South Korean shares closed lower Monday amid fears of a second wave of new coronavirus cases at home and abroad, reducing investors' appetite for risks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 14.59 points, or 0.68 percent, to close at 2,126.73. Trading volume was moderate at about 779 million shares worth some 9.9 trillion won ($8.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 610 to 252. Foreigners sold a net 251 billion won, whi

Swedish public pension fund AP7 has added SK Holdings, a South Korean company at the apex of SK conglomerate’s governance structure, to its blacklist of companies to be excluded from its investment universe, its recent report showed Monday. SK Holdings was one of three firms added in the latest move, along with Canadian cannabinoid firm Cronos Group and Egyptian electrical company Elsewedy Electric, according to the blacklist updated as of June 15. According to the report by the institu

South Korea is working on relaxing financial regulations to boost the startup ecosystem by allowing conglomerates to own venture capital firms, according to news reports Monday. The government is also preparing measures to prevent any adverse effects that could arise if deep-pocketed businesses were to own such investment firms. A working group that will be formed by different ministries and government agencies, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Fair Trade Commission and th

South Korean drug developer SK Biopharmaceuticals is likely to get an early admission to join the Kospi 200 -- a basket of top 200 blue-chip stocks of the nation’s benchmark index Kospi -- possibly only two months after its planned market debut in July, according to local analysts Monday. If a newly listed stock’s market cap reaches the top 50 in the market, the firm’s stock is qualified to join the league of 200 blue-chip stocks even before the bourse operator announces regu

South Korea's drug safety agency said Monday that illegal meat imports have fallen off sharply since October last year on the back of stepped-up screening efforts to stem the inflow of African swine fever (ASF). The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it has inspected a total of 1,417 offline food import businesses in the country since October 2019 and found no breaches of the law over meat imports. Prior to the inspections, there were a total of 43 violations between August 2018 and Septem

South Korean businesses struggled to stay afloat amid new coronavirus-caused slump in the first quarter, either by borrowing more money or selling their assets to secure much-needed liquidity, a report showed Monday. According to the report from the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI), the outstanding debt owed by 623 listed firms here came to 386.7 trillion won ($318.6 billion) as of end-March, up 20 trillion won from three months earlier. The report is based on the analysis of financia

South Korean shares opened lower Monday amid fears of a resurgence in the new coronavirus at home and abroad. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.6 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,129.72 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The drop was mainly attributed to worsening investor sentiments, prompted by a steep rise in the number of new COVID-19 infections over the weekend. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported Sunday (Geneva time) that there were 183,020 new in

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports fell 7.5 percent on year in the first 20 days of June amid the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, customs data showed Monday. The nation's outbound shipments stood at $25 billion in the June 1-20 period, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The daily average exports during the 20-day period also slipped 16.2 percent on-year. The data came amid growing concerns that the coronavirus pandemic is denting exports by South Korea's economy. The

Head of South Korea’s first financial data exchange operator stresses use of data for corporate strategy in post-pandemic era

BlackRock Investment Management Korea said in a filing Sunday its incumbent CEO Choi Man-yeon is set to extend his term by two years, starting June 27. Choi has headed the Korean arm of the world’s largest asset management firm since 2014. His three-year term at the top post was renewed in 2017. Choi formerly headed sales at Schroder Investment Management’s Korean unit. The filing also showed that, along with Choi, his colleague Graham Turl will serve his term until 2023 as

South Korea’s Optimus Asset Management is being probed by financial authorities over allegations that it had breached contracts with fund investors in its portfolio construction. Investors in the privately placed funds appear to be wary of what could trigger another financial fiasco following ones surrounding disgraced fund management firms including Lime Asset Management. The Financial Supervisory Service on Friday launched an investigation on the Seoul-based investment house to examin

The level of household debt in Asia’s fourth-largest economy rose at the fastest pace among major economies in 2019, data showed Sunday.  According to the data from the Bank for International Settlements, household debt in South Korea accounted for 95.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product as of the fourth quarter last year, increased by 1.6 percentage points from a year earlier. The growth rate ranked first among 43 major economies alongside Hong Kong. Norway came

South Korea's household debt to the gross domestic product grew at the fastest pace among 43 countries in the world last year, leading the country's overall private-sector debt to also expand at one of the biggest rates, data showed Sunday. The ratio of the country's household debt to GDP reached 95.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, up 1.6 percentage points from 93.9 percent the previous year, according to data provided by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). Hong Kong had the

Despite escalating hostility, Seoul’s financial groups still hold onto a glimmer of hope

AI-powered investing mechanism gains momentum in COVID-19 era, but questions linger as to whether process can really be free of human intervention