Citigroup has been mulling divestiture of its South Korean banking subsidiary, among other international consumer units, but is treading cautiously, reports and statements released as of Sunday showed. According to Bloomberg Law on Friday, the New York-based multinational banking giant has been considering divesting units tied to retail banking across the Asia-Pacific region, including those in Korea, Thailand, the Philippines and Australia. The reports precede the rise of Citigroup’s in

Large M&As, IPOs reflect maturing local startup scene

South Korean securities firms generated nearly 1 trillion won ($904 million) worth of profit from interest paid by individuals who borrowed money to invest in stocks last year, according to data provided by the Korea Financial Investment Association Sunday. The combined interest on credit-based loans that 57 local brokerage houses collected from retail traders came to 997 billion won in 2020, having soared 33.4 percent on-year. It was also a fresh new high since the association began collecting

The price of Bitcoin surged to another record high over the weekend, becoming more expensive than 1 kilogram of gold. The digital coin was being traded for more than 65 million won ($58,800) as of Sunday morning, data from crypto exchange Upbit showed. Bitcoin’s rally came as domestic gold prices recently declined to hit a new 10-month low. Gold, which has long been a safe haven asset both in Korea and worldwide, stood at 62,967 won per 1 gram as of Friday. The largest cryptocurrency&

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to fine two small concrete pipe producers a combined 313 million won ($282,000) for colluding to fix prices of industrial pipes. Buyang Industry Co. and Shinhung Hume Pipe Co. colluded to fix their quotations between  2012 and 2016 for 38 rounds of concrete pipe purchase bidding put forward by government agencies and public firms, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KTFC). The deals were worth an estimated 10.6 billion

The amount of cargo processed at South Korea's seaports moved down 1.6 percent in January from a year earlier amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Sunday. The volume of cargo handled at local sea ports came to 128.9 million tons last month, compared with 131 million tons posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Handling of export-import cargo also shrank 1 percent on-year to 111.1 million tons last month. The ministry attributed

South Korean retail investors pared down their net buying of local stocks in February as the country's key stock index traded in a tight range following a bull run, data showed Sunday. Retail investors snapped up a net 5.8 trillion won ($5.24 billion) worth of stocks on the main and secondary markets during 13 trading sessions ending on Feb. 19, compared with a net purchase of 25.8 trillion won in January, according to the bourse operator Korea Exchange. Compared with a month earlier, their ne

US-based international investment manager BlackRock became a blockholder of South Korea’s internet giant Kakao, in an apparent bet on the corporation behind Korea’s most popular messenger app, a filing showed Friday. The US investor’s subsidiary BlackRock Fund Advisors and its 13 affiliates have spent 986.4 billion won ($891.9 million) to obtain 5.18 percent of common shares in Kakao as of Monday, according to the filing. As a result, BlackRock is expected to become the fif

  As part of a move to promote gender equality at work, BNP Paribas South Korea has hosted an online event named Gender and Power Talks in partnership with law firm Shin & Kim LCC and the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Ahead of International Women’s Day slated for March 8, leaders from the three organizations discussed measures to foster female leadership across industries in the virtual event, which was held on Wednesday.  “(BNP Paribas South Korea)

South Korea’s top financial regulator Eun Sung-soo said Friday that its earlier call on its creditors to extend additional support to financially pinched commercial vehicle maker SsangYong Motor remains “valid.” Eun, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said that he found common ground “in a broader sense” with SsangYong’s main creditor Korea Development Bank, which has refused to extend an additional funding to the lossmaking Korean arm of India-ba

Gold prices have skidded to a 10-month low while bitcoin, which is considered by some as a digital replacement for gold, has been on a bull run. The price for a gram of gold declined for five trading days in a row on Thursday as it closed at 63,900 won ($57.67), down 0.48 percent from a day earlier, according to the Korea Exchange. The closing price is the lowest since April 6 when the gold price came in at 63,780 won. Compared to the record high of 80,100 won on July 28, the price has tum

Contactless, airport check-in systems will be set up across the country by next year, South Korea’s Vice Finance Minister said on Friday, in a bit to digitalize the nation’s social infrastructure. “By 2022, (the government) will implement a contactless check-in system at 15 airports across the nation, which automatically confirms identification of passengers via biometric data, in order to increase convenience of residents using local airports,” Vice Finance Minister K

South Korean stocks rebounded Friday after swerving in and out of negative terrain amid woes over a virus resurgence and rising US Treasury yields. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 20.96 points, or 0.68 percent, to close at 3,107.63 points. Trading volume was high at about 3.4 billion shares worth around 19.4 trillion won ($17.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 555 to 306. Foreigners sold

South Korea's overseas financial assets hit a new high in 2020, mainly due to increased stock investments, central bank data showed Friday. The nation's external financial assets came to $1.93 trillion at the end of December last year, up $236.3 billion from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The net international investment position came to $441.4 billion as of the end of December, down $59.5 billion from a year earlier, the data showed. The position

The National Pension Service said Friday it has committed $150 million to global timberland investment for the first time, in its push for portfolio diversification. The investment by the world’s third-largest pension fund, overseeing 807.3 trillion won ($729 billion) in assets as of November, will go to Stafford International Timberland IX, a ninth flagship timberland fund managed by London-based Stafford Capital Partners. Through the partnership, the NPS will be able to get exposure t