Anticipation is growing to see who will gain the right to operate South Korea’s third and possibly its fourth internet-only bank, as financial regulators prepare to welcome new players to the web-only banking business following the easing of bank ownership regulations.Right now Korea has just two internet banks: Kakao Bank, operated by mobile messaging giant Kakao; and K bank, run by telecommunications firm KT.But last month, a new regulatory change allowing nonfinancial institutions to ow

Market Feb. 10, 2019

South Korea’s state pension fund has decided to exercise its shareholder rights over Namyang Dairy, a major dairy producer here, by pushing the firm to increase its dividend payouts to investors. The National Pension Service, the country’s biggest institutional investor, on Thursday said it will formally ask Namyang Dairy to establish an independent committee for dividend policies and regulatory disclosures.The move comes amid mounting criticism that the dairy firm has been paying small dividend

Industry Feb. 8, 2019

South Korea’s Woori Bank has partnered with Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab’s Cambodia office to offer low-interest loans and other specialized financial products to Grab drivers in the country, the bank said Thursday.WB Finance, the Cambodian business unit of Woori Bank, signed a memorandum of understanding with Grab Cambodia, to launch a series of financial services specifically designed for Cambodia’s Grab drivers, including low-interest loans. “Grab Cambodia w

Market Feb. 7, 2019

A South Korean man has reportedly filed a damage suit seeking compensation for war bonds and insurance products his father was forced to purchase from Japanese financial companies in 1943 during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea. According to a report by local broadcaster YTN on Thursday, Ahn Chul-woo, an 80-year-old man living in Busan, is pursuing a lawsuit in Korea against Japan Post Group, a major financial company and postal service operator in the neighboring country. Ahn directed his su

Market Feb. 7, 2019

Anticipation is building up over who will become the new owner of Lotte Card, a credit card business owned by Korean-Japanese retail conglomerate Lotte Group that has been put up for sale.　Lotte Group has set out to sell three of its financial units -- Lotte Card, Lotte Non-Life Insurance and Lotte Capital – as part of steps toward adopting a holding company structure. Under South Korean law mandating a separation of financial and industrial capital, a holding corporation cannot possess fi

Market Feb. 6, 2019

The monthly rental price of one-room studio apartments in Seoul was highest in December and lowest in April last year, according to data released by South Korea’s real estate and housing listing site operator DaBang on Wednesday.The Seoul-based studio apartments under consideration were those less than 33 square meters in size, DaBang said. The results are based on monthly rent fees of 1 million studio apartments in Seoul that were listed on DaBang in 2018, after unilaterally fixing the de

Economy Jan. 30, 2019

Refinitiv, a financial data company co-owned by Blackstone Group and Thomson Reuters, said it is introducing its risk-management business to South Korea this year for financial risk control and crime prevention.The firm was formerly the financial and risk business division of Thomson Reuters. It became independent under a new name, Refinitiv, when private equity group Blackstone purchased a 55 percent stake in the business from Thomson Reuters in October 2018.The company highlighted it

Market Jan. 29, 2019

SoftBank Ventures Asia, which recently renamed itself to reflect its broadened focus on startups in the Asia-Pacific region beyond South Korea, will form a new investment fund dedicated to artificial intelligence startups in Asia with “globally disruptive” products and services this year.　The venture capital arm of Japan’s SoftBank Group plans to establish within the year a new global investment fund to back promising AI startups in Asian countries other than China, according t

Market Jan. 28, 2019

South Korea is increasingly going walletless, as more people are opting to use services that allow payments to be made easily with just smartphones both offline and online. With growing opportunities, smartphone-based payments have drawn interest from multiple players including information and technology companies, credit card companies and the government.It is still unclear which mobile payment service will eventually dominate Korea, where smartphones are ubiquitous. Amid rising competition, Ko

Technology Jan. 27, 2019

The chief of the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea urged its employees at home and abroad to embrace client-centric innovation as a key mission for 2019 during a companywide event to share the bank’s management strategy and vision for the year, held Friday.　“The year 2019 will determine which banks survive the infinite competition and also determine a new order for the finance sector for the next 10 years,” said IBK Chairman and CEO Kim Do-jin during a companywide event in Chu

Market Jan. 25, 2019

Prospects of the launch of a new online-only bank in South Korea were dampened this week, as major information and communication technology companies retracted their intentions to enter the banking business.Naver and Interpark -- two major Korean ICT firms widely expected to participate -- each recently confirmed they will not be seeking a permit to operate an internet-only bank here.E-commerce operator Interpark said it decided against joining the internet banking business to “focus on it

Market Jan. 22, 2019

South Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank held key meetings to review and recognize last year’s business performance and set fresh operational strategies for 2019, as the country’s two largest banking groups step up their competition to clinch this year’s “leading bank” title.Over the weekend, KB Kookmin Bank held a strategy meeting that brought together the bank’s CEO Hur Yin and the deputy directors at the bank’s nationwide branches to discu

Market Jan. 20, 2019

South Korea’s top two finance and banking groups have joined Bloomberg’s fledgling Gender Equality Index, signaling the sector’s rising commitment to promoting gender equality and female-friendly policies in the workplace.KB Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group said Thursday they have become the first Korean companies to be included in the Bloomberg GEI for their commitment to transparency in gender reporting and advancing women’s workplace equality. KB and Shinhan

Market Jan. 17, 2019

South Korea’s internet-only banking sector is set to undergo a series of ownership changes and to see new market players, as a new regulatory change allowing nonfinancial institutions to own and operate online banks takes effect from Thursday.　The new law, designed to ease ownership rules for internet-only banks, enables information and communication technology companies to own up to 34 percent of an internet-only bank, up from the 4 percent (10 percent without voting rights) threshold sti

Market Jan. 16, 2019

SoftBank Ventures Asia, the venture investment arm of Japan’s SoftBank Group, announced Wednesday that it has hired Lee Seung-hoon as its new chief financial officer.Lee will be responsible for the management of global funds and limited partners of SoftBank Ventures Asia. He will also oversee financial initiatives of global offices, including Beijing, Singapore and Silicon Valley, the firm said. The new Softbank Ventures Asia CFO has 15 years of experience in advising on mergers and acquis

Market Jan. 16, 2019