The Korea Herald is publishing a regular contribution series written by senior investment strategists at Standard Chartered Group Wealth Management. -- Ed.China’s economic growth has clearly slowed amid escalating US-China trade tensions. The weakness in industry and business investment appears to be spilling over to consumption, as seen in the recent deceleration in retail sales. The sluggish macro data highlights three areas of concern. First, producer prices entered deflation territory

South Korea’s state pension fund, which holds stakes in more than 250 local listed firms, announced changes to its investment portfolio on Friday that are having a considerable impact on the local markets.Among the major conglomerate subsidiaries in which it has invested, the National Pension Service increased its stake in the nation’s No. 1 auto manufacturer, Hyundai Motor, by 1 percent to 10.05 percent by acquiring additional shares Sept. 9. The NPS’ stake in Hyundai Motor st

South Korea’s foreign currency reserve assets increased by nearly $2 billion on-month in September, bolstered by high returns from foreign asset investments, data showed Friday. According to the Bank of Korea, foreign exchange reserves increased $1.8 billion on-month to $403.3 billion last month. The figure had declined in August due to the strong dollar, but rebounded slightly last month as the central bank’s investment in foreign government bonds, mortgage-backed securities and oth

Seoul stocks opened slightly higher Friday following overnight gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 3.91 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,035.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading.US stocks rose Thursday (local time) on hopes that the US Federal Reserve may lower interest rates following signs of a slowing economy. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 0.47 percent to close at 26,201.04.  In Seoul, large caps traded mixed, though tech and chemical shar

Even as the African swine fever outbreak is spreading in South Korea, many investors are offloading their stocks to make profits from businesses related to meat processing and quarantine services, data showed Thursday.Though such profit-taking sales are legal, the stock price plunge and consequent impact on smaller individual investors has invoked criticism.According to the electronic disclosure system operated by the Financial Supervisory Service, poultry processor and distributor Maniker&rsquo

Sales of derivatives-linked securities in South Korea last month dropped nearly 32 percent on-month as snowballing controversy surrounding commercial banks’ sales of risky derivative products dampened investor sentiment, data showed Thursday.According to the Korea Securities Depository, the combined value of derivatives-linked securities, including derivatives-linked bonds, sold throughout September dropped to 1.4 trillion won ($1.2 billion), down 32.2 percent on-month.The value of the pro

Korea Development Bank said Monday that it has begun the sale procedure for KDB Life Insurance, aiming to select a preferred bidder within the year and complete the sale by early next year.This marks the fourth attempt for the state-run bank to put its insurance unit on the market in a midterm restructuring move.KDB put up the public notice of sale on Monday, selecting Credit Suisse and Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers as deal supervisors and Lee & Ko as the legal adviser. Performing the du

Among South Korean banks, KEB Hana Bank received the most sanctions or penalty fines by overseas financial regulators in the last five years, data compiled and released by a lawmaker showed Monday. According to the data released by a Bareunmirae Party lawmaker, foreign governments imposed sanctions or penalties on overseas branches or subsidiaries of local lenders from January 2015 to June this year on 59 occasions. Of the banks, KEB Hana -- one of the big four commercial banks here -- was invol

South Korea’s wealthy are picking real estate as their best long-term investment option amid the widespread bearish sentiments, a report released by a major financial group showed Sunday. The report, based on a survey conducted by a think tank under KB Financial Group, involved 400 South Korean high net worth individuals or investors with assets of more than 1 billion won ($833,000). Of the total respondents, only 10 percent said they seek to expand the scope and size of their asset portfo

South Korean shares are expected to remain in a tight range next week as investors take to the sidelines amid ongoing political uncertainties in the United States, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,049.93 points on Friday, down from 2,091.52 points a week earlier. The index started strong on Monday as investors were buoyed by hopes on the upcoming US-China trade talks.The index then dropped by more than 1 percent on Wednesday, ending a run of

S. Korea's overseas direct investment reached a record high in the second quarter, thanks to a rise in spending on chip-making facilities in China, government data showed Friday.Investments made by South Korean companies came to $15 billion in the April-June period, up 13.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.The quarterly figure is the highest since 1981, when the government began to release data on overseas investments made by Sout

South Korean stocks opened lower on Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street following a potential impeachment probe into US President Donald Trump.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 10.95 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,063.57 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On the Seoul bourse, top market cap Samsung Electronics plunged 1.52 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix nosedived 2.76 percent. LG Display shed 0.75 percent. Financials also got off to a weak start. Shinhan Fi

South Korean pension funds net purchased nearly 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 billion) worth of stocks in companies listed on the benchmark Kospi this month as of Tuesday, Korea Exchange data showed Wednesday.Analysts say the move was fueled mainly by the state-run National Pension Service’s efforts to balance out its investment in domestic stocks in its asset portfolio amid a bear market. According to the KRX, institutional investors net purchased nearly 2.6 trillion won worth of Kospi shares fr

Seoul stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors remain on edge ahead of next month's high-level trade talks between the United States and China.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.9 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,092.61 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The main index ended in positive territory in the past 12 sessions.At the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23 (local time), US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the trade talks would resume next week a

Nearly 20 South Korean firms have posted stable operating profits consecutively on a quarterly basis since 2000, data compiled by a local corporate tracker showed Wednesday, reflecting their ability to manage financial health effectively for nearly two decades. According to the data released by CEO Score, 19 firms here have successfully kept their operating profit margin in positive terrain for 78 consecutive quarters, as of the second quarter this year. The data took 277 nonfinancial listed fir