Despite the South Korean government’s household loan control policy, the mortgage loans in the banking sector showed the largest increase in 11 months in November this year with the prices of houses in Seoul rising. Mortgage loans of more than 40 trillion won were executed for the first 11 months of

The Financial Supervisory Service announced on Dec. 15 that a total of 58 listed companies paid 9,319.9 billion won in interim and quarterly dividends this year and the figures increased by four and 217.8 billion won compared to last year, respectively. The number of such companies, which was 41 in

Yuanta Securities announced on Dec. 12 that foreign investors posted a net selling of US$3,025 million in the South Korean stock market last month. The net selling volume exceeded those in nine major emerging stock markets. For example, the volume was US$2,115 million in Brazil, US$493 million in In

The financial authorities of South Korea are tightening their risk management with regard to securities companies’ real estate investment, which amounts to 100 trillion won.The Financial Supervisory Service released a project financing exposure management plan last week. According to the plan, the d

Shinhan Bank will put into practice its Indochina Region strategy, which calls for an integrated operation of its subsidiaries and branches in three Indochina countries -- Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar -- beginning in January next year.The three countries were grouped into one bloc, and the head of

The net assets of investment funds in Korea grew by more than 10 trillion won in November from the previous month. Market experts say that money flowed from the slumping stock market into money market funds (MMFs), a short-term financial product.The net assets of Korean funds totaled 663 trillion wo

KB Investment, a subsidiary of KB Financial Group, announced on Dec. 11 that it has established a jointly managed fund (Centauri Fund) with Telkom Group, Indonesia's largest state-run telecommunications group, to target tech companies and markets in Southeast Asia.The jointly managed fund will b

CoinExpress Exchange has implemented cryptocurrency custody services following Korea's top cryptocurrency exchanges Upbit and Bithumb. Amid fierce competition among cryptocurrency exchanges, CoinExpress Exchange, based in Japan and incorporated in Hong Kong, has launched a service that helps use

Foreign capital outflow from the Korean stock and bond markets hit a 13-month high in November.The Bank of Korea said on Dec. 10 that US$3.96 billion of foreigners’ stock and bond funds left Korea last month. This was the largest amount in 13 months since US$4.27 billion flowed out of Korea in Octob

Korea Exchange (KRX) plans to simplify the listing system of the KOSDAQ market by focusing on the future value of the applicants, ​​such as market capitalization. KRX will also introduce a management system for algorithmic trading.KRX Chairman Jung Ji-won disclosed the exchange’s business plan for n

A group of policy financial institutions including Korea Development Bank has signed an agreement with LG Chem to help foster the company’s electric vehicle (EV) battery business. It was the first agreement under the industrial-financial cooperation program launched by the Korean government in Septe

KB Financial Group has decided to cancel its treasury shares, an unprecedented move among Korean financial holding companies. Industry experts view it as a sign that the banking industry is embracing an aggressive shareholder return policy.KB Financial Group will cancel 2,303,617 shares (0.55 percen

The Supreme Court of South Korea acknowledged the economic value of cryptocurrencies for the first time in May last year. At that time, the court ruled that the Bitcoin is an intangible asset, implying that cryptocurrencies are subject to taxation.Earlier, from December 2013 to April 2017, a South K

Foreign investors’ holdings of South Korean bonds have fallen to a six-month low.Foreign investors held 122.30 trillion won worth of bonds as of Dec. 4, according to the Fiancial Supervisory Service. The figure represented a 2.47 trillion won drop from 124.77 trillion won at end-November and the low

KB Investment, a venture capital subsidiary of KB Financial Group, is promoting the establishment of a US$30 million joint fund with MDI Ventures, the No. 1 venture capital (VC) company in Indonesia, to invest in promising Southeast Asian startups.KB Investment is planning to establish the fund with

The dispute settlement committee of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has told banks to compensate investors in their derivatives-linked fund (DLF) products for up to 80 percent of the losses. The reimbursement rate is the highest since the Dong Yang fiasco in 2014.The FSS said on Dec. 5 that

As Korean companies’ weight in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Emerging Markets (EM) Index has recently been reduced, Korea’s weight also fell from second to third in country rankings.Koran companies’ weight in the MSCI EM Index decreased from 12.19 percent at the end of October to 1

Shinhan Bank is entering the Cambodian simple payment market. The bank announced on Dec. 4 that it will launch e-wallet service jointly with Cambodia's mobility company MVL.Shinhan Bank has provided an electronic wallet solution to MVL, which will be used as the preferred payment method for TADA

Korea Development Bank (KDB) originally planned to complete the sale of KDB Life Insurance within this year. But the plan was put off to early next year as attractive companies such as Prudential Life were put up for sale.KDB has promoted the sale of KDB Life since early this year. It has recently d

The government-proposed amendments to the Enforcement Decrees of the Commercial Act and the Capital Markets Act will let the Korean government infringe upon the autonomy of business management with a lower law violating a higher law, panelists pointed out at a seminar organized by the Federation of