Toss and Kiwoom buckle down to two-way race for internet-only bank biz

South Korea’s “regulatory sandbox” policy for the finance sector will take effect next week, bringing in a system of flexible regulations with the goal of accelerating innovations in financial technology.　The Special Act on Financial Innovation Support was enacted in the legislature in November last year and formally takes effect April 1. Under the legislation, the Korean government is seeking to foster emerging startups in new business arenas -- especially the fintech sector,

South Korea’s financial firms are set to compete this week to be picked as outsourced chief investment offices in charge of the government’s unemployment and industrial accident insurance funds worth a total of 28 trillion won ($24.6 billion), sources said Wednesday. The Ministry of Employment and Labor will choose one brokerage and one asset management firm from a pool of bidders, to respectively manage a state-owned 10 trillion won unemployment insurance fund and an 18 trillion won

South Korea’s fair trade authorities are investigating KT for alleged collusion in a government-issued business project -- a development that could hurt the telecom company’s chances of gaining approval to increase its stake in its internet-only bank, K bank.According to industry sources Wednesday, the Fair Trade Commission is currently investigating local telcos KT, SK Telecom, LG Uplus and Sejong Telecom on suspicions of collusion in a circuit line business project.KT has notified

Shares of Hyundai AutoEver will be traded on the country’s main stock market this week, the bourse operator said on March 27.　The ICT service provider of the world’s fifth-largest automotive conglomerate will go public on the Kospi on March 28 after the Korea Exchange gave the nod to its listing. 　The initial public offering price was set at 48,000 won ($42.3) per share, and the listing could generate around 1 trillion won in fresh capital, according to the KRX.　Hyundai AutoEver

The Korea Herald publishes a regular contribution series written by senior investment strategists at Standard Chartered Group Wealth Management. – Ed.Early this year, our investment committee members went on the road to present our 2019 Outlook to our clients across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, as we do every year. One of the key messages that we have constantly communicated over the years is the importance of diversification. While we get the sense that some of our investors

Government eyes pump priming to stimulate economy

Shinhan Bank’s newly appointed CEO Jin Ok-dong on Tuesday pledged a two-track strategy for the bank’s global push, calling for the formation of strong business assets in key currency markets such as the US and Japan while citing plans to build a locally competitive presence in emerging markets.　“I believe in a two-track strategy for the bank’s global expansion,” Jin said in his inaugural press conference at Shinhan Bank’s headquarters in Seoul. 　“One tra

South Korea’s Mirae Asset will make a foray into the Japanese market by the end of the year, while expanding its business in China and India, its founder said in an email to employees on Monday. “Demand for global financial products will only continue to grow,” wrote Park Hyeon-joo from New York, on his last leg of a business trip around the world, in his first letter to the employees in two years. After stepping down as chairman of Mirae Asset Financial Group in Korea las

SEJONG -- It has been 17 years since former Bank of Korea Gov. Park Seung proposed slashing the face value of the nation’s currency upon taking office in April 2002.Under Park, the central bank pushed for redenomination in a low-key manner, seeking to do away with 10,000 won, 5,000 won and 1,000 won notes and replace them with notes worth 10 hwan, 5 hwan and 1 hwan. The BOK project, initiated in the fifth year of the government of former President Kim Dae-jung, came to the fore d

Viva Republica, operator of mobile payment app Toss, said Monday that it has finalized a consortium to establish Toss Bank, the third internet-only bank here.The consortium will consist of Silicon Valley-based venture capital Altos Ventures, Goodwater Capital, Brazil’s Nubank, UK fintech player Revolut, and the Korea Electronic Certification Authority, the company said in a press release.While Viva Republica will hold a 67 percent stake -- as a financial operator, not as an information and

Hyundai Motor Group’s IT services unit plans to go public on South Korea’s main bourse this week, which is expected to turn the odds further in favor of heir apparent Chung Eui-sun, according to analysts Monday. Hyundai AutoEver won approval for an initial public offering on the Kospi bourse earlier this year with the price per share being set at 48,000 won ($42.28). It aims to raise around 168.4 billion won through the listing scheduled for Friday. The IPO is expected to play a key

Automaker to cut ties with credit card firms if transaction fee negotiations fail

South Korea's Moon Jae-in administration won't artificially boost the property market in a bid to stimulate the economy, a senior presidential official said Sunday.The local housing market, mainly apartment transactions, has been notably sluggish since the government's tough regulations on it became effective on Sept  13, 2018.The move was aimed at curbing apartment prices that had been skyrocketing at that time. Many agree that the market overheated as a result of a set of deregulations on

South Korea has seen its exports decline at a steeper rate than other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member states, reflecting the contraction in outbound shipments of semiconductors, ships and petrochemical products, data showed Sunday.According to data from the OECD, Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its exports volume dip 5.9 percent from a year earlier in January, standing 26th out of 32 member states that were subject to the latest survey.The country’s on-