After looking to relocate its headquarters from Washington, partially owned by South Korea's Igis Asset Management, US mortgage giant Fannie Mae has reversed course, opting instead to extend its lease under revised terms that will see it occupy a smaller space. Igis Asset Management announced Tuesday that the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae, has recently signed a new long-term lease at Midtown Center, a downtown DC property the Korean company jointly owns

Industry Aug. 13, 2024

The Korea Customs Service has initiated an investigation into potential damages related to overseas product purchases made through the troubled e-commerce platforms Tmon and WeMakePrice. The probe comes in response to customer reports that items purchased through these platforms cleared customs but were not delivered. "We have launched an internal investigation following reports from customers and media that a courier company moved these items to a different location inside the country upon

Industry Aug. 9, 2024

A three-way takeover battle for MG Non-Life Insurance began Thursday, with Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance entering the prolonged race as a new contender. According to local reports, three companies submitted letters of intent to participate in the fourth preliminary bidding for MG Insurance on Thursday. The contenders include Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance and private equity firms Dayli Partners and JC Flowers. Meritz Fire, the non-life insurance arm of local financial holding company Me

Industry Aug. 9, 2024

Approximately 630 billion won ($457.3 million) in trades by South Korean investors were canceled following a recent suspension in after-hours trading in the US largely due to a surge in order volume, Korean authorities said Thursday. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the cancellations affected around 90,000 accounts at 19 local securities firms that offer daytime trading of US stocks to Korean investors. On Monday afternoon Korean time, US overnight trading platform Blue Ocean ATS

Market Aug. 8, 2024

The Korean government announced on Wednesday a policy support package totaling 1.2 trillion won ($871 million) to address damage from Tmon and WeMakePrice payment delays, with refunds for general products to be completed within the week. The measures, part of a follow-up support plan announced by the Finance Ministry, include an additional 600 billion won in emergency funds for vendors impacted by the delays, supplementing the 560 billion won announced last week. These additional funds will be s

Industry Aug. 7, 2024

태국 최대 금융지주사 SCBX는 카카오 창업주 김범수 경영쇄신위원장의 구속에도 불구하고 카카오뱅크와 굳건한 파트너십을 강조했다. SCBX의 홍보를 총괄하는 수티라판 삭카와트라 고객 총괄 책임자(CCO)는 2일 코리아헤럴드와의 서면 인터뷰에서 "최근 뉴스에도 불구하고 현재 (카카오뱅크와의) 사업 관계에 변화는 없다"며 "양사는 현재 태국에서 함께 추진 중인 프로젝트를 위해 계획대로 협력을 지속할 것"이라고 말했다. 현재 카카오뱅크는 SCBX 및 중국의 위뱅크와 함께 컨소시엄을 구성해 태국 가상은행 산업 진출을 준비 중이다. 태국 3대 은행 중 하나인 시암상업은행(Siam Commercial Bank)를 산하에 둔 SCBX와 한국 최대 인터넷전문은행인 카카오뱅크가 참여하는 만큼 해당 컨소시엄은 현지에서 유력한 후보 중 하나로 꼽힌다. 태국 중앙은행은 다음달 19일까지 인가 신청서를 받아, 약 9개월 간 심사 과정을 거쳐 내년 상반기 중 사업자를 선정할

Aug. 7, 2024

World Bank's new Vice President for Digital Transformation Kim Sang-bu outlined his mission to enhance the impact of digital technologies in accelerating development. "Digital technology has become a critical focus as the World Bank advances initiatives aimed at eradicating poverty," Kim said at a press meeting in Seoul on Tuesday. "A major challenge is ensuring that low-income countries without internet access can benefit from rapid advancements in artificial intelligence.&q

Economy Aug. 6, 2024

Thailand’s largest financial group SCBX has reaffirmed its commitment to the digital banking partnership with Kakao Bank despite growing legal risks surrounding Kakao Corp., the largest shareholder of the Korean internet-only bank. "We do not foresee any changes to our current business relationship (with Kakao Bank) based on the recent news," SCBX's Chief Customer Officer Sutirapan Sakkawatra told The Korea Herald via email, regarding the impact of Kakao's legal develop

Industry Aug. 6, 2024

Betary Syahlan, a final-year business management student at Kyunghee University in South Korea, said she enrolled in Woori Bank's "Woori Internship, Scholarship & Hiring" program to gain practical experience in global banking. "During the program, we are given various assignments that immerse us in real work, an opportunity often lacking in other internships, especially in Indonesia. Working at a major bank like Woori is challenging, but we are definitely learning a lot i

Industry Aug. 5, 2024

The South Korean government is considering stricter regulations on e-commerce platforms' involvement in financial services, aiming to avert another payment failure crisis amid ongoing investigations into cases involving Tmon and WeMakePrice. According to industry sources, local financial regulators are contemplating measures to prevent the platforms from controlling vendor capital by legally separating payment gateway (PG) services from e-commerce platforms. A payment gateway facilitates el

Industry Aug. 4, 2024

South Korea's leading card firm, Shinhan Card, has strengthened its foothold in Kazakhstan's auto finance market by establishing a joint venture with the nation's top used-car seller Aster Auto. Shinhan Finance, the Kazakh unit of Shinhan Card, announced on Sunday the launch of this joint venture with Aster Auto. This development follows their initial plan, unveiled in December, to set up a collaborative corporation. According to the plan, Aster will invest around 31 billion won (

Industry Aug. 4, 2024

The local units of the cash-crunched Singapore-based Qoo10 group are scrambling to escape the sinking boat, with possible acquisition deals coming onto the table. Among the speculations was Chinese e-commerce platform AliExpress' buyout of the Korean online marketplace WeMakePrice, yet AliExpress Korea denied the rumor Thursday. "We are not considering acquiring WeMakePrice, and we confirm that we have not been contacted by the company," said an official from AliExpress Korea. Ear

Economy Aug. 1, 2024

Once a prominent figure in the Korean e-commerce sector, Qoo10 Group's CEO Ku Young-bae is now facing allegations of a Ponzi scheme involving delayed payments amounting to thousands of billions of won for vendors on local online marketplaces Tmon and WeMakePrice. These accusations emerged after Ku disclosed during a National Assembly hearing on Tuesday that the Singapore-based parent company used assets from its Korean subsidiaries to acquire American e-commerce platform Wish in February. Ku dis

Economy July 31, 2024

Qoo10 CEO Ku Young-bae pledged a "complete recovery of damages" related to the payment delays affecting its struggling e-commerce affiliates, Tmon and WeMakePrice, with government support. Addressing the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Ku's commitment followed the companies' court receivership filing the previous day. "We will be at a standstill if business operations halt now," Ku said, adding that, with minimal assistance, complet

Economy July 30, 2024

Cash-strapped e-commerce platforms Tmon and WeMakePrice filed for corporate rehabilitation on Monday. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court announced that the two companies, embroiled in controversy over delayed payments amid a liquidity crisis at their Singapore-based parent, Qoo10 Group, have sought court-supervised restructuring. Corporate rehabilitation allows financially distressed companies to restructure their debts and operations. While this process enables the companies to continue their business

Economy July 29, 2024