[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s stock market will see mega initial public offerings during the second half this year with subsidiaries of large conglomerates like Samsung and Lotte poised to fuel the IPO market.  Given that companies commonly push for public listing after posting half-year earnings in June, more deals will fill up this year’s upcoming IPO calendar, following the robust first half, thanks to the stock market that is recovering from negative sentiments.As of June 8, a total of 15 companies

[THE INVESTOR] Attention is now focused on who chairman Park Hyeon-joo will name as his successor at Mirae Asset Financial Group. The founder, openly critical of Korea’s large family-owned conglomerate’ father-to-son transfer of throne, has on multiple occasions said he will not pass down the group’s control to his children. 　　Local media paid keen attention, however, when Park Ha-min, Park’s eldest daughter, joined Mirae Asset Global Investments in 2013 to learn the ins and outs of real estate

[THE INVESTOR] Park Hyeon-joo is recognized as the brains behind the launch of Mirae Asset, one of Korea’s first asset managers to launch mutual and real estate trust funds in the country. Park Hyeon-jooAs the founder and chairman of the firm, Park -- a graduate of Korea University in business administration -- worked his way up the corporate ladder in brokerages, and gained keen trading sensibility. But like any great entrepreneur who has changed the world, Park was not alone in his quest for f

[THE INVESTOR] Global investment banking giants lament that their glory days are over. But for many Koreans, investment banking is still finance’s final frontier, all the more fascinating because it seems way beyond their reach. Park Hyeon-joo, arguably the most successful financier born in Korea, eyes Korea‘s presence in the world of investment bankers, from which existing players have been retreating. He aims to grow his Mirae Asset Financial Group into Asia’s leading investment bank. “I have

[THE INVESTOR] Park Hyeon-joo, the founder and chairman of Mirae Asset Financial Group, tells his fund managers and executives to think global, have a long term vision and always be the first mover in the market.  Those principles, however, don’t seem to apply to his own ownership of the group.      Mirae Asset is under increasing pressure to reform its corporate governance structure, the cost of which Park seems to think of as a potential drag on global expansion.  Experts say Mirae Asset will

[THE INVESTOR] On the Monday after Christmas, Park Hyeon-joo took to the podium at the just-opened Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, giving his first press conference in eight years. Mirae Asset Financial Group, which he founded in 1997 with 10 billion won ($8.4 million), had just won the hotly contested race to acquire control of KDB Daewoo Securities, a much bigger rival with a long proud legacy but a checkered recent history.  With the 2.4 trillion-won buy, Park’s biggest bet so far, the man who w

Korea’s stock market operator will extend trading hours of the stock and derivatives markets by 30 minutes from August, in a bid to synchronize them with other Asian markets, Korea Exchange said Tuesday. The bourse operator said the markets will be open from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., aiming to invigorate the sluggish equity market. Kim won-dae, the head of the securities market division at KRX, speaks during a press conference, held in Seoul, Tuesday. (KRX)“The Korean equity market is increasingly ex

India said Monday it will invest up to $500 million in a deal to develop a strategic port in Iran and both plan a number of projects they say are worth hundreds of millions of dollars in joint projects.The deal and plans were announced during a visit by an Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the first such trip in more than a decade.In a ceremony marking the agreements Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the bilateral agreement to develop Chabahar, in southern Iran, and the “availability of about

Japan’s fertility rate rose slightly last year, to the highest level since 1994, indicating Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic program may had some success in slowing the rate of population decline.The total rate rose to 1.46 in 2015, inching up 0.04 percentage points from the previous year, according to the health ministry. The biggest contribution to the change came from women ages 30 to 34.An improvement in economic conditions in 2013 and 2014, the first two years of Abe’s reflatio

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday lifted a half-century-old ban on selling arms to Vietnam, looking to bolster a government seen as a crucial, though flawed partner in a region that he has tried to place at the center of his foreign policy legacy.  Obama announced the full removal of the embargo at a news conference where he vowed to leave behind the troubled history between the former war enemies and embrace a new era with a young, increasingly prosperous nation. Obama steered clear of hars

