access to stock borrowing for short selling.  Short selling is a trading technique where investors sell borrowed stocks on the belief that share prices will fall in the near future. Short sellers profit if they buy the stocks back for less than they sold them for. Under the new system, a total of 17 local brokerages, including Korea Investment & Securitie

Game developer Gamevil said Monday that it has acquired a 13 percent stake in local cryptocurrency exchange Coinone. It spent some 31.19 billion won ($27.9 million) to acquire the 8,474 shares of the crypto exchange. “The acquisition is aimed at finding new business opportunities in the crypto and blockchain sectors,” said the company in a regulatory filing. With the investment, Gamevil will work together with Coinone to develop solutions that prevent hacking attempts and handle a

The South Korean government said Monday that it will tighten up regulations to trace illegal cryptocurrency transactions and cases of fraud amid growing concerns over a speculative bubble in the virtual coin market. The announcement was made after a meeting among top government officials and economy-related ministers on Friday to discuss issues related to the highly volatile cryptocurrency market and alleged crypto crimes. As part of the government’s efforts, the state watchdog Financ

Officials’ misogynist remarks, inappropriate behaviors spark debate amid its ambitious ESG push

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi hovered around the 3,200-point threshold Monday amid hopes of a global economic recovery, raising hopes of a bounce back to over 3,200 points at the closing bell for the first time in nearly three months. Local market watchers also presented a positive outlook on the index’s upward moves, with some suggesting that it might touch 3,300 points soon. The Kospi closed at 3,198.84, having inched up 0.22 points, or 0.01 percent, from the previous session&rsq

Sales of equity-linked securities (ELS) in South Korea plunged more than 30 percent in the first quarter of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. The value of ELS issues came to 18.8 trillion won ($16.8 billion) in the January-March period, down 31.9 percent from three months earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). The figure was also down 10.3 percent from the 20.9 billion won floated during the same period a year earlier. ELS refers t

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea rose for the second straight month in March as exporters increased dollar holdings amid robust overseas shipments, central bank data showed Monday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents amounted to $92.7 billion as of end-March, up $2.67 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The FX deposits rose for the second consecutive month in March after they declined for the first time in four

South Korean banks plan to extend loans worth 3.5 trillion won ($3.1 billion) this year to low-income people with lower creditworthiness to help them cope with the fallout of the pandemic, the financial watchdog said Monday. The 2021 plan represents a rise of 100 billion won compared with 3.4 trillion won initially planned for last year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Last year, local banks extended a larger-than-expected 3.7 trillion won in such loans to 210,000 borrowe

South Korea said Monday it has revised the renewable portfolio standards (RPS) system to have power companies utilize more sustainable resources, in line with the country's green energy drive. Under the new rules, power companies are requested to produce up to 25 percent of all their power output from renewable sources, up from the previous 10 percent, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The policy will be implemented in October. It marked the first time for the ceiling to

South Korea's first-quarter economic growth is widely estimated to have recovered to pre-pandemic levels on a rapid rebound in exports and investment, experts said Monday. South Korea's gross domestic product came to 468.8 trillion won ($419 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2019, about a month before the new coronavirus hit Asia's fourth-largest economy. As the economy shrank 1 percent on-year in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the country's GDP dwindled to 463.4 trillion