SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Korea Bizwire) – The government will decide soon whether to sell its remaining stake in Woori Bank, the nation’s top financial regulator said Monday. As part of a plan to privatize Woori Bank, the government sold a 28 percent stake to seven institutional investors last year but still holds an 18 percent [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s top steelmaker POSCO and leading chemicals manufacturer LG Chem have seen their market value surge during this year’s stock rally driven by large caps, data showed Thursday. POSCO’s market capitalization stood at 29.1 trillion won (US$25.8 billion) as of Wednesday, ranking fourth among the top 30 companies [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s top economic policymaker on Thursday expressed concerns that ballooning household debt may narrow room for policy maneuvering in Asia’s fourth-largest economy when interest rates rise, while downplaying the chance of high household debt posing a threat to the overall economy. “The risk of massive household debt will [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – KB Financial Group Inc.’s chairman nomination committee said Thursday it named current chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo the sole candidate for next chairman. Yoon, has held the post since 2014, became the sole candidate as two other rivals dropped out of the race. Yoon, 62, started his career at the Korea [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – A job expo for the financial services industry on September 13 attracted throngs of young men and women in their finest, some lining up hours before the event opened to get a chance for an interview with one of the top 6 banks (Kookmin, Shinhan, KEB Hana, Woori, Nonghyup [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreign investors offloaded South Korean stocks and bonds worth US$3.25 billion in August due to security jitters and profit-taking, the central bank said Wednesday. Foreign investors sold local stocks and bonds worth $1.33 billion and $1.91 billion, respectively, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said. It marked the first sell-off [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreign investors hold more than half of electric and electronics shares listed on South Korea’s main stock market, data showed Monday. Foreign ownership of those stocks traded on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) market came to 51.2 percent of their total market capitalization as of Wednesday, the [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s publicly offered overseas investment funds are regaining popularity among local investors, data showed Friday, as they seek tax benefits and higher returns. According to the data by the Korea Financial Investment Association, the combined net worth of such funds came to 39.4 trillion won (US$34.9 billion) as [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – Kakao Bank, South Korea’s second Internet-only bank, implemented a 500 billion won (US$441.9 million) capital increase on Tuesday as a part of a refinancing plan to bolster its lending business. Kakao Bank, launched in late July with paid-in capital of 300 billion won, has attracted about three million accounts [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Banks in South Korea saw their financial health improve slightly in the second quarter of this year helped by modest gains in their profits, the financial regulator said Wednesday. The average capital adequacy ratio of 18 commercial and state-run banks stood at 15.37 percent as of end-June, up 0.23 [...]