Shareholders of Seoul-based KDB Life Insurance are under intensifying pressure to find a new owner, potentially facing a host of new complex regulations next month when a 10-year grace period expires.　 State-run policy lender Korea Development Bank has yet to find a preferred bidder for the life insurance unit, although Chairman Lee Dong-gull anticipated finding one through an open tender by end-2019.The uncertainty casts doubt on the bank’s sell-off by February, which would otherwise resu

With a new year stretching ahead, the chiefs of Korea’s top-tier banking groups underlined the urgent need to restore customers’ trust, defining the latest market situation as a “crisis.”While pointing to external factors such as slow economic growth and low interest rates, they also referred to disputed sales of derivatives-linked funds that led to extensive customer damages last year.“Shinhan should look beyond market ranking and aim for first class in the true se

South Korea's economy is expected to experience a modest recovery this year, helped by the easing of trade tensions between the United States and China and rising global demand, the country's central bank chief said Thursday."I anticipate that growth and inflation could rebound this year, compared with last year," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol told reporters, while adding that a sharp increase is unlikely due to global economic uncertainties.Hit by a lengthy US-China trade war and a c

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea's biggest auto parts maker and a key affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, said Thursday it will select an outside director dedicated to enhancing shareholder value.Hyundai Mobis plans to have shareholders recommend potential outside directors and select one of them who will be in charge of protecting shareholders' rights and interests, the company said in a statement. The move is aimed at strengthening the transparency of Hyundai Motor Group's governance structure and

Brokerages say Kospi may rise to 2,450, with possibility of falling below 2,000 due to global trade disputes

After its launch in Dec. 2018, Seoul City’s own mobile payment app Zero Pay is now in a very fragile situation and is struggling to make a mark in the local payment industry, data showed on Wednesday. As of Dec. 16, the transactions made through Zero Pay reached 69.6 billion won ($60 million), a mere 0.0076 percent of the entire transaction volume of some 910 trillion won paid via noncash payments. The actual transaction volume of the city’s own payment solution i

Sales of private equity funds for individual investors dropped for the fifth consecutive month in November, amid growing distrust in the aftermath of damages incurred by risky derivatives-linked funds sold by banks and asset management firms, a local self-regulatory organization said Wednesday. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, local banks sold a combined 24.1 trillion won ($20.9 billion) of private equity funds, down by 600 billion won, or 2.4 percent, in November from th

South Korea’s credit card spending in restaurants fell 0.3 percent on-year in September 2018, marking the first on-year decline in nearly seven years, data from the Bank of Korea showed Wednesday.The decline reflects a deterioration in consumer sentiment which plunged to a two-year low in August, a month before the latest drop observed in credit card spending. According to the nation’s central bank, the combined credit card spending for eating out here came to nearly 4.7 trillio

A consortium led by HSG Heavy Industries signed a contract Tuesday to buy debt-saddled South Korean shipbuilder Sungdong Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering for 200 billion won ($173 million), allowing the shipbuilder to avert liquidation of its assets.So far the consortium has paid 10 percent of the total, with the balance due by February.This came a month after the consortium, composed of HSG Heavy and private equity firm Curious Partners, was chosen as the preferred bidder for the Tongyeong

South Korea was brimming with billiondollar mergers and acquisitions in 2019, mainly propelled by large business groups in search of new growth opportunities, along with the divestment of their noncore business units.Throughout 2019, Korean entities announced a record-high volume of M&A transactions worth a combined 37.7 trillion won ($32.6 billion), according to Maeil Business Newspaper’s capital market tracker Radar M.Experts say this uptrend will continue and will eventually fuel an

The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea faced the new year amid heated controversy concerning the likely nomination of a former senior presidential aide as its next CEO.On Tuesday, Reps. Chae Yi-bai of the Bareunmirae Party and Chu Hye-seon of the Justice Party held a press conference at the National Assembly along with members of the Korean Financial Industry Union, opposing the nomination of Yoon Jong-won, former senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, as IBK chief.“It seems t

Gearing up for the new year, South Korea’s top financial officials steeled themselves to face persistent external challenges and to spark new momentum for growth.Given the current trend toward low interest rates, which is likely to last for a while, policymakers vowed further efforts to steady the consequent overheating of the real estate market, saying this excessive liquidity needs to be diverted to innovative businesses.　“We need to maintain an easing monetary policy as the domest

South Korea's consumer prices rose 0.7 percent on-year in December, marking the fastest growth in six months, the statistics agency said Tuesday.  The country's inflation also gained 0.2 percent on-month this month on the back of increased prices of agricultural and industrial products, Statistics Korea said in a statement.   Core inflation, which excludes agricultural and petroleum products, rose 0.7 percent from a year earlier.  Utility prices were unchanged on-ye

South Korea’s stock market continued its sluggish performance on Monday -- the last trading day of 2019 -- amid a lack of significant momentum. The benchmark Kospi closed at 2,197.67 points, down 0.30 percent, or 6.54 points, from the previous session, according to stock market operator the Korea Exchange. The figure however rose by 8.53 percent, or 187.57 points, from the first trading session of the year -- which closed at 2010.  Korean shares opened nearly flat on the day as invest

Credit card/ Lotte CardFor customers driving long distances, Lotte Card, a major credit card company in the nation, has launched the I’m DRIVING card that offers discounts at gas stations across the country and other auto-related benefits.Two types of the new credit card are offered -- DC One and DC All. For the DC One type, customers can choose one of four oil retail brands -- SK Energy, GS Caltex, Hyundai Oilbank and S-Oil -- or choose either weekdays or weekends as an option, to get a d