Bitcoin prices remained unstable Thursday after falling more than 10 percent late Wednesday in a roller-coaster movement that coincided with the government’s warning and a widening price gap with overseas exchanges. The price for a bitcoin stood at about 71 million won ($63,600) as of 3 p.m. on Thursday, falling from 79 million won a day ago. The price of the largest cryptocurrency climbed sharply in recent days especially in domestic markets, showing a widening “Kimchi premium,&rd

South Korean stocks gained for a sixth consecutive session Thursday amid global economic recovery hope. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.85 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 3,143.26. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 16.8 trillion won ($15 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 487 to 352. Foreigners bought a net 107 billion won, while institutions sold 479 b

Oh likely to push for development of high-rise apartments in city, sparking concerns from central government 　

Construction businesses in the South Korean stock market are likely to benefit from an election win by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon over his pledges focusing on housing redevelopment plans. “Based on plans such as expanding floor area ratio, supplying 360,000 housing units in five years and abolishing the restriction on building apartments with more than 35 floors near the Han River, reconstruction and redevelopment businesses are expected to be revived,” said Kim Dae-jun, an analyst at K

Foreign investors have a hard time navigating South Korea’s “unique” private equity investment landscape, having to face obstacles such as family-run conglomerates’ dominance in the domestic industry, a private equity professional said in a virtual seminar on Thursday. “South Korea is very unique market,” Chue En Yaw, managing director and head of private equity funds at Temasek-owned Azalea Asset Management, told audience of the virtual seminar hosted by ca

Seoul-based Samsung Asset Management and Canadian counterpart Manulife Investment Management have signed a memorandum of understanding for the bilateral strategic alliance, Samsung Asset said Thursday. The largest asset management firm in South Korea, overseeing some 280 trillion won ($250 billion) assets in March, will team up with Manulife IM to explore opportunities in overseas alternative investing, private assets and specialized public market strategies. The partnership will also allow the

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as investors attempted to cash in recent gains amid a lack of events. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.63 points, or 0.31 percent, to 3,127.78 points in the first 18 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a lackluster start as the Federal Reserve reiterated its stance that it would continue the existing support despite positive economic signals. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.82 percent, and No. 2 chipma

The prices of apartments in Seoul measuring 60 square meters or less continued an upward trend last month, according to data on Wednesday. A report on monthly housing price trends released by commercial bank KB Kookmin Bank showed that the average selling price of a small apartment in Seoul stood at 768 million won ($687,793), up 22.7 percent on-year. For newlyweds and small families, 60 square meters is a popular size. Nowon-gu, Dobong-gu, Gangbuk-gu and Geumcheon-gu were among the distric

K bank, one of South Korea’s largest online banks, saw a significant hike in savings in recent months in line with its operations linked to cryptocurrency trading. Deposits at the nation’s first online bank exceeded 10 trillion won ($8.96 billion) earlier this month, compared with just 1.85 trillion won in June last year, officials said. The bank held 8.72 trillion won in deposits as of the end of March. The figure was almost double that of Jeju Bank, whose deposits came to 5.4

The chief of the Korea Financial Investment Association and the Vietnamese ambassador to South Korea on Wednesday discussed ways to expand investment and bolster financial cooperation between the two nations. Six local brokerages and 10 asset management companies currently have subsidiaries or offices in Vietnam. KOFIA Chairman Na Jae-chul said the organization hopes to strengthen cooperation by signing a memorandum of understanding with the State Securities Commission of Vietnam. “We&rs

South Korean stocks rose for the fifth straight session Wednesday as foreign investors continued to scoop up local stocks amid growing hopes for global economic recovery. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 10.33 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 3,137.41 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.96 billion shares worth some 14.3 trillion won ($12.77 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 544 to 292. Foreigners pi

This is part of a series of interviews and analyses of South Korea’s top bankers, policymakers and investors leading the financial industry here. This is the third installment. -- Ed. Citibank Korea CEO Yoo Myung-soon and her rise to the top made fresh headlines late last year, when she became the first female chief of a South Korean commercial bank. The news brought hopes for greater gender diversity in a finance market long dominated by men. Her vision of making the bank stand out a

Foreign investors have been on a buying spree of South Korean stocks so far this month, picking up a net 2.2 trillion won ($1.97 billion) worth of local shares, reversing their selling trend earlier this year. Offshore investors have been net buyers of local shares for five straight sessions -- the first time this year -- from April 1 to 7, while retail investors have sold a net 1.2 trillion won over the cited period and institutions have offloaded a net 1 trillion won, according to financial i

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on investor optimism for a faster-than-expected global economic recovery, backed by the latest forecast from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.75 points, or 0.28 percent, to 3,135.83 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The firm start comes after the IMF raised its global economic growth forecast for this year to 6 percent from its earlier estimate of 5.5 percent. Market kingp

South Korean stocks rose for the fourth straight session Tuesday as investors pinned their hopes on a faster-than-expected global economic recovery, backed by strong US economic data. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.25 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 3,127.08 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.26 billion shares worth some 13.5 trillion won ($12.06 billion), with losers outnumbering g