Seoul stocks opened higher Monday as investor sentiment was boosted by signs that the United States and China may settle their protracted trade row in the near future.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index increased 13.11 points, or 0.63 percent, to reach 2,101.00 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US stock market also gathered ground on Friday following reports that Washington and Beijing are getting closer to finding common ground in their trade talks.Market kingpin Samsung Elect

The issuance of asset-backed securities in South Korea slipped 11.9 percent on-year in the third quarter because of a decline in sales of government-led mortgage funds, data showed Monday. The value of ABSs issues stood at 9.6 trillion won ($8.1 billion) during the July-September period, down 1.3 trillion won from a year ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.  ABSs are structured with mortgages, auto loans, credit card receivables and students loans as underlying

With financial authorities set to finish their monthslong investigation of the sale of high-risk derivatives-linked securities and related funds, key sellers are likely to be handed down heavy penalties for failing to properly warn investors of the risks.At the heart of the commotion was KEB Hana Bank, which has recently been found to have discreetly deleted related internal documents, attempting to stifle evidence. The market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service is scheduled to wrap up its in

South Korean brokerages posted worse-than-expected third-quarter net profit, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed Sunday, with the lackluster performance attributed to a sluggish stock market coupled with local investors’ soured sentiment toward derivative products. According to the FSS’ electronic disclosure board, five major brokerages that have disclosed their third-quarter earnings report all saw substantial drops in net profit on-quarter and fell short of market ex

The nation’s sole stock bourse operator said Thursday that is has launched an online platform to support merger and acquisition deals of South Korean firms overseas. According to the Korea Exchange, the platform aims to connect local firms with materials and parts firms in ASEAN and other economies. The new system will provide smoother transactions in the M&A deal-making process. It will provide a list of overseas candidates reviewed by global M&A advisors, including New York-based

KB Financial Group said Thursday that the current CEO of its commercial banking unit, Hur Yin, has been tapped as a contender for the lender’s chief executive position for a second term, strongly hinting that the incumbent chief will remain in his role. Hur’s current and first term is set to expire later this year. But he is widely expected to remain KB Kookmin Bank CEO for another year, having drawn praise for his leadership after the financial group separated the roles of group cha

South Korea’s local court has decided that the employees of Samsung Securities involved in the “fat finger” scandal in which nonexistent stocks were issued, should pay compensation for about half of the damage they caused the company.The Seoul Central District Court has recently ruled that the 13 employees of the local brokerage must compensate $4.7 billion won ($4 million) of the losses they caused the company by selling nonexistent stocks, officials said Wednesday.The company

South Korea’s two major carriers Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have received a combined 2.1 billion won ($1.79 million) from selling airline miles to commercial lenders in the past four years, Financial Supervisory Service data showed Wednesday. The data comes amid criticisms of local airlines bagging profits from mileage deals with financial institutions, despite some clients’ complaints of strict conditions and terms surrounding the use of the miles. Calls for transparency in the

As South Korea’s rapidly aging population seeks simple solutions for retirement investments, the nation’s target-date fund market has been growing at a rapid pace in recent years, data compiled by The Korea Herald showed Tuesday. Target-date funds are usually long-term investments and classes of mutual funds that rebalance the ratio of different assets in the investor’s portfolio over time. High-risk assets such as stocks account for the larger portion of the investment when th

South Korea’s leading card issuer Hyundai Card said Tuesday it has teamed up with its global advertising affiliate Innocean Worldwide to launch a special project team that will handle all advertising specifically for the credit card affiliate of the group.The team dubbed Oneteam -- launched officially in May -- consists of 10 Innocean employees to handle advertising planning and production. The team is stationed at Hyundai Card for higher efficiency, the firm explained. By bringing th

Overseas investment banks JP Morgan Chase and Societe General earned a combined commission income of nearly 8 billion won ($6.8 million) from designing derivatives products sold mostly via South Korean commercial lenders that put investors at huge risk, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed Monday.The data was acquired and released by a ruling Democratic Party lawmaker here after the nation’s financial watchdog said earlier this month that it has found 750 suspected cases of &

Equity fund to support local parts makers boasts high return

Woori Financial Group said Friday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Germany-based business-software giant SAP to boost the digital transformation of its corporate financial services. The deal was signed by Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung and SAP CEO Jennifer Morgan at the SAP Executive Briefing Center in New York on Thursday, local time. The value of the deal was not released.  Though the newly formed partnership, both sides will cooperate in establishing an int

South Korean shares opened higher Friday as investors cheered a breakthrough in negotiations on Britain's exit from the European Union. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.88 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,085.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investors welcomed a severance deal between Britain and the EU that could wrap up more than three years of uncertainty after Britain decided to leave the EU. In Seoul, large caps were mixed.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics added 0.

The value of daily money transfers via mobile payment apps in South Korea surpassed 200 billion won ($168.6 million) in the first half of the year, central bank data showed Thursday, as more people used smartphones for financial services. The value of daily money transfers via smartphone apps, such as Toss, Naver Pay and KakaoPay, stood at 200.5 billion won in the January-June period, up 60.7 percent from six months ago, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. Toss, Naver Pay and KakaoPay ac