May 25, 2020

IBK fined $86m in US over mishandling anti-money laundering program

State-run lender Industrial Bank of Korea and its New York branch have been fined $86 million by the Attorney General’s Office for allegedly failing to manage their anti-money laundering program, documents and local reports showed Monday. The bank’s apparent decision to delay the upgrade of the program for nearly a decade, eventually led to its failure to detect transactions that violated US sanctions against Iran, settlement documents between IBK and the Attorney General’s O

May 25, 2020

KB Asset launches fund to invest in US blue chips

Seoul-based KB Asset Management said Monday it has launched a fund that targets blue chips listed in the US stock exchanges. The open-ended fund is raising funds from South Korean retail investors and is expected to invest in US firms that generate stable income supported by their new growth engine, such as Amazon, Apple and Alphabet. At least 70 percent of the funds will go to large-cap stocks, KB Asset said. “The US is taking the lead in new growth engine industries, and is expected

May 24, 2020

FSC allows online account switching between 1st, 2nd-tier banks

South Korea’s financial regulator said Sunday it will allow customers to swap their online bank accounts among first- and second-tier financial institutions for handling monthly payments. Starting Tuesday, those who wish to switch payment accounts can apply at the bank they wish to deal with or at the Pay Info website, run by the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute, Financial Services Commission officials said. The service, launched in October 2015, simplified t

May 24, 2020

Hana Financial, Hahn & Co. agree to buy H-Line Shipping for W1.8tr

South Korea’s private equity house Hahn & Co. and Hana Financial Group have agreed to buy a 100 percent stake in H-Line Shipping, former dry bulk cargo arm of bankrupt carrier Hanjin Shipping, for 1.8 trillion won ($1.45 billion), according to sources on Sunday. The two firms will create a project fund for the leveraged buyout of H-Line Shipping, which is now fully owned by another fund of Hahn & Co. Under the plan, nearly 45 percent of the acquisition cost will be leveraged. T

May 22, 2020

KEB Hana, Woori appeal regulator's penalty decision

KEB Hana Bank and Woori Bank said Friday they have appealed the levying of penalties by state financial authorities on the lenders' improper sale of derivatives-linked products.     The two lenders have raised an objection to the Financial Services Commission (FSC), which imposed fines of 19.71 billion won ($16 million) on Woori Bank and 16.78 billion won on KEB Hana Bank on Jan. 30. "We filed the objection to the financial authorities as we want the court to review

May 21, 2020

W550b Young City prime office deal closes

A consortium composed of D&D Investment and NH Investment & Securities has completed its acquisition of Young City office complex from UK-based investment house Actis for 550 billion won ($447.2 million), the deal manager Cushman & Wakefield Korea said Thursday. D&D Investment, an affiliate of SK conglomerate’s real estate development arm SK D&D, seeks to establish a real estate investment trust called Young City REITs by securitizing the properties. The deal allowe

May 21, 2020

[Market Close-up] Doosan Bobcat under credit pressure on US unit’s $300m leveraging plan

South Korea’s construction equipment maker Doosan Bobcat is under credit pressure as its US subsidiary Clark Equipment is looking to leverage $300 million via five-year senior secured notes in May, filings showed Thursday. Clark Equipment’s leveraging plan is adding a financial burden to Doosan Bobcat, as affiliates and subsidiaries of conglomerate Doosan Group‘s liquidity crunch might spill over to Doosan Bobcat that is already suffering a sharp fall in sales due to the ongo

May 21, 2020

Eximbank issues AU$700m Kangaroo bonds

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said Thursday it has issued a three-year Australian dollar-denominated bonds worth AU$700 million ($460 million) to investors. Following the deal, Eximbank said it has become the first Asian financial institution to sell Kangaroo bonds, or Australian dollar-denominated bonds issued by a non-Australian entity, since the coronavirus outbreak. The bonds were oversubscribed as Eximbank received AU$1.7 billion subscriptions from 57 investors. JPMorgan, Mits

May 20, 2020

NPS to cut back in Korean stock exposure

South Korea’s public pension fund National Pension Service on Wednesday has affirmed its plan to shrink its exposure to domestic stocks in a move to ward off uncertainties due to fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo told reporters Wednesday. “(NPS) is certainly lowering the allocation of Korean stocks from the mid- to long-term perspective,” said Park, who also heads NPS Investment Management Committee. He added NPS Investment Management Comm

May 19, 2020

Cross-selling of public funds in APAC to kick off in May

Cross-border transactions of public funds will kick off this month in South Korea and four other Asia-Pacific countries, to expand corporate and individual investors’ portfolios, according to the Financial Services Commission on Tuesday. The scheme named Asia Region Funds Passport system enables cross-selling of public funds among five countries in the Asia-Pacific region -- South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand. The system will be implemented on May 27, as Korea&rsquo

May 19, 2020

W550b Lotte Mart properties deal in legal dispute

South Korea’s Ryukyung PSG Asset Management and retailer Lotte Shopping are facing legal action from entities that proposed to buy four Lotte Mart discount stores for some 550 billion won ($448.4 million) in 2019, according to industry sources on Tuesday. The prospective buyers, real estate developer Moon Development Marketing and subsidiary the Korea Asset Investment Trust, filed a lawsuit in April against Ryukyung PSG -- a local asset management company that oversaw some 1.59 trillion

May 18, 2020

Banking groups add momentum to digital financing amid coronavirus fallout

Reacting to the untact market trend triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak, South Korea’s financial groups are scrambling to gain an upper hand in digital financing. Untact, or non-face-to-face, has become a new standard in the local financial industry as consumers are increasingly turning to contactless financial services via smartphones amid fears of the ongoing COVID-19 or other plausible contagious diseases in the future. While the number of visitors to local bank branches decreased by

May 17, 2020

Virus-hit firms look to raise capital to ensure liquidity

As the number of moviegoers, air passengers and shoppers shrank sharply largely due to the coronavirus outbreak and social distancing, related companies have recently turned to fundraising efforts to meet the deadline for debt repayment or refinancing. Also, those raising share capital are offering equities at a discounted price to subscribers in order to ensure success. A leading example is multiplex cinema operator CJ CGV, which aims to raise 250.2 billion won ($202.9 million) in July from in

May 15, 2020

Coupang, KB Kookmin to start early payout for virus-hit SMEs

E-commerce giant Coupang said Friday it has partnered with KB Kookmin Bank to launch early payout services for merchants, through which small and medium-sized business owners will receive payment for their sales in advance of the regular payday. Through the early payout on Coupang’s Marketplace, the nation’s biggest online platform for merchants, the e-commerce firm aims to financially support the coronavirus-hit SMEs, who are in need of cash either to pay their employees’ sa