The central bank has issued a new art catalogue, offering a periodic introduction to South Korea’s currency, officials said Sunday.The Bank of Korea’s Money Museum has published “Korea’s Money,” a catalogue that lists the country’s currencies dating back to the Goryeo Dynasty. The latest catalogue, a new edition of its previous art books, includes large- pictures of various currency designs, according to the BOK.“The focus was to improve the visual effec

South Korean stocks are expected to move sideways next week as concerns about lackluster corporate earnings and China's slowing economy could dent investor sentiment, with eyes trained on ongoing trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,124.28 points on Friday, marking a 2.3 percent surge from a week earlier.The index started on a weak note as the prolonged US government shutdown and concerns over the sl

Card operators blame commission fee cuts for this year’s dismal profit projections

Fueled by the government’s road map to build a “hydrogen economy,” South Korea’s top automaker and hydrogen-powered car parts firms continued a two-day gaining streak.Hyundai Motor, which launched the fuel cell electric vehicle Nexo early last year, closed at 131,000 won ($116.80) per share Friday, up 1.16 percentage point from the previous close and hitting a 16-week high. Companies that manufacture or supply hydrogen electric vehicle parts also marked sharp gains.

South Korean stocks rose for the fourth consecutive trading session Friday as predictions of progress in the US-China trade dispute lifted investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency firmed against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index scored 17.22 points, or 0.82 percent, to finish at 2,124.28. Trading volume was moderate at 449.28 million shares worth 5.2 trillion won ($4.6 billion), with gainers easily beating losers 622 to 208. The index moved up in line wit

Standard Chartered Bank Korea, the local subsidiary of the British banking group, said Thursday that it has attracted an additional investment of 100 billion won ($89 million) from the group.In a directorate meeting held Wednesday, SC Bank Korea approved the capital restructuring resolution on issuing subordinated 10-year bonds worth 600 billion won and paying out an interim dividend totaling 500 billion won, the bank said in a press release. The subordinated bonds, once issued on Jan. 28, will

Gender equality a rising priority at Korea’s finance sector notorious for thick glass ceiling

A global asset management firm on Wednesday suggested diversified overseas investments in US and European high-yield bonds this year to reduce risk or volatility.“The point of this is to say that there can be technically driven differences in the markets that cause one market to outperform or underperform another market … again this is all corporate credit,” said David Mihalick, head of Barings’ US High Yield Investments Group, during a press conference in Yeouido, Seoul

Holdings by South Koreans of securities in foreign currencies grew rapidly last year, data from the Korea Securities Depository showed, with local securities firms expanding relevant services for local investors. The volume of the holdings jumped 43.4 percent to $32.5 billion in 2018, from the previous year’s $22.7 billion, according to the data. It represented an almost sixfold increase over five years, as the corresponding figure for 2013 was $5.2 billion.Overall, local investors’

South Korea’s internet-only banking sector is set to undergo a series of ownership changes and to see new market players, as a new regulatory change allowing nonfinancial institutions to own and operate online banks takes effect from Thursday.　The new law, designed to ease ownership rules for internet-only banks, enables information and communication technology companies to own up to 34 percent of an internet-only bank, up from the 4 percent (10 percent without voting rights) threshold sti

SoftBank Ventures Asia, the venture investment arm of Japan’s SoftBank Group, announced Wednesday that it has hired Lee Seung-hoon as its new chief financial officer.Lee will be responsible for the management of global funds and limited partners of SoftBank Ventures Asia. He will also oversee financial initiatives of global offices, including Beijing, Singapore and Silicon Valley, the firm said. The new Softbank Ventures Asia CFO has 15 years of experience in advising on mergers and acquis

The head of the financial regulator on Wednesday vowed to lend more support to financial technology firms, with the aim of turning small fintech firms into "unicorns" ith higher market capitalization. Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, made the remarks at a meeting with executives at fintech firms.  The government "will help create unicorns that compete in the global market by continuing to ease regulations," Choi told the meeting, referring to

South Korea saw growth in the value of outstanding state and special bonds slow down in 2018 due to increased tax revenue and public agencies' asset restructuring efforts, data showed Wednesday.The outstanding amount of government bonds and debt issued by public institutions came to 969.2 trillion won ($864 billion) at the end of last year, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Koscom Corp., the system manager of the South Korean bourse operator Korea Exchange. It was th

South Korea’s mortgage-backed lending rates have hit a three-year high, affected by the central bank’s latest key interest rate hike. As local banks mark up their loans accordingly, the country’s household debt burden is expected to face new pressures.The Korea Federation of Banks said Tuesday that the Cost of Funds Index -- a benchmark lending rate for mortgage loans also known as Cofix -- for new loans was set at 2.04 percent for December, up 0.08 percenta

KB labor union seeks third-party deliberation, may strike again in end-January