South Korean stocks are expected to face volatile sessions next week on growing concerns of a global slowdown, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 1,948.30, up 21.13 points, or 1.1 percent, from 1,927.17 a week earlier."We expect to see a below neutral movement of the local stock market next week when the KOSPI will be put to a test to defend the psychologically important 1,900-point threshold," Hana Investment & Securities analyst Kim Y

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Friday as investors took to the sidelines amid uncertainty over the US Federal Reserve's much-awaited rate cuts and concerns over the escalating tension with Japan. The Korean won lost ground against the US dollar for a second consecutive session.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 2.71 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 1,948.30. Trading volume was slim at some 365 million shares worth 3.27 trillion won ($2.7 billion), with lo

South Korea’s financial institutions issued 3.2 trillion won ($2.7 billion) worth of high-risk derivatives-linked securities last year that did not guarantee the return of the investor’s original investment, according to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association released Thursday.The volume of such DLS issued increased 29 percent on-year from 2.9 trillion won in 2017 and hit a record high, feeding concerns over South Korean investors’ growing appetite for high-risk,

Overseas card spending by South Koreans slightly dropped from three months earlier in the second quarter, partly due to a decrease in the number of people going abroad, central bank data showed Thursday.In the April-June period, overseas card spending came to $4.67 billion, down 0.1 percent from $4.68 billion in the first quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. On an annual basis, the second-quarter card spending overseas gained 0.1 percent, marking the slowest on-year growth at l

Addressing growing calls in South Korea to ease firewall and outsourcing regulations, senior officials from global financial institutions on Wednesday highlighted the need to allow firms more choice in setting the scope of their data protection. Growth prospects of the financial sector have apparently been curbed by “stricter-than-necessary” legal barriers that restrict the transfer of information between certain financial parties and outsourcing regulations set by the financial auth

Marking one year since Mirae Asset Group Chairman Park Hyeon-joo became global investment strategy officer of the firm’s brokerage unit Mirae Asset Daewoo, the brokerage’s overseas businesses reported robust earnings for the first half of the year. According to an earnings report recently released by the brokerage, the combined net profit of Mirae Asset Daewoo’s overseas branches reached 82.7 billion ($80 million) in the January-to-June period, up nearly 70 percent compared to

The combined volume of loans extended by Japanese lenders operating here fell 5.4 percent on-month as of late June, data showed Tuesday. Meanwhile, loans taken out by local conglomerates accounted for more than half of the total volume, a report by the Financial Supervisory Service showed.According to the report submitted to a main opposition lawmaker, the volume of loans stood at 23.4 trillion won ($20 billion) as of late June, down 5.4 percent from 24.7 trillion won the previous month.  A

Seoul shares closed higher Monday after US President Donald Trump vowed to call his Chinese counterpart in a move to settle the escalating American-Sino trade dispute. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 12.73 points, or 0.66 percent, to 1,939.90. Trading volume was moderate at 472 million shares worth 3.68 trillion won ($3.12 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 633 to 207.The prospects are growing that the trade row between the w

South Korean banks and brokerages are in hot water for selling high-risk derivatives-linked securities and related funds to their customers, mostly retail investors, allegedly without providing sufficient warnings or instructions. According to the watchdog Financial Supervisory Service on Monday, eight major financial institutions here sold a combined 822.4 billion ($678.8 million) worth of DLS and funds that use the high-risk product to 3,654 individual investors and 188 businesses as of Aug. 7

South Korean shares are likely to remain subdued next week amid lingering concerns over a global economic slowdown prompted by the US-China trade row, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 1927.17 points on Friday, up 0.34 percent from a week ago. The index suffered a 3 percent decline last week. Analysts said the market direction for next week will largely depend on developments in the US-China trade spat, although the latest moves from the world'

South Korean stocks closed lower Friday morning as investors remained worried over a global economic slowdown amid the protracted US-China trade war. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 11.20 points, or 0.58 percent, to 1,927.17. Trading volume was moderate at 413 million shares worth 4.18 trillion won ($3.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 644 to 203.The index dropped to as low as 1,911.72 at one point in the morning session

Shinhan Bank Vietnam, the local subsidiary of South Korea’s major lender, opened four new branches in the Southeast Asian country this week, officials said Friday.It also became the first Korea-based bank there to run a complete nationwide network that covers the central region, with a branch in the popular tourist city of Da Nang. Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong attended the opening ceremony on Thursday, along with key officials from the local government and the country’s central bank,

The leader of KEB Hana Bank’s anti-counterfeiting team discusses how experts spot forgeries and look at the danger of a suspected North Korean export: supernotes

South Korean consumers cut back their credit card spending on products sold by Japanese brands here by nearly 50 percent as of end-July, a report by the nation’s financial watchdog showed Thursday.According to the report released by an opposition lawmaker, the combined card spending plummeted to 4.9 billion won ($4 million) in the fourth week of July, from 10.2 billion won in the last week of June. On-year, the combined credit card spending on Japanese products sold in Korea, fell 48 perce

The Korean financial circle is expected to undergo extensive reshuffling in the upcoming months as the chief executive officers of major banking groups will finish their terms early next year. Among them are Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung, whose term will last until the general shareholders meeting slated for March next year. While a candidate recommendation committee will kick off in January, Cho’s bid for reappointment will largely depend on the result of an ongoin