Hana Financial Group announced on May 2 that it will officially sponsor and operate an exhibition pavilion at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Songdo, Incheon, to strengthen cooperation among global financial institutions.Through the ADB meeting, Hana Financial Group pl
In the first quarter of this year, the average daily value of foreign exchange transactions crossed US$66.8 billion, a record high. This is due to the resumption of trading at the beginning of 2023, which led to an increase in foreign exchange transactions and a rise in overseas investment by reside
The IMF announced on April 26 that South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of last year were 97 percent of the level that is deemed adequate.According to the IMF, the ratio topped 100 percent from 2000 to 2019 but fell to 98.9 percent in 2020 and slightly rose to 99 percent in 2021. It ex
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com -- Ed.Last year, Netmarble recorded both operating losses and net losses due to: 1) a lack of new game releases; 2) new title failures; and 3) a worsening financial structure following the acquisition of
The Bank of Korea announced that KRW’s value vis-à-vis USD fell 7.4 percent in February, when the average value of 34 currencies fell 3 percent in relation to USD. A full 40 percent of the 7.4 percent decline is attributable to South Korea’s trade deficit.“The volatility of KRW is on the increase th
MBK Partners Chairman Kim Byung-joo has overtaken Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong to become South Korea’s richest man.Forbes reported on April 17 (local time) that private equity asset manager Michael Kim (Korean name: Kim Byung-joo) earned the highest income this year with a net worth of
The IMF said in its report that South Korea’s national debt-to-GDP ratio exceeded the average of those of 10 advanced non-key currency countries for the first time in history.According to the IMF, the ratio of South Korea was 54.3 percent last year, when the average was 52 percent. According to the
The foreign currency debts of LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI are increasing rapidly due to their multiple overseas plant construction projects.Specifically, that of LG Energy Solution was 9.5392 trillion won (US$7.2615 billion) at the end of last year, when those of Samsung SDI and SK On
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) uncovered abnormal foreign currency remittances of more than 16 trillion won (US$12.2 billion) last year. The FSS is planning to sanction a total of 13 involved financial companies, including the top five commercial banks. The penalties are likely to include p
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com -- Ed.Although quarterly operating losses have continued since 1Q22, the launch of new games not only in Korea but also overseas (especially in China upon gaining publishing rights from China’s National
In February of 2023, residents’ foreign currency deposits in Korea declined by more than US$11.7 billion from the previous month, the largest decrease in 10 years and eight months since June 2012. This is attributable to a drop in deposits in all currencies, including the U.S. dollar and euros, as w
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com. -- Ed.Sensitivity to policy for US 10yr TB yields is lessening at a time when sensitivity to economic growth is amplifying. With this being a typical pattern at the end of a rate upcycle, long-term TB yiel
The central banks of South Korea and Indonesia extended their 10.7 trillion won (US$8.24 billion) currency swap agreement on March 6. The new contract period is until March 6, 2026.The two countries signed their first currency swap agreement in 2014 and extended it in 2017 and 2020.At present, South
Binance acquired 40 percent of Gopax, the fifth-largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, early this month as a preparation to enter the South Korean market. According to industry sources, the South Korean government is likely to put the brakes in that adequate supervision is not easy. At pres
South Korea’s net external financial assets hit an all-time high of US$746.6 billion last year. This is because external financial liabilities, that is, foreign investment in South Korea decreased more than external financial assets, that is, overseas investment from South Korea.To be specific, the
South Korea's current account surplus dropped from US$85.23 billion in 2021 to an 11-year low of US$29.83 billion in 2022. This is because its goods account surplus dropped with energy prices soaring to cause an overwhelming increase in imports.The same is likely to apply to this year. The South
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at yd.yoon@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Partnering up with Dunamu and Lambda256, Hanwha I&S has been actively preparing to launch a blockchain business. By utilizing its extensive network, the firm is expected to work with blockchain sta
The central banks of South Korea and Australia extended their currency swap agreement by five years to Feb. 5, 2028.The scale of the agreement is 12 billion Australian dollars without change, and the other terms also remain the same. The first currency swap agreement between the two central banks wa
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at seongjin.kang@kbfg.com. -- Ed.4Q22 OP beat market consensus; Concerns over decline in sales proportion of RE tires alleviated and further cost reductions possible ㅡ Hankook T&T saw 4Q22 OP beat the market consensus. Although the effect
The Financial Services Commission announced on Jan. 30 that new constant monitoring systems for financial crime prevention would be put into operation this year and those would target custody and wallet service providers as well as cryptocurrency exchanges.The commission is choosing targets to be in