SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) – Mobile stock trading in South Korea has soared more than 30 percent in 2016 from a year ago, helped mainly by brokerages’ stepped-up marketing for smartphone users, data showed Thursday. According to the data by the Korea Exchange, a daily average of 250.5 million shares were traded via the [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – The implementation of flextime – a workplace arrangement that allows employees to choose their working hours – is quickly expanding across the local banking industry. KB Kookmin Bank currently has 45 branches that have adopted a flextime system, allowing employees to delay their work hours by an hour or [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – Major insurance companies in South Korea are increasing their capital to prepare for new accounting rules set to take effect next year and more U.S. rate hikes, industry sources said Monday. Local insurance companies are estimated to expand their capital by a combined 1.41 trillion won (US$1.17 billion) this [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea made a pitch Thursday for its financial technology, or fintech, in China under the government’s campaign to support related startups here seeking to do business abroad. The state-funded Fintech Center held the “Fintech Demo Day in Beijing” event, joined by five South Korean firms and potential business [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will relax a regulation on the capital ratio of local banks this week in a move to reduce their financial burden, the country’s finance regulator said Monday. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) will allow them to designate their loan-loss reserves as common capital stock under the revised [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – It has been almost two weeks since China’s ambitious Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect was launched, but the trading link has so far failed to drum up much excitement, at least from the point of view of Korean investors. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the aggregate trade volume [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – Korea Exchange (KRX) trading board KOSDAQ announced Wednesday that it would start allowing businesses operating in the red to go public if they show positive growth potential – introducing a so-called the “Tesla condition” taken from Tesla Motors, which lacked capital initially but was recognized for its prospects, and [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s financial authorities on Wednesday approved a plan to establish the country’s first online-only bank, opening a new chapter in its banking history. It would mark the first time here in 24 years for a brand-new bank to be born, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – The board of directors at seven major commercial banks decided Monday to implement a performance-based pay system – a controversial wage system introduced under the troubled Park Geun-hye administration. The seven institutions are Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank, KB KookminBank, KEB Hana Bank, SC Cheil Bank, and Citibank. Officials have [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – Despite an overall market slump, investors are scrambling to bet on stocks related to presidential hopefuls as an early election is deemed inevitable following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, data showed Tuesday. South Korean lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to impeach Park on Friday over a massive corruption and influence-peddling [...]