SEOUL, Jul. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreign ownership of South Korean stocks hit a record high recently, buttressed by sound corporate earnings and expectations of a global economic recovery, market data showed Thursday. The market capitalization of stocks held by foreigners stood at 602 trillion won (US$528 billion) as of Tuesday, the largest ever according [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — It’s a brave new world that brings new technology but the same old problems. Rising values of cryptocurrencies (digital currencies) such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have attracted the attention of droves of investors and speculators, but fraudulent investment companies have risen up in their wake. The Korean National Police Agency [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Financial authorities will give permits to fintech firms to provide international money transfer services for small funds, officials said Wednesday, in a move that significantly reduces commission fees on moving money. About 40 fintech firms are expected to launch international money transfer services from Aug. 15, according to officials [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — CJ Cheiljedang Corp., South Korea’s leading maker of processed foods, said Wednesday it will sell all of its stake in Samsung’s life insurer through block trading, as the company pushes to jack up investment. The company will unload 2.98 million shares worth 357 billion won (US$311 million), or a [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea ranked second among emerging economies in the amount of stocks purchased by foreign investors during the first six months this year, market data showed Tuesday. Foreigners net bought US$9 billion worth of South Korean stocks during the January-June period, the second largest only after Taiwan’s $9.4 billion, [...]
SEOUL, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s central bank is expected to hold its key rates steady this month as it could move to “normalize” interest in early 2018, Moody’s Analytics said Friday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) is set to hold its rate-review session next Thursday to decide whether to keep or adjust [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup Inc., began shutting down five physical branches in the country Friday, as part of its plan to reorganize its operations, according to an industry source. Citibank has said it will drastically cut the number of its physical branches to 25 from [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s retail investors are generally staying away from the local bourses, industry data showed Thursday, as foreigners and institutions pushed up stocks to record highs in recent months backed by improving corporate earnings and resilient exports. The KOSPI main bourse has risen 18 percent in the first six [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Kakao Bank, South Korea’s second Internet-only bank, aims to eventually lead the online payment market, by taking advantage of its robust mobile ecosystem, the bank’s two co-chief executives said Tuesday. Kakao Bank, led by Kakao Corp., operator of Korea’s dominant messaging app KakaoTalk, is set to officially begin its [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid growing preference for emerging markets among global investors, the sales of South Korean equity funds more than quadrupled during the first half of 2017, an industry report said. According to an industry report released on Monday by Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities and EPFR Global, the volume of South [...]