SEOUL, July 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Loans issued to seniors over 60 years of age from insurance companies jumped last year, a lawmaker said Monday, citing data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Loans taken out by seniors over 60 years of age from insurance companies reached 11.16 trillion won (US$8.55 billion) as of late December [...]
SEOUL, July 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s major insurance companies are posing a challenge to commercial banks by releasing mortgage loans with a maturity of up to 40 years. Kyobo Life Insurance Co., which is already selling policy-type 40-year mortgage products for youth and newly-wedded couples, is set to launch sales of general-type products. [...]
SEOUL, July 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korean currency has reached a new 13-year low against the U.S. dollar, prompting foreign direct purchase enthusiasts to return to domestic shopping malls. Online communities for foreign direct purchasing are increasingly sharing the view that buying goods abroad is either more expensive or equivalent in price to shopping [...]
SEOUL, July 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid soaring prices, Koreans are buying lunchboxes at convenience stores or making their own lunches to save money as a so-called ‘lunchflation’ phenomenon takes hold. “I can save 3,000 to 5,000 won (US$2.31-3.85) each time I make a lunchbox,” said a 28-year-old office worker surnamed Shin. “I’m worried that [...]
SEOUL, June 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Internet-only lender Toss Bank logged a rapid business expansion only nine months after its launch, backed by the convenience of mobile banking and services that target all ages, bank data showed Tuesday. Since its launch in October 2021, the online bank has opened 3.6 million new accounts as of [...]
SEOUL, June 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Investor sentiment has been unduly negative toward Samsung Electronics in light of the company’s strong performance and solid earnings forecast, a chief analyst at a local research firm has said. “I think investor worries are excessive. Limited supply will shore up memory chip prices in the coming months,” Greg [...]
SEOUL, June 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean builder SK ecoplant Co. has formulated a blueprint aimed at developing and applying digital solutions and platforms for its environment business to upgrade it into a new energy business. The company recently signed a strategic partnership agreement with Amazon Web Service (AWS) Korea, the local cloud-computing service [...]
SEOUL, June 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Citibank Korea Inc., the Korean unit of U.S. banking giant Citigroup, said Wednesday it signed agreements with KB Koomin Bank and Toss Bank to help its individual customers refinance their loans after closing its retail banking sector. Citibank Korea closed all new sign-ups for retail banking and financial services [...]
SEOUL, June 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s overseas direct investment more than doubled on-year in the first quarter of this year amid an economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the finance ministry said Friday. The value of investments made overseas by South Korean companies reached US$25.4 billion in the January-March period, up from $11.34 [...]
SEOUL, June 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Shares of South Korean mobile payment service Kakao Pay Corp. have plunged following the stock sales through block deal by Alipay Singapore Holdings Pte, which is the company’s second-largest shareholder. Kakao Pay employees owning company stock, in turn, are seeing significant losses. On Wednesday, Kakao Pay shed 15.19 percent to [...]