South Korean stocks are expected to remain weak next week as the United States and China struggle to reach a deal on their yearlong trade dispute and escalating unrest in Hong Kong poses yet another risk to the local stock market, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,101.96 points on Friday, down 2.7 percent from last week. Earlier this week, South Korean stocks closed lower as investors remained cautious over mixed signals regarding a potent

South Korean investors have lost their faith in financial firms and their products, amid the latest series of investment fiascos here, a survey showed Friday.According to a poll conducted by the Korea Financial Investors Protection Foundation on 1,000 respondents aged from 25 to 69, 10 out of the 12 questions scored below 50 out of 100 points.Scoring the lowest were the financial firms’ duty to inform investors of all possible investment risks beforehand and their liability for advertiseme

Woori Bank has cleared out its remaining stake in Woori Financial Holdings, removing the overhang for potential stock value, Woori Financial Group officials said Friday.The bank has disposed of its last remaining 1.8 percent stake in the group’s holding unit Woori Financial Holdings in an over the counter block transition.The corresponding stake was the second batch of the 5.8 percent stake which the bank was holding as part of the all-inclusive exchange of shares to restructure Woori Card

Hyundai Capital, the financing arm of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, is expanding its presence in Brazil with new retail financial products, officials said Thursday.The financial firm’s joint venture with Santander Brasil -- Banco Hyundai Capital Brasil -- which was launched in April this year, is set to unveil a new retail product that guarantees the residual value of a car, called “personal contract purchase.” It computes the expected price of used cars in the futur

KB Financial Group continues expansion in Southeast Asian state

Kakao is set to become the largest shareholder of its internet-only bank on Friday, marking it as the first nonfinancial services firm to have majority stake in a South Korean lender. The Financial Services Commission on Wednesday approved Korea Investment Holdings’ request to transfer 15 percent and 29 percent of its current 50 percent stake in Kakao Bank to Kakao and Korea Investment Value Asset Management, respectively. Korea Investment Value Asset Management is a second-tier subsidiary

Foreign investors continued to offload Korean stocks despite a rebound in daily trading volume, a Korea Exchange data showed Wednesday.Analysts cited the lingering uncertainties surrounding the ongoing US-China trade war that has dampened global investor sentiment behind the move. According to the bourse operator, foreigners were net sellers of shares on the benchmark Kospi worth nearly 1.4 trillion won ($1.2 billion) from Nov. 7 to Wednesday. The offloading observed throughout 10 consecutive tr

Foreign currency deposits held by banks in South Korea rose sharply from a month earlier in October, largely on local companies seeking to stash the US dollar at its weakest, central bank data showed Tuesday.The outstanding foreign currency savings held by banks here came to $78.54 billion as of end-October, up $5.9 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. The reading marks the third consecutive month of increase, and also an acceleration from a $1.67 billion o

For South Korea’s largest brokerages, investment banking has replaced traditional income sources such as stock trading and wealth management as the No. 1 profit maker this year, data showed Monday.Local brokerages are bolstering their investment banking divisions and looking to this business area as a steady income source due to the sluggish stock market. According to regulatory filings compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service, Mirae Asset Daewoo’s investment banking unit posted

The head of South Korea's central bank called for preemptive measures Monday to actively prepare the bank for future changes, but insisted such measures must be practical enough to win the support of not only bank officials but also the general public."Changes and innovations are becoming much faster and more complicated than ever before in each sector of our society," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a biennial meeting of top BOK officials. "Should we not react activel

SC Bank Korea, the local subsidiary of British banking giant Standard Chartered, said Monday that it will launch a limited edition of its check cards and bankbooks featuring characters from the upcoming Disney animation “Frozen 2.”To commemorate opening of the highly anticipated sequel to the Disney hit “Frozen,” slated to hit local theaters on Thursday, the Korean subsidiary is offering 30,000 Ace Plus Check Cards and 60,000 deposit and savings accounts.  Under the

A local equity fund in which President Moon Jae-in invested has amassed more than 100 billion won ($85 million), fund operator NH-Amundi Asset Management said Sunday.Since its launch in August this year, the NH-Amundi Victorious Korea Equity Fund has logged 6.98 percent in return rate as of Friday.The fund was designed to invest in local firms that manufacture industrial equipment, components and materials impacted by Japan’s export curbs. Its popularity has grown about two weeks after Pre

The amount of investments by South Korea’s top 30 conglomerates as of the third quarter fell over 16 percent on-year amid slow growth and sluggish trend of the semiconductor business, a market tracker said Sunday.The combined investments totaled 54.33 trillion won ($46.3 billion) as of the end of September, down 16.6 percent from 65.17 trillion won a year earlier, CEO Score said in a statement.The tally covered the 272 conglomerate subsidiaries that have unveiled their half-year business r

South Korea’s obsession with a penguin character is nothing new, with Pororo the “little penguin” having charmed kids with his orange goggles and innocence for more than a decade. However, Pengsoo -- a penguin character that bears a striking resemblance to Pororo, but armed with a blunter persona -- has gained cross-generational popularity in recent months, even nudging investors to purchase related stocks.Digital education contents producer Uangel -- which signed a memorandum

South Korean stocks opened almost flat on Friday as investors attempted to cash in recent gains amid a lack of market momentum.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched down 0.91 point, or 0.04 percent, to 2,138.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Large caps were mixed, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics unchanged.No. 1 portal operator Naver shed 2.78 percent and carmaker Hyundai Motor was down 0.4 percent.In contrast, chipmaker SK hynix climbed 0.48 percent and POSCO, the No