Buddhism can strengthen the ties between South Korea and India, according to Indian actor Gagan Malik. Malik is known for playing the role of Prince Siddhartha in the 2013 film “Sri Siddhartha Gautama,” for which he won best actor at the 2014 World Buddhist Film Festival, but he is also a Buddhist activist and an actor. Malik recently visited Korea, invited by the International Interchange Development Association here. “India is the cradle of Buddhism. The country has seen a gr

MBK Partners, the country’s leading private equity house with over $30 billion to its name, has once again found itself meddling in an ownership turmoil, as it moves beyond its typical buyout-and-exit strategy. Last month, MBK announced plans to acquire around 15 percent of the world’s biggest zinc smelter, Korea Zinc, through a tender offer, joining hands with friend-turned-foe Young Poong. With the bidding price raised once, the tender offer could go up to 2.3 trillion won ($1.75 b

Hahn & Co., a major private equity firm based in Korea, is set to acquire SK Specialty, a gas supplier under the country's chip-to-energy conglomerate, SK Group, for an estimated 4 trillion won ($3.05 billion). SK Inc., the holdings company of the group, announced through a regulatory filing on Monday that the private equity house has been named the preferred bidder for SK Specialty. “(SK) plans to sign a stock purchase agreement with the bidder within this year, after discussing

Koramco REITs Management & Trust, a real estate asset manager based in Seoul, has completed the sale of a landmark property to Samsung SRA Asset Management for 1.1 trillion won ($841 million), marking South Korea's largest commercial real estate deal this year. The Asset is an 81,117-square-meter skyscraper located in the Gangnam Business District in southern Seoul. The office property forms part of Samsung Town, an office complex housing the affiliates of Korea’s top conglomera

Amid the intensified dispute over the management of Korea Zinc, the world’s largest zinc smelter, a Young Poong executive stressed Friday that the company was placed in a “desperate” position as its decadeslong partnership with Korea Zinc fell through. “Young Poong was desperate enough to give away the title as the largest shareholder (of Korea Zinc) to MBK Partners," Young Poong President Kang Seong-doo said at a press conference. “(The alliance with MBK) is a

The Export-Import Bank of Korea stressed the need for companies to comply with environmental, social and governance, or ESG, regulations when expanding overseas through a seminar held Thursday. The seminar was held to share the latest trends in ESG regulations and discuss