About 30 companies listed on the secondary KOSDAQ market, which suffer from chronic deficits, are facing designation as administrative issues. They had posted an operating loss for three consecutive years from 2015 to 2017 and if they failed to earn a profit last year again, they will become adminis

Short sellers are hit hard by a “surprise rally” in the South Korean stock market this year. They are making a huge loss this year, unlike last year when they made a big gain from the slump in stock prices.The prices of 14 out of the 20 most shorted stocks in the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets rose higher

U.S.-based BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager, has secured more than a 5 percent stake in Samsung Electronics Co. This is the first time that the American global investment management firm owns over 5 percent of Samsung Electronics.BlackRock officially announced on Feb. 7 that it

Shinhan Financial Group is in the final stage of negotiations to acquire a consumer financial firm worth 100 billion won (US$88.81 milion) in Indonesia. An official from Shinhan Financial said, “We are promoting the acquisition of a local installment financing company to create a synergy in our busi

Hedge funds, which were once considered an investment vehicle only for well-heeled investors, have become a popular investment tool among ordinary Korean investors 10 years after the introduction. In particular, hedge funds, which are relatively insensitive to stock prices, have been gaining popular

South Korea’s financial authorities announced on January 31, that their investigation into initial coin offerings (ICOs) led them to maintain a negative stance on the institutionalization of ICOs in the future. They added that their investigation found that ICOs lacked information disclosure for inv

South Korea’s top three life insurance companies, including Samsung Life Insurance Co., have executed emergency management, such as cost reduction, from the beginning of the year and lowered their growth objectives for this year compared to a year earlier as well. It is exceptional that they set low

Foreign capital is flooding the South Korean exchange-traded fund (ETF) market. Passive funds which invest in emerging markets as a whole are common but the net assets of “Korea ETF” targeting South Korea are rising significantly. Passive funds refer to investment funds that passively track an index

South Korea’s four largest cryptocurrency exchanges -- Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Upbit -- has announced a joint initiative to increase anti-money laundering (AML) efforts and foster a healthier trading environment.A hotline dedicated to AML issues will be established amongst the four exchanges’

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by market volume, has started over-the-counter (OTC) trading services.The volume of transactions inside the cryptocurrency exchange is on the decrease due to a weakening cryptocurrency market, while OTC transactions made directly between two p

Competition is intensifying in the overseas remittance service market from the beginning of the year.The market has become more crowded with the participation of credit card companies, securities firms and fin-tech companies, which are all looking for a new lucrative business. On top of them, saving

The South Korean securities industry has gone through a sea change since the introduction of the Capital Market Consolidation Act 10 years ago. Local securities companies’ total assets have increased from 36 trillion won to 56 trillion won and three new companies have put their names on the top five

Shinhan Card Co. has developed a credit rating model for foreign residents in South Korea.The new model will make it easier for foreign residents to get a credit card in Korea. Until now, foreign residents have had difficulties in having credit cards issued as domestic credit companies cannot analyz

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) will extend a total of 62 trillion won (US$54.87 billion) in loans to domestic import and export companies this year, up 4.1 trillion won from 2018.Korea Eximbank CEO Eun Sung-soo announced the bank’s business plan for this year during a news conferen

The Korea Securities Depository (KSD) announced on Jan. 23 that the total net assets of offshore funds invested from domestic funds of funds through its foreign fund investment support service stood at 5.31 trillion won (US$4.70 billion) last year, up 68.4 percent from a year earlier.The KSD has sta

Shinhan Financial Group said that it was named among the 2019 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations. The group has made it to the top 100 list for seven years in a row.The world's most sustainable company list was announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22. In par

The Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) will inject 15 trillion won (US$13.29 billion) into a three-year program aimed at making the ecosystems of Korea’s key industries more competitive.The two banks will provide 6 trillion won (US$5.32 billion) this year. They will

The South Korean stock market is expected to rely more on foreign investors this year as the National Pension Service (NPS) will reduce investment in domestic equities and the public offering funds market is forecast to contract. As the number of ailing listed companies also increased further last y

Retail stock investors are underperforming in indirect investment through funds as well as in direct investment. They are not benefiting from the rising stock market since the turn of the year as they have betted largely on bond-type funds, which are more like risk-free assets, while shunning Samsun

Four foreign banks operating in Korea have been fined about 700 million won (US$618,921) for allegedly fixing prices in trading foreign derivative products worth more than 600 billion won (US$530.50 million) with South Korean conglomerates. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Jan. 20 that i