The Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Committee warned that the radioactive substances leaking from the Japanese nuclear facility may become a “black swan,” prompting a Yen carry trade.On August 27, The Bank of Korea disclosed the minutes from the 15th Monetary Board meeting held on August 8 showing rec

It has been found that Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee has been pushed out of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. According to Bloomberg, his net asset size reached approximately US$10.2 billion on August 26, ranking 107th on the list updated every business day. The chairman had joined the top 100

The ING Group signed a contract with MBK Partners, a local private equity fund, on August 26 to sell the Korean branch of ING Life Insurance. The price for sale is 1.8 trillion won (US$1.6 billion), 120 billion won (US$107 million) of which is subject to re-investment by the ING Group. “With the fin

It has been found that the money drain from bond-type funds is slowing down in spite of the possibility of a foreign exchange crisis in India and the Fed’s remarks on the end of the quantitative easing. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA), the 30-year government bond yiel

SK Holdings is aiming to turn itself into a portfolio investment company by launching US$200 million worth M&A funds abroad. It has been said that the holding company has completed the reshaping of overseas business units and the recruiting of M&A experts to this end. In general, holding companies e

The size of household debt reached 980 trillion won (US$877 billion) in the second quarter of this year, the highest ever in history, as housing loans skyrocketed before acquisition tax reductions expired in late June. The total is highly likely to top 1,000 trillion won (US$894.0 billion) before th

The government and the financial sector are watching closely as financial insecurities in emerging markets such as India and Indonesia, insecurities that were triggered by concerns of decreases in US quantitative easing, may affect the Korean capital market. The government is responding differently

Auto sector strikes are leading to a flurry of love letters from local governments in the US and China in an attempt to persuade Hyundai Motors to set up more plants overseas. According to sources in the business community and auto industry, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal secretly met with Hyundai Mot

Economists’ opinions are split on what will become of the recent instability in the Southeast Asian financial markets. Some are saying that the Korean market will be able to distinguish itself because it has stronger fundamentals than Southeast Asian nations in general, while others warn that foreig

It has been reported that the top 500 domestic enterprises are at a dangerous level of loan dependency. About half of the investigated companies are financially unstable with over 30% dependency, which is considered borderline. About 17 of the top 30 companies also showed over 30% loan dependency. O

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics saw a 10% increase in their sale credits in the first half of the year, compared to the same period last year. Samsung’s credit went over 27 trillion won (US$24.1 billion) and LG’s broke 8 trillion won (US$7.16 billion) for the first time. As for stock assets,

Kumho Industrial Company creditors have allowed the Kumho Asiana Group to make a cross-shareholding structure and put Kumho Asiana Group CEO Park Sam-gu in charge of normalization of management by registering him as the Director of Kumho Industrial Company. On August 20, Industrial Bank of Korea and

M&A is emerging as a viable option for the globalization of the local securities industry. The revision to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, which takes effect on August 29 for the revitalization of investment banking, is expected to be a boon to the financial investment bus

Major brokerage houses in Korea saw dramatic drops in brokerage market share over the past four years. The only exception was Kiwoom Securities, which saw its market share sharply increase to 15% from around 10% four years ago.According to reports released by the Financial Supervisory Service on Aug

The major Korean financial service institutions are pushing into the American market by acquiring local financial firms in the US and supporting the exports of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Korea. The move is part of a strategy for attracting new customers and securing new growth engi

The next move of Kyobo Life Insurance (KLI) is drawing a lot of attention since it indicated its intention to buy Woori Finance Holdings Co., a Seoul-based banking and financial services holdings company. The company was reported to make contact with the Macquarie Group, a global investment bank and

Korea was analyzed to have fallen into a middle income trap after losing its speed chasing economically-advanced nations by President Lee Geun of the Center for Economic Catch-up on August 13. At a seminar titled “A Nation’s Catch-up, Passing, and Falling – A Commentary on Korean Economics” hosted a

It has been pointed out that Samsung Electronics’ US market share could be affected by the import ban on its smart phones and tablet PCs. The Wall Street Journal reported on August 12 that the growth outlook of Samsung Electronics, which has risen to the top of the US smart phone market by beating A

It has been warned that around 150 companies listed on the Korean stock market are in danger of going bankrupt within one year, and another 400 of them are in danger of insolvency.Global consulting firm AlixPartners announced on August 13 that it analyzed 1,500 listed Korean companies with its Corpo

Chinese electronics manufacturers no longer seek the cheapest parts.As the Chinese electronics market gains enormous purchasing power, it demands not only lower prices but also higher quality parts.As China becomes the world’s biggest IT market, even global corporations are struggling to cater to th