SEOUL, Jun. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s financial regulator unveiled a set of measures Thursday aimed at encouraging big name local IT firms to invest in the Internet-only banking industry with a focus on lowering entry barriers and easing related regulations. Under the measures, Internet-only banks will be off limits to the country’s conglomerates, [...]
SEOUL, June 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Korean stock firms are engaged in an increasing number of legal battles, and eight out of ten lawsuits are bringing them to the dock. According to the Financial Consumer Agency on June 11, the 58 stock firms serving the Korean stock market were engaged in 444 lawsuits seeking 1.728 [...]
“(The BOK) will likely proceed in the direction of sustaining its accommodative stance as it is difficult to be positive about domestic economic recovery. Policy circumstances may rapidly change due to factors such as a possible U.S. rate hike, but there is a need to be prudent in adjusting the stance of the monetary policy [...]
SEOUL, June 11 (Korea Bizwire) – As the struggle between American hedge fund Elliott Associates and Samsung Group continues, local institutional investors find themselves in the difficult position of having to choose sides. Elliott’s argument that the proposed merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries undervalues Samsung C&T and goes against the interests of shareholders is widely received, [...]
SEOUL, June 11 (Korea Bizwire) – With financial regulators’ nod to the Chinese Anbang Insurance Group’ acquisition of Tongyang Life Insurance, Korean financial firms now have to compete with a Chinese player on their home turf. On June 10, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced that it had granted approval to Anbang Insurance for the acquisition [...]
SEOUL, June 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s central bank on Thursday lowered the base rate to a record low of 1.5 percent amid growing concerns the country’s first-ever outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) will likely dent growth and consumption. In the monthly rate-setting meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Korea (BOK) [...]
SEOUL, June 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung C&T, the construction arm of Samsung Group, said Wednesday its plan to merge with the group’s de facto holding firm doesn’t hurt shareholders’ interests, refuting a U.S. hedge fund’s claim that the builder is undervalued. In late May, Samsung C&T unveiled the plan to merge with Cheil Industries in [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Sales financing companies for German car dealers in Korea are still applying 7 to 9 percent interest rates for financing plans offered to customers, even though the Korean base rate has dropped to 1 percent. Some companies are luring customers into paying interest whose total amount is even higher [...]
SEOUL, June 4 (Korea Bizwire) – From September or sooner, Korean financial institutions will be able to freely use personal credit information on the condition that individuals are not identified, giving them a way to offer financial products using big data collected from consumers. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) decided on June 3 to move forward [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — BNP Paribas South Korea sued its customers most frequently when facing disputes with them, among all the non-life insurance companies in Korea last year. According to the Financial Consumer Agency on June 3, BNP Paribas South Korea dealt with seven dispute cases at the court, with 26.9 percent of [...]