South Korea is looking to launch a bridge institution to take over all the assets, as well as the liabilities, of the scandal-ridden hedge fund Lime Asset Management and ensure that its end-investors can retrieve their investments as planned. A group of 20 financial institutions -- involved in selling hedge funds of Lime -- named Kang Min-ho, former chief risk officer of Hanwha Investment & Securities for a two-year term -- as head of the new bridge institution with 5 billion won ($4.2 mill

South Korea's economy contracted 3.3 percent in the second quarter from a quarter earlier, but it fared well compared with other major economies, data showed Sunday. South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was the second highest among the 14 countries that included the United States, China, Germany and France, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group of 36 mostly rich and advanced nations. The OECD has released GDP growth rates for

South Korean stocks are expected to move in a tight range next week, as investors remain watchful over the US stimulus package under way, analysts said Saturday.    The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,249.37 points on Friday, up 2.22 percent from 2,200.44 points a week ago.    The index increased in the first four sessions of the week, due to massive foreign buying of market heavyweights and better-than-expected earnings by Samsung Electron

South Korea's exports extended their slump to a fifth consecutive month in July amid the fallout of the new coronavirus, but the pace of decline slowed sharply due to reopenings, data showed Saturday. Outbound shipments came to $42.8 billion last month, down 7 percent from $46 billion posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The latest figures were better than what the market had expected. According to a poll by Yonhap Infomax, the f

South Korea’s industrial output gained 4.2 percent on-month in June, showing signs of recovery from the contractions prompted by the coronavirus pandemic in recent months, data from Statistics Korea showed Friday. Along with industrial output -- which had rebounded from a 1.2 percent on-month drop in May and a consistent five-month slide -- retail sales and facility investment inched up 2.4 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, in the same period. This put the key indicators of the nati

The New York-based provider of exchange-traded funds Global X has listed its ETF -- which invests in global telemedicine and digital health companies -- on the Nasdaq, parent company Mirae Asset Global Investments said Friday. The product -- the Global X Telemedicine & Digital Health ETF -- tracks the Solactive Telemedicine & Digital Health Index, which included 40 firms as of July 21. US firms account for 82.48 percent of the total, while firms from countries such as Japan, China and

South Korea’s public pension fund National Pension Service said that it will expand its overseas investment proportion to over 50 percent during the next five years, seeking for higher returns amid market uncertainties caused by COVID-19. The NPS’ decision-making Investment Management Committee met Friday at The Plaza Seoul Hotel under the chairmanship of Health Minister Park Neung-hoo to discuss the organization’s mid-term overseas investment blueprint. “As a long-ter

South Korea will provide over $5 million through the World Bank to assist emerging economies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday. “We will deliver $5.15 million, which is around 6 billion won, to six emerging economies to help them deal with COVID-19 and (to pursue) digital and green (development) projects,” the ministry said in a release. “This latest approval for official development assistance will enhance international cooperatio

South Korean shares closed lower Friday, snapping a four-day winning streak, as economic uncertainties loom large amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 17.64 points, or 0.78 percent, to close at 2,249.37. Trading volume was high at about 679 million shares worth some 12.7 trillion won ($10.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 572 to 276. Foreigners sold a net 86 billion won, ending a f

South Korean shares opened slightly lower Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street sparked by concerns over an economic slump in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.03 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,262.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US economy shrank by 32.9 percent in the second quarter this year, marking the worst contraction in 73 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.85 percent to close at 26,313.65 on Thursday (

SEJONG -- South Korea's industrial output rebounded in June, possibly indicating that the nation's economy hit bottom amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Friday. The nation's overall industrial production gained 4.2 percent on-month in June, following a 1.2 percent on-month decline in May, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with a year earlier, overall industrial production also rose 0.7 percent in June. Retail sales rose 2.4 percent from a month earlier as the n

D.Camp, a Korean startup accelerator backed by local lenders, on Thursday launched Front 1, a startup incubator that will run a range of support programs for fledgling startups in Seoul. Located in Mapo, the newly launched startup center is the largest in size as an incubator, and is set to house some 100 startups, it said. The startup center is expected to form a startup cluster together with other incubation organizations located in the district, including Seoul Startup Hub and IBK Changg

South Korean brokerage firm Mirae Asset Daewoo said Thursday it plans to repurchase 15 million treasury stocks worth 113.4 billion won ($94.84 million) in an effort to boost shareholder value and stabilize its shares. “Despite the well-balanced profit model and financial stability, the firm’s stock prices are undervalued,” said Jun Kyong-nam, head of business innovation division at Mirae Asset Daewoo. “With the company’s ample liquidity, we’ve made such a

South Korea’s main bourse Kospi reached a level not seen in some six months on Thursday, with foreign investors continuing their buying spree for a fifth consecutive session amid the US Federal Reserve’s steady rates and high interest in major tech firms and automakers. The Kospi opened higher at 2,275.33 -- up 12.17 points, or 0.54 percent, from the previous session. The strong start continued throughout the day to close at 2,267.01, just short of its yearly high closing of 2,267.

Govt. seeks financial-industrial synergy under ‘New Deal’ initiative