With a recent spike in gold prices, some experts have argued that the Bank of Korea (BOK) should increase its gold reserves. but the BOK believes that maintaining U.S. dollar liquidity is preferable.According to a report on the status of the BOK’s gold reserves and the future direction of gold manag
As of the end of last month, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves amounted to US$420.98 billion, the lowest in six months since November last year. The increase in foreign exchange reserves has been limited since the second half of last year, coupled with the strengthening of the U.S. dollar
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at jk.ahn@shinhan.com -- Ed.BOK reconfirms its commitment to hawkish stance in MayThe Bank of Korea (BOK) made a unanimous decision to keep the base rate unchanged at 3.50% at the May Monetary Policy Board (MPB) meeting. This year’s
The author is an analyst at NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at dongyang.kim@nhqv.com -- Ed.In 2022, the NPS set aside 43.1% of its assets for responsible investment. At the NPS, responsible investment has become a key consideration for investment in a range of assets, including domesti
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com -- Ed.Debt ceiling negotiations are both an event risk and a fundamental risk. After a deal is reached, market focus should shift to: 1) the reduction of short-term money market liquidity; and 2) governmen
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at yd.yoon@nhqv.com -- Ed.Daishin’s earnings turned positive thanks to sound trading sales and gains from overseas real estate. In 1Q23, the firm acquired Kasa Korea, a real estate fractional investment platform, and confirme
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com -- Ed.Amid tightening bank credit conditions, 1) core services inflation, excluding housing, came in below market expectations; and 2) housing inflation peaked out at a 21-month high. April retail sales co
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com -- Ed.LG HelloVision is entering several new businesses (eg, rental, seasonal food market, and MVNO) to overcome the structural limitations for CATVs, but top-line growth remains difficult to predict fo
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at yd.yoon@nhqv.com -- Ed.In 1Q23, Samsung Securities’ bond management division entered the black q-q, exceeding the market expectations, and the brokerage division also performed well. Expecting its stable business flow to
Despite the interest rate gap between Korea and the United States widening to a record 1.5 percentage points in April, the Korean stock market enjoyed a net inflow of stock investment funds from foreign investors. Not only did stock investments increase due to expectations for an improvement in the
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at jk.ahn@shinhan.com -- Ed.BOK to maintain tightening stance despite weak economic growth, but also less likely to push ahead on further rate increasesAfter advancing 0.3% QoQ in 1Q23, the Korean economy now needs to expand 1.0% QoQ
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at yd.yoon@nhqv.com -- Ed.Thanks to a stock market rebound, Kiwoom posted a 1Q23 earnings surprise, with OP exceeding pre-Covid-19 levels. Noting that financial product issues are less serious than real estate PF risk, we ma
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com -- Ed.A reduction of US bank lending will partially replace Fed rate hikes. The May FOMC is expected to signal a pause rather than an explicit start of a rate freeze cycle. Also, we expect a unanimous rate
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at junsup@nhqv.com -- Ed.Capital strength, a long re-pricing cycle, and IFRS17 effects were all highlighted in KBFG’s 1Q23 results.Maintain as top pick despite cut to TPWe believe that three of KBFG’s key strengths were clearl
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at yd.yoon@nhqv.com -- Ed.Similar to its peers, KIH’s OP is sound, but the possibility of additional PF provisioning cannot be ruled out. Considering the W860bn paid-in capital increase for subsidiaries (savings bank, capital
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at -- Ed.We expect Samsung Securities’ 1Q23 results to show significant y-y and q-q improvement thanks to increased trading profits on market interest rate stabilization. Compared to other securities firms, Samsung is less li
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at jk.ahn@shinhan.com -- Ed.Continuing tightening cycle and rising burden of short-term yield levels The Bank of Korea (BOK) is likely to maintain its tightening stance, given that March consumer prices are up 4% YoY at a lower rate b
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com -- Ed.Amid rising demand for AI, advanced post-fab processes such as HBM and hybrid bonding are becoming increasingly important. As a manufacturer of related bonding equipment, Hanmi is set to benefit from su
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Securities. She can be reached at inhae.ji@shinhan.com -- Ed.1Q23 preview: OP to come in at KRW19.4bnParadise is set to post operating profit of KRW19.4bn (positive swing YoY) on sales of KRW188.1bn (+89% YoY) for 1Q23, meeting market expectations.The company saw
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at jk.ahn@shinhan.com -- Ed.2023 tax revenue shortfalls raising expectations for an extra budget in 2HKorea’s tax revenue for the year to February came in lower by more than KRW15tr on a YoY basis, due to weaker contribution from inco