[THE INVESTOR] South Korea has extended the trading hours of its stocks and foreign exchange markets by 30 minutes starting Aug. 1 in a bid to attract investment.Markets trading in stocks, currency and gold will close at 3:30 p.m. 30 minutes later than the current 3:00 p.m., while the derivatives market will close at 3:45 p.m., instead of the current 3:15 p.m. Yeouido financial district in western SeoulIt marks the first time in 16 years for the Korea Exchange to revise its trading hours. In 200

[THE INVESTOR] CJ Korea Express is expected to tap deeper into the Chinese market with the recent acquisition of Speedex, an affiliate of China’s leading home appliance firm TCL, a local brokerage firm said on Aug. 1. CJ Korea Express' distribution center.“CJ Korea Express is likely to enter China’s consumer-oriented delivery service market after acquiring Speedex,” said Ha Joon-young, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities. On July 29, CJ Korea Express announced that its Chinese holding compa

2Q16 net profit of controlling interests in line with consensus at W307bn (+35.8% YoY)Won-based loan growth stood at 1.6% QoQ in 2Q16, which is generally in line with the annual target (5-6%). Loan growth for households came in at +4.6%, big businesses -4.8%, and SMEs +0.4%. Growth was sluggish for big businesses due to disposal of NPLs. Meanwhile, household loans are growing faster than the annual target rate. The pace is likely to be adjusted in 2H16. NIM dropped 2bp QoQ due to the increase in

[THE INVESTOR] Despite the string of merger and acquisition deals in the pipeline in South Korea, the companies are expected to struggle to attract interest from potential buyers, industry sources said on July 19. As creditor banks set to sell companies which are undergoing creditor-led restructuring and private equity firms seek to exit investments by putting acquired companies such as Coway up for sale, the country’s M&A market will see a strong number of deals in the second half of 2016. Howe

After our recent earnings reviews for the sector, we have concluded that the current consensus operating profit estimates for 2016 and 2017 look aggressive, considering: 1) tougher comps heading into 2H16; 2) limited room for further gross profit margin expansion; and 3) stiffer competition.We think it will be difficult for the current 110% premium to the Korean stock market (KOSPI) P/E to expand further from the current levels.Expect weak 2Q16 earnings Excluding KT&G and CJ CheilJedang, we expe

[THE INVESTOR] Nexon, South Korea’s top game developer, said on July 4 that it has bought stakes in I Fun Factory, a game server engine developer, without disclosing the exact number of shares acquired. As a strategic investor, Nexon will strengthen its partnership with the company in various sectors by applying I Fun Factory‘s game server engine technology into its game development and other services. “I Fun Factory has a competitive edge in the server engine sector... we willl closely cooperat