The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office is investigating cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb.According to industry sources, the investigation has to do with market manipulation allegations and the investigation targets include domestic cryptocurrencies such as GOM2 and PXL.On Jan. 25, the pr
Woori Bank recently decided to issue US$600 million of five-year foreign currency bonds. During the demand forecasting, orders totaled US$8.1 billion, more than 13 times the planned issuance. Earlier this year, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, POSCO and SK Hynix successfully issued US$3.5 billion, U
The South Korean government announced on Jan. 26 that newly approved Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) projects would be 3.8 trillion won this year, 3.9 trillion won next year and 4 trillion won in 2025 and EDCF budget execution would be 1.5 trillion won, 1.7 trillion won and 1.8 trillion
The Bank of Korea announced on Jan. 25 that residents’ foreign currency deposits increased by US$3.59 billion to US$110.98 billion last month. The deposits consist of those owned by local individuals and companies, foreigners staying for at least six months in South Korea, and foreign companies doin
Woori Bank has successfully issued senior bonds adding up to US$600 million. The coupon rate of the five-year ESG bonds is 4.875 percent.According to the bank, the orders totaled US$8.1 billion, the largest among foreign currency-denominated bonds issued by South Korean financial institutions since
The South Korean government announced on Jan. 16 that a new Foreign Exchange Transactions Act would become effective in the second half of next year after it is outlined this month. The new act, which will be the first revision in 24 years, is to reduce regulations related to foreign exchange transa
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com. -- Ed. When divided in terms of Powell’s criteria of: 1) goods; 2) housing costs; and 3) services, the US price index is in line with the Fed chair’s projected trajectory. Additional hikes are required, bu
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at yd.yoon@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Active real estate-related sales operations at KIH’s affiliates in the past will likely now serve to dampen their earnings. We expect them to book additional provisioning, considering the economic
SK Hynix has successfully issued U.S. dollar-denominated bonds worth US$2.5 billion, including the memory semiconductor industry's first sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) worth US$1 billion.The company conducted demand forecasting on Jan. 10 regarding the bond issuance. Orders totaled US$15.4 b
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) has successfully issued foreign currency bonds worth US$3.5 billion, the largest amount it has ever raised.The bank raised US$1 billion by selling three-year bonds, US$1.5 billion with five-year bonds and US$1 billion with 10-year bonds.Korea Eximbank
Foreign currency deposits of residents in Korea hit a new high at US$107.39 billion at the end of November, an increase of US$9.74 billion from the end of the previous month, according to a report released by the Bank of Korea on Dec. 21. The figure exceeded US$100 billion for the first time since t
Shinhan Bank announced on Dec. 14 that it has signed a new ESG committed credit line agreement worth 10 billion yen (US$73 million) with Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC).The foreign currency committed line is a financing method in which a borrower can receive foreign currency funds withi
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. She can be reached at hyejung.jung@kbfg.com. -- Ed. National Assembly rejects revisions to KEPCO Act— On Dec 8, the National Assembly rejected revisions to the KEPCO Act that would raise the ceiling for bond issuances. The KEPCO ceiling is currently set at
The Bank of Korea said in its report on Dec. 8 that foreign currency financing conditions may deteriorate next year, with the Fed continuing with monetary tightening and the U.S. dollar liquidity decreasing fast.“The TED spread, which stood at 15.6 basis points early this year, reached this year’s h
Lotte Card announced on Nov. 29 that it has raised US$300 million by selling asset-backed securities (ABSs) overseas.DBS of Singapore and Societe Generale of France participated as investors in this ABS issuance. The average maturity is three years. The raised funds will be used for refinancing exis
The Bank of Korea announced on Nov. 23 that South Korea’s net external financial assets increased US$41.9 billion to an all-time high of US$786 billion in the third quarter of this year. “The assets increased as external financial liabilities, that is, foreign investment in South Korea decreased mor
The Financial Services Commission is looking into cryptocurrencies issued by domestic exchanges. This is because the bankruptcy of FTX was caused by FTT, its self-issued cryptocurrency.“According to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, domestic cryptocurrency e
The liquidity crisis of FTX is sending alarm signals to South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges. As of 13:30, Nov. 10, both BTC and ETH dropped more than 10 percent in 24 hours.South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges’ profits are likely to plunge under the circumstances. This is because their sales are
Shinhan Bank has successfully issued 360 billion won worth of kangaroo bonds (bonds denominated in Australian dollars).The bank announced on Nov. 9 that it has issued kangaroo bonds worth AUD400 million, which is AUD100 million more than the original target. Shinhan Bank increased the issuance volum
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Starting in October, US and non-US monetary policies began to diverge. Although it is premature to discuss a US hawkish peak out, the main hurdle has passed from a global perspective. Considering Au