Viva Republica, operator of mobile financial service Toss, said Thursday that it has converted all of its redeemable convertible preferred shares to convertible preferred shares, in a move to enhance capital stability.Redeemable shares, or RCPS, refer to preferred stocks that the issuing company may trade for cash, while convertible shares, or CPS, allow the shareholder to exchange for common stocks. The latter is recognized as capital under both Korean Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (K

South Korea's financial regulator on Thursday unveiled a raft of measures to better protect consumers in the wake of improper sales of derivatives linked to overseas interest rates that carry the risk of losing nearly all the money invested in them.Under the measures, banks will be banned from selling high-risk privately placed funds, according to the Financial Services Commission.Banks and other financial firms will be required to strengthen their internal control systems when they sell high-ri

In pursuit of IPO, potentially in 2021, credit card firm seeks to boost value

Hanwha Group’s defense technology unit was listed Wednesday, suggesting that succession plans are being hastened and Chairman Kim Seung-youn is ready to hand over the reins to his sons. Hanwha Systems currently has a market cap of nearly 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion) and traded slightly below its initial public offering price of 12,250 won at 11,100 won on its first day of trading on the benchmark Kospi.According to analysts and industry insiders, the company’s Kospi debut will hel

The gap between South Korea's policy rate and that of the United States may have placed South Korea in unexplored territory, but the rate gap has yet to cause any serious problems for Asia's fourth-largest economy, a member of the Bank of Korea's monetary policy board said Wednesday."(Future rate decisions) will have to be made after carefully examining various factors as South Korea is exploring an unwalked territory," Lim Ji-won said in a meeting with reporters. Lim's remarks came le

With Black Friday falling in the US on Nov. 29, South Korea’s credit card operators are rolling up their sleeves to lure online shoppers with discounts and giveaways, industry data showed Wednesday.Overseas online retail customers -- dubbed “jikgu-jok” in Korean -- are expected to flock to various shopping sites in the upcoming season, running from Black Friday in end-November, to Cyber Monday in early December, up to Christmas and year-end.According to Korea Customs Service, b

Green bond issuance in South Korea has more than doubled so far this year, compared to the cumulative total floated last year, data provided by local companies showed Tuesday.Green bonds are fixed-income securities that fund eco-friendly projects. The size of the bond market and diversity of its issuers have been increasing in recent years as firms deem it helpful to improve their corporate image and make investors feel environmentally conscious. According to disclosures issued by the firms, the

Among South Korea’s chaebol owner family members, 51 are aged 30 or younger and also own stocks worth 10 billion won ($8.6 million), industry data showed Monday.According to conglomerate tracker Chaebul.com, the total value of such stocks amounted to over 1.8 trillion won, with the per capita average of 36.8 billion won, as of the closing price Wednesday. Compared to the previous survey in January 2017, the number of young superrich dropped by one while the aggregated value of their assets

Amid a sluggish stock market, the top three South Korean conglomerates -- Samsung, SK and Hyundai Motor Group -- saw their market capitalizations rise this year, while values of the other top 10 plunged in the same period, data compiled by a local market tracker showed.According to FnGuide, the combined market cap of Samsung’s 16 listed subsidiaries increased nearly 18 percent, from Jan. 2 to Oct. 30, to 434.9 trillion won ($382 billion). Of the 16 subsidiaries, nine saw a growth in their

Major lenders scramble to gain upper hand in blue ocean market

Woori Bank Vietnam, the local subsidiary of South Korea’s Woori Financial Group, held its office opening ceremony in Danang this week, officials said Friday.The bank’s Danang office had earlier obtained its business license in September and kicked off business on Oct. 25, becoming Woori’s tenth bank office in Vietnam and the first in the central region. It was also the first foreign bank to kick off since the State Bank of Vietnam reinforced regulations for foreign banks in May

South Korea’s Shinhan Card said Thursday it has signed a three-year partnership agreement with US-based online retail giant Amazon, as it seeks to aggressively expand its list of global partners. According to the card issuer, an array of benefits will be provided for Shinhan Card users who use e-commerce and other services by Amazon. Both firms will first jointly launch a promotion on Nov. 15 for its customers seeking overseas direct purchases during the fast-approaching Black Friday sales

Dunamu, operator of global cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, said it has launched a comprehensive over-the-counter trading platform on Thursday that will allow users to both sell and purchase unlisted stocks.The platform dubbed U-Stockplus, released in the form of an app, is available for download on Google Play. It will be available as an iOS app in mid-November.  The fintech firm joined hands with local brokerage Samsung Securities and big data analytics company Deep Search to resolve the is

South Korea’s credit default risk has dropped to its lowest point in over 12 years, to a level last seen before the 2008 global financial crisis, government data showed Wednesday.The credit default swap premium on the country’s foreign exchange stabilization bonds with a five-year maturity came to 27 basis points as of Tuesday on the New York market, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The spread on CDS reflects the cost of hedging credit risks on corporate or sovereign

Asset manager Mirae Asset Global Investments has been a trailblazer among South Korean financial institutions in entering global markets. According to the asset management unit of Mirae Asset Financial Group on Wednesday, it was the first among its peers to establish a Hong Kong subsidiary in 2003. The move marked its first foray overseas. In 2005, it became the first Korean asset manager to launch an offshore fund and provided local investors early opportunities to make overseas investments.In