IFC in search of green-minded investment to save oceans from plastics; VP says Korea can take leading role

Seoul-based KB Kookmin Bank has steered clear of litigation in controlling Indonesian subsidiary Bank Bukopin, as its minority shareholder in Indonesia dropped all charges against South Korea‘s largest commercial bank, a filing showed Tuesday. Bosowa Corporindo, which was holding a 11.6 percent stake in the Indonesian midsized bank, has reached an out-of-court settlement for the 20.8 trillion-Indonesian-rupiah ($1.5 billion) charges against the bank‘s new controlling shareholder an

South Korean asset management firm Mirae Asset Global Investments said Monday its assets under management for retirement schemes have surpassed the 10 trillion-won ($9 billion) mark for the first time among Korean peers. As of June 1, assets pooled for Mirae Asset’s retirement schemes came to a total of 10.1 trillion won. The asset management unit of Mirae Asset Group pooled nearly 2 trillion won during the first five months of 2021. Since 2011, the figure has jumped more than eightfold

The Korean Financial Industry Union and the Finance Industry User Council have agreed that workers who get vaccinated for COVID-19 are entitled to up to three days of paid leave, officials said Sunday. Under the agreement, which will take effect Monday, employees of 22 financial institutions registered with the Korea Federation of Banks -- a body that represents commercial banks -- will receive two days off work, the day of the vaccination and the day after.  Those who show signs of ad

Woori Financial Group said Friday it selected 17 companies to join its startup incubation program, beefing up its effort to find new partners and accelerate digital transformation. Established in 2019, “Dinno Lab” -- an abbreviation for “digital innovation lab” -- is a training program provided by the banking group to nurture tech startups. From among 274 applications for this year’s program, startups from seven sectors, including ecommerce, blockchain, artificia

An image of a neatly dressed man welcomes visitors and answers questions on finance services on a monitor at KB Kookmin Bank in Yeouido, western Seoul. The male character, powered by artificial intelligence and modelled on TV personality Kim Hyun-wook, explains the difference between a debit and a credit card in a tone and manner identical to a real human staffer. He is a prototype of the AI bankers set to work alongside human bank staff in the near future.  KB plans to test the AI ba

Hashed co-founder says decentralized technology will become backbone of digital economy

Loans extended to companies in South Korea grew by the largest amount in three quarters in the first quarter of the year as loan demand by the service sector increased amid the pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The outstanding amount of corporate loans came to 1,435.8 trillion won ($1.3 trillion) at the end of March, up 42.1 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading also marked the largest on-quarter gain since a 69.1 tr

South Korea’s financial regulator is projected to lift its dividend cap placed on local banking groups next month, with the economy apparently on a fast track to recovery, industry watchers said Sunday. The Financial Services Commission in January “recommended” local bankers to limit dividends to 20 percent of their net profits for the first half of the year, with most banks heeding the advice. Shinhan Bank was the only lender that didn’t adopt the 20 percent cap, report

Under DreamWork policy, Hanwha Asset ditches traditional work culture for work-home balance, productivity

The National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest pension fund, will pull the plug on coal-related investments, according to a plan approved on Friday by its investment management committee. Under the plan, NPS will no longer finance any new projects that involve building coal-fired power plants. It will also come up with an action plan to implement negative screening in order to exclude investment targets associated with climate change. The plan is to support a low-carbon ecosyste

South Korean private equity firm Hahn & Co. is poised to buy a controlling  52.6 percent stake in Namyang Dairy Products which has been under public criticism for claiming that its yogurt drink helps prevent COVID-19, a filing showed Thursday. Namyang Dairy’s board has agreed to sell 378,938 common shares, owned by ex-chairman Hong Won-sik, his wife and his grandson, to the country’s second-largest private equity firm for 310.7 billion won ($278.2 million), according to th

South Korean lenders appear to be seeking ways to develop future-oriented customer services by forging partnership with retailers that have vast sales networks across the country, such as convenient store chains. In the latest development, Shinhan Bank on Monday signed a business agreement with GS Retail, which operates convenient store chain GS25, to design a new business model of mutual interest, officials said. The partnership states Shinhan Bank and GS Retail plan to develop a convenience

South Korea is brimming with long-term investment opportunities as sustainability-driven innovations crystalize in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, a high-ranking official of public pension scheme Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said Wednesday. The pandemic has not only changed the way people live, but also prompted a technology-led transformation across the Asia-Pacific region, said Suyi Kim, head of Asia Pacific at CPP Investments during a virtual conference hosted by the Seoul-base

More than half of adults in South Korea have suffered from anxiety and depression because of their financial status over the last year, a recent survey showed Wednesday. The survey of 2,000 people aged between 20 and 64, conducted by Korea Financial Consumer Protection Foundation late last year, showed that 58.1 percent of the respondents had experienced high levels of stress and self-injurious behaviors. About 3.2 percent of the participants even thought about suicide due to their worsened fi