Offshore investors sold a net 4.6 trillion won ($4.08 billion) worth of South Korean stocks in October, data showed Monday, as they were rattled by a deepening trade spat between Washington and Beijing and rising borrowing costs in developed economies.It was the first time since June this year that foreign investors were net sellers of local stocks, the Financial Supervisory Service said in a statement.  Investors from Britain, the Netherlands and the United States were among net sellers of

While South Korean commercial bank Woori Bank and its subsidiaries are inching closer to a holding company structure, possibilities of aggressive mergers and acquisitions to expand the banking group remain low for the time being.Such skepticism comes amid a possible fall in the capital adequacy ratio of the nation’s fourth-largest commercial lender, despite the banking group’s higher capacity to leverage private investment after the holding company is reintroduced in 2019. Under Kore

 The South Korean central bank is expected to raise the country's key rate this month to curb the overheated property market, a global research firm said Sunday."We believe the Bank of Korea will hike the policy rate by 25 basis points (0.25 percentage point) to a terminal rate of 1.75 percent in November 2018 in response to financial imbalances associated with higher house prices," Nomura Financial Investment Co. said in its latest report. Citing low inflation pressure and weak s

South Korean stocks will have upward momentum next week, albeit limited, as economic and political uncertainties that had weighed down the market have cleared up after the midterm elections and the interest rates decision in the United States, experts here said Saturday.　The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,086.09 on Friday, down 0.47 percent from the previous week.　All eyes were on the midterm elections in the U.S. this week, which had added volatility to the loca

South Korea’s financial institutions suffered insolvency of asset-backed commercial papers Friday at midnight, following a Chinese firm’s default on payments due for bonds.The ABCPs were backed by dollar-denominated bonds worth $150 million that were declared insolvent Thursday. This accounts for some 7 percent of all bonds issued by CERCG Overseas Capital, a Hong Kong subsidiary of China Energy Reserve & Chemicals Group. ABCPs refer to short-term money-market securities collater

South Korean stocks ended lower Friday as investors took a breather amid signals of tighter monetary policy in the United States. The South Korean currency weakened against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 6.54 points, or 0.31 percent, to close at 2,086.09. Trading volume was relatively light at 292.94 million shares worth 5.15 trillion won ($4.57 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 463 to 363. Institutions unloaded shares worth 288.3 billion won, offsett

South Korea's top monetary policymaker will attend a meeting of the world's central bank governors in Switzerland next week, the Bank of Korea said Friday.BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol is scheduled to leave for the northwestern Swiss city of Basel on Saturday for the meetings of the Bank of International Settlement. The two-day meeting will kick off Sunday, with the BOK chief to return home next Wednesday, according to his office.He will exchange views with his counterparts from major economies on curren

South Korean stock markets were bullish Thursday on strong foreign buying, as the midterm elections results in the United States stoked investors’ appetite for risk. The benchmark index of top-tier market Kospi closed at 2,092.63 Thursday, up 0.7 percent from Wednesday. The second-tier Kosdaq was 1.7 percent higher. Market giants saw mild gains. On Kospi, Samsung Electronics inched up 0.1 percent, chipmaker SK hynix climbed 3 percent and biosimilar drugmaker Celltrion was 2.1 percent highe

Woori Bank nominated its incumbent Chief Executive Officer Sohn Tae-seung as the chairman of a new holding company set to control the nation’s fourth-largest commercial bank, officials said Thursday.At an extraordinary board of directors meeting, the 59-year-old CEO was named the chairman of the holding company while keeping his CEO post at Woori Bank. Sohn has led Woori Bank since December 2017.  This came a day after the Financial Services Commission approved a plan to reestablish a

The amount of loans taken out for stock purchases has been on a drastic downtrend over the past month, reflecting the recent collapse of stock prices and shrinking investor confidence, data showed Thursday. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the balance for margin account loans stood at 9.4 trillion won ($8.4 billion) as of Monday, down 2.8 trillion won, or 23.8 percent, from a month earlier. This was also the lowest since a balance of 9 trillion won observed on Nov. 3

An artificial intelligence platform will start screening terms of service for financial products from next year, the financial watchdog said Thursday, as part of its efforts to bolster machine-readable regulation. The Financial Supervisory Service and KT Corp., the nation's biggest fixed-line Internet operator, have used an AI platform to screen terms of service for mutual funds on a trial basis since August this year. After four months of trials, the platform was deemed capable of the scre

Woori Bank, South Korea’s fourth-largest commercial bank and the parent company of 19 financial subsidiaries, has gained regulatory approval to adopt a financial holding company structure. The Financial Services Commission’s decision in a regular meeting Wednesday laid the groundwork for reintroduction of a holding company of the banking group after four years. The new company, set to be established in January 2019, will own six subsidiaries -- Woori Bank, Woori FIS, Woori Finance Re

CJ CGV Vietnam Holdings Co. has canceled its initial public offering plan in Vietnam as a survey showed it will be hard pressed to meet its fund-raising target due to low demand for its shares, its parent company here said Tuesday. The holding company originally planned to raise 107.99 billion won-131.99 billion won by listing its 5.7 million shares on the local stock exchange, CJ CGV said in a statement. CJ CGV holds an 80 percent stake in CJ CGV Vietnam Holdings, with the remaining 20 per

Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku hinted Tuesday at cutting or removing the securities transaction tax on the Korean equity market and to discuss the matter with tax authorities.“It’s high time to take (a securities transaction tax cut) into consideration,” Choi said during a session with parliament, in response to a question from Rep. Jeon Hae-cheol of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Choi took issue with double taxation potentially caused by the securit

The Financial Services Commission, South Korea’s financial regulator, unveiled Tuesday a set of standards for QR codes for electronic payment, in a nation where the smartphone penetration rate is high and credit card payment terminals are ubiquitous among merchants here.A QR code refers to a matrix barcode used in infrastructure that allows mobile payment between customers and vendors without intermediaries. By using a mobile phone app to scan a QR code, a user will be authenticated, and t