The government reiterated its position to adopt a performance-based salary system in state-run companies and institutions on a wider scale by the end of this year, a finance ministry official said Monday, as part of its efforts to reform the public sector.The government has pushed forward with the full introduction of the system to encourage competition among public servants, since promotions and salary have long been based on seniority, not merit.The system has so far been applied only to the e

Scrambling to resuscitate a nearly dead truce in Syria, the Obama administration has again been forced to turn to Russia for help, with little hope for the desired U.S. outcome.At stake are thousands of lives and the fate of a feeble peace process essential to the fight against the Islamic State group, and Secretary of State John Kerry has appealed once more to his Russian counterpart for assistance in containing and reducing the violence, particularly around city of Aleppo.Kerry spoke at length

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said that one-sided speculative movements in the dollar-yen rate are “extremely concerning,” the Nikkei newspaper reported Sunday.Japan will carefully watch currency markets to ensure speculation doesn’t continue and will take action as may be necessary, Aso told reporters at Haneda Airport late Saturday.The yen surged against the dollar to 106.5 on Friday for an 18-month high after the Bank of Japan didn’t deliver further monetary easing as markets had expecte

North Korea launched what appeared to be a ballistic missile from a submarine in the East Sea Saturday, the South Korean military said. (Yonhap)The Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired a projectile that it believes was a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) around 6:30 p.m. The JCS said it is keeping close tabs on the North Korean military while maintaining its readiness posture.The JCS didn't immediately say if the launch was a success.According to a South Korean government sourc

As the average age of farmers globally creeps higher and retirement looms, Japan has a solution: robots and driver-less tractors.The Group-of-Seven agriculture ministers meet in Japan’s northern prefecture of Niigata this weekend for the first time in seven years to discuss how to meet increasing food demand as aging farmers retire without successors. With the average age of Japanese farmers now 67, Agriculture Minister Hiroshi Moriyama will outline his idea of replacing retiring growers with Ja

South Korean construction companies are set to sign a series of big development projects in Iran when a business delegation visits the Middle Eastern nation next month to promote bilateral economic ties, industry officials said Saturday. President Park Geun-hye is to visit Iran from May 1-3 to discuss ways to promote business ties between the nations, leading a delegation of some 200 businesspeople from such areas as construction, energy and finance.Her visit, the first of its kind by a South Ko

France was the biggest importer of South Korean cosmetics among European Union members last year as more beauty-conscious French fell in love with innovative Korean products, a report showed Saturday. France imported 17.41 million euros (2.1 billion won) worth of Korean cosmetics in 2015, accounting for 35 percent of total sales in Europe, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said.  Korean cosmetics on sale (Yonhap)Britain was the No. 2 importer with 16 percent, trailed by Germany with 9

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong had a brief, hand-shaking encounter with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at U.N. headquarters Friday as he attended a signing ceremony for a landmark climate agreement.Ri was the 76th representative to sign the "Paris Agreement," which was adopted in December to replace the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. After the signing at the podium of the U.N. General Assembly Hall, each participant shook hands with Ban. Ri Su-yong, Foreign Minister of North Kor

South Korea and China on Friday warned North Korea of "additional grave measures" if the North goes ahead with a fifth nuclear test, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy said.  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a newly built hydropower station near Mount Paektu inPaekam, Yangang Province bordering China. (Yonhap)Kim Hong-kyun, South Korea's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, made the remarks after holding talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, in B

South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. will release a new budget smartphone in  China next month, industry sources said Sunday.The Galaxy C will be first rolled out in the Chinese market and later in the global market, they said.The Galaxy C will come with a 5.5-inch display and the price will be in the mid-200,000 won ($170) range.  The move apparently follows the release of similar budget phones by Chinese and Indian manufacturers, they added.Samsung has been making efforts to bo