The Korea Herald publishes a regular contribution series written by senior investment strategists at Standard Chartered Group Wealth Management. – Ed.Early this year, our investment committee members went on the road to present our 2019 Outlook to our clients across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, as we do every year. One of the key messages that we have constantly communicated over the years is the importance of diversification. While we get the sense that some of our investors

Shinhan Bank’s newly appointed CEO Jin Ok-dong on Tuesday pledged a two-track strategy for the bank’s global push, calling for the formation of strong business assets in key currency markets such as the US and Japan while citing plans to build a locally competitive presence in emerging markets.　“I believe in a two-track strategy for the bank’s global expansion,” Jin said in his inaugural press conference at Shinhan Bank’s headquarters in Seoul. 　“One tra

South Korea’s Mirae Asset will make a foray into the Japanese market by the end of the year, while expanding its business in China and India, its founder said in an email to employees on Monday. “Demand for global financial products will only continue to grow,” wrote Park Hyeon-joo from New York, on his last leg of a business trip around the world, in his first letter to the employees in two years. After stepping down as chairman of Mirae Asset Financial Group in Korea las

Viva Republica, operator of mobile payment app Toss, said Monday that it has finalized a consortium to establish Toss Bank, the third internet-only bank here.The consortium will consist of Silicon Valley-based venture capital Altos Ventures, Goodwater Capital, Brazil’s Nubank, UK fintech player Revolut, and the Korea Electronic Certification Authority, the company said in a press release.While Viva Republica will hold a 67 percent stake -- as a financial operator, not as an information and

Hyundai Motor Group’s IT services unit plans to go public on South Korea’s main bourse this week, which is expected to turn the odds further in favor of heir apparent Chung Eui-sun, according to analysts Monday. Hyundai AutoEver won approval for an initial public offering on the Kospi bourse earlier this year with the price per share being set at 48,000 won ($42.28). It aims to raise around 168.4 billion won through the listing scheduled for Friday. The IPO is expected to play a key

Automaker to cut ties with credit card firms if transaction fee negotiations fail

South Korean stocks are expected to move in a relatively tight range as investors are set to digest the U.S. Federal Reserve‘s rate decision amid ongoing trade talks between Washington and Beijing, analysts here said Saturday.　The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,186.95 points on Friday, up from 2,176.11 the previous week.　The KOSPI started on strong note on hopes for headway in trade talks between the United States and China. 　The bourse, however, slipped fo

South Korean stocks ended almost flat after a choppy trading session on Friday, with foreigners scooping up tech shares, offsetting a massive selling spree by institutions, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched up 2.07 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 2,186.95. Trade volume was moderately light at 291 million shares worth 4.85 trillion won ($4.29 billion), with the number of losers outnumbering gainers 517 to 301.Ins

BNP Paribas SA, France‘s biggest bank, will strive hard to promote its sustainable finance in South Korea as it seeks to arrange more funds for projects that make a positive impact on the environment and society, a company executive said Friday. Sustainable finance has been a watchword for investors that integrate environmental, social and governance issues into their investment decisions. Since a UN climate deal was signed in Paris in 2015, pension funds and financial firms around the wor

Woori Bank, one of South Korea’s major commercial banks, said Friday that it has sold 2.7 percent of its stake in Woori Financial Holdings to foreign institutional investors in a block deal during off-trading hours.The bank has sold 18,346,782 shares to FIIs. As a result, Woori Financial Holdings’ stake ownership by foreign investors has increased from 27.5 percent -- as of Feb. 13, the day of its public listing -- to 30.2 percent.According to the bank, the block sale attracted high

KEB Hana Bank’s newly appointed CEO Ji Sung-kyoo on Thursday pledged to step up efforts to transform the South Korean commercial bank into a data-driven company backed by digitalization, while ramping up its global business push to widen its sources of income beyond the domestic market. 　“To become a trusted global bank, we want to go forward embracing digitalization as our left wing and globalization as our right wing,” Ji said in his inaugural press conference held at KEB Han

Shinhan Financial Group, a major banking group in South Korea, has dropped out of the internet-only bank consortium led by Viva Republica, the operator of the popular mobile money transfer app Toss. 　Viva Republica said Thursday that “Shinhan Financial has conclusively decided to not participate in the fintech firm’s consortium to establish an internet-only bank, due to differences in business direction.” According to the financial technology startup, since the two parties sign

Terarosa, a coffee chain based in Gangneung,a city in the province of Gangwon, on the east coast of South Korea, has secured investment from the country’s leading impact venture fund that invest in companies creating soical innovations. The joint fund set up by Crevisse Partners and Lime Asset Management called Crevisse-Lime Impact Venture Fund decided to invest in the 15-year-old coffee chain that has 14 outlets around the country, an official at Crevisse told The Investo

Mirae Asset Global Investments is seeking to further solidify its presence in the overseas financial markets by strengthening its global portfolio. The South Korea-based asset management company has made bold moves in recent years and left footprints both in advanced and developing markets. One example was its decision to acquire Global X, a US-based sponsor of exchange-traded funds, in 2018.  It also set up a joint venture with a Vietnamese state-run investment corporation and became the f

Company reels in aftermath of DSME accounting fraud scandal