FINANCE
Feb 24, 2021
NPS gains W72tr for 2020
South Korea’s public pension fund, the National Pension Service, has logged a 9.7 percent return last year to gain 72.1 trillion won ($65 billion) in its preliminary estimate, the government said Wednesday. Health Minister Kwon Deok-chul, who chairs NPS’ Fund Management Committee, added that the world’s third-largest pension fund was managing 833.7 trillion won worth of assets as of end-2020, in a committee meeting held in Seoul. The estimate will be finalized in June, accordi
Bitcoin moves with extreme volatility amid warnings
Price plunges more than 20% within two days
Watchdog orders banks to compensate investors for damages from Lime misselling
South Korea’s financial watchdog on Wednesday ordered two Korean commercial banks -- Woori Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea -- to compensate end-investors for at least half of the damages they incurred in a 1.7 trillion won ($1.5 billion) misselling scandal involving now-defunct hedge fund Lime Asset Management. The authorities held the banks accountable for “poor efforts in the exercise of their duties to protect investors” when they sold nearly 300 billion won worth of
Eximbank to create W200b global ESG fund
The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Monday it plans to set up a global environmental, social and governance-related fund worth at least $200 billion won ($180 million) to support local firms seeking to expand businesses overseas. The size of the fund could be expanded and the state-run bank will invest a combined 50 billion won in the fund. Once the manager of the fund is determined, it would focus on supporting the global forays of businesses under seven areas tied to the Green New Deal an
Feb 23, 2021
NPS beefs up US equities exposure to $43.9b
South Korea‘s public pension fund, the National Pension Service, has boosted its United States stock exposure to $43.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, a US filing showed Monday. The world’s third-largest pension fund, which was managing 807.3 trillion won ($729 billion) of assets as of November, saw its US stock exposure rise by $5.8 billion over the October-December period of 2020, according to its filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing also showe
Feb 22, 2021
[News Focus] Power struggle? FSC, BOK bicker over revision of payment settlement law
Tensions between the nation’s financial regulator and its central bank are escalating. The two institutions are at odds over which one should hold supervisory authority in the area of online payment settlements, which are emerging as key financial transactions in this era of the digital economy. Payment settlement is the process through which a merchant receives the money that customers have paid for a particular product or service. Responding to increased demand for online payment sett
Feb 21, 2021
Citigroup may divest Korean banking subsidiary
Citigroup has been mulling divestiture of its South Korean banking subsidiary, among other international consumer units, but is treading cautiously, reports and statements released as of Sunday showed. According to Bloomberg Law on Friday, the New York-based multinational banking giant has been considering divesting units tied to retail banking across the Asia-Pacific region, including those in Korea, Thailand, the Philippines and Australia. The reports precede the rise of Citigroup’s in
BlackRock emerges as Kakao’s 5th-largest shareholder
US-based international investment manager BlackRock became a blockholder of South Korea’s internet giant Kakao, in an apparent bet on the corporation behind Korea’s most popular messenger app, a filing showed Friday. The US investor’s subsidiary BlackRock Fund Advisors and its 13 affiliates have spent 986.4 billion won ($891.9 million) to obtain 5.18 percent of common shares in Kakao as of Monday, according to the filing. As a result, BlackRock is expected to become the fif
Feb 19, 2021
FSC chief reiterates call to salvage cash-strapped SsangYong Motor
South Korea’s top financial regulator Eun Sung-soo said Friday that its earlier call on its creditors to extend additional support to financially pinched commercial vehicle maker SsangYong Motor remains “valid.” Eun, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said that he found common ground “in a broader sense” with SsangYong’s main creditor Korea Development Bank, which has refused to extend an additional funding to the lossmaking Korean arm of India-ba
NPS commits $150m to global timberland in push for diversification
The National Pension Service said Friday it has committed $150 million to global timberland investment for the first time, in its push for portfolio diversification. The investment by the world’s third-largest pension fund, overseeing 807.3 trillion won ($729 billion) in assets as of November, will go to Stafford International Timberland IX, a ninth flagship timberland fund managed by London-based Stafford Capital Partners. Through the partnership, the NPS will be able to get exposure t
Woowa Brothers' founder joins super wealthy donation campaign
Pledges by self-made entrepreneurs may signal new corporate culture different from chaebol, experts say
Feb 18, 2021
Residents' foreign currency deposits fall in January
Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea fell in January on a decline in corporate holdings of the US dollar deposits, central bank data showed Thursday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents amounted to $89.3 billion as of end-January, down $4.8 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The decline came as companies repaid their US dollar-denominated debts last month, the BOK said. Residents include local citiz
Korean investors shudder as EHang plunges on short seller report
South Korean investors holding $550.3 million worth of shares in Chinese drone maker EHang Holdings appear to be left in disarray as the Nasdaq-listed firm’s stock price plummeted on a short seller report on Tuesday. EHang Holdings was the ninth-largest stock listed on the United States bourse to be in custody of the Korea Securities Depository until last week, according to the latest data by the KSD. It was also the seventh-most active US-listed stock this year, as Korean individuals a
Feb 17, 2021
S. Korean sovereign wealth fund still has coal exposure, despite cut
Despite commitment, proportion of US coal stocks in KIC’s portfolio remains larger than its peers
Major asset managers log 44% jump in 2020 earnings
Major asset management companies in South Korea saw their earnings soar more than 40 percent in 2020 amid a bullish stock market, data showed Wednesday. The combined net income of the country's 10 leading asset managers came to 381.6 billion won ($346 million) last year, up 44 percent from a year earlier, according to their annual earnings reports. Their total operating income stood at 422.5 billion won, up 10.7 percent from the previous year. The figure doesn't include earnings of Kiwoom Ass