To promote financial innovation, South Korean financial authorities have been pushing ahead with deregulation measures, including the authorization of internet-only banks and the introduction of a regulatory sandbox. However, Korea still has a long way to go to achieve financial innovation.According
LG Chem may spin off its battery business division as continued investment in new battery production plants has been increasing the company’s financial burden. Analysts speculate that the company may seek to raise funds through an IPO of the separated company.Referring to the speculation, LG Chem re
The size of China-related asset-backed securities (ABS) in the South Korean financial investment sector is dropping at a rapid pace as South Korean investors are not reinvesting due to mounting concerns over Chinese bond defaults.The outstanding asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) and asset-backed
South Korean investors’ U.S. shareholding soared by close to 80 percent this year as they bought a lot of U.S. stocks with the U.S. stock market rallying unlike the South Korean stock market.The Korea Securities Depository announced on Dec. 25 that South Korean investors owned U.S. stocks worth a to
Foreign investors are concentrating their investment in the South Korean stock market on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Experts point out that the lopsidedness will be reduced and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) will be able to keep rising if the manufacturing indices of the United
Vietnam has emerged as the most preferred investment destination for Korean companies, a survey of outbound foreign direct investment (FDI) by Korean enterprises showed on Dec. 19.According to the report, which was released by KEB Hana Bank, Vietnam ranked first in terms of the number of reported ca
The environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment market of South Korea has grown to a size of approximately seven trillion won. Especially, the ESG investment entrusted by the National Pension Service (NPS) soared from 400 billion won in 2007 to 6.2 trillion won in July 2018.In South Korea,
Korean companies have issues convertible bonds (CBs) worth 5 trillion won so far this year. As the stock market plunged, increasingly more firms issued CBs at low points. In particular, as demand for hedge funds that invest in pharmaceutical and bio-tech companies has been growing, pharmaceutical an
Yuanta Securities announced on Dec. 12 that foreign investors posted a net selling of US$3,025 million in the South Korean stock market last month. The net selling volume exceeded those in nine major emerging stock markets. For example, the volume was US$2,115 million in Brazil, US$493 million in In
Samsung Group has set out to invest in fostering Korean system semiconductor startups. The group is expected to ramp up investment in this area as the Korean government recently announced that it will support small and medium-sized system semiconductor materials and parts companies in cooperation wi
KB Investment, a subsidiary of KB Financial Group, announced on Dec. 11 that it has established a jointly managed fund (Centauri Fund) with Telkom Group, Indonesia's largest state-run telecommunications group, to target tech companies and markets in Southeast Asia.The jointly managed fund will b
Foreign capital outflow from the Korean stock and bond markets hit a 13-month high in November.The Bank of Korea said on Dec. 10 that US$3.96 billion of foreigners’ stock and bond funds left Korea last month. This was the largest amount in 13 months since US$4.27 billion flowed out of Korea in Octob
SK Group's corporate governance restructuring is expected to resurface next year. Hana Financial Investment said on Dec. 10 that a divorce lawsuit against SK chairman Chey Tae-won, which followed SK Holdings' massive treasury stock acquisition, could lead to a corporate governance change.“Th
Korea Exchange (KRX) plans to simplify the listing system of the KOSDAQ market by focusing on the future value of the applicants, such as market capitalization. KRX will also introduce a management system for algorithmic trading.KRX Chairman Jung Ji-won disclosed the exchange’s business plan for n
The Korea Fair Trade Commission announced on Dec. 9 that it recently looked into 56 conglomerates, those include 49 led by owners, the 49 conglomerates have 1,801 subsidiaries, and at least one owner family member is registered as a director in 321 out of the 1,801 subsidiaries. It added that direct
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Dec. 9 that this year’s reported foreign direct investment (FDI) totaled US$20.3 billion on Dec. 2 and the reported FDI in South Korea topped US$20 billion for the fifth consecutive year that day.The reported investment fell 35.7 percent and 38
The Korea-Vietnam honeymoon in the economic field is deepening. Currently, Korea is Vietnam’s No. 1 investor and the most preferred investor for Vietnamese agencies. The bilateral trade between Korea and Vietnam, which amounted to about US$10 billion 10 years ago, is running towards the goal of US$1
Foreign investors’ holdings of South Korean bonds have fallen to a six-month low.Foreign investors held 122.30 trillion won worth of bonds as of Dec. 4, according to the Fiancial Supervisory Service. The figure represented a 2.47 trillion won drop from 124.77 trillion won at end-November and the low
The dispute settlement committee of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has told banks to compensate investors in their derivatives-linked fund (DLF) products for up to 80 percent of the losses. The reimbursement rate is the highest since the Dong Yang fiasco in 2014.The FSS said on Dec. 5 that
As Korean companies’ weight in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Emerging Markets (EM) Index has recently been reduced, Korea’s weight also fell from second to third in country rankings.Koran companies’ weight in the MSCI EM Index decreased from 12.19 percent at the end of October to 1