Hashed, a South Korean venture capital company specialized in investing in blockchain technology, on Tuesday said it has invested an undisclosed amount in Hi, a membership-powered financial service for crypto and fiat currencies. Hi was co-founded by Sean Rach, the former chief marketing officer at Crypto.com and Stefan Rust, who served as CEO at Bitcoin.com. “Hi aims to provide a global wallet service that can provide various financial and payment services using cryptocurrency. We e

Shinhan Financial Group will invest in a delivery service provider and an autonomous transportation service startup to upgrade its banking platform and find new revenue streams amid increasing competition in the financial industry for digital transformation, the banking group said Monday. The lender has pledged to make an investment worth 77 billion won ($67.21 million) into three digital platform companies by using a 300 billion-won fund launched by Shinhan affiliates including its credit ca

Responding to rising demand for sustainability in corporate management, Woori Financial Group has decided to invest 100 trillion won ($87.3 billion) in financial products associated with environmental, social and governance, or ESG factors, including credit loans and bonds, by 2030, the banking giant said Monday.  The envisioned plan is part of the group’s mid-and long-term ESG strategies to promote sustainable growth under a new company vision titled “Good Finance for the Ne

Commercial banks in South Korea are slated to cut back on business hours in line with the highest social distancing rules of Level 4, according to the Korea Federation of Banks on Friday. Local bank branches will adjust their operating hours to between 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m, from the current 9 a.m. to 4 p.m, to combat the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus and its delta variant, officials said. The recent move came after the government announced it will implement Level 4 guidelines in Se

Local lenders have decided to stop providing access to customers looking for fractional art ownership via a mobile application after facing regulatory hurdles, according to sources Thursday. 　 Shinhan Bank recently notified customers that it will terminate its service partnership with Seoul Auction Blue, an online auction house that sells contemporary paintings, art toys and luxury goods, from July 30. Since January, the lender had offered online access to co-investing in art by embedding the

  Bithumb, one of South Korean major cryptocurrency exchanges, will stop accepting registrations of overseas users and block access from traders in four more countries that have been added to a money-laundering watch list. The cryptocurrency exchange will no longer receive applications for trading from overseas users starting 3 p.m. on Aug. 13. The same rule will be applied to foreign citizens in South Korea who do not have an alien registration card, it said. Both registrations and t

BEIJING (AFP) -- China's central bank warned companies on Tuesday against assisting cryptocurrency-related businesses as it shut down a software firm over suspected involvement in digital currency transactions. Beijing has turned a sharp eye on cryptocurrency in recent months as it widens its regulatory crackdown on the tech sector. Cryptocurrency trading is banned in China, and authorities have recently closed mines and warned banks to halt related transactions. On Tuesday, a Beijing office

Jungheung Group said Tuesday it would advance the real estate development prowess of Daewoo Engineering & Construction, as the conglomerate aims to complete the acquisition of the South Korea‘s sixth-largest construction company within this year. Once the proposed acquisition is complete, the Gwangju-based builder dedicated to housing construction, civil engineering and real estate development, will help Daewoo E&C diversify its business portfolio by strengthening the pillar of r

KDB Investment, a controlling shareholder of Daewoo Engineering & Construction have picked Jungheung Group, a local construction company, as a preferred bidder for acquiring the country‘s sixth-largest builder, the proposed seller said Monday. The announcement sets the stage for Jungheung to further negotiate with KDB Investment, which holds 210.9 million common shares, or a 50.75 percent stake, in Daewoo E&C. The Jungheung-led consortium outbid the investor group of builder DS

More Korean institutional investors lower bond exposure, turn to alternative assets as policy normalization talks crystalize

Visang Tax and Pharos Consulting signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to help taxpayers protect their rights by checking whether they have overpaid taxes, at a ceremony held in Seoul on Thursday. The agreement involves a measure called “claim for reassessment” and the two firms plan to run a one-stop service in which clients from conglomerates, small and medium-sized enterprises and small businesses reassess their tax payment to check whether there are any errors i

From metaverse to digitalized financial products, bankers explore virtual world to woo future money makers

South Korean stocks are likely to rebound next week, as optimism for strong corporate earnings is expected to buffer growing virus concerns, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 3,281.78 points on Friday, down 0.64 percent from a week ago. The KOSDAQ closed the week at a 52-week high for the second consecutive day at 1,038.18 points. The country's virus situation is getting worse, with the daily caseload continuing to increase amid woes over sprea

Korea Investment Corp., South Korea‘s sole sovereign wealth fund, pledged to increase its exposure to alternative assets to 21 percent by 2024, from 16.1 percent as of May 2021, its Chief Executive Officer Jin Seung-ho told reporters Thursday. The institutional investor, managing $183.1 billion in assets as of end-2020, aims to maximize its long-term expected return by capitalizing on the risk of tying up capital in less liquid assets, and to spread out the risk into various asset classe

A top financial regulator called Thursday for banks to minimize "unnecessary" household loans as policymakers warn of growing financial imbalances amid a surge in home prices. Eun Sung-soo, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), made the remarks at a meeting with chief executives of 13 banks earlier in the day. Eun's remarks also came as the Bank of Korea has hinted that it could conduct its first post-pandemic rate hike later this year as the nation's economic recovery