South Korea's bourse traded higher late Wednesday morning, buoyed by Samsung Electronics and foreign investors remaining net buyers of local stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 14.61 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,448.42 as of 11:20 a.m.Large caps had a mixed morning of trading, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics adding 2.46 percent and global chipmaker SK hynix up 0.11 percent.Hyundai Motor rose 1.99 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors traded 2.19 percent h

South Korea ranked 22nd in the per capita net financial assets among 53 major economies last year, a report said Wednesday.The average South Korean had 28,180 euros in financial assets including cash, bank deposits, stocks, insurance and pensions last year, according to a global wealth report by the German-based Allianz Group. It marks an increase of 809 euros from 27,371 euros the previous year, when the ranking was 21st. The United States had the largest amount at 177,210 euros last year due t

Foreigners hold about 12 percent of South Korean stocks, valued at 34 percent of the market cap, an indication that they own high-priced portfolios, data showed Wednesday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, offshore investors held 9.158 billion stocks in the main and secondary markets as of the end of August, equal to 12.3 percent of the total. Their holdings break down as 7.129 billion stocks, or 17 percent, in the main market KOSPI and 2.029 billion stocks, or 6.3 percent, in the t

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking Wall Street's strong showing overnight.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.34 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,441.15 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Most large caps traded mixed, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics gaining 1.44 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.66 percent, while top steelmaker POSCO fell 1.09 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,132.85 won against the US dollar, up 2.25 won from t

South Korea‘s main bourse saw the largest foreign net purchase of its stocks in over four years Tuesday, while the market index approached the record-high in its closing, overshadowing escalating verbal war threats between North Korea and the United States. The Kospi closed at 2,433.81 Tuesday, the highest since July 27, when the index closed at 2,443.24. Kospi went up 1.64 percent from the previous trading day on Sept. 29, the highest rise in five months since 2.3 percent surge on May 8.

Global investors may adjust their portfolios by exiting their capital from South Korea in case of a prolonged security risk on the Korean Peninsula, a central bank monetary board member said Tuesday.The unidentified member of the Bank of Korea monetary policy board has called for close monitoring of foreign investors as he issued the warning about a possible outflow of funds, according to the minutes of a September meeting.In August, foreign investors offloaded South Korean stocks and bonds wort

South Korean stocks closed higher Tuesday as Samsung Electronics and other tech stocks advanced on expectations of healthier earnings. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 39.34 points, or 1.64 percent, to close at 2,433.81. Trade volume was moderate at 218 million shares worth 7.25 trillion won ($6.37 billion). After closing for 10 days for Chuseok and other public holidays, the local stock market opened higher. South Korean offi

South Korean shares traded sharply higher Tuesday, boosted by technology stocks as investors displayed optimism over third-quarter earnings. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 46.54 points, or 1.94 percent, to 2,441.01 as of 11:20 a.m.Top cap Samsung Electronics, scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings guidance later this week, jumped 4.45 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix soared 8.08 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.66 percent, and its smaller affilia

South Korean shares opened sharply higher Tuesday, boosted by technology stocks as investors displayed optimism over third-quarter earnings. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 32.61 points, or 1.36 percent, to 2,427.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most large caps had mixed fortunes, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics jumping 4.49 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.33 percent, while top steelmaker POSCO rose 1.42 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,

South Korea's financial market remained stable during the 10-day Chuseok holiday despite concerns surrounding North Korean provocations, state regulators said Monday.The Financial Supervisory Service said after a market review meeting that the country's credit default swaps premium stood at 69.9 basis points as of Friday, down from 73.8 bp on Sept. 29, just before the start of the holiday. CDS reflects the cost of hedging credit risk on sovereign debt with a rise implying a deterioration in the

Common stock under Samsung saw combined 111.5 trillion won gain in asset value this year while awarding 6 trillion won in increased stock wealth to members of Samsung’s owner family

Korean fintech firm Kona I has partnered with payment services provider AirPlus International to offer cards using biometric authentication technology, according to the firm Sunday. The technology will enable cardholders to use fingerprints for verification instead of personal identification numbers or signatures. The firm expects to “speed up transaction time and provide increased convenience and security” through the biometric authentication.  Cardholders will not need to char

South Korea’s main bourse index Kospi rose the fifth-fastest among the major indices of Group of 20 economies this year, data compiled by Korea Exchange showed Sunday.The Kospi soared 17.1 percent this year from 2,026.46 to 2,372.57 as of Sept. 27, following those of Argentina, Turkey, Brazil and Italy. Argentina’s Merval Index topped the list by jumping 49.4 percent over the cited period. This came in sync with the rallies in the G-20 countries. Nine of them saw their major indices

Business magazine Forbes, famous for its annual ranking of the world's wealthiest, is launching a French edition to chart President Emmanuel Macron's progress in turning his country into a "startup nation".Forbes is a fortnightly magazine but the French-language edition, which will hit newsstands Friday, will be published only every three months.The first issue will retrace the 100-year history of the publication and look ahead to the next 100 through interviews with business magnates

Financial authorities in South Korea are set this month to grant investment-banking licenses to local equity firms and allow short-term corporate lending, but concerns are emerging as that it might undermine the firms’ financial stability.The authorities are reportedly making final touches to their three-month screening process to grant licenses as part of the push to foster big investment banks. Investment banks in excess of 4 trillion won ($3.5 billion) in equity capital will be eligible