Cushman & Wakefield Korea, the local arm of the global commercial real estate services firm, is launching a more integrated facility management service next month to better meet the growing demand from corporate clients. The service, called Integrated Facilities Management or IFM, ranges from janitorial, cleaning and food management to disaster prevention and data centers. “The IFM service was not available in Korea as many of our clients were foreign companies that were renting small-

Industry June 24, 2024

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo discussed the importance of green financing with Australia’s high-ranking government official in a meeting held in Canberra, the firm said Sunday. Ham met with Alex Heath, the first assistant secretary of the Australian Treasury’s climate and energy division, during his three-day visit to the country as part of efforts to expand the firm’s global presence. "Hana Financial has achieved nearly 45 percent of what was announced in it

Industry June 23, 2024

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won’s high-profile divorce from his estranged wife Roh Soh-young took an unexpected twist after the Seoul high court made a rare rectification of a mistake in its ruling that ordered the chaebol chief to pay $1 billion in property division to the wife. On Monday, the appellate court corrected numerical errors in its written judgment for the divorce settlement of Chey and Roh, but upheld its overall ruling involving the record-high divorce settlement. Earlier in t

Industry June 19, 2024

Hana Financial Group Chairman and CEO Ham Young-joo met with overseas investors in Hong Kong via a two-day event to promote the banking group's strategies to elevate its corporate and shareholder values, the firm said Wednesday. At the event that took place Monday and Tuesday, Ham stressed how the market value of the financial group has increased since the announcement of the capital management and shareholder return plan in early 2023. It was the first global investor relations event for H

Industry June 19, 2024

South Korea is to introduce a separate visa track for foreign nationals who aspire to become K-pop stars in a move to attract more tourists from overseas, the Finance Ministry announced Monday. The ministry released a set of measures to help bring more foreign visitors to the country such as streamlining the entry process and offering incentives for using public transportation during a meeting of economic affairs ministers. The measures were based on the concern that the country’s tourism

Economy June 17, 2024

Korea's crypto data aggregator BlockSquare Seoul said Thursday that it plans to update its market analysis features in July to offer more detailed investment information for its users. Currently, the company provides market intelligence service under the name Retri, suggesting the best time to buy and sell cryptocurrencies by reading their price movements and transaction flows. Following the July update, the Retri service will offer more sophisticated real-time data updates on price project

Industry June 13, 2024

Hana Financial Group has launched a team of honorary ambassadors composed of college students to promote the financial conglomerate, the firm announced Thursday. The 50 student representatives belong to the 18th team of the Smart Ambassador program. A total of 963 college students have participated in the program since it was launched in 2012. This year, one in 13 applicants was selected for the program. The team will promote the banking group's brand for three months until the end of Augus

Industry June 6, 2024

The Korea Listed Companies Association said Monday it has launched guidelines for listed firms to offer their corporate information in English and increase accessibility for foreign investors. The guidelines offer a standardized form for articles of incorporation, including key details about a company, the general purpose of the corporation, the type and number of shares, the board election process and more. The association has shared the standard form for articles of incorporation since 1980 bu

Market June 5, 2024

Stock prices of oil- and gas-related companies went on a roller coaster ride Tuesday, amid investors’ interest in the discovery of possible oil reserves off the East Coast following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s announcement the previous day. With the government approving exploratory drilling for a potential 14 billion barrels of crude oil and natural gas reserve at Yeongil Bay in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, investors flocked to energy-related shares listed on the Korean bourse.

Market June 4, 2024

Asia's largest private equity firm MBK Partners is to push for the sale of Homeplus Express, a supermarket unit of Homeplus, according to industry officials Monday. The firm has kicked off the process by selecting Morgan Stanley as the sales manager for the deal. The details of the sales plan have not been released yet. Though the market had projected that the equity house would be eyeing an exit on Homeplus soon, the sales plan has been limited to its unit Homeplus Express for the time bei

Industry June 3, 2024

While the US Securities and Exchange Commission made another move to embrace cryptocurrency by approving exchange-traded funds tied to the price of ether, the most famous crypto after bitcoin, spot cryptocurrency ETFs remain out of reach for South Korean investors. On May 23, the US SEC gave the green light for eight spot ether ETFs, potentially paving the way for the funds to begin trading later this year. The decision came four months after its landmark approval on spot bitcoin ETFs. For Korea

Market June 3, 2024

Some liken Rwanda to the “Singapore of Africa” due to its fast-growing economy and strategic focus on fintech. South Korean builders and financial firms are also eyeing their expansion in the burgeoning market, pinning high hopes on the upcoming Korea-Africa summit talks in Seoul. Since establishing official diplomatic ties in 1963, Korea and Rwanda have continued elevating their economic partnership. In 2023, Korea’s exports to Rwanda stood at $17.27 million, mainly consisting

Economy June 2, 2024

KB Financial Group is to release a plan to uplift its corporate value in the fourth quarter as part of the government's "corporate value-up” directive, the financial giant said Monday in a regulatory filing. Its board members and executives held a meeting Friday, discussing how to boost its corporate value through mid- to long-term asset management, asset growth strategies and shareholder return policies, according to the announcement. The boost plan will include monitoring of th

Market May 27, 2024

The chief of Korea Exchange, the country's sole bourse operator, vowed Friday to boost the market valuation of companies listed on the local stock market with a seamless backup of the country’s “corporate value-up” directive. During a press conference commemorating his first 100 days in office, Korea Exchange CEO Jeong Eun-bo said the country's stock market is in dire need of tackling its perennial discount to turn it into a premium. “The Korea discount exists.

Market May 26, 2024

The Bank of Korea held the base policy rate at 3.5 percent for the 11th consecutive time Thursday, while raising the country’s economic growth estimate from the previous 2.1 percent to 2.5 percent. The central bank’s monetary policy board unanimously agreed to keep the key rate at the current level, BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said at a press conference held shortly after the rate-setting decision. “With the strengthened upward pressure on the inflation outlook from April, it will

Economy May 23, 2024