SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean firms may experience a credit crisis this year after a number of them have suffered cuts in their credit ratings, market observers said Sunday. According to Korea Ratings, one of the country’s three largest credit appraisers, the number of local firms suffering credit rating downgrades in 2015 [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Korea Bizwire) - South Korea’s top central banker said Thursday he will continue an easing monetary policy in 2016 to boost growth while guarding against any financial instabilities. “It is necessary to put the focus on downward risks in economic growth and prices, while closely checking the macroeconomic circumstances,” Bank of Korea Gov. [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Wednesday that it has ordered Hyundai Motor Group to resolve cross-shareholding ties derived from an intra-group merger and acquisition (M&A) between its two steelmaking units, amid the agency’s recent push to break the cobweb-like shareholding structures of conglomerates. Hyundai Steel Co. was merged with [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) – South Korea needs to revive its economic dynamics to achieve sustainable growth, as it may face a drop in growth potential due to the rapidly aging population, a director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Sunday. “The Bank of Korea (BOK) estimated that South Korea’s growth potential is around 3 to 3.2 percent, but it will likely drop to below 3 percent in the long-term due to structural [...]
SEJONG/SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s antitrust watchdog Sunday said the intra-group merger and acquisition (M&A) deal by Samsung affiliates strengthened banned cross-shareholding ties within the conglomerate that need to be resolved. According to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), the merger between Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C&T Corp. on Sept. 1 reduced [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – Mirae Asset Group, one of South Korea’s leading asset managers, has been picked as the preferred bidder to take over the country’s second-largest brokerage house Daewoo Securities Co., its main creditor said Thursday. The deal is expected to change the landscape of the brokerage industry as the deal will [...]
SEOUL, Dec.16 (Korea Bizwire) – Uber Technology has announced that it signed an agreement with KEB Hana Bank and Hana Capital to provide financial services to Uber Taxi and Uber Black. With the signing of the agreement, taxi drivers who use the Uber platform will be provided with various financial services by the two organizations. [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – Foreign investors have been in a selling binge of local stocks as they reduced risky bets ahead of a looming U.S. rate hike, market watchers said Thursday. Offshore investors offloaded 243 billion won(US$207 million) worth of shares traded on the main KOSPI market on Wednesday, extending their selling spree [...]
SEOUL, Dec.4 (Korea Bizwire) – Over the past three days, nearly 100,000 individuals have visited the new online insurance supermarket known as Insurance Damoa, where users can compare different insurance plans make online insurance purchases. According to the General Insurance Association of Korea, as of midnight on December 2, a total of 98,210 users had [...]
SEOUL, Dec.3 (Korea Bizwire) – The shock effect of black market deals with analysts and fund managers involved is hitting hard at securities firms in Yeouido. Numerous trade firms and asset management firms have been investigated by the prosecution, with documents and data seized and offices searched. The investigation has revealed even more names in [...]