South Korea’s food service firm Lotte Food saw a moderate success in raising cash through investment-grade corporate bonds, as a state fund has helped fend off risks from the escalating coronavirus crisis. But analysts said Tuesday Korea is still a tough test bed to check whether the government’s stimulus package can normalize the funding market. On Monday, Lotte Food decided to raise 100 billion won ($81.77 million) after it carried out an institutional investor tranche for its AA

South Korean shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid signs that the spread of the coronavirus could be slowing. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 42.10 points, or 2.35 percent, to 1,833.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The main index tracked overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 7.73 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbed 7.33 percent. US stocks soared as the number of new

The average price for the jeonse -- a real estate term unique to South Korea that refers to a property lease -- in Seoul has surpassed 460 million won ($375,000) for the first time, continuing the recent upward trend, data showed Monday. According to the Korea Appraisal Board, a property assessment agency, the average jeonse prices in the capital have been rising since July to reach 460.7 million won as of March. Separate data from property services platform KB Kookmin Bank Liiv On also sho

Local investors scoop up $12.38b of US stocks in March

South Korean stocks soared by almost 4 percent on Monday, extending their gains to a third straight session on hopes of potential treatment for the new coronavirus that has infected more than 1.2 million people around the world. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 66.44 points, or 3.85 percent, to 1,791.88. Institutional investors bought a net 1.03 trillion won ($838 million), while foreign investors sold a net 202 billion w

The number of small business owners who were unable to repay credit loans prolonged an upward trend last year and remains likely to expand further this year, due to the novel coronavirus spread, data showed Sunday. The number of small business owners who are in default came in at 35,806 in the fourth quarter last year, up from 35,567 in the third quarter and 33,292 in the second quarter, according to data compiled by credit rating firm NICE Credit Information Service. Given that some 2.09 mi

South Korean shares opened higher Monday amid hopes of a potential treatment for the new coronavirus that has infected more than 1.2 million people around the world. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 20.56 points, or 1.19 percent, to 1,746.00 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Seo Sang-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities Co., said the main index received a boost amid positive news about Gilead Sciences' remdesivir against COVID-19. Daniel O'Day, chairman and

South Korea is likely to post negative economic growth this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, data showed Sunday. The average estimate of the nation’s gross domestic product growth for this year recently came to negative 0.9 percent, drastically down from the previous suggestion of around 2 percent. The forecasts were tallied from 11 global financial services firms, including Standard Chartered, UBS, Morgan Stanley, Nomura Holdings and Credit Suisse. The plunge is attributed

South Korea’s listed companies are likely to post poor earnings results for the first quarter due to the escalating fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic, a financial market tracker said Sunday. The combined operating profits of 141 listed companies are expected to mark 16.79 trillion won ($13.6 billion) in the January-March period this year, down 20.22 trillion won, or 16.92 percent, from a year ago, according to data compiled by FN Guide. If the projection turns out to be roughl

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Friday as a recovery in global oil prices boosted investor sentiment against the new coronavirus pandemic. The local currency dropped against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.58 point, or 0.03 percent, to close at 1,725.44. Trading volume was high at some 986 million shares worth a little over 1 trillion won ($811 million), with gainers outnumbering losers 506 to 328. The index got off to

More online food orders means more loan relief

S&P Global Ratings on Thursday placed Hyundai Motor Group on its watchlist of firms with a negative outlook, citing the impact of the new coronavirus pandemic on the global automobile industry. "The COVID-19 pandemic is causing production suspensions and weakening demand in the global auto industry, which was already facing slowing demand in 2019," S&P said in a report as it placed the South Korean auto giant on "CreditWatch with negative implications," hinting its r

The Korea Exchange (KRX) said Thursday it has decided not to implement a new rule meant to prevent major indices from dominant influence of a single stock. The stock market operator previously considered applying the so-called “30 percent cap” rule on market bellwether Samsung Electronics by June, as its weight on Kospi 200 increased to 33.5 percent as of Jan. 20 from 29.8 percent of Dec. 2. “The purpose of applying the rule was to comply with regulations. Due to the revisio

Ion Investments, an affiliate of Singaporean investment firm Temasek Holdings, sold millions of shares of Korean biosimilar giant Celltrion and its distribution affiliate Celltrion Healthcare in a block deal before markets opened, according to news reports Thursday. The Singapore-based investment firm sold 2.57 million shares, or 1.9 percent, of Celltrion, and 2.21 million shares, or 1.5 percent, of Celltrion Healthcare via the block trading deal. The stock price of Celltrion fell 8.08 perc

Investment funds in South Korea posted a sharp valuation fall in March over fears of the novel coronavirus, marking the largest decline so far, data showed Thursday. The combined net asset value of public offering and private placement funds, excluding private equity funds that entail management involvement in companies, sank to 646.19 trillion won ($520.74 billion) as of end-March, down 45.66 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association. The t