For Blue Ocean ATS, a broker platform that facilitates overnight trading for the US stock market, Sunday night is the peak trading hour as South Korean investors flock to execute orders before the US day trading begins. “Sunday night is our biggest night when it is Monday morning for the Asian investors and Korean investors. They start trading at 8 p.m. when traditional exchanges here in the US do not open until 9:30 a.m. on Monday,” Brian Hyndman, president and CEO at Blue Ocean Tec

Market May 16, 2024

Energy solution provider HD Hyundai Electric will be added to the Morgan Stanley Capital International Korea Index, alongside two other domestic companies, according to the index operator Tuesday. The MSCI Index is an influential market benchmark published by the US investment bank Morgan Stanley. Tracked by the global investment industry, the index measures the performance of the stocks included in its listing. The shares of three Korean companies, including HD Hyundai Electric, biotechnology c

Industry May 15, 2024

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo joined the "Bye Bye Plastic Challenge" to increase awareness of the need to reduce plastic waste, according to the firm Wednesday. Appointed by Community Chest of Korea Chairman Kim Byong-joon, Ham joined the social media campaign, first initiated by the Ministry of Environment in August last year. Ham promoted the need to combat plastic pollution for the environment by holding discussions with Hana Financial employees at its office in centra

Industry May 15, 2024

By Steve Brice From a very young age, we are taught that if you want to get better at something, then you need to expend time and effort to learn the necessary skills. We are also taught that you should focus on areas that you are going to make the biggest impact. When it comes to maximizing your financial position in life, the best way is to focus on your career and adopt a simple approach to investing i.e. regularly invest into a diversified portfolio regardless of what videos you see on TikTo

Market May 15, 2024

South Korean financial services conglomerate Woori Financial Group is seeking to diversify its business portfolio beyond banking in an apparent move to take on its bigger rivals here. Among the nation’s top four financial groups, Woori has long remained the smallest in terms of sales. Last year, Woori was the only one to post less than 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) in earnings, with its net profit standing at 2.51 trillion won. KB, the No. 1 financial group, recorded 4.63 trillion won in n

Industry May 13, 2024

Korea's major cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb said Friday that it will cover all the 40 billion won ($30 million) of taxes imposed on the winners of its crypto airdrop events. According to Bithumb, some 10,700 users were slapped with a combined 20 billion won in taxes last year for their compensations, including virtual assets and paybacks on commission, worth 83 billion won earned after participating in its multiple airdrop events held between 2018 and 2021. In Korea, the tax authorities h

Industry May 10, 2024

There are over 80,000 individuals in Seoul with wealth of over $1 million, making it the city in the world with the 19th-highest number of millionaires, a recent study found. Around 82,500 residents in Seoul have wealth over $1 million as of December 2023, according to the “2024 World’s Wealthiest Cities” report issued by investment migration consultant Henry & Partners in collaboration with global data intelligence firm New World Wealth, Tuesday. In the annual report, weal

Economy May 8, 2024

Mirae Asset Global Investments, a leading asset manager based in Korea, announced on Tuesday its high dividend yield exchange-traded fund has been included in the Stock Connect Scheme, a program that allows mainland China investors access to certain eligible Hong Kong-listed ETFs. The Global X Hang Seng High Dividend Yield ETF, operated by the asset manager's Hong Kong branch, was included in the program on Monday. The ETF tracks shares with high dividend yields on the Hong Kong Stock Excha

Industry May 7, 2024

Hanwha Life, a major insurer under the Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, is set to expand its presence in Southeast Asia, having secured a stake in Indonesia's Nobu Bank, according to the insurer on Monday. Hanwha Life acquired a 40 percent stake in Nobu Bank through a deal signed with Indonesia’s Lippo Group, a major conglomerate with businesses spanning Southeast Asia. The deal signing event was held in Jakarta on Friday, with Hanwha Life Vice Chair and CEO Yeo Seung-joo, its Presid

Industry May 6, 2024

South Korea's inflation fell to the 2 percent range as the country’s directive to lower price growth has been continuing to go down a bumpy path on fluctuations in the oil and agricultural prices, data showed Thursday. Consumer prices, a key metric of inflation, rose by 2.9 percent in April, marking a 0.2 percentage point decrease from the 3.1 percent reading shown in both March and February, according to the data from Statistics Korea. “The prices of petroleum products, which r

Economy May 2, 2024

Korea’s stock market is set to enter a new phase with the upcoming launch of the first alternative trading system for the Korea Exchange, the nation’s sole bourse operator that has enjoyed almost 70 years of monopoly. Nextrade, a consortium of 34 securities and tech firms established in November 2022, aims to earn the final regulatory approval within the year for its official debut in the first quarter of next year. More than 20 brokerage houses here have already expressed their inte

Market May 1, 2024

Blockchain platform operators under Korean tech giants Line and Kakao are to complete integration under the new brand name "kaia" in June, the entities announced Tuesday. Project Dragon, created through a merge of Kakao's blockchain platform Klaytn Foundation and Finschia Foundation under Naver's affiliate Line Tech Plus, said it plans to complete the integration of the respective blockchain ecosystems in June, following a merger announced in February. “Such a merger of

Industry April 30, 2024

MBK Partners Chairman Michael ByungJu Kim has recently donated $25 million to his undergraduate alma mater, Haverford College, according to the asset manager's announcement on Monday. The $25 million donation, the largest amount in the school's history, was made on April 23. It will fund the establishment of the Institute for Ethical Inquiry & Leadership at the liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. “Ethical inquiry is at the core of a Haverford education, and leade

Industry April 29, 2024

Korean banks may face diminishing profitability due to mounting pressure to take on social responsibilities amid the country's slowing economic growth, a senior official at global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings said. Commercial banks, often criticized for making money from excessively high interest rates, are facing stronger pressure from local authorities to return a portion of profits to the provision of public goods. “From the operating environment side, the pressure to commit to s

Industry April 29, 2024

Korea’s top finance firms -- KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NongHhyup -- have set aside a total of nearly 1.7 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in reserve for the compensation of losses related to the misselling of equity-linked securities products tracking the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index in Hong Kong. While KB Financial Group, the top seller of the ELS products, set aside 862 billion won to cover the compensation, NongHyup and Shinhan each allocated 341.6 billion won and 274 billion won.

Industry April 26, 2024