Hanwha Asset Management said Friday it planned to raise 510 billion won ($421.7 million) capital from its parent Hanwha Life Insurance, which would bring its total capital to over 700 billion won -- the second-largest for an asset management company in South Korea. The fresh capital will be used to enhance overseas alternative investment capacity through acquisitions of foreign asset management firms, expand its overseas units, create a digital infrastructure and nurture more investment opportu

The initial public offerings of South Korean firms in February were largely successful, despite the impact of the new coronavirus on the domestic stock market. This month through Friday, five companies -- Sunam, Lemon, Kencoa Aerospace, JNTC, Seoul Viosys -- wrapped up IPOs, raising a combined 192.1 billion won ($158.1 million). Four out of five, except for Kencoa Aerospace, were more than successful. The offered prices of the four companies were set at, or beyond, the upper cap of the price

South Korea’s economic indexes for February could plunge drastically, taking the full impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the government said Friday. “The fast-spreading COVID-19 is increasingly weighing on consumer sentiment and economic activities,” said Kim Yong-beom, first vice minister of economy and finance, during a macroeconomy-finance policy meeting at the Korea Federation of Banks in central Seoul. The meeting was attended by officials from the Financial Service

South Korea’s tax agency said Friday that it had begun inspections of mask filter manufacturing companies to prevent illegal profiteering amid the new coronavirus outbreak. The National Tax Service has examined 12 local manufacturers that produce nearly 95 percent of the nation’s supply of filter material -- melt blown nonwoven fabric. Melt blown or MB filters are the core material for hygiene masks. Depending on the percentage of particle blockage, they are classified into thre

The Military Mutual Aid Association said Friday it has selected eight South Korean external partners dedicated to investment in private equities and venture capital to back a combined 130 billion won ($107.1 million) this year. The Korean institutional investor will invest a total of 100 billion won to blind pool funds managed by private equity houses KStone Partners, Aju IB Investment, SkyLake Investment, KTB Private Equtiy and Dominus Investment. In the meantime, a combined 30 billion won w

IFC Seoul Mall also shuts down for quarantine

South Korea's central bank is likely to cut the policy rate in April amid concerns that the spreading novel coronavirus outbreak will hurt Asia's fourth-largest economy, analysts here said Friday. The Bank of Korea stood pat this week by keeping the rate at a record low of 1.25 percent, while trimming its economic outlook for the year to 2.1 percent from the previous 2.3 percent. More analysts are now betting on a rate cut in April as the virus cases are increasing at an alarming level. So fa

Lending rates on fresh loans extended by banks in South Korea dropped slightly from a month earlier in January, central bank data showed Friday. The average interest rate on all new bank loans came to 3.19 percent in the month, down 0.03 percentage point from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The rate on all outstanding loans came to 3.38 percent, down 0.02 percentage point from December. The average rate on fresh corporate loans slipped 0.04 percentag

The National Pension Service, South Korea’s largest public pension fund, reaped record investment return in 2019 largely thanks to a bull run in overseas stock markets, its preliminary data showed Thursday. Its annual rate of return came to 11.31 percent last year, the highest since the launch of NPS Investment Management in 1999, followed by 10.39 percent in 2009 and 10.37 percent in 2010. Over the past year, it earned 73.4 trillion won ($60.4 billion) return, which is 1.5 times large

Central bank’s decision to keep its rate disappoints stock markets that expected for further cut

Korea seeks to ease burden of property owners in pain-sharing gesture

Mirae Asset Financial Group has donated 2 billion won ($1.64 million) to the Hope Bridge Association of the National Disaster Relief to support medical personnel and provide relief goods amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The donation was made to provide items needed for medical and relief aid, such as protective outfits and masks, and daily necessities, especially for people in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, the company said. Mirae Asset has been helping its cooperative firms by making paym

SEJONG -- The tight hiring market has been a point of contention over the past two or three years, though the Moon Jae-in administration has continued to express a strong commitment to job creation as often as possible. Recent data from a government agency showed that people are still having difficulty holding jobs, which particularly has been witnessed among almost entire generations. According to Statistics Korea, the number of employed people fell for the second consecutive month -- from 2

Central bank refrains from drastic easing actions, citing uncertainties

Average work hours in South Korea decreased 0.5 percent last year as the country enforced a shorter workweek system, government data showed Thursday. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's survey, the average South Korean employee worked 1,957 hours in 2019, 10 hours less than the previous year. The figure for companies hiring at least five workers was 1,978, a 0.4 percent decrease from 2018. The reduction came despite the fact that 2019 had two more working days than 2018.