SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s major financial holding firms that control large-sized commercial banks are asking financial authorities to grant them Internet bank licenses as a way to cope with competition from Kakao Bank and K-Bank. The four entities – KB Financial Group Inc., Shinhan Financial Group Co., Woori Financial Group Inc. and [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Citibank Korea Inc. has again postponed a decision on the exit plan for its retail banking unit amid differences over sale terms, industry sources said Tuesday. Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup Inc., had originally planned to hold a board meeting on Aug. 26 to determine how [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Asset Management Co., South Korea’s top money manager, said Monday that its Samsung Global Metaverse Fund surpassed the 50 billion won mark in assets under management just two months after being released as the ‘metaverse’ emerging as a central theme for investors in the fund market. The fund, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreign investors have been on a selling spree of South Korean stocks so far this year, selling nearly 31 trillion won (US$26 billion) of local shares, data showed Sunday. Offshore investors sold a net 30.72 trillion won between Jan. 1 and Friday, compared with net selling of 24.7 trillion [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Ko Kwang-nam invested 5 million won (US$4,251) in cryptocurrencies but lost about half of his holdings as the nation’s cryptocurrency markets showed signs of cooling down ahead of tougher regulations. As things stand, Ko, a 30-something office worker in Seoul, is likely to lose most of holdings because he [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean retail investors have doubled their stake in Samsung Electronics Co. in eight months amid foreigners’ selling spree, data showed Thursday. Local individual investors had net-bought 394 million shares in the global tech behemoth as of Wednesday this year, or 6.6 percent of its outstanding shares, according to [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — KakaoBank Corp., a major South Korean digital-only bank, said Tuesday its net profit more than doubled in the second quarter from a year earlier, reporting robust earnings after it went public earlier this month. Net profit stood at 69.29 billion won (US$58.85 million) in the April-June period, compared with [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Some foreign cryptocurrency exchanges have distanced themselves from South Korea as Korean authorities are set to enforce tighter regulations against virtual coins. By Sept. 24, cryptocurrency exchanges targeting Korean investors must register with the nation’s anti-money laundering body and disclose their details on risk management. Under the tougher regulations, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Giant chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co. saw its presence on the main bourse drop to the lowest in 23 months in terms of market capitalization amid a sharp drop, data showed Sunday. The tech behemoth’s value stood at some 444 trillion won (US$400 billion) as of Friday, or 19.43 percent [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean internet-only bank Kakao Bank Corp. made a splash in its stock market debut Friday, emerging as the country’s most valuable financial firm. After a weak start, shares of the online bank made steady gains throughout the session. It capped the first day at 69,800 won (US$61), soaring [...]