Experts call for measures and laws by government and local banks, as China seeks to globalize digital yuan

The Industrial Bank of Korea joined hands with a platform operated by Naver’s cloud affiliate for digital innovation and development of fintech services, the state-run bank said Wednesday. The new partnership will enable them to bolster their cloud and artificial intelligence capabilities, IBK said. To keep pace with each other, both plan to establish a solid communication channel to review Naver’s technologies capable of upgrading banking business. Discovering and recommending

The South Korean government is poised to launch the first batch of its 20 trillion-won ($18 billion) government policy fund aimed at supporting Korean New Deal projects by March, the Finance Minister said Wednesday. With the first batch to start in March, the government is looking to raise 4 trillion-won commitments in the first year of the five-year scheme, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, who doubles as deputy prime minister, said in a pangovernmental meeting held at Seoul Government Complex.

Amid soaring house prices, seven out of 10 South Koreans born in 1980s and 1990s believe having their own house is necessary but were pessimistic about purchasing residential property only with their income, a survey showed Wednesday. According to the survey, conducted by Mirae Asset Investment and Pension Center and Hankook Research in May, 70.6 percent of respondents said buying a house is necessary, while 73 percent said they think it is difficult for the young generation to do so with their

Both traditional, online lenders implement stricter lending rules

NongHyup Financial Group has nominated Son Byung-hwan, CEO of its banking unit as the sole candidate for group chairman, officials said Tuesday. If the nomination is approved at a shareholders’ meeting slated for the end of month, Son is set to take the top post, which has been left vacant since late last month. Former Chairman Kim Kwang-soo resigned to serve as the new chief of the Korea Federation of Banks. Son was nominated for his expertise in digital finance as well as his leadershi

The company says its new security system reacts to potential theft by reversing transactions

JB Financial Group’s commercial banking units -- Jeonbuk Bank and Kwangju Bank -- are strengthening their capacity to integrate robotic process automation technologies within banking services, the group said Monday. RPA uses artificial intelligence and machine learning software to automate repetitive business processes. Jeonbuk Bank has recently extended the use of RPA, from the bank’s headquarters to local branches, in a step to reduce employees working hours and provide better se

Mirae Asset Global Investments said Monday that its US exchange-traded funds provider subsidiary Global X has launched two products to be traded on the London Stock Exchange starting Friday. The thematic ETFs -- Global X Telemedicine & Digital Health UCITS ETF and Global X Video Games & Esports UCITS ETF -- mark the first ETFs of a Korean-owned company to be listed on a European exchange. According to data from market researcher ETFGI, the total size of listed ETFs and exchange-traded

The International Finance Corp. said Monday it plans to provide a loan of up to $50 million to KB Finansia Multi Finance, an Indonesian subsidiary of South Korean credit finance company KB Kookmin Card. The loan will contribute to a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery in Indonesia by addressing the liquidity squeeze in the nation’s multifinance sector, the IFC said. Multifinance companies like KB Finansia Multi Finance are considered the main source of funding for micro, small an

Hanjin Group, which controls South Korea‘s largest aviation firm Korean Air Lines, is speeding up asset divestments to secure cash in an apparent effort to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, filings showed Sunday. Hanjin Group’s holding company Hanjin KAL is poised to sell a 100 percent stake in a golf course developer Jedong Leisure to an undisclosed buyer for 23 billion won ($20.9 million). The company, located in Jeju Island, has sought to lay out a golf course development project

A Hannam-dong residence in central Seoul owned by Shinsegae Group’s chief retained its top position as the most expensive house in Korea, data showed Friday. The value of Shinsegae chairwoman Lee Myeong-hee’s 2,862-square-meter house, as assessed by the government, was 29.53 billion won ($26.88 million), up 6.6 percent from this year. Lee is the younger sister of late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Previously, the house’s declared price surged by 59.7 percent on-year fro

South Korea's money supply continued to grow quickly in October on increased loans to households and firms amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's M2 stood at 3,150.5 trillion won ($2.87 trillion) as of end-October, up 1.1 percent, or 34.7 trillion won, from September, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). October's gain marked the second-highest monthly growth since May this year, when M2 grew by 35.4 trillion won, according to the B

Citibank Korea on Monday said it would pay partial indemnities to local businesses that signed currency-linked derivatives sold by the bank more than a decade ago. The decision was made during a board meeting held in an apparent response to the financial watchdog’s arbitrary recommendation last year to compensate the firms that had faced losses from KIKO -- or “knock-in, knock-out” -- contracts. “Citibank Korea has been reviewing compensation for firms that have been

NH-Amundi Asset Management said Monday that its equity fund dedicated to environmental, social and governance factors in investment decisions has surpassed 100 billion won ($91.7 million) by the size of assets it was managing, indicating South Korean retail investors’ appetite for the green theme. The product, dubbed NH-Amundi Century Enterprise Green Korea Equity Fund, was launched on Sept. 3. It has attracted 60 billion won worth of retail investment, while 40 billion won stemmed from