SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Four financial holding firms in South Korea saw their interest income surge nearly 15 percent in 2021 thanks to rising lending rates, industry data showed Monday. The combined interest income of the four holding companies — KB Financial Group Inc., Shinhan Financial Group Co., Hana Financial Group Inc. and [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stocks are likely to fluctuate in a broad range as investors digest the high-flying inflation rates in the United States, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,747.71 points Friday, little changed from 2,750.26 points a week ago. The key stock [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s state deposit insurer said Friday it sold 2.2 percent of its stake in Woori Financial Holdings Co. for some 239 billion won (US$199 million). The Korea Depository Insurance Corp. (KDIC) said that the pre-market sale of 15.86 million shares came in line with a decision by the [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreign investors continued to purchase more shares than they sold in South Korea’s stock markets for the third straight month in January, central bank data showed Thursday. Foreigners picked up a net US$1.81 billion worth of local stocks last month, according to the data provided by the Bank of [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — KakaoBank Corp., a major South Korean internet-only bank, said Wednesday its 2021 earnings jumped about 80 percent from a year earlier thanks to strong interest income from loans and improved profitability. Net income amounted to 204.12 billion won (US$170.6 million) last year, up 79.6 percent from a net profit [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The amount of money South Korean firms raised through initial public offerings (IPOs) more than quadrupled to hit a record high last year thanks to ample liquidity and the overall bullish stock market sentiment, data showed Monday. A total of 89 companies went public in 2021 by listing stocks [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stocks are likely to take on an uptick momentum next week on a technical rebound from the recent stock plunge, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,750.26 points Friday, up 3.26 percent from 2,663.34 points a week ago. The South [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — K-Bank, a South Korean internet-only bank, on Thursday reported its first profit since its launch in 2017 thanks to a sharp increase in customers and interest income. Net profit came to 22.4 billion won (US$18.6 million) in 2021, a turnaround from a loss of 105.4 billion won a year [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — The net asset value of stock funds in South Korea suffered a decline for the first time in four months in January, as the global stock market roiled amid major central banks’ move to tighten policies, data showed Wednesday. The asset value of publicly placed stock funds stood at [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stocks are forecast to move in a tight range as investors will likely assume a wait-and-see strategy ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,834.29 on Friday, marking the lowest closing price since December [...]