South Korea's top 30 family-controlled conglomerates have seen their stock market capitalization spike more than 30 percent over the past four years, with Samsung Group taking the top spot, a market tracker said Tuesday. The combined value of 201 listed firms belonging to the leading business groups, known as chaebol here, came to some 1,504 trillion won ($1.26 trillion) as of Friday, up 33.2 percent from Jan. 2, 2018, according to the Leaders Index. The number of their listed units was up 16

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, as investors await the US Federal Reserve's stance about rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 19.65 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,772.35 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to end its two-day monetary policy meeting Wednesday (local time), which is expected to give clues on its monetary policy direction. South Korea's record high virus tally also added to the concerns about str

Market concerns over ‘Korea discount’ reemerge as Kospi drops rapidly on foreign, retail sell-offs　

South Korea's main stock index plunged to a 13-month low Monday, as investors dumped local stocks ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi dived 42.29 points, or 1.49 percent, to close at 2,792 points. The Kospi closed below the 2,800-point mark for the first time since Dec. 23, 2020. Trading volume was moderate at about 468 million shares worth some 9.2 trillion won ($7.7 billi

South Korean listed companies' rights issues nearly doubled in 2021 from a year earlier, data showed Monday. Companies listed on the country's main and other stock markets raised a combined 50.6 trillion won ($42.4 billion) through 1,346 rights offerings last year, up 97.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. The number of last year's rights offerings was up 19.3 percent from the previous year. Rights issues by companies listed on the main K

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday, as investors took to the sidelines ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 18.49 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,815.8 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks traded bearish, led by losses in chemical and tech companies that are usually more sensitive to borrowing costs. The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise its policy interest rate in March. It is to

SillaJen, Kolon TissueGene on the verge of being delisted from Kosdaq

The Financial Supervisory Service is looking to scrutinize whether executives’ decision to exercise stock options that prompted a stock plunge at Kakao Pay was a sign of risk management deficiencies the financial services firm should address, according to an FSS official. The CEO and two other executives at Kakao Pay stepped down Thursday amid criticism that their exercise of stock options in December last year, a month after the firm listed, brought an unwarranted stock dip.  The C

South Korean stocks retreated nearly 1 percent Friday, marking the lowest closing since December 2020, due to inflation woes amid heightened expectations of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 28.39 points, or 0.99 percent, to close at 2,834.29 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 524 million shares worth some 10.5 trillion won ($8.8 billion), with losers far outnumbering gainers

Sales of equity-linked securities (ELS) in South Korea expanded nearly 5 percent in 2021 from a year earlier on greater issuance of products tracking overseas stocks, data showed Friday. The value of ELS products floated in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 72.2 trillion won ($60.5 billion) last year, up 4.6 percent from the prior year, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. ELS refers to hybrid debt securities whose returns are linked to the performance of underlying

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, tracking an overnight fall on Wall Street amid surging global inflation woes and rising interest rates. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 21.6 points, or 0.75 percent, to 2,841.08 points in the first 15 minutes of trading.  On Thursday (local time), the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.9 percent, the broad-based S&P 500 went down 1.1 percent and the Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, decre

An 11-member brokerage syndicate underwriting an initial public offering of LG Energy Solution next week is expected to raise a whopping 89 billion won ($75 million) in management fees following the record-breaking retail bids, made on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to regulatory filings on Thursday. The fees account for 0.7 percent of 12.7 trillion won that the electric vehicle battery maker is expected to raise from a total of 42.5 million shares priced at 300,000 won apiece. Separately, th

Kakao, one of South Korea’s two largest internet giants along with Naver, is seen as holding back its plans to float shares of key subsidiaries in listings, amid looming market disappointment over controversial sell-offs by executives. Earlier this month, CEOs of Kakao Pay and KakaoBank were accused of driving down stock prices with sell-offs that critics say should not have taken place right after their listings when their shares ran high. This prompted regulators to vow greater protecti

South Korean stocks rebounded Thursday on investors' move to buy oversold stocks after the recent stock plunge and China's interest rate cut. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 20.4 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 2,862.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 388 million shares worth some 8.7 trillion won ($7.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 709 to 174. Institutions bought a net 106 billion won and r

The head of South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday he is seeking to ease restrictions on financial companies' investment in fintech firms as part of efforts to expand support for the fast-growing industry. Jeong Eun-bo, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remarks in a meeting with leading officials of the fintech industry, saying his agency will push for the enactment of a relevant law on the matter. "We will push for the enactment of the so-called fintech