The Bank of Korea announced on Sept. 5 that South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves decreased US$2.18 billion to US$436.43 billion in August this year. Previously, the reserves continued to decrease in March to June and increased in July.“Last month, foreign currency asset management income increase
Federation of Korean Industries Chairman Huh Chang-soo recently sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden to express his concerns over the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on South Korean automakers.“The act has seriously discriminatory elements that will slow down the growth of the EV industry
Former Bithumb Holdings chairman Lee Jeong-hoon has won a lawsuit in a Singapore court regarding the listing of Bithumb coin BXA.Bithumb said that the Singapore court ruled on Aug. 26 that BK Medical Group chairman Kim Byung-kun should return the proceeds from the sale of coins owned by BTHMB.BTHMB
The Seoul Regional Customs announced on Aug. 30 that it has uncovered 2.0715 trillion won of cryptocurrency-related illegal foreign exchange transactions as a result of its inspection that started in February.“The transactions are likely to be related to arbitrage trading to take advantage of the so
The Financial Supervisory Service announced on Aug. 29 that overseas remittances through Hana Bank totaled US$399.81 billion in the first half of this year, followed by Woori Bank (US$344.03 billion), KB (US$122.83 billion), Shinhan (US$107.45 billion), SC (US$94.63 billion), IBK (US$66.06 billion)
The won-dollar exchange rate is soaring amid global inflation, fueling the risk of another economic crisis. The economy is slowing down, demands are shrinking and corporate inventories are continuing to increase. The results are likely to be a decline in capacity utilization, a decrease in investmen
The Financial Supervisory Service announced that suspicious cross-border remittances via South Korean banks are at least US$6.54 billion and most of the remittances were made from domestic cryptocurrency exchanges.“This fact implies that most of the remittances to China, Hong Kong, and so on via tra
The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit has reported 16 foreign virtual asset businesses, including MEXC and KuCoin, to investigators. According to the unit, they are violating the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information by doing business in South Korea without registrat
The author is a fixed income strategist of Shinhan Investment Corp. He can be reached at jk.ahn@shinhan.com. -- Ed. 2023 national budget & KTB issuance outlook seen positive for bondsThe market's focus is now shifting to the size of next year’s national budget and limit on KTB issuance with the
Chainalysis announced on Aug. 16 that hacking-based cryptocurrency theft amounted to US$1.9 billion for the first seven months of this year, up 58 percent from a year ago, and the number of DeFi-related cases in particular increased a lot.“Cases related to DeFi protocols and North Korea-related hack
The Financial Supervisory Service recently detected that more than 8.5 trillion won flowed out of 70 or so South Korean bank branches through suspicious foreign exchange transactions, including arbitrage cryptocurrency trading.“In most cases, the flow of money is from domestic cryptocurrency exchang
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced on Aug. 14 that suspicious international remittances that total US$3.39 billion were detected as a result of its recent inspections at Woori and Shinhan Banks.The FSS said a total of 23 companies have been found to be involved in the remittances from
Foreigners’ investment in Korean securities turned into a net inflow in July. During the same period, the won/dollar exchange rate rose and interest rates in major advanced countries plunged.Foreign investment in Korean stocks switched to a net inflow of US$160 million in July as investor sentiment
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. The launch of Summoners War: Chronicle is imminent. Also boding well for Com2uS’s earnings, the mainnet for cryptocurrency C2X has been replaced with the firm’s own XPLA, and its release of P2E g
Korea Investment & Securities Co., a subsidiary of Korea Investment Holdings, announced on Aug. 11 that KIS Indonesia, its subsidiary in Indonesia, has successfully managed the issuance of rupiah-denominated public bonds by KB FMF, an Indonesian subsidiary of KB Card.KB FMF received a credit rating
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at pk.park@nhqv.co. -- Ed. We raise our TP on Dentium to W120,000. Dentium posted a consolidated 2Q22 OP of W35.2bn, topping consensus. We project its 2022 OP at W136.1bn (OPM of 35.1%). While the company’s OPM hovers at a sim
The Bank of Korea announced on Aug. 3 that South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves increased by US$330 million to US$438.61 billion in July this year. The reserves increased for the first time in five months. In June, the reserves decreased by US$9.43 billion, the biggest decrease since November 200
If China attacks Taiwan, the world’s wealth will be reduced by US$2.61 trillion (about 3413 trillion won), the Nihon Keizai (Nikkei) Shimbun reported on Aug. 2. It said that the West will impose sanctions on China like those on Russia, and China, as well as all countries that trade with China, will
U.S. virtual asset exchange FTX is reportedly in talks to acquire Bithumb, the second-largest virtual asset exchange in Korea. Yet, sources informed in the matter say that the deal may be hampered by legal risks involving Lee Jung-hoon, the former chairman of Bithumb Holdings who is on trial for fra
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at cygun101@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Maintain BUY but lower target price 5.8% to KRW81,000 We lower our TP on KIH by 5.8% to KRW81,000. Despite 2Q22 earnings falling far short of the market consensus and our estimate, we maintain BUY, as:(1) losse