Faster than anyone could have imagined, South Korea’s IT platforms, which have had no banking experience at all, have quickly become a dominant force in the nation’s retail banking scene.  The COVID-19 pandemic has been defining moment for digital transformation, according to industry watchers, with the rising number of consumers preferring non-face-to-face banking services.  According to the Bank of Korea, the volume of money transfers and loan applications carried out

South Korea’s regulator Financial Services Commission on Tuesday started to discuss Mirae Asset Securities’ entry to short-term financing market, a decision that would grant the brokerage official status as a mega investment bank. Four trillion won ($3.57 billion) in equity capital is a prerequisite for a mega investment bank to issue a promissory note with a maximum limit of 200 percent of its equity capital with a maturity of one year or less. As of the end of December, Mirae Asse

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday on inflation concerns and the partial resumption of short selling. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 10.66 points, or 0.34 percent, to 3,116.54 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a weak start after a five-session losing streak. Bio and tech shares dropped amid rising inflation, which could help raise market rates, while bank shares performed strong. South Korea's consumer price index rose 2.3 perc

South Korea’s stock market retreated for a fifth consecutive session Monday amid strong foreign and institutional selling on the first day the government lifted a 14-month ban on short selling of large-cap stocks. The local currency’s value against the US greenback also weakened. The main bourse Kospi closed at 3,127.2 points, down 20.66 points or 0.66 percent, from the previous session’s close. The index began trading at 3,149.05 points and once rose up to 3,174.26 points in

South Korea's financial regulator said Monday the country will take stern actions against illegal activities involving stock short selling as it allowed a partial resumption of short selling after a 14-month ban. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) partially lifted its ban on short selling of some listed stocks after it imposed a six-month ban on the trading strategy in March last year and later extended it to ease market routs caused by the pandemic. Short selling is a trading strategy in

South Korea's key stock index opened lower Monday after a four-session losing streak, as investors took to the sidelines on the first day of partially resumed short selling. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 5.07 points, or 0.16 percent, to 3,142.79 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Beginning Monday, the country's financial authorities lifted short selling ban on 200 market heavyweights on the main bourse and 150 companies on the tech-laden Kosdaq market. I

Analysts expected a partial lifting of South Korea’s ban on short selling of large-cap stocks on the Kospi 200 and Kosdaq 150 indexes on Monday will have a limited impact on the market. The country is set to ease bans on the indexes about 14 months after it imposed the restriction to protect investors from a sudden market fall triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Brushing aside retail investors’ concerns over a possible drop in stock prices, market watchers the equity market is un

NH NongHyup Bank, one of South Korea’s five major banks, said Sunday that it has been granted a license to operate a branch in Hong Kong, taking a solid step towards global expansion. With the green light given by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on Thursday, the lender will make a foray into Asia’s largest financial hub. NH NongHyup plans to launch its Hong Kong branch by the end of the year, after selecting the location of its headquarters, according to the firm. “Hong Ko

After surviving bad bets on hotels, Asiana, Park says future industry is his new focus

Retail investors' stock ownership in Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's most valuable company, surpassed 10 percent for the first time as they went bargain hunting for its shares amid the COVID-19 pandemic last year, industry data showed Sunday. Individual investors owned a total of 65.3 million common shares of Samsung Electronics as of Friday, accounting for 10.1 percent of the total, according to industry data. The world's largest memory chip and smartphone vendor is valued at 486.5 tr

South Korea's financial regulator is set to partially lift its ban on short selling of listed stocks this week, about 14 months after it imposed it to cope with a stock market rout triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting Monday, the ban on 200 large-cap firms listed on the main KOSPI and 150 firms listed on the secondary KOSDAQ will be lifted, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said. A total of 917 stocks are listed on the KOSPI, and 1,470 stocks are listed on the KOSDAQ. A ban o

Nonfungible tokens, widely known as NFTs, will survive a second wave and, even more, thrive as the public increasingly embraces this digital asset that has become more understandable and tangible, advocates said. Gathering for a panel session held by accelerator SparkLabs, industry experts from the US and Korea said Thursday that, unlike in 2017, there are more use cases of NFTs and people adopting their use. First appearing in 2014, an NFT is a blockchain-based nonduplicable digital certi

South Korean stocks slumped for the fourth consecutive day Friday as investors remained concerned over coronavirus situation and the upcoming lifting of a ban on short selling. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 26.21 points, or 0.83 percent, to close at 3,147.86 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 18.7 trillion won ($16.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 534 to 339. Foreigner

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday amid concerns of the spreading new coronavirus cases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 5.82 points, or 0.18 percent, to 3,168.25 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a muted start as the country's social distancing scheme will be extended by three more weeks ahead of holidays next month. South Korea's industrial output increased 0.8 percent in March on-month, slowing from a 2.1 percent growth in F

South Korea’s amateur investors poured out record amounts of cash -- nearly 81 trillion won ($73.1 billion) -- to obtain new shares of SK ie technology, a wholly owned battery materials subsidiary under SK Innovation, in its two-day public subscription for an initial public offering. According to data compiled by underwriters, small domestic traders had placed some 80.9 trillion won in deposits by the deadline of 4 p.m. on Thursday, setting a record in stock market history here. SK Group