A multistrategy hedge fund by a South Korean manager logged the highest annual net return for 2020 in the Asia-Pacific region, data showed Wednesday. The hedge fund, Gudo TAO Fund 1, net returned 124.99 percent, topping the list of Asia-Pacific-based multistrategy hedge funds through 2020, according to data from international market data tracker Preqin. The fund outperformed peers managed by Singapore’s Caygan Capital as well as Hong Kong‘s Factorial Management and BRIC Neutron A

The combined value of KB Asset Management’s environmental, social and corporate governance funds exceeded 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion), the South Korean company said Wednesday. Its ESG-themed funds pooled investments worth some 600 billion won during the first quarter alone, added the Seoul-based asset management firm. In terms of the assets under its management, funds targeting alternative assets came to 2.1 trillion won, while those dedicated to equities and exchange-traded funds at

IMM Private Equity has agreed to sell a 40 percent stake in Taihan Electric Wire to Hoban E&C for 251.8 billion won ($222.2 million) to exit from the industrial wire maker, a filing showed Monday. This will mark the first exit announced this year by South Korea’s third-largest private equity firm that has $5.4 billion-worth of assets under management. The deal involving Taihan’s 342.6 million common shares is scheduled to close on May 31. Hoban E&C will become Taihan&rsquo

Electronic payments in South Korea increased 32.7 percent on-year in 2020, hitting a record high of 705.5 billion won ($624 million), in terms of daily average transactions, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Monday. “The social distancing measures implemented due to the spread of the COVID-19 has led to a continued expansion of contactless online transactions,” the Bank of Korea said in a statement. The reading marked the highest amount since the BOK started col

Lenders’ overseas expansion strategy in question as Myanmar’s economic development backtracks over turmoil

South Korea’s major banking groups expressed a willingness to review various ways to increase their dividend payouts -- including interim dividends – amid government restrictions that have placed a cap on earnings distribution, in shareholders meetings held through Friday. In an apparent bid to quell shareholders’ growing complaints over the firms’ decision to heed the Financial Supervisory Service’s earlier “recommendation” to keep their dividend payo

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea CEO Bang Moon-kyu was named the richest public official in a financial institution, with net worth amounting to some 5.9 billion won ($5.2 million) as of end-2020, data by the public service ethics committee here showed Thursday. The data disclosed by the committee under the Ministry of Personnel Management also took assets owned by the officials’ family members into account. The value of Bang’s net assets, including real estate, gained 8

Seoul-based real estate investment firm Mastern Investment Management said on Thursday that its subsidiary in the United States, Mastern America, began operation earlier this week. The launch will help Mastern, which was overseeing 21.7 trillion won ($19.1 billion) worth of assets as of March, to streamline its onsite due diligence for its outbound investment into the US market, enhance its capability for deal-sourcing and portfolio property management in the US and foster partnerships with US

Shinhan Financial Group said Tuesday it became the first Asian financial holding firm to join the nonprofit Value Balancing Alliance in Frankfurt, Germany, a cross-industry organization developing a valuation standard for monetizing impacts of ESG management.  ESG refers to the policies of factoring in environmental, social and governance-related issues in business operations. Founded in June 2019, the VBA is comprised of 18 multinational corporations, including South Korea’s thir

South Korean investors‘ net capital inflow into Coupang shares came to $87.5 million in its first week on the New York Stock Exchange, data showed Monday. The figure was the highest among foreign stocks during the cited period, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository. Among Korea-based foreign stock traders, Coupang in its first five trading days was hotter than US electronic devices giant Apple, US gaming firm Roblox, SoftBank’s internet subsidiary Z Holdings and e

The number of listed cryptocurrencies has soared in the past four years, as the rapid rise of the price of Bitcoin attracts investor attention to digital assets. However, investors should be cautious as digital coins easily get listed and delisted. Upbit, one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, launched in October 2017 with only one digital token -- Bitcoin -- but it now has 114 coins trading on the platform. Bithumb had eight digital coins in May 2017, but now it trades 1

South Korean bankers under four major lenders here saw an average median pay increase of over 8 percent in the past three years, making nearly 100 million won ($88,500) on average last year despite a shrinking workforce due to digitalization, data showed Sunday. The average annual income gained 8.6 percent from end-2017 to 98 million won as of end-2020, data provided by the four major banks – KB Kookmin, Hana, Woori and Shinhan – showed. Of the banks, employees under KB Kookmin re

Kim Jung-tai tasked with smooth succession, digitalization, overseas expansion in his final year at Hana

New dividend payout programs are set to take center stage at shareholders meetings next week as banking giants seek to appease shareholders amid growing discontent over new regulations that limit the size of earnings distribution.  Earlier in January, the policymaking Financial Services Commission advised banks and their holding companies to keep their dividend payouts below 20 percent of net income during the first half of this year to secure enough capital needed to counter impacts of

South Korea’s largest public pension body, the National Pension Service, on Friday denied local news reports that it was considering reweighting its investment portfolio and raising its domestic stock allocation in contrast with an earlier pledge to cut its exposure. “The NPS Investment Management Committee does not plan to discuss readjusting its target asset allocation with regards to the hike of domestic equity exposure,” the NPS said in a statement. The statement rebutt