Viva Republica, operator of mobile financial service Toss, said Thursday that it has converted all of its redeemable convertible preferred shares to convertible preferred shares, in a move to enhance capital stability.Redeemable shares, or RCPS, refer to preferred stocks that the issuing company may trade for cash, while convertible shares, or CPS, allow the shareholder to exchange for common stocks. The latter is recognized as capital under both Korean Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (K

A leading economic index for South Korea inched down in September, heralding a contraction for Asia's No. 4 economy down the road, data showed Thursday.The composite leading indicator of economic activity for South Korea stood at 98.69 in September, down 0.09 point from the previous month, according to the data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.September marked the 28th consecutive month of on-month decline, the longest losing streak among members of the Paris-based

South Korea's financial regulator on Thursday unveiled a raft of measures to better protect consumers in the wake of improper sales of derivatives linked to overseas interest rates that carry the risk of losing nearly all the money invested in them.Under the measures, banks will be banned from selling high-risk privately placed funds, according to the Financial Services Commission.Banks and other financial firms will be required to strengthen their internal control systems when they sell high-ri

South Korea's vehicle exports fell 10 percent last month from a year earlier due to lower demand in emerging markets, data showed Thursday. South Korean carmakers shipped a total of 208,714 vehicles in October, down from 230,086 units a year ago amid a slowing global economy, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement.  "Lower demand in Asia and Latin America fully offset increased sales of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. in North America and rising demand in

In pursuit of IPO, potentially in 2021, credit card firm seeks to boost value

South Korea’s key job indexes showed visible progress in October, with the employment rate hitting a 23-year high for any October and the jobless rate at its lowest in six years, government data showed Wednesday.But despite the general uptrend, the nation’s backbone manufacturing industry continued to shed jobs. The figures for those in their 30s and 40s also continued to disappoint, stirring up concerns that the apparent improvement is mostly driven by government spending in the pub

Hanwha Group’s defense technology unit was listed Wednesday, suggesting that succession plans are being hastened and Chairman Kim Seung-youn is ready to hand over the reins to his sons. Hanwha Systems currently has a market cap of nearly 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion) and traded slightly below its initial public offering price of 12,250 won at 11,100 won on its first day of trading on the benchmark Kospi.According to analysts and industry insiders, the company’s Kospi debut will hel

The gap between South Korea's policy rate and that of the United States may have placed South Korea in unexplored territory, but the rate gap has yet to cause any serious problems for Asia's fourth-largest economy, a member of the Bank of Korea's monetary policy board said Wednesday."(Future rate decisions) will have to be made after carefully examining various factors as South Korea is exploring an unwalked territory," Lim Ji-won said in a meeting with reporters. Lim's remarks came le

With Black Friday falling in the US on Nov. 29, South Korea’s credit card operators are rolling up their sleeves to lure online shoppers with discounts and giveaways, industry data showed Wednesday.Overseas online retail customers -- dubbed “jikgu-jok” in Korean -- are expected to flock to various shopping sites in the upcoming season, running from Black Friday in end-November, to Cyber Monday in early December, up to Christmas and year-end.According to Korea Customs Service, b

South Korea's economy is expected to grow 2.3 percent in 2020, slightly higher than this year's estimated 2 percent expansion, on the back of a slight improvement in domestic demand and exports, the state-run Korea Development Institute said Wednesday.The growth outlook for next year is line with a forecast by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.In September, the OECD said Asia's fourth-largest economy could expand 2.3 percent in 2020, slower than its previous forecast of 2

South Korea will build 30,000 smart factories and 10 smart industrial zones by 2022 as part of efforts to deal with a looming decline of the country's working-age population, the finance minister said Wednesday.Hong Nam-ki said the number of people working at smart factories and smart industrial zones could stand at 100,000, which he said would help improve productivity.A smart factory is a highly digitized and connected production facility aimed at improving productivity and safety at workplace

South Korea announced plans to kick-start the so-called reverse annuity mortgage market Wednesday in an effort to help support elderly homeowners financially.The measure, unveiled by a pan-governmental task force on population policy, would lower the age limit for applicants for reverse annuity mortgages to 55 from the current 60 years old.The government will also push to expand the scope of eligible homes. Owners of homes with a government-set price of 900 million won ($771,000) or lower will b

South Korea's jobless rate hit a six-year low in October, and job additions came to 419,000 from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday.  The unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage point on-year to 3 percent in October, also marking the lowest level for any October since 2013.  The number of employed people reached 27.5 million in October, a rise of 419,000 from the same month in 2018, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.   It marked the third straight

Green bond issuance in South Korea has more than doubled so far this year, compared to the cumulative total floated last year, data provided by local companies showed Tuesday.Green bonds are fixed-income securities that fund eco-friendly projects. The size of the bond market and diversity of its issuers have been increasing in recent years as firms deem it helpful to improve their corporate image and make investors feel environmentally conscious. According to disclosures issued by the firms, the

The value of mergers and acquisitions by listed firms in South Korea amounted to 7.3 trillion won ($6.2 billion) in the first six months of this year, data showed Tuesday. There were 139 mergers, spinoffs and business sales in the January-June period, compared with 294 cases worth 38.7 trillion won in 2018, according to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service. The half-year value marked the lowest in two years due to a lack of big name mergers, the FSS said. Inter-affiliate M&