Mezzanine investors convert bonds into shares in hopes of further valuation boost of award-winning dark comedy producer, talent agency

South Korean fund operator Lime Asset Management and its seller Shinhan Investment deliberately duped investors by concealing their losses and continuing the sale of the related products, the watchdog Financial Supervisory Service said Friday. Based on an intermediary inspection and accounting audit, the FSS estimated that two of the disputed parent funds may suffer losses of up to 730 billion won ($617.5 million). Considering other parent funds yet under inspection, the total amount of investo

Hana Financial Group said Friday it had inked a sales and purchase agreement with the Korea Teachers’ Credit Union to buy a 70 percent stake in The-K Non-Life Insurance for 77 billion won ($65.1 million). This is the first acquisition deal for Korea’s third-largest banking group since the takeover of Korea Exchange Bank in 2013. The-K Non-Life will become the 14th affiliate and second insurer arm to be under Hana’s umbrella. KTCU will remain a minority shareholder of t

Fitch ratings agency said Friday the new coronavirus outbreak will add to auto sector challenges this year as COVID-19 disrupts global supply chains. "The greatest impact on the sector is likely to come from lower sales during the outbreak in China, the world's largest market for new vehicles. The country's new vehicle sales are likely to be depressed until the outbreak is under control," Fitch said in a statement. Fitch expected sales in China to start recovering from April and acc

South Korean state-owned lender the Korea Development Bank has borne fruit with its investment in the nation’s cultural contents, officials said Friday. Already generating profits from its investment in Big Hit Entertainment, the agency of global K-pop sensation BTS, the banking group is also expecting considerable returns from its investment in Oscar-winning film “Parasite.” KDB Capital, an affiliate of KDB, invested nearly 700 million won ($591,000), including a direct inv

Impact of COVID-19 not reflected in latest figures

The head of South Korea's central bank said Friday the country will continue to maintain ample liquidity to help minimize the fallout from the outbreak of the new coronavirus amid growing market expectations for a rate cut down the road. "I believe now is the time when we need everyone's efforts to minimize the impact of this crisis," Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol told a Seoul meeting hosted by Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki to review the impact of the outbreak. "To this e

South Korea will spare no efforts to minimize the economic fallout of the new coronavirus and draw up additional measures to support an economic recovery, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday. Hong made the remarks in a meeting with Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol on Friday to discuss how to cope with the economic impact of the virus, which was recently named COVID-19. Hong also urged people to carry out "normal economic activities," saying private consumption was hit by the spr

South Korea's export prices fell slightly in January from a month earlier, central bank data showed Friday, largely due to the strengthening of the local currency against the US dollar. The export prices index, in terms of Korean won, came to 96.59 in the month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marks a 0.8 percent drop from a month earlier and a 2.8 percent drop from the same month last year. The BOK attributed the drop to the Korean won's appreciation

A coalition of Korean Air heiress and a local activist fund Korea Corporate Governance Improvement on Thursday proposed former SK Group Vice Chairman Kim Shin-bae as an inside board director of Hanjin Group in a bid to oust the current chairman at the March shareholders meeting. Other candidates include former Samsung Electronics Vice President and head of China Bae Kyung-tae and ex-Korean Air executive Kim Chi-hoon. Hahm Chul-ho, a former Korean Air senior vice president and T’way Air CE

The Financial Services Commission on Thursday reduced the amount of fines imposed on Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank over their disputed misselling of derivative-linked financial products last year. By altering the sanctions previously decided by the market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service, the regulator is being accused of playing a power game and taking sides with the industry, although it has vehemently refuted such doubts. The FSC’s advisory panel Securities and Futures Commiss

SEJONG -- South Korea plans to unveil measures to support exports as early as next week as the coronavirus epidemic in China is expected to cast a shadow on the Korean economy, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday. Hong said the Korean economy is expected to face a bigger economic impact from the virus, COVID-19, than that of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in 2015. However, Hong said, "Too much fear can hurt the (Korean) economy," urging people not to b

The office building transaction volume in major districts of Seoul came to 11.5 trillion won ($9.7 billion) for 2019, showing favorable cash flow in the city’s commercial real estate market, data showed Thursday. The figure comes amid an improved vacancy rate in prime office properties in the central, Gangnam and Yeouido business districts here, coupled with a low interest rate environment. According to real estate service firm Savills Korea’s research on Seoul prime office propert

Mirae Asset Capital to increase stake to 21.1%

The nation’s financial watchdog plans to refer Woori Bank’s alleged information-theft case to the prosecution for investigation, according to internal documents acquired by a lawmaker Thursday. The bank’s employees allegedly changed passwords of around 40,000 customers without permission to improve its balance sheet. According to Financial Supervisory Service documents acquired by a lawmaker, the watchdog plans to send the case to “investigative authorities later on.&r