Despite a gloomy outlook on emerging countries’ equity market due to the pandemic impact and corporate regulations hindering growth, prospects for South Korea remain positive, driven by quality companies’ exceeding performance on long-term growing industries, an analyst at global asset management firm AllianceBernstein said Tuesday. “Korea is quite sensitive to global growth. Since global growth especially in developed markets remain quite strong, we also have a fairly constr

South Korean conglomerate SK Group’s Southeast Asian investment arm has joined a consortium for AirAsia’s digital bank business in Malaysia, reports said Tuesday. SK South East Asia Investment has participated as a financial investor in a consortium led by the Malaysian budget airline’s financial technology unit BigPay vying for a digital banking license in the Southeast Asian country, according to Malaysian news reports. Due to SK’s nondisclosure agreement with BigPa

South Korean internet-only bank Kakao Bank Corp. is set to draw relatively low subscription from retail investors for its initial public offering (IPO), with deposits for the stock offering at a smaller-than-expected 22 trillion won ($19.1 billion) as of 11 a.m., its IPO managers said Tuesday. On the last day of the two-day subscription, retail investors may pour additional deposits to subscribe for one of the largest IPO deals. Kakao Bank's IPO subscription for individual investors closes at

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investor sentiment improved over optimism for strong corporate earnings. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23.62 points, or 0.73 percent, to 3,248.57 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks rebounded after the KOSPI closed down nearly 1 percent the previous session on market jitters about China's clampdown on education tech firms and its property market. Local large caps of various sectors continued to report

Singapore’s GIC could take up 30% in the Korean unit

South Korean stocks retreated nearly 1 percent Monday as investors remain cautious about the local resurgence of the new coronavirus and uncertainties from China's clampdown on tech firms. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 29.47 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 3,224.95 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 813 million shares worth some 12 trillion won ($10.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 662 to 212.

Krafton, the South Korean game maker behind global smash hit PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, said Monday that it looks to expand its foothold in the global market through its market debut on the nation’s main board Kospi early next month. “Our goal is to attain a leadership position preemptively in high-growth emerging markets such as India and the Middle East. Krafton’s strategy (for the goal) is expanding content to nongaming media and platforms by utilizing our intelle

Crowdfunding platform Wadiz said Monday it has completed a organization overhaul by spliting the company into two entities in charge of financial and non-financial businesses to transform itself into a platform directly linking consumers and startups, both online and offline. Following the revamp, the parent company Wadiz Co Ltd. will be in charge of non-financial business while the subsidiary companies Wadiz Finance and Wadiz Partners will lead the financial business, the company said. &ldq

Blockchain has been around for some time now, yet it still remains mysterious to many. Most people assume it is a disruptive technology to the current monetary system. However, in a vastly digitalized world where data is a valuable, fungible resource that brings endless innovations, blockchain tops the list as the game-changing technology. It can revolutionize nearly all industries such as finance, pharmaceuticals, and entertainment. Furthermore, blockchain can transform all company’s val

Major banking groups here have been posting record earnings for the first half of the year amid ongoing COVID-19 woes, buoyed by lucrative earnings from their brokerages, insurers and card issuers, data released as of Monday showed. So far, four out of five major banking groups here – KB, Woori, Hana and NH – have announced robust net profits for the first six months of the year, eclipsing their stellar performances shown in the same period last year. KB’s net profit for th

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Monday as investors remain cautious about the country's resurgence of new coronavirus cases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 2.02 points, or 0.06 percent, to 3,252.4 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks retreated after a two-day gain, as the spiking cases sapped demand for risky assets. On Friday, the government extended the highest Level 4 quarantine measures in the Seoul metropolitan area for another two wee

Third deadline extension likely in fourth wave of pandemic

The combined market capitalization of Kakao and its affiliates is anticipated to reach 100 trillion won ($86.8 billion), as South Korea’s fifth-largest business group’s two financial subsidiaries ready themselves for initial public offerings. 　 As of Friday’s closing bell, the mobile messenger giant and its two listed affiliates Kakao Games and Neptune marked an aggregate market cap of 74.84 trillion won, according to the Korea Exchange on Sunday. Of that total, Kakao’s

South Korean stocks are likely to face volatility next week as the virus resurgence continues to sap demand for risky assets, while optimism for robust earnings provides some relief. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 3,254.42 points Friday, down 0.69 percent from a week ago. The key stock index retreated in the first three sessions of this week, as daily virus cases again spiked, hitting a fresh high of 1,842 Thursday, despite the toughest virus curbs in the greater Se

South Korean stocks advanced for the second consecutive session Friday, largely as optimism for strong earnings and dovish signals from the European Central Bank (ECB) offset concerns over the extended virus curbs in greater Seoul. The Korean won strengthened against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 4.21 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 3,254.42 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 761 million shares worth some 12.7 trillion won ($11 billi