South Korea’s Mirae Asset Daewoo appeared on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index last week for the eighth consecutive year in recognition of its sustainable management efforts, the company said Tuesday.  “We feel honored for obtaining recognition from a globally reputable institution over Mirae Asset’s sustainable management related activities such as social contribution, (improvement) in corporate governance, human rights, the environment and responsible investment,&

Shares of South Korean oil-related businesses posted mixed performances Tuesday, in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s decision to shut down nearly half of its oil production after a series of drone strikes on key installations. Shares of petroleum product distributor Joongang Enervis closed nearly 21 percent higher from the previous session, at 10,250 won ($8.61).  Hunggu Oil, which is engaged in the wholesale and retail sale of petroleum products, extended gains for the second day, and clos

Robo-advisers, or digital algorithm-based wealth management services provided by investment firms, outpaced major indexes here last month, reflecting their ability to build a strong portfolio amid a bear market, data provided by a state-backed IT firm showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by Koscom, return rates for risk-seeking, risk-neutral and risk-averse investments made via robo advisors in August came in at 0.1 percent, minus 0.51 percent and minus 1.18 percent, respectively. The d

　South Korean individuals and corporations held a combined 61.5 trillion won ($51.5 billion) worth of wealth in overseas accounts this year, down 7.4 percent from a year earlier, the country’s tax agency said.　The National Tax Service said 696 corporate entities held 55.1 trillion won in June, compared with 551 companies with 59.5 trillion won in overseas accounts a year earlier.　The corporations held the largest amount, 14.81 trillion won, in their accounts in Japan, with their accounts i

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance said Monday it was granted a six-month exclusive license to offer long-term disability insurance in South Korea, making the firm the first to provide such a policy with a coverage period of more than three years. Long-term disability insurance allows workers to receive a portion of their salary if they are unable to work for a period deemed to be long by the insurance company, compared to short-term disability policies that usually require a waiting or elimina

YG Entertainment -- recently shaken by a police investigation into its former CEO Yang Hyun-suk -- is expected to return an investment worth 67 billion won ($56.5 million) related to redeemable convertible preferred shares to French luxury giant LVMH next month, local reports said Monday. According to reports citing financial industry sources, the repayment date set for LVMH’s holdings of 1,359,688 redeemable convertible preferred shares of the entertainment agency is slated for Oct. 16. L

South Korea's homegrown hedge funds continued to soak up money while viable investment vehicles remain few in number, data showed on Saturday.Hedge funds here pulled in 600 billion won (US$509 million) over the past month, with their assets under management reaching 34.9 trillion won at the end of August, according to industry data.The end-August figure also marks a sharp rise from 23.3 trillion won at the end of last year, the data showed.The capital inflow into hedge funds averaged 1.4 trillio

South Korea's stock exchange will introduce an electronic securities system next week, under which all listed stocks and bonds do not exist in paper form, according to the country's financial regulator.Under the new system, which will go into effect Monday, securities certificates of listed stocks and bonds are required to be recorded on an electronic register, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said. The new system will allow investors to acquire, transfer and exercise subsequent rights el

Asset manager marks presence as frontrunner in overseas real estate investing

The combined net profit of South Korea’s major brokerages for the first half of the year inched up 5.7 percent on-year, data released by the Financial Supervisory Service showed Tuesday, marking a new record high. According to the financial watchdog, the combined net profit of 56 brokerages for the January-June period came to 2.8 trillion won ($2.35 billion), slightly up from the corresponding figure of 2.7 trillion won from the same period last year, which was also then a record high. The

In the hours following the South Korean Supreme Court’s decision to reject an appeal by the Financial Service Commission on imposing disciplinary actions on Samsung BioLogics, the biopharma firm’s stocks rallied on Tuesday.The biopharma arm of Samsung Group closed 1.25 percent higher from the previous trading session at 283,500 won ($237.58). 　 The Securities & Futures Commission, a legal watchdog under the FSC, filed an appeal at the Supreme Court in May, after the lower co

KDB chief brings M&A scenario to table, lashes out at GM Korea union strike

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Monday it has fined eight logistics companies a combined 3.1 billion won ($2.6 million) for colluding to fix their bidding prices for a state-run utility firm and its three power generation units.Hanjin Transportation Co., CJ Logistics Corp. and six other logistics companies fixed their bids on 10 occasions between 2011 and 2016 to secure a stable quantity of goods for transportation from Korea Electric Power Corp. and avoid price competition, according to

South Korea's credit card firms saw their combined earnings fall in the first half, hit by a decline in credit card processing fees, data showed Monday. The combined net profit of eight card issuers, including Shinhan Card Co., Samsung Card Co. and KB Kookmin Card Co., came to 940.5 billion won ($787 million) in the January-June period, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data released by the Financial Supervisory Service. Earlier this year, the government cut credit card proc

South Korean stocks are expected to gain further ground next week as market sentiment remains upbeat over planned trade talks between Washington and Beijing, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,009.13 points on Friday, up 2.1 percent from a week ago, on growing hopes that the world's two largest economies may find a compromise in their drawn-out trade talks. This month, the US imposed 15 percent import duties on a wide range of Chinese consumer good