Foreign investors unloaded more than 3.5 trillion won ($3.12 billion) worth of South Korean stocks in March to remain net sellers for the fourth consecutive month, data showed Monday. Offshore investors' net selling of local stocks came to 3.51 trillion won last month, up from 3.24 trillion won in net selling in February, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Foreigners have remained net sellers of South Korean stocks since December. Investors from Asia and the America

DUBAI (AFP) -- The economies of "early inoculating" countries in the Middle East and North Africa will bounce back to pre-pandemic levels next year, the IMF said Sunday, after raising its 2021 MENA growth forecast. The region, which includes the Arab countries and Iran, saw its real GDP growth shrink by 3.4 percent in 2020 due to lower oil prices and sweeping lockdowns to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.  But with rapid vaccination campaigns underway particularly in the Gu

BNP Paribas South Korea said Sunday it had recently hosted a webinar to offer insight into green finance at home and abroad, as well as on law firms’ key roles in supporting companies’ environmental, social and governance management.  Co-hosted by local law firm Shin & Kim, the virtual event featured Kwon Yong-kwon, head of debt capital markets division at BNP Paribas Securities Korea, Song Soo-Young, a partner lawyer at Shin & Kim, and Lee Ji-sun, leader of Posco&rsq

Executives of Bae, Kim & Lee forecast platform businesses, digital economy to heat up Korea’s M&A market

Financial authorities will launch an investigation into executives of Hyundai Motor on allegations that they used undisclosed information regarding Apple’s electric vehicle project to profit from share trading, industry sources said Sunday. The Korea Exchange has passed on the case to the Financial Services Commission to begin its own probe as early as this month and decide whether to refer the case to prosecutors, industry insiders said. The KRX investigation, launched during the last

More initial public offerings of South Korean companies are on deck, as the IPO landscape here is increasingly becoming a heated battleground for investors searching for an immediate return after their listing on the stock market. Korea’s IPO market appears to have returned to the pre-pandemic level, as liquidity-driven investors are rushing to opportunities and regulators are shaping out rules to give IPO stock investors a fairer chance of allocation. In the first quarter, 14 companies

Despite the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of South Koreans who hold stocks worth 10 billion won ($8.92 million) or more increased last year, data showed Sunday. Data compiled by the state-run Korea Securities Depository showed that the number of these “superrich” Koreans came in at 2,800 -- up 600, or 27 percent on-year, as of the end of December. Their combined stocks reached 241.5 trillion won in value, up 59.9 trillion won or 33 percent. Of all 2,800 people w

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to fine five manufacturers of sewage pipes a combined 890 million won ($796,000) for colluding to fix prices of industrial products. Dobong Pipe and six other companies colluded to fix their quotations between 2012 and 2017 for 243 rounds of sewage pipe purchasing bids by public institutions, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). The deal is valued at 27.3 billion won. Of the seven firms, the regulator decided to impo

  Hong Ha-hyun, an ad designer in her 30s, has an important Zoom meeting to attend at 5 a.m. every day. The meetings are not about work, but about boosting positivity in her life, she said. With 35 people she met online, Hong reads books, meditates or drinks a cup of tea before dawn. Since September, the online community Dawning Designer has given her a chance to practice “miracle morning” rituals, leaving her feeling empowered and relaxed. “I believe the daily lives o

South Korean stocks are likely to continue upward movement next week as expected solid earnings reports for the first quarter are anticipated to boost foreign buying, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,131.88 points Friday, up 0.61 percent from 3,112.8 points a week ago. The index fluctuated in the narrow 3,100-3,260-point band during the week. The KOSPI rose for the sixth consecutive session Thursday, backed by strong foreign buying, bu

South Korea should create a legal framework to embrace up-and-rising digital assets, protect customers and support the growth of the industry, a group of experts said Friday. Gathering for a seminar on the legalization of digital assets including cryptocurrencies, experts including lawyers, a lawmaker and businessmen voiced concerns over the government’s cautious approach that could hinder the development and soaring activities of digital assets. During the seminar, Park Jong-baek, a l

South Korea’s National Pension Service has adjusted its rules to raise the strategic asset distribution limit for domestic stock holdings by 1 percentage point, Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol said Friday. “The proportion of strategic asset allocation limit for domestic equities has been increased from the current 2 percent to 3 percent,” said Kwon, who also heads the state pension’s asset management committee. Under the revision, the portion of its inves

Riiid, a South Korean artificial intelligence-based education tech startup, was added to a lits of the most innovative AI startups by a global market intelligence platform, the company said on Friday. Riiid, which develops AI technology that analyzes student data and content to help them learn, was included in the CB Insights’ AI 100 list, which is in its fifth year. CB Insights has chosen 100 out of 6,000 companies based on several factors including patent activity, investor quality,

South Korea’s financial watchdog on Friday imposed a penalty on Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung, holding him responsible for its commercial banking unit’s misselling of funds tied to the 1.7 trillion-won ($1.52 billion) Lime Asset Management scandal. The penalty puts further pressure on Sohn, who is already in a legal fight against the Financial Supervisory Service over its sanction slapped on him for another misselling issue. Sohn was reprimanded with the third-str

Trading in shares of Kakao, South Korea’s top mobile messenger operator, is set to be suspended for three days from Monday, following its decision to carry out its first-ever stock split. By lowering the face value of its stocks by 80 percent, the split makes it easier for small investors to purchase shares. It will increase the number of issued shares to 443,523,100 from 88,704,620 shares -- each shareholder will get five new shares for each one they currently hold. The newly split shar