US investment house BlackRock Fund Advisors has offloaded its 1.01 percent stake in South Korea’s game software developer NCSoft to cash out 129.57 billion won ($105.1 million), a filing showed Thursday. As a result, BlackRock Fund Advisors and its 13 specially related parties hold 6.05 percent voting rights in the company as of March 25 as a nonengagement shareholder. NCsoft share price rose 6.15 percent. The investor said its transactions from September to March were “meant to se

The Korea Exchange (KRX) said Thursday it has decided not to implement a new rule meant to prevent major indices from dominant influence of a single stock. The stock market operator previously considered applying the so-called “30 percent cap” rule on market bellwether Samsung Electronics by June, as its weight on Kospi 200 increased to 33.5 percent as of Jan. 20 from 29.8 percent of Dec. 2. “The purpose of applying the rule was to comply with regulations. Due to the revisio

Service, car prices dwindle while food prices surge amid quarantine

Ion Investments, an affiliate of Singaporean investment firm Temasek Holdings, sold millions of shares of Korean biosimilar giant Celltrion and its distribution affiliate Celltrion Healthcare in a block deal before markets opened, according to news reports Thursday. The Singapore-based investment firm sold 2.57 million shares, or 1.9 percent, of Celltrion, and 2.21 million shares, or 1.5 percent, of Celltrion Healthcare via the block trading deal. The stock price of Celltrion fell 8.08 perc

Investment funds in South Korea posted a sharp valuation fall in March over fears of the novel coronavirus, marking the largest decline so far, data showed Thursday. The combined net asset value of public offering and private placement funds, excluding private equity funds that entail management involvement in companies, sank to 646.19 trillion won ($520.74 billion) as of end-March, down 45.66 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association. The t

NH Investment and Securities, a local brokerage firm under NH Financial Group, last year paid 123 million won ($99,600) in annual salary on average, higher than any company with assets over 10 trillion won, industry data showed Thursday.  According to Infobigs, a local industry tracker, an employee at NH Investment and Securities received a paycheck higher than the average figure of Samsung Electronics’ employees, which stood at 108 million won.   The average annual salary of

South Korean stocks spiked by more than 2 percent Thursday, helped by stimulus measures and a rise in oil prices. The local currency slightly rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 39.40 points, or 2.34 percent, to close at 1,724.86. Trading volume was moderate at 752 million shares worth some 9.5 trillion won ($7.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 708 to 154. The sharp increase came one day after the index plunged over 4 perce

HDC Hyundai Development Co., a midsized South Korean builder, said Thursday it is "on track" to acquire Asiana Airlines Inc. despite a growing coronavirus impact on the airline industry. On Thursday, HDC Hyundai Development reiterated its plan to complete the overall process to acquire Asiana Airlines by the end of this month, dismissing speculation that it may have difficulties in taking over the company due to fallout from COVID-19. "There is no change in our acquisition pl

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower on Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 4.18 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,681.28 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The weak start follows another market crash in New York, apparently caused by fears of the new coronavirus outbreak bringing the US economy to a halt. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 973.65 points, or 4.44 percent, to close at 20,943.51 on Wednesday (

The net profits of South Korean firms listed on the country's main stock exchange more than halved last year, the bourse operator said Wednesday. The combined net profit of 583 Kospi-listed companies, excluding financial firms, came to 52.42 trillion won ($42.5 billion) in 2019 on a consolidated basis, down 52.82 percent from a year ago, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX). The combined annual sales rose 0.47 percent on-year to stand at 2,006.45 trillion won in 2019, but operating profits p

Standards for incoming relief fund payment to be finalized next week

Offloading stakes in key affiliates seen as inevitable, but sales may face hurdles

Hana Bank said Wednesday that it has selected Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun as its new model for TV commercials. “Kim Soo-hyun embodies the bank’s global image,” said an official. “His strong public impression will boost our public relations move for overseas branches in Southeast Asian countries.” Kim previously modeled for Hana Financial Group in 2014. He will star in the bank’s new TV commercial for Hana 1Q Bank, a mobile banking application.  The b

South Korea’s top fiscal chief proposed more currency swap deals at a key G-20 meeting to help tackle the impending global economic recession, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Wednesday. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki’s remarks were made during a virtual meeting of the G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors on Tuesday. According to the ministry, Hong also stressed the need for reforms of the International Monetary Fund framework to

Hyundai Capital said Wednesday that assets of its global offices surpassed 50 trillion won ($40.9 billion) in value for the first time since it launched its first overseas branch in the US in 1989. The Seoul-headquartered auto financier said its global branches owned 50.8 trillion won of financial assets last year, double that of the domestic market. Hyundai Capital’s global branches also posted a record pretax income of 766.3 billion won. “The company’s standardized busin