Market kingpin Samsung Electronics saw its shares retreat over 1 percent for the second day in a row Thursday and dropped below the 80,000-won ($70.83) mark, putting a damper on President Moon Jae-in’s ambitious drive to turn South Korea into a “chip-friendly country.” Shares of Samsung Electronics closed at 78,500 won -- down 1,500 won, or 1.88 percent, from the previous session’s close -- on both foreign and institutional investors’ sell-offs. It started off at

Lee Jae-yong, the only son of the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, has become the wealthiest entrepreneur in South Korea, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index on Thursday. The index shows a ranking of 500 richest people around the world. The list of the world’s top billionaires, compiled by media firm Bloomberg, showed the junior Lee owns $12.6 billion of assets as of May 12 to take the 170th spot among the 500 richest people. He inherited shares of Samsung Group affiliat

Short sellers expand presence on Korea Exchange

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, taking a cue from heavy losses on Wall Street that stemmed from quick inflation concerns. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 37.33 points, or 1.18 percent, to 3,124.33 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 2.67 percent as the US consumer prices expanded in April by the most since 2009, increasing investor worries that the US Federal Reserve's tapering may come sooner than e

South Korea’s financial regulator Financial Services Commission has allowed Mirae Asset Securities to issue short-term financing bills after a rigorous review, according to sources on Wednesday. With the final approval, the brokerage firm will have more financial leeway to manage bigger funds than a regular securities firm, launching it one step forward to becoming a so-called mega investment bank. A mega investment bank can issue promissory notes with a maximum limit of 200 percent of i

South Korean stocks fell over 1 percent for the second straight session Wednesday as foreign investors dumped local shares amid growing worries over inflation. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 47.77 points, or 1.49 percent, to close at 3,161.66 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.4 billion shares worth some 22.2 trillion won ($19.83 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 705 to 178. Foreigners offloaded a net

Global ratings firm Moody’s has kept the credit rating of South Korea at Aa2, affirming the outlook at stable, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Wednesday. The US rating firm holds discussions with the ministry and the state-run Bank of Korea on a regular basis before annoucing a credit rating report for the nation The rating agency cited the nation’s strong economic fundamentals, and quick economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic as some of the reasons

Morgan Stanley Capital International announced Wednesday that it has added four South Korean stocks -- HMM, Hybe, SKC and GC Pharma -- to its global and regional equity index, as part of May rebalancing. The US company also removed seven listed firms -- Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, Hanwha, GS Retail, Samsung Card, Lotte Corp., Korea Gas Corporation and Ottogi -- from the MSCI Korea Index. As a result, the regional equity index’s constituents of large- and mid-cap stocks fell to

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as concerns of inflation weighed down on investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.9 points, or 0.12 percent, to 3,205.53 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 1.36 percent as rising commodity prices fueled worries of inflation. In Seoul, market behemoth Samsung Electronics shed 0.25 percent, while No. 2 chipm

Global ratings firm Moody’s raised its rating outlook for South Korean securities firm Mirae Asset Securities from negative to stable, forecasting that regulatory measures by the financial authorities will likely curb the growth of the company’s risky assets. “The change from negative to stable takes into account Moody’s expectation of slower risk asset growth as a result of various prudential regulatory measures implemented by the Korean Financial Supervisory Service

South Korean stocks tumbled Tuesday, led by technology stock sell-offs, as investors' sentiment worsened over inflation woes. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 39.87 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 3,209.43 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 21.2 trillion won ($18.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 447 to 419. Foreigners sold a net 2.2 trillion won, and retail investors pur

Hanwha Asset Management said Tuesday it has launched a new mobile app for retail investors wanting to buy a fund and go around third-party fund distribution channels. This is the latest move of South Korea‘s fourth-largest firm -- which has around 97 trillion won ($86.6 billion) in assets under its management -- to create its own online fund marketplace in a nation where tech-savvy consumers had few choices to buy funds other than through third-party sales channels of banks, securities br

A nonfungible token of the historic match between between South Korean Go master Lee Se-dol and Google’s artificial intelligence Go player AlphaGo has been auctioned off as a digital content on OpenSea, the world’s largest marketplace for NFTs, officials said Monday.  A nonfungible token is a digital recreation of media contents such as videos and photos that is traded via the blockchain. Upon the purchase through the internet auction site, investors can declare ownership of

SK ie technology, a battery materials subsidiary of refinery and battery firm SK Innovation, rose on its market debut on the South Korean main board Tuesday, but lost value over the trading day, despite rosy market forecasts.  As soon as the opening bell rang, shares of SKIET started off at 210,000 won ($187.64), doubling its initial public offering price, but closed at 26.43 percent down from their opening price, at 154,500 won. On the first day of trading, the company’s market capi

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday after the benchmark stock index closed at an all-time high the previous session, tracking a decline on Wall Street. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 17.05 points, or 0.52 percent, to 3,232.25 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stock prices declined as investors sold stocks to lock in gains. The stock index had advanced for the past four trading sessions until Monday amid eased tapering jitters on Wall Street. In Seoul, market