South Korea’s financial authorities said Wednesday they will ramp up their efforts to open up financial big data to local markets in an effort to nurture the industry here. Starting August, the Korea Credit Information Services, a pan-industry body tasked with data preservation and protection, will offer various information collected from nearly 50 million anonymous insurance consumers to both financial and nonfinancial companies via its online-based Financial Bigdata Open System, dubbed

SEJONG -- South Korea said Wednesday it is still open to talks with Japan to settle the yearlong trade spat with the Asian neighbor but hinted that it has no intention to drop its complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO). "We are always open to talks and communications with Japan. But we have not yet received any requests from Tokyo," Na Seung-sik, deputy minister for trade and investment at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said during a meeting with reporters. &qu

South Korean insurance companies saw their financial health worsen slightly in the first quarter as share price falls eroded capital, data showed Wednesday. The risk-based capital (RBC) ratio of insurance firms stood at 267.2 percent at the end of March, down 2.4 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). A key yardstick of financial stability, the RBC ratio -- the actual solvency capital divided by the minimum solvency cap

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 18.21 points, or 0.86 percent, to 2,126.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The strong start came after major US stock indices closed higher on growing hopes of an economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.85 percent to end at 25,812.88 on Tuesday (New York time), with the tech-laden NASDAQ soaring 1.87 percent. In

South Korea's exports fell 10.9 percent in June marking the fourth consecutive month of decline amid the fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday, although the pace slowed as major economies around the globe slowly began to resume business activities. Outbound shipments came to $39.2 billion last month, compared with $44 billion posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The June tally marked the fourth straight

Amid the lingering business uncertainties from continued COVID-19 crisis, bond investors would be able to avert risks of companies’ default in case they have invested in secured high-yield bonds, a top Barings Asset Management official said on Tuesday. “(Secured bonds) are on top of the capital structure and tend to recover better,” said David Mihalick, head of US public fixed income at Barings, in a teleconference. “Secured bonds are attractive because of the extent th

South Korea’s National Pension Service said Tuesday it has selected five private equity firms as external partners to invest a combined 800 billion won ($665.28 million) in private equities. According to the world’s third-largest public pension fund, it will commit 160 billion won each to Glenwood Private Equity, Macquarie Asset Management Korea, SkyLake Investment, IMM Investment and JKL Partners. The firms will be responsible for managing funds with a 10-year maturity. Investmen

South Korean shares closed higher Tuesday on hopes of an economic recovery that offset renewed concerns over political tensions between the world's two largest economies. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.85 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 2,108.33. Trading volume was moderate at about 700 million shares worth some 11.6 trillion won ($9.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 594 to 252. Foreigners sold a net 7

South Korea’s coincident index -- that summarizes current economic conditions -- plunged to the lowest level in 21 years in May amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data from Statistics Korea showed Tuesday. The nation’s industrial output slipped 1.2 percent on-month as well, remaining in the negative terrain since January, when the outbreak of the virus here broke its gain throughout the fourth-quarter of last year. Investment in infrastructure dropped 5.9 percent in the same period. Th

South Korea’s financial authorities have tentatively concluded that unauthorized payments made on fintech platform Toss were not caused by any security breach, according to sources Tuesday. The Financial Supervisory Services found no proof on alleged hacking attempts, they were quoted by Yonhap News Agency. Adding that illegally obtained personal information may have been used to access Toss and make payments without permission of the account holders. According to the fintech firm, a to

South Korea’s top financial regulator Tuesday called on local lenders to build up their capital conservation buffer to absorb losses in preparation for the prolonged COVID-19 crisis. “(The FSC) urges banks to strengthen their loss-absorbing capacity through measures such as increasing allowances for bad debts, while continuing to help lending in the real economy amid the pandemic,” Financial Services Commission Vice Chairman Sohn Byung-doo told a meeting of senior financial p

ASSET MANAGEMENT MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Under its goal of becoming a global financial company, Mirae Asset Global Investments has been expanding its presence overseas by operating over 1,700 financial products in 36 countries around the world. The asset management unit of Mirae Asset Financial Group is in its 17th year of global operation since it launched its first overseas unit in Hong Kong in 2003 and has ceaselessly made inroads across the globe including financial markets in the

Lending rates on fresh bank loans rose slightly from a month earlier in May amid a sharp increase in corporate lending, while interest rates paid by banks on fresh deposits fell sharply on increased market liquidity, central bank data showed Tuesday. The average interest rate on new bank loans came to 2.82 percent in the month, up 2 basis points from 2.8 percent in April, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The slight increase follows four consecutive months of drop, p

CREDIT CARD SHINHAN CARD From food ordering apps to streaming platforms, non-face-to-face services have become a new norm in the coronavirus era. Joining the contactless trend, Shinhan Card, a leading card issuer in South Korea, recently rolled out a credit card that offers services and benefits for consumers who prefer mobile services over face-to-face experiences at physical stores or restaurants amid the coronavirus pandemic. The new credit card, YaY, can be issued via the card company&rs

SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki n Tuesday called for the National Assembly to swiftly approve a third extra budget to revive the virus-hit economy, saying the budget would benefit more than 6.4 million people if implemented. Hong made the remarks in a parliamentary speech as the National Assembly ended a monthlong standstill and the ruling Democratic Party paved the way for a budget review. Earlier this month, South Korea proposed the extra budget of 35.3 trillion won ($29 billion),