NH Investment & Securities Co. said on Dec. 28 that it will invest 390 billion rupia (about US$27.2 million) in NH Korindo Securities, its subsidiary in Indonesia, in order to expand its business in the Southeast Asian country.The additional investment by NH Investment & Securities Co. will increase

South Korea’s top 10 business groups has lost a whopping 184 trillion won (US$163.99 billion) in market capitalization this year. This is largely due to an increasing volatility in the global financial market and concerns over a downturn in major industries, such as memory chip, car and display.Acco

The total value of foreign stocks South Korean individuals and institutions purchased this year hit an all-time high of more than US$30 billion, increasing more than five-fold in five years. This has to do with more cross-border stock trading services than before by local securities firms and non-ta

Mirae Asset Daewoo announced on Dec. 26 that it has completed the acquisition of a new Amazon logistics center near Atlanta by investing US$78 million. The U.S. subsidiary of Mirae Asset Daewoo will solely acquire the logistics center and then sell some of its stake directly to well-heeled people as

Dividend payouts of the Korean companies listed on the KOSPI market are expected to exceed 30 trillion won this year for the first time.Korea Exchange (KRX) said on Dec. 25 that the interim dividend payouts of KOSPI companies, which settle their accounts in December, were tallied at 9.1 trillion won

None of Korea's 2,688 stock-type funds with assets more than 1 billion won (US$900,000) yielded a profit this year, according to FnGuide Inc., a financial information service provider.The average earnings rate of the entire Korean stock-type funds hit minus 19.33 percent, worse than the 16.72% d

The operators of cryptocurrency exchange Upbit were brought to trial on charges of earning about 150 billion won (US$133.7 million) through fake virtual currency transactions, the prosecution announced on Dec. 21.The announcement sent shock waves through the cryptocurrency community as Upbit is the

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has toughened the governance disclosure rule for listed companies.From next year onwards, every listed company with assets exceeding two trillion won (US$1.8 billion) is obliged to disclose its corporate governance report, which is currently a voluntary disclo

The Hana Financial Group has established Hana Ventures, a corporate venture capital (CVC) affiliate, for investment in venture companies, especially in the ICT and biotech fields.A CVC company is different from a venture capital firm in that it can not only invest in venture companies but extend loa

Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), announced on Dec. 19 that the government will provide 15 trillion won (US$13.32 billion) in financial support to auto parts producers and small and mid-sized shipbuilders to promote the growth of key industries next year, and will gi

Korea Trade Insurance Corp. (K-SURE) announced on Dec. 19 that it would provide US$380 million to an oil refinery and petrochemical plant project in Malaysia.The project is aimed at building a 300,000-barrel oil refinery and petrochemical plant in the Pengerang region in southeastern Malaysia. Aramc

As international oil prices have fallen below the US$50 level per barrel for the first time in 14 months, derivative linked securities (DLS) investors have become tensed up as most DLS are based on oil prices as an underlying asset.According to the Korea Securities Depository (KSD), the issue balanc

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) has decided to make an equity investment in overseas subsidiaries of car component producers which have difficulty with poor performance of domestic automakers, including Hyundai Motor Co.According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on Decemb

South Korean financial companies’ overseas direct investment topped US$10 billion in less than three quarters this year. This year’s total is estimated at US$15 billion or more.According to the Export-Import Bank of Korea, the overseas direct investment totaled US$3.85 billion in the third quarter a

Samsung Electronics Co.’s share price helplessly fell even below the 40,000 won (US$35.26) level, which was the psychological supporting line, hitting the lowest point in 22 months. A negative outlook for market conditions and the company’s performance made securities firms lower the target stock pr

After a trade war between the United States and China has created higher uncertainty about emerging markets, the Korean stock market, which has a heavy dependence on exports, has been suffering direct hits. With foreign investors going on a selling spree, the top-tier benchmark KOSPI has lost more t

Meritz Securities Co. has concluded an aircraft deal worth some 600 billion won (US$533 million) in two years after it jointly received a total of 1 trillion won (US$889 million) worth of aircraft deal with Japan’s Mizuho Securities Co. at the end of 2016The South Korean brokerage firm announced on

A simple cryptocurrency purchase service first introduced in Korea is spreading overseas. The advantage of 'simple purchasing' is that users can invest in cryptocurrencies more easily because exchanges or communities have already verified their identities. In addition, this new service reduc

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. announced on Dec. 12 that its business in India has recorded 4.43 trillion won (US$3.94 billion) in assets under management (AUM). This makes Mirae Asset Investment (India) the 16th largest out of 40 asset management companies in the country and 13th largest in equ

KB Kookmin Bank has issued global covered bonds for the third time this year. However, it was the bank’s first private placement of bonds.According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on Dec. 12, KB Kookmin Bank issued US$100 million (112.9 billion won) worth of private covered bonds oversea