Mirae Asset Global Investments, a Korean asset management firm, has been cementing its leadership in the local personal pension fund market with assets under its management continuing to grow this year. Personal pension and retirement pension funds operated by Mirae Asset have reached a combined 7.59 trillion won ($6.3 billion), or 3.63 trillion won and 3.96 trillion won, respectively. As of this year, the pension funds had increased by 500 billion won, the highest increase in the local mark

South Korea’s short-term funding market is showing no signs of stabilizing, despite the central bank’s relief package to help ease the credit crunch amid the global coronavirus pandemic. The interest rate of commercial papers with 85-91 days of maturity -- a frequent short-term debt instrument by nonfinancial companies -- soared to 2.09 percent Friday, up 5 basis points from the previous day’s close, according to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The figur

South Korea's finance minister has called on the International Monetary Fund to consider allocating the Special Drawing Rights, an international reserve asset, to provide global liquidity amid the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic. Hong Nam-ki made his case in a video conference of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the governing body of the IMF, which was held Friday to discuss the unprecedented challenge posed by COVID-19. The SDR is an international reserve asset that

South Korea’s government and key state-run banks on Friday sealed a plan to provide a credit line of 1 trillion won ($826 million) to Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, in an effort to prevent a possible liquidity crunch amid the novel coronavirus spread. As the key creditor, the Korea Development Bank said it will provide financial support to the struggling power equipment maker jointly with the Export-Import Bank of Korea. “Together, we shall provide some 1 trillion w

Korean brokerage firm Mirae Asset Daewoo said Friday that its Hong Kong branch has suffered a loss of $5 million in a recent email fraud scam. The firm’s Hong Kong branch concluded an underwriting agreement to take over airplanes from an aircraft leasing company last year and made another contract to sublease the aircrafts to a carrier in Asia. But it was targeted in a “spear-phishing” attack while paying the balance, the brokerage said. Spear-phishing is an email scam targe

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street boosted by historic stimulus measures amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 62.47 points, or 3.7 percent, to 1,748.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks rallied for a third straight day Thursday (local time) after the Senate passed a $2 trillion relief package to tackle the economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis. The Dow Jones Industria

Moody's Investors Service said Thursday that it has placed the ratings of Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors on review for downgrade due to the coronavirus outbreak.    The global credit rater said the two South Korean carmakers remain vulnerable to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and predicted demand for new vehicles will reduce meaningfully over the coming months, especially in the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and North American markets.    "

South Korean stocks finished lower Thursday after two straight days of robust gains, as investors cashed in part of recent gains. The Korean won lost ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 18.52 points, or 1.09 percent, to close at 1,686.24, ending its two-day winning streak. The index spiked nearly 14.5 percent over the last two days on stimulus hopes.  Trading volume was high at 982 million shares worth 12.2 trillion won ($9.9 billi

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung on Thursday was reappointed for another three years, despite disapproval of the largest shareholder and an ongoing legal dispute. The appointment was approved at the group’s annual shareholders meeting in Seoul which was livestreamed on the its website due to the COVID-19 spread. Cho will retain his position until March 2023, with no apparent signs of dissent from the attending shareholders. “I will make the best efforts to mini

South Korea’s state pension fund said Wednesday that it will take a final stance Thursday on the family feud centering on management control of Hanjin KAL, holding company of Hanjin Group which runs Korean Air. A trust management committee under the state-run National Pension Service, which holds 2.9 percent stake in Hanjin KAL, will decide on its vote on the reappointment of Cho Won-tae, chairman of Hanjin Group, at a shareholders meeting scheduled Friday. It is widely expected that

South Korea’s brokerage houses suffering from recent losses on risky structured products that placed bets on foreign stock indexes are expected to get some relief after the government allocated a larger-than-expected slice of its stimulus package to the sector.  Reporting on the results of a meeting presided by Moon Jae-in on Tuesday, the Financial Services Commission said authorities would inject 5 trillion won ($4.1 billion) to help securities firms deal with the stress, as part o

Five major banks in South Korea are expected to contribute to nearly two-thirds of an envisioned bond market stabilization fund, sources said Wednesday. Seoul unveiled an emergency financial aid package Tuesday, which calls for a 10 trillion-won bond market stabilization fund in early April to help coronavirus-wracked businesses raise money. Several dozens of local financial companies will contribute an additional 10 trillion won to the fund later. More than 20 major financial firms will also

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Wednesday tracking a record rally on Wall Street as investors bet on stimulus measures around the globe amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had risen 64.16 points, or 3.99 percent, to 1,674.13 as of 9:15 a.m. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday skyrocketed 11.4 percent to close at 20,704.91, its biggest one-day gain since 1933, after US lawmakers said they are close to passing a $2.5 trillion stim

South Korean stocks rebounded sharply Tuesday, as investors were buoyed by the US Federal Reserve’s overnight announcement of unlimited bond-buying and the government’s bold emergency financial aid package to tackle the economic slowdown due to novel coronavirus spread. 　 The benchmark Kospi soared 127.51 points, or 8.6 percent, from the previous session, to close at 1,609.97. The market began strong at 1,523.69 and continued to move upward through the day, marking the biggest incr

As the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to cause an economic contraction worldwide, South Korean conglomerates, the main locomotives of the nation’s economy, are increasingly borrowing money from banks in a bid to improve liquidity, according to data Tuesday. The loan balance of Korean conglomerates at five banks -- KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank and NH Bank -- came in at 78.7 trillion won ($62.9 billion) as of Friday, up 1.78 trillion won from late February. T