Korea's National Pension Service Investment Management, the investment arm of the world's third-largest pension fund, will launch its fourth overseas office in San Francisco before September, in line with its asset allocation strategy to raise alternative and overseas investments. National Pension Service Chief Investment Officer Seo Won-joo boasted that the pension fund’s record high investment return of 13.6 percent, worth 127 trillion won ($96.4 billion), last year is &ldquo

Market March 14, 2024

DGB Financial Group said Wednesday it launched its first overseas subsidiary Hi Asset Management Asia, an asset management arm, in Singapore. DGB Financial Group Chairman Kim Tae-oh, Korean Ambassador to Singapore Hong Jin-wook as well as financial firm officials from Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Keppel Group were in attendance at the opening ceremony held on Tuesday. “We will spare no effort in helping HiAMA serve as a global headquarters for key financial players and groups in Singa

Market March 13, 2024

Korea Federation of Banks Chair Cho Yong-byoung on Monday expressed regrets over massive losses inflicted on consumers who invested in derivatives products underlying a key Hong Kong stock market index, sold by local lenders. Earlier in the day, the country’s regulator Financial Supervisory Service advised banks and securities firms to compensate for losses incurred from their incomplete sales of equity-linked securities products tracking Hong Kong's H Index. The total loss on such

Market March 11, 2024

The government’s measures aimed at increasing shareholder returns to boost Korea's undervalued stock market have sparked much debate on their effectiveness due to the lack of motivational drivers for companies to join the program. In the Corporate Value-up Program announced by the Financial Services Commission on Feb. 26, the government directed some 1,600 firms listed on the Kospi and Kosdaq markets to disclose their major investment indicators such as price-to-book ratio, and make p

Market March 10, 2024

JB Financial Group on Thursday said it will acquire a minority stake in Vietnam’s retail investing app Infina, in a bid to help the group’s securities affiliate expand its customer base in the Southeast Asian country. In a strategic partnership deal, the group will buy 3.9 percent of Infina's shares and increase its holdings to some 5 percent depending on the results of collaboration between its brokerage unit JB Securities Vietnam and Infina. JB Securities Vietnam, based in H

Industry March 8, 2024

The global transition to net zero will be a boon for companies in renewable energy and secondary batteries, while supply chain restructuring will challenge Korean chipmakers, according to data analysis released Wednesday by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The business group released a report on opportunities and risk factors that Korean firms expected this year by analyzing 2024 management messages from the top 100 listed companies using ChatGPT. The opportunity factors for Korean

Industry March 6, 2024

SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won is set to serve as chairperson of the country’s business organization Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry for another term. On Thursday, members of the Seoul Chamber of Commerce and Industry unanimously agreed to tap Chey as chair of the regional chamber under the KCCI for a three-year term that ends in February 2027 during a general meeting of members held in Seoul. With Seoul members’ backing, Chey, whose first term expires in March, is on the course

Industry March 1, 2024

South Korea’s major banking holding firm Woori Financial Group and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company took the first step toward partnership as their subsidiaries signed a deal for joint efforts in discovering global investment opportunities. Woori Venture Partners, the venture capital unit of the Korean conglomerate, and Mubadala Capital, the asset management subsidiary of Mubadala, signed a memorandum of understanding for their strategic cooperation in Abu Dh

Companies Feb. 28, 2024

Toss Bank, the internet-only banking arm of fintech firm Viva Republica, said Wednesday it has appointed Rhee Eun-mi, former chief financial officer of DGB Daegu Bank, as its new CEO. The bank’s CEO recommendation committee picked Rhee as the sole candidate for the next top leadership position in recognition of her deep understanding of the banking industry and excellence in making strategic decisions. “Rhee's achievements, organizational management capabilities, and insight b

Market Feb. 21, 2024

E-commerce giant Coupang and pharmaceutical firm Yuhan Corp. are set to join the Korea Enterprises Federation, a business lobby representing over 4,000 businesses here, according to industry sources on Monday. Some 10 firms, including Coupang, have submitted membership applications to the group, which are subject to approval from board directors and existing members at a meeting slated for Wednesday. Coupang’s decision came after three years of deliberation since its parent company, Coupan

Industry Feb. 19, 2024

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong believes that undervalued Korean stocks including his banking group’s shares could gain impetus with the government’s strong drive with its upcoming market revamp program aimed at creating a new investment wave. With the Korean financial authorities set to put forward detailed schemes to iron out deep-seated low valuation of Korean stocks this month, listed companies and investors are paying keen attention to what would be included in th

Market Feb. 15, 2024

  The proportion of South Koreans working more than 50 hours a week has sharply dropped over the past 20 years to be on par with the average for member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a new report from a Korean business lobby group on Tuesday. According to the Korea Enterprises Federation, the number of wage earners working more than 50 hours per week stood at 2.53 million in terms of actual working hours and 2.24 million in terms of con

Economy Feb. 13, 2024

With decades of know-how in the infrastructure building business, Hanshin Engineering & Construction is taking a big leap by tapping deeper into the Southeast Asian market and diversifying its business portfolio. Hanshin E&C Chairman Choi Yong-sun singled out Indonesia and Ukraine as the builder’s “future markets.” “Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest economy and has a high demand for infrastructure construction and urban development. Hanshin E&C purs

Industry Feb. 6, 2024

Once deemed an investment that produced a stable income stream, office buildings in the US are causing a headache for Korean investors as they wrestle with defaults on loans amid weakening demand and increased interest rates. With their investments turning sour, investors should come up with “creative ways to handle defaulted loans to draw a path to recovery," US commercial real estate investment firm BridgeRock Capital’s founder and managing director Jin Kim said. “Kore

Market Jan. 29, 2024

Korea would be more attractive for global renewable energy and health care companies if they were given higher financial incentives and eased regulations, chiefs of foreign business lobby groups said Wednesday. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held the 2024 Foreign Chamber Day with representatives of foreign business networking organizations to share opinions on difficulties faced by global firms operating here in the fields of economic cooperation, labor, trade and regulatory appr

Industry Jan. 24, 2024