Students from the Asia Elite Business Scholars group recently visited a bank branch renovated into a cultural space in Seoul run by South Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank.Located in Hongdae in western Seoul, the four-story building known as KB Rock Star Youth Lounge had been selected as AEBS’ exemplary case for transforming a space of business into one with cultural and artistic functions.AEBS comprises students from seven prestigious universities across Asia: Peking University, Fudan Univers

Seoul-based NongHyup Bank said Wednesday it gained regulatory approval Friday for operation of the Cambodian microfinance institution Samic that Nonghyup acquired in July.The Phnom Penh-based institution has been renamed NongHyup Finance Cambodia, following approval of the acquisition by the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce and National Bank of Cambodia. In July, the NBC greenlighted NongHyup Bank’s takeover of 100 percent of shares of Samic.It will begin operation in late August, according

Citibank has been picked as the “best in corporate trust” for three consecutive years by a Hong Kong financial magazine, with its boosted performances in South Korea and other major countries in the region having contributed to the win. The annual awards given by The Asset is called the 2018 Triple A Asset Servicing, Institutional Investor and Insurance Awards, assessing and recognizing both sell-side service providers and buy-side institutions in Asia’s highly dynamic ass

Shinhan Financial Group is gearing up to raise 400 billion won ($357.5 million) through debt funding in its move to take over ING Life Insurance Korea. If Shinhan manages to raise the capital through hybrid tier-1 contingent convertible (CoCo) bonds as pledged on Friday, this year it will see its capital increase some 1.1 trillion won.In March, Shinhan Financial Group issued 150 billion won worth of won-denominated hybrid CoCo bonds to local institutional investors. Also in August, $500 million

South Korea’s financial regulator has submitted a bill to the National Assembly to allow tech firms -- such as game developer Nexon and Netmarble Games -- to become major shareholders of internet-only banks, officials said Wednesday.The Financial Services Commission recently submitted the revision bill of the upcoming law on internet-only banks, seeking to ease the separation of banking and commerce, according to industry sources.While attending a related parliamentary committee Wednesday,

Hyundai Card has launched a new premium credit card for the first time in 10 years, targeting young customers, the company said Wednesday.The credit card operator earlier this month released the Green, an online application-only credit card, which offers 1 percent mileage savings for all card usage that attains 500,000 won ($447) in monthly spending, double credit benefits depending on the monthly card amount, and additional 5 percent mileage for overseas shopping. Under the slogan “M

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 21st installment. -- Ed.In June, the South Korean mobile game software developer iPeoples reneged on a promise to give 10 percent returns to those investing through an equity crowdfunding platform.The developer of the mobile game “Blue Marble M” was estimated to have crowdsourced 700 million won ($626,300) from some 770 investors by issuing bonds. It promised

Chinese mobile payment platform Alipay announced Monday it had launched a mobile tax refund service so users could claim refunds without visiting offline duty-free shops in airports or cities. To launch Alipay’s first tax refund service via mobile phone, the Korean unit Alipay Korea partnered with Global Tax Free, a Kosdaq-listed tax refund service provider for foreign tourists.Those buying products at shops supporting services by Global Tax Free -- in seven airports and three harbors

Downward pressure on South Korea’s markets appears to be on the wane, as the US dollar is taking a breather against currencies in emerging markets including Korea.  After opening higher on Monday morning, both the Kospi and the Kosdaq lost their earlier gains in the afternoon. The top-tier Kospi remained nearly flat, edging up 0.04 percent at closing, while the Kosdaq was down 0.3 percent. Markets here rebounded Friday from the price floor they had hit earlier last week, while signs o

This is the 60th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.Listed game software developers in South Korea suffered lackluster performance in the second quarter this year due to sparse new releases coupled with external uncertainties.Moreover, analysts have considered the second quarter a typically low season for the gaming industry.This downtrend makes social casino game developer DoubleU Games’ earnings surprise in the quarter stand ou

South Korean stocks may move in a tight range as investors are likely take a cautious approach due to lingering risks over various global issues, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,247.05 on Friday, losing 1.57 percent, or 35.74 points, from a week ago. In the beginning of the week, a collapse of the Turkish lira sent a shockwave throughout the world. The Turkish currency had been on a sharp decline since the beginning of this year, but the pace ac

South Korea has denied a claim by US activist fund Elliott Associates that it gave discreet backing for a 2015 merger of two Samsung units and caused the firm to suffer losses from what it calls an unfair deal, a document from Seoul's justice ministry showed Friday. The Ministry of Justice released its official government response to the notice of arbitration lodged by Elliott in April. The two sides failed to settle the matter and they face an investor-state dispute through an international tri

Seoul-headquartered KB Kookmin Bank said Friday that it had launched a more efficient money-transfer service Thursday for its Indonesian customers, who can now convert South Korean won directly to Indonesian rupiah with no need to convert funds to US dollars first.  The commercial bank teamed up with Bank Negara Indonesia to lower the cost of converting currencies and make it possible to send money faster, KB Kookmin Bank said. Normally, to remit funds to Indonesia, a double-conversion proc

The Export-Import Bank of Korea will finance a copper mine project in Peru, seeking to support South Korean companies in securing strategic resources in the overseas market, officials said Thursday. The state-run bank on Thursday signed an agreement to inject some $200 million into the development of the Mina Justa Copper Mine in Peru, a project by local firms Minsur and Copec.Minsur, the mining arm of the South American state’s largest conglomerate Breca, is currently the world&rsquo

South Korea’s listed companies experienced lackluster earnings in the second quarter despite on-year growth in the first half of the year largely driven by Samsung Electronics, data showed Thursday. The combined first-half operating profit of 641 companies trading on the Kospi, including Samsung Electronics, jumped 18.6 percent on-year, while combined net profit surged 7.6 percent. However, if the data excludes Samsung Electronics, the figures significantly slid. The combined operating pro