Former Shinhan Bank CEO Wi Sung-ho has joined Taekwang Group as an executive member of its insurance arm, filling his financial career vacuum after stepping down from his previous post. Wi on Monday attended his first day on the job as the new vice chairman of Heungkuk Life Insurance, according to the insurer’s officials. He will also serve as management adviser for Heungkuk Fire & Marine Insurance, Heungkuk Securities, Heungkuk Asset Management, Goryo Savings Bank and Yegaram Saving

Experts warn commercial lenders to diversity revenue sources, seek ways to coexist with fintechs, Big Techs

South Korean stocks snapped a three-day rally to drop more than 2 percent Monday on renewed tensions between the United States and China amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The Korean won sharply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 52.19 points, or 2.68 percent, to close at 1,895.37. Trading volume was high at 1.1 billion shares worth 10.1 trillion won ($8.2 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 549 to 312. Investor sentiment was spooke

South Korea’s bourse regained some momentum in April as the spread of the new coronavirus showed signs of easing but the prolonged export slump will continue to deter foreign investors, brokerages said Monday. According to the Korea Exchange, the country’s main bourse Kospi plummeted to an 11-year low of 1,439.43 on March 19, but recovered 35.3 percent to reach 1,947.56 on Wednesday. After a selling spree by foreign and institutional investors on Monday, the index once again plung

Mirae Asset Global Investments, the asset management arm of Korean financial group Mirae Asset, said Monday that it scrapped a $5.8 billion deal to acquire 15 luxury hotel properties in the United States from Chinese investor Dajia Insurance, weeks after it called off the takeover. Mirae Asset, which acts on behalf of funds it manages, also said it invoked its right for the return of the 10 percent deposit from a third-party escrow agent as the transaction had failed. Amid ongoing litigation,

‘Real impact of COVID-19 has only just begun’

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin is likely to accelerate the initial public offering of its subsidiary Hotel Lotte to consolidate his grip on the multinational group’s South Korean entities amid a resurfacing proxy battle with his elder brother Shin Dong-joo, analysts said Monday. This comes as he immediately needs to increase the value of Lotte Corp., a Seoul-based holding firm of Korean-Japanese retail giant. The Hotel Lotte IPO will not only water down its Japanese control but also

South Korea's labor productivity growth has sharply slowed over the past decade due partly to a lack of investment and innovation, a study suggested Monday. According to You Hye-mi, a professor from Seoul's Hanyang University, the country's labor productivity rose at an annual average of 2.67 percent between the 2010-2018 period, nearly half of the average 4.6 percent posted between the 2001-2008 period. In a research paper, the economics professor partly attributed the drop to the lack of in

In a preemptive risk management action, Shinhan Bank has registered the copyrights for the business guidelines and training videos that it has produced to comply with global economic sanctions, officials said Monday. The six articles that the bank has copyrighted include the full version of its economic sanctions compliance manual, the abridged version in Korean, the English version and three versions of related training videos in English, Chinese and Japanese. Last year, in light of the he

Lenin once said, “There are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen.” One of the unsung and first casualties of humanitarian crisis situations is the neglect of applied research: Research that can otherwise tell us what works, for whom, how much, why and under what circumstances. Indeed, a recent article in the journal Science discusses scientists who are having to abandon projects they have otherwise invested lifetimes in because of COVID. This is no

Seoul stocks opened sharply lower Monday, tracking losses on Wall Street amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 46.72 points, or 2.4 percent, to 1,900.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks plunged Friday (local time) after US President Donald Trump indicated he may consider imposing tariffs on China over its handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak, renewing bilateral tension between the world's two largest economies. T

SEJONG -- South Korea's inflation slowed to its lowest level in six months in April as consumers refrained from spending over the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Consumer prices rose 0.1 percent on-year in April, which was below market expectations. A recent survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, expected consumer prices to have gained 0.34 percent in April. The April tally compares with a 1 percent on-year gain in March, according to the data releas

Kim Jong-un’s return may clear market fears, but unverifiable sources still disturb investors

Profit-seeking retail investors flocked to South Korea’s exchange-traded notes market to invest in the benchmark West Texas Intermediate, triggering a record trading volume of risky derivative proucts, data showed Sunday. According to the local bourse operator Korea Exchange, the average daily trading amounts in ETN market in April reached 412.3 billion won ($336.6 million), which was nearly 20 times higher from December last year and also the largest figure since the section was launche

The Korea Herald is running a regular contribution series written by senior investment strategists at Standard Chartered Group Wealth Management. -- Ed. What we have experienced in the past two months is unprecedented. The COVID-19 global pandemic and the resulting physical lockdowns will deliver a massive blow to the global economy. France’s statistical office estimates the current lockdown will cost the French economy 35 percent of daily GDP as long as it continues. That means a one