Hanjin KAL, the holding company of South Korea’s No. 1 air carrier Korean Air, is likely to face a proxy fight over its management, after it welcomed affiliates of builder Bando Group as major stakeholders.Eyes are fixed on whether Bando will act in favor of either of late Hanjin Chairman Cho Yang-ho’s scions in the shareholders meeting in March.Incumbent Chairman Cho Won-tae’s tenure is set to expire by March 2020. The successor’s reappointment appears to be facing uncer

A consortium led by South Korean biopharmaceutical company Green Cross has been selected as the preferred bidder for the majority stake sale of UBCare, the nation’s No. 1 electronic medical records system vendor. The investor group, composed of Green Cross and Synaptic Investment, is looking to buy some 52 percent stake in UBCare from venture capital firms STIC Investment and Kakao Investment, according to investment banking sources on Friday. The shares are roughly valued at 200 billion w

Three individual investors have filed criminal complaints against representatives of Lime Asset Management, Shinhan Investment and Woori Bank, accusing them of fraud and capital market law violations in the sale of private equity funds, the investors’ legal representatives said Friday.Local law firm Hannuri said it had filed complaints with the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office against six officials from the three companies on behalf of the three investors.Lime Asset is accused o

South Korea‘s state-owned lender Korea Development Bank and state-led fund-of-funds management company Korea Growth Investment (K-Growth) are looking for partners to earmark a combined 400 billion won ($344.9 million) to support materials and components sectors here and ensure national self-sufficiency in manufacturing supply chains.With the state backing 220 billion won, the funds are intended to foster the growth of Korean firms dedicated to materials components and equipment and ultimat

Antitrust agency’s review of $4b deal likely to redefine boundary of fast-evolving industry

Local banks, including Woori and Shinhan, take flak for sales of risky funds

Commitments highlighted for responsible restructuring; critics question nature of ESG initiatives in banking sector saying it doesn’t fit purpose

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves climbed to a record high in December on the back of the weakening of the US greenback, which pushed up the dollar value of other foreign currencies held by the country, central bank data showed Monday.The country's foreign exchange reserves came to $408.82 billion as of the end of last month, up $1.36 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The amount marks the world's ninth largest.The increase "mainly stems from an

Major banking groups in South Korea are revealing their appetite for what could become the largest acquisition deal in the nation’s financial industry this year: a 100 percent stake in Prudential Life Insurance of Korea valued at some 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion).The latest to express an interest was Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung on Friday. He told reporters at a New Year gathering event of financial circles in Korea that he is “willing to do an M&A” of Pru

South Korea’s fabricated quartz maker Wonik QnC said Friday it had completed an acquisition of quartz and ceramics business units owned by New York-based company Momentive Performance Materials for $266 million, in a bid to achieve a vertical integration of its supply chain.Wonik QnC based in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, makes components for semiconductors, displays and other products using quartz. The cross-border deal will allow the company to wholly own the world’s leading fus

Shareholders of Seoul-based KDB Life Insurance are under intensifying pressure to find a new owner, potentially facing a host of new complex regulations next month when a 10-year grace period expires.　 State-run policy lender Korea Development Bank has yet to find a preferred bidder for the life insurance unit, although Chairman Lee Dong-gull anticipated finding one through an open tender by end-2019.The uncertainty casts doubt on the bank’s sell-off by February, which would otherwise resu

After its launch in Dec. 2018, Seoul City’s own mobile payment app Zero Pay is now in a very fragile situation and is struggling to make a mark in the local payment industry, data showed on Wednesday. As of Dec. 16, the transactions made through Zero Pay reached 69.6 billion won ($60 million), a mere 0.0076 percent of the entire transaction volume of some 910 trillion won paid via noncash payments. The actual transaction volume of the city’s own payment solution i

Sales of private equity funds for individual investors dropped for the fifth consecutive month in November, amid growing distrust in the aftermath of damages incurred by risky derivatives-linked funds sold by banks and asset management firms, a local self-regulatory organization said Wednesday. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, local banks sold a combined 24.1 trillion won ($20.9 billion) of private equity funds, down by 600 billion won, or 2.4 percent, in November from th

A consortium led by HSG Heavy Industries signed a contract Tuesday to buy debt-saddled South Korean shipbuilder Sungdong Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering for 200 billion won ($173 million), allowing the shipbuilder to avert liquidation of its assets.So far the consortium has paid 10 percent of the total, with the balance due by February.This came a month after the consortium, composed of HSG Heavy and private equity firm Curious Partners, was chosen as the preferred bidder for the Tongyeong

South Korea was brimming with billiondollar mergers and acquisitions in 2019, mainly propelled by large business groups in search of new growth opportunities, along with the divestment of their noncore business units.Throughout 2019, Korean entities announced a record-high volume of M&A transactions worth a combined 37.7 trillion won ($32.6 billion), according to Maeil Business Newspaper’s capital market tracker Radar M.Experts say this uptrend will continue and will eventually fuel an