SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of private funds in South Korea has fallen sharply over the past three months in the wake of alleged trading irregularities and a liquidity crisis at a major player, data showed Tuesday. The country’s privately placed funds, including private equity funds and hedge funds, totaled 11,177 as [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean business executive who has been actively working for startups in the financial sector that have been trying to navigate murky regulations is gaining praise from the industry. Recently, Kim Sung-joon, CEO of startup Lendit, a peer-to-peer (P2P) lender, said on SNS that “A major incident has [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — A so-called “open banking” service, which allows users to withdraw and transfer money from multiple bank accounts using just one mobile application, will be put into operation on a trial basis. Ten major South Korean banks, including KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, began piloting open banking at 9 [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent report has identified a correlation between the incidence of severe weather alerts and a drop in the stock market. Financial markets and consumers were also affected by weather forecasts and weather conditions, with credit card payments rising on sunny days. According to a report released Tuesday by [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The value of daily money transfers via mobile payment apps in South Korea surpassed 200 billion won (US$168.6 million) in the first half of the year, central bank data showed Thursday, as more people used smartphones for financial services. The value of daily money transfers via smartphone apps, such [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s financial regulator said Tuesday it received applications from three consortia, including one led by a fintech firm, for a license to set up a new internet-only bank. Fintech firm Viva Republica led one consortium, which included KEB Hana Bank, Hanwha Investment & Securities and the Korean unit [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — While the private equity (PE) market has grown at a fast pace since deregulation in 2015, a number of problems have been exposed. According to Korea Financial Investment Association on Sunday, private equity funds (PEFs) are valued at 394.95 trillion won (US$333.2 billion), an all-time record. This year alone, [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — High-risk financial instruments that are designed to bet on Hong Kong’s stock market need to be carefully monitored amid concerns about potential losses, as massive democracy protests there have wobbled financial markets, an industry source said Monday. At the end of September, the outstanding amount of equity-linked trusts (ELTs) [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — More than half of all commercial bank account savings are stored in the accounts of the top 1 percent. According to a report the Financial Supervisory Service submitted to Rep. Lee Tae-kyu, commercial bank account savings in South Korea had reached 623 trillion won (US$525 billion) as of July [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s national pension fund saw the value of its stock holdings in 10 major conglomerates increase more than 16 percent in the first nine months, driven by gains in Samsung, Hyundai and SK affiliates, a market tracker said Sunday. The total value of stocks in the top 10 [...]