The total assets of the National Pension Service (NPS) reached 785.4 trillion won at the end of the third quarter of this year, with more than 260 trillion won managed abroad. The investment return so far this year has topped 31 trillion won.“The total cumulative investment return as of the third qu
The National Assembly passed an amendment to the Commercial Act along with the Financial Conglomerate Supervision Act on Dec. 9. With the new laws allowing for separate audit committee member election and multiple derivative action, the management rights of a large number of enterprises are at serio
Heads of business organizations in South Korea denounced the ruling Democratic Party on Dec. 8 for pushing for the passage of the three controversial bills on corporate regulations despite opposition from industry circles.The ruling party is seeking to amend three laws -- the Commercial Act, the Mon
Fresh investment in venture companies totaled 2,848.5 billion won in the first three quarters of this year. Annual venture investment is expected to surpass four trillion for the second consecutive year, following 4,277.7 billion won in 2019.Venture investments were sluggish in the first half of the
The Financial Supervisory Service announced on Dec. 7 that foreign investors recorded a net buy of 6,125 billion won in the South Korean stock market last month. It is the largest since September 2013, when the amount totaled 8.3 trillion won. The net buy is divided into 5,857 billion won in KOSPI a
LG Group has accumulated about 10 trillion won in cash over the past four years, analysts say. They say that with the separation of LG Group advisor Koo Bon-joon with some affiliates from LG Group, the cash will be used in merger and acquisition (M&A) for LG Group chairman Koo Kwang-mo's "New LG
Shinhan Financial Group’s London GIB Desk recently invested 25 million pounds in a British waste disposal company owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.As a result, Shinhan Financial Group’s investment arrangements in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for this year increased to US$240 million.The GIB is
South Korea’s current account surplus topped US$10 billion for two months in a row and reached the third-highest level in history. The surplus continued for the sixth consecutive month. Although its exports showed a month-on-month decrease, its imports showed a steeper decrease to result in the surp
Cryptocurrency exchange UPbit held a developer conference on Dec. 3. There, the new Act on Reporting and Use of Certain Financial Transaction Information to become effective next year was discussed by experts.“According to the act, a tax rate of 20 percent will be applied to virtual assets starting
The stock price of Samsung Electronics rose 17.84 percent last month alone. The rally was based on expectations for DRAM price recovery, strengthening of its foundry business unit, increasing demand from foreign investors and increased dividends. This year in particular, the company is expected to g
Korea Securities Finance Corp. announced on Dec. 2 that stock lending for the purpose of short selling by individual investors could be increased to 1.4 trillion won.Last year, the same lending for institutional and foreign investors amounted to approximately 67 trillion won whereas the total amount
The National Policy Committee of the National Assembly held a legislative subcommittee meeting and passed an amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act on Dec. 2.According to the amendment, a fine can be imposed on illegal short selling and the fine cannot exceed the tota
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at junsup@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Aju Capital shows merits in both its stable earnings and high dividend payout. Exhibiting seasonality, its shares tend to perform strongly in December. In the near term, earnings improvement is likel
The Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute and the private-sector companies including Dilia and Mobile C&C have completed the establishment of a national payment and settlement system in Cambodia in an official development assistance project of the South Korean government.The initi
The Financial Services Commission announced on Nov. 30 that it would run a task force to submit an Insurance Business Act amendment to the National Assembly in the first half of next year so that IFRS 17 can be implemented in 2023.Earlier, IFRS 17 was scheduled to be introduced in 2021 and then the
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at dongyang.kim@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Having decided to spin off LG Corp, the LG Group is taking the steps necessary for completing the separating off of its affiliates, including LGI (with Pantos), Siliconworks, LG Hausys, and LG
Conflicts over a Korean Air-Asiana Airlines merger are continuing between Hanjin Group teaming up with the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the alliance of activist private equity fund KCGI, former Korean Air vice president Cho Hyun-ah and Bando Engineering & Construction. The two sides are issuing
South Korean financial holding companies’ overseas business is yet to show a meaningful performance, due to COVID-19, in the regions including ASEAN member states.For the first three quarters of this year, KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori Banks’ overseas business units posted a net profit of 679.1 billio
Lone Star Funds, which is in litigation against the South Korean government at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), suggested US$870 million as a concession. The total cost of litigation is US$4.7 billion. The offer was made on Nov. 2 and is effective until Nov. 30
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at dongyang.kim@nhqv.com. -- Ed. A third generation of leaders is at the forefront of management at LG Group, HMG, and Samsung Group. While three fair economy bills are likely to be passed at the 21st session of the National A