Despite better-than-expected performance in the first quarter, South Korea’s major listed firms are likely to see their earnings dip due to the prolonged export slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a local financial market tracker said Sunday. The combined operating profit of 138 listed companies is estimated at 19.97 trillion won ($16.3 billion) for the April-June period this year, down 2....

Mirae Asset Global Investments said Tuesday that Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance had not fulfilled all the requirements needed to close a $5.8 billion deal, and it was waiting for the latter to give an official explanation. Countering the Chinese insurer’s claim that the Korean firm had reneged on its obligations to closing the deal on April 17, Mirae Asset said it discovered an ongoing legal d...

On April 17, the Korean office received a letter of gratitude from Kunio Mikuriya, secretary-general of the World Customs Organization for sharing its practices. “I would like to express my sincere appreciation for sharing your practices with the international community and for your valuable contribution to help minimize the impact of pandemic,” wrote Mikuriya. “I fully agree with you that dur...

Samsung Asset Management will absorb its hedge fund subsidiary Samsung Hedge Asset Management, seeking to enhance efficiency amid escalating market competition, the company said Friday. “The board of directors has approved the merger, upon judgment that there is little advantage in maintaining (the hedge fund firm) as the competitive private equity market has reduced the total value of trust dep...

Stock trades carried out through mobile transaction platforms accounted for nearly half of total transactions in April, data showed Thursday. According to the Korea Exchange, the stock trading volume via mobile trading systems accounted for 47.6 percent in the Kospi market from April 1-17, followed by home trading systems on computers at 36.53 percent. Smartphones overtook personal computers as...

The Korea Exchange (KRX) on Wednesday warned investors about the possibility of total losses of their investments in leveraged West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures exchange-traded notes. The nation’s market operator will suspend trading for local ETN products with an excessive disparate ratio of over 30 percent -- Shinhan Leverage WTI Futures ETN(H) and MiraeAsset Leveraged Crude Oil Future...

Health rumors surrounding North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may expand volatility in South Korea’s stock market already gripped with fears on plunging oil prices, analysts said Wednesday. Cheong Wa Dae’s announcement Tuesday that played down news reports of Kim being in critical condition will reduce uncertainties, but it is premature to determine that stock indexes and the local currency will be ...

South Korean investors could face losses regarding their hedge on oil futures as local brokerages did not reflect plunging oil prices in their forecasts, according to market watchers Tuesday. A futures contract for US West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery closed at negative $37.63 per barrel at the end of Monday trading in the US -- plunging $55.90 from the previous session’s close. The...

South Korea’s stock market has seen a surge in capital outflow by foreign investors due to the novel coronavirus fallout, but that can be reversed, according to a top expert. In order to bring foreigners back to this undervalued market, it is crucial that locally listed firms exert all efforts to fundamentally change their corporate governance to expand shareholders’ rights, according to Daniel ...

The number of fund managers in South Korea reached a new high in April, as the market appears to be recovering, data showed Sunday. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the number of fund managers in 57 local asset management firms recorded 720, up 20 from the beginning of this year. The corresponding figure had marked the steepest rise from 2007 to 2012 when the nation saw ...

Amid the new coronavirus fallout which crashed global economies and forced foreign investors to exit emerging markets, South Korea’s stock market was bound to face a blow. What marks Asia’s fourth-largest economy, however, is the signs of recovery, as foreign investors have begun scooping back local shares, focusing largely on IT sectors, judging that the country has moved past its epidemic peak...

Mirae Asset Financial Group said Thursday it has sold Nasdaq-listed German biotechnology firm BioNTech for $37 million, earning a hefty profit from its previous investment of $15 million. The German company is known to hold one of the three mRNA-based substance that is currently a candidate for COVID-19 vaccines. Three months after making its deal, the biotech firm went public on Nasdaq through...

Foreigners sold a net 13.45 trillion won ($11.04 billion) worth of local shares last month, far outpacing the previous record high, data showed Monday. The March tally beats the previous largest number in August 2007 of 9 trillion won, and is about four times higher than the January figure of 3.23 trillion won, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. By country, investors from the Unite...

Despite lingering volatility, South Korea’s main bourse Kospi is expected to recover starting from the second half of this year if the novel coronavirus comes under control globally and that sense of stability boosts consumption demand on the back of policy efforts, research heads of brokerages in Seoul said Sunday. “As pent-up demand sparks and corporate earnings increase with the government’s ...

Major South Korean lenders are gearing to start business in Myanmar, hoping to sustain their momentum in the Southeast Asian region. Korea Development Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea and KB Kookmin Bank obtained preliminary approval from the central bank in Myanmar earlier in the week, industry sources said Friday. KDB was granted preliminary approval from the Central Bank of Myanmar a day prior...