South Korean investors’ overseas stock trading value hit an all-time quarterly high in the third quarter of this year along with their overseas securities trading value. This is because the South Korean stock market is moving sideways and South Korean companies’ business outlook is not bright.The Ko

South Korea’s publicly traded banks and bank holding companies rank 29th among the 34 OECD countries in terms of the price-to-book ratio (PBR), a researcher of the Korea Institute of Finance (KIF) has found.Seo Byeong-ho, a senior KIF researcher said in a report released on Oct. 27 that average PBR

KB Kookmin Bank opened KB InsighT Yeouido on Oct. 27. It is the first bank branch in South Korea that is run solely by information technology personnel.“This branch, which starts with 10 engineers and has few precedents worldwide, is to deal with process-related complaints without delay and without

The Financial Supervisory Service announced on Oct. 27 that the collateralized loan obligation (CLO) investment of non-bank institutional investors in South Korea totaled 7,614.9 billion won in the first half of this year. The CLO is a high-risk financial product that triggered the global financial

The Bank of Korea announced on Oct. 25 that the average daily foreign exchange trading volume of foreign exchange banks was US$56.1 billion in the third quarter of this year, down US$1.52 billion from the previous quarter.The volume fell in that quarter after an increase in the first and second quar

Korea Exchange (KRX) announced on Oct. 24 that it has opened a cross-border M&A intermediation network as an online platform to help South Korean companies merge with and acquire foreign companies.The network, which provides data and information on foreign companies for sale, currently shows about 2

Mega investment banks in South Korea celebrate their second anniversary next month but their business performance is still short of expectations. This is because various regulations are hindering their business as well as approvals.Their issued note balance, which constitutes their main business, to

The sale of KDB Life Insurance is showing little progress as Korea Development Bank (KDB), which owns the insurer, suggests a price of as high as 800 billion won for it. Although KDB Life Insurance completed subordinated debt refunding to mitigate the burden, the annual interest burden is still high

It is becoming increasingly difficult for approximately 1,000 trillion won worth of hot money to find investment destinations with the Bank of Korea having lowered the key rate to 1.5 percent in July and to 1.25 percent this month. Despite the lowered interest rate, investors are reluctant to invest

KB Financial Group expands its global business based on a strategic alliance with Stifel, a U.S.-based investment banking company.According to industry sources, KB Financial Group chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo and Stifel chairman Ron Kruszewski are going to sign a strategic partnership agreement on Oct. 2

SK Group is continuing to raise funds aggressively by issuing corporate bonds. The group has raised 8,752 billion won through bond issuance so far this year. The amount is estimated to reach 10 trillion won at the end of this year with SK Chemical and SK Siltron about to issue additional corporate b

The Bank of Korea lowered the key rate from 1.5 percent to a record low of 1.25 percent on Oct. 16 based on its conclusion that the South Korean economy is losing steam with exports and investments decreasing at the same time. The possibility of deflation also affected its benchmark rate determinati

Industry tracker CEO Score recently analyzed the 51 South Korean business groups led by chairpersons and constituting the 59 large business groups designated by the Korea Fair Trade Commission and said on Oct. 16 that the total equity value of the chairpersons of the 51 groups and their families was

KDB Future Strategy Research Institute announced on Oct. 15 that six South Korean banks put their names on the world’s top 100 bank list for 2018 of The Banker magazine.On the list, KB Financial Group maintained its 59th place while Shinhan Financial Group rose three notches to 63rd and Hana Financi

Stock funds in South Korea posted a weekly return of 0.38 percent as of the morning of Oct. 11. Specifically, the K200 Index, dividend, non-large cap, and general stock funds recorded positive 0.1 percent, negative 0.67 percent, negative 0.49 percent, and negative 0.27 percent, respectively.During t

As Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to post higher earnings than market expectations in the third quarter and the semiconductor market will pick up, the price of the company’s shares hit a 52-week high on Oct. 14 and surpassed 50,000 won (US$42.15) for the first time in a year and four months.Sam

Large securities companies with an equity capital of three trillion won or more will be allowed to extend loans to their overseas subsidiaries.The policy change was decided at the government's fourth innovative growth strategy meeting on Oct. 14. In addition, the government is going to apply sim

Kookmin Bank’s simple payment service “Liiv Bank Pay” will be available in Japan starting next month. This is the first overseas simple payment service launched by a Korean commercial bank. Other banks are also expanding their simple payment services to global markets following Naver Pay and Kakao P

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) announced on Oct. 10 that it will extend US$750 million (896.60 billion won) to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., the largest mobile carrier in India, in the form of a loan and credit guarantees. Samsung Electronics Co. has won the 4G project from the I

Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo has suggested a shift in his stance on private equity funds (PEFs) towards tightening regulations for investor protection.During a news conference on Oct. 10 held to mark his first month on the job, Eun said he had at first agreed with the co