Board to discuss on eurozone woes possible extension of KEB takeover deal Hana Financial Group plans to hold an emergency board meeting as early as this week to conclude the issue on whether to extend the expiry date of a takeover deal with U.S. Lone Star Funds. The initial contract between Hana and Lone Star to trade shares of Korea Exchange Bank expired on May 24 and they have all been entitl...

Korea is moving to quicken a regulatory revision in a bid to launch the first local hedge fund within the year, an official at the financial regulator said. The Financial Services Commission had planned to submit a revision bill to the capital market law to parliament in July or August as part of its efforts to spur the creation of local hedge funds. Instead of rewriting the law, the FSC will s...

South Korea's largest automaker Hyundai Motor Group will seek to significantly increase its sales of energy-efficient hybrid cars next week, group officials said Tuesday, amid increasing government efforts to promote the use of clean energy. Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth-largest automaker, has the country's two leading automakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. under its wing. "...

Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Seok-dong said it would not be easy to order U.S. Lone Star Funds to sell its stake in Korea Exchange Bank by directing “concrete” sale terms. His remarks are based on the assumption that the financial regulator will decide to issue a sanction of coercive stake sale against the Texas-based buyout fund, suspected of stock manipulation. “(Under the scena...

Korean stocks plunged 2.64 percent on Monday as foreign investors unleashed holdings on falling risk appetite, analysts said. The local currency dipped against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index plunged 55.79 points to 2,055.71. Trading volume was moderate at 289.8 million shares worth 6.24 trillion won ($5.7 billion), with losers far outnumbering gainers 691 to 146...

Bidding competition for debt-saddled ailing savings banks in business suspension will be launched Tuesday, according to the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. The state-run KDIC has decided to make a public notice for sale of the seven savings banks on Tuesday, aiming to select preferred bidders by July. In a bid to induce close competition and fast conclusion of deals, the government agency will lo...

The government is considering raising public utility prices in the coming months to correct the growing deficit by major public corporations plagued by rising raw material and production costs. Burdened by rising prices in grain, sugar, corn and wheat, food makers are also expected to raise the prices of processed foods in the second half. Seoul is mulling raising subway fares by 300 to 400 won...

Getting married is becoming increasingly popular among the elderly. Over 18,791 couples aged 50 years old or more got married last year alone, the highest figure on record. According to Statistics Korea, The number is 3.7 times increase from 1990 when only 5,014 couples in the same age group chose to wed their partner. It is also almost double the 8,928 newly married elderly couples in 2000. “T...

Korea's national pension fund needs to rigorously exercise its shareholder rights as it is along-term investor with massive assets under management, its headsaid Thursday. Controversy has heated up over whether pension funds should exercise their shareholder rights in the country's family-ownedconglomerates since Kwak Seung-joon, a key presidential aide,brought up the issue last month. "Exercis...

The financial authorities will soon instruct banks to slash their forward trading, as part of government measures to crack down currency speculation by regulating foreign exchange positions. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Bank of Korea said on Thursday that they have decided to order banks dealing with foreign currency trading to reduce the ceiling of forward trading by about 20 pe...

Analyst says extended FSC deadlock especially damaging for KEB The financial regulator’s delay in approving Hana Financial Group’s bid of Korea Exchange Bank is credit negative for both lenders but especially for the lender long been put up for sale, credit rating agency Moody’s said Thursday. “We gave an A2 to KEB because one, their performance was good and two, we expected it to be sold over ...