South Korea’s domestic capital market is gearing up for a record year with a parade of initial public offerings set to eclipse a decade-old annual record of 10.1 trillion won ($8.9 billion), thanks to game developer Krafton’s expected blockbuster debut. This comes as Korean companies’ initial public offerings this year have already put their combined fundraising to a near-2020 level, according to IPO prospectuses submitted to Korean financial authorities. Through Sunday, 40

Stocks gifted to members of boy band BTS have snowballed to a combined value of nearly 150 billion won ($132.5 million) over the course of about 10 months. The gift -- 478,695 common shares of BTS’ management agency Hybe that were evenly distributed to the seven members -- is now valued at the domestic stock market at 149.8 billion won, as Hybe shares notched an all-time high for five straight trading days until Friday. This means members RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, V, Jimin and Jungkook hav

South Korean stocks are likely to come under selling pressure next week, as investors could take to the sidelines amid weakening local currency and uncertainties from the Fed's earlier-than-expected timeline for policy tightening, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,267.93 points Friday, up 0.57 percent from a week ago. The KOSPI set a new all-time high Wednesday on strong individual buying, backed by speculation that the US Federal Rese

Coming under increasing pressure from financial regulators, local cryptocurrency exchanges have hastily delisted dozens of digital coins, but the removals create negative impact on investors, experts said on Friday. Since Upbit announced its decision to discontinue the trading of five coins on June 11, two more exchange - Bithumb and Coinbit - joined the move with sudden delisting and investment warnings. “Inadequate digital tokens certainly have to be removed from the market but hasty d

South Korea’s No. 2 carrier Asiana Airlines and its two affiliated companies face possibilities of being delisted from the nation’s main bourse Kospi, according to industry sources Friday. The country’s bourse operator Korea Exchange announced Thursday that it has decided to examine the air carrier’s listing eligibility in line with the former Kumho Asiana Group chief’s arrest over allegedly unfair interaffiliate deals. The KRX has made an additional decision to

South Korean stocks rebounded Friday as hopes for an economic recovery offset concerns over an earlier-than-expected tapering move by the US Federal Reserve. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 2.97 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 3,267.93 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 17.1 trillion won ($15.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 464 to 382. Foreigners sold a net 823 bil

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on overnight tech gains on Wall Street, with investors digesting the impact of the Fed's faster-than-expected timeline for policy tightening. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) increased 7.75 points, or 0.24 percent, to 3,272.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks opened with mild gains after the key stock index snapped its five-session winning streak the previous session. The rebound came amid the ongoing tussle between a

The regulatory Financial Services Commission on Thursday said that it will add detailed measures to the legislation governing cryptocurrency exchanges in an effort to tame their attempts at price fixing. Cryptocurrency exchanges will be banned from handling digital tokens issued by themselves or affiliated people, according to a pre-announcement of the revisions made to the enforcement decree of for the Specified Financial Transaction Information. Executives and employees of an exchange are ba

South Korean stocks ended a five-session winning streak Thursday as investor sentiment for risky assets weakened over the Federal Reserve's comments about an earlier-than-expected timeline for a rate hike. The Korean won steeply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 13.72 points, or 0.42 percent, to close at 3,264.96 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.8 billion shares worth some 14.4 trillion won ($12.7 billion), with losers outnum

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as the Federal Reserve made comments about an earlier-than-expected timeline for a rate hike. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 19.61 points, or 0.6 percent, to trade at 3,259.07 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stock prices fell after the key stock index finished at an all-time high the previous session, taking a cue from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's comment that the Fed began discussing measures to sca

Expectations for Kospi to reach 3,700 in H2 on weak US dollar, economy, corporate improvements

South Korean stocks set a fresh high for three consecutive sessions on Wednesday as investors scooped up blue-chip shares ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's meeting results. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) gained 20.5 points, or 0.62 percent, to finish at 3,278.68. Trading volume was moderate at 2.2 billion shares worth 15.9 trillion won ($14.23 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 519 to 324. The index also extended its winning streak to a whopping five s

Talk of early retirement arises for first time in 7 years in middle of sell-off process

Korea Investment & Securities on Wednesday pledged to fully compensate the losses from problematic funds sold via the brokerage firm. “The decision came to protect financial consumers and restore our customers’ trust,” Jung Il-mun, chief executive officer of KIS told reporters during an online press briefing. “Both retail investors and institutional investors will be compensated for their losses.” The company sold 10 troubled funds, including Lime Fund, Disco

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday after closing at a record-high level for two consecutive days through the previous session on the back of gains from technology and automobile shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) increased 8.52 points, or 0.26 percent, to 3,267.15 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday, the index reached an intraday-record of 3,269.42. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved down 0.27 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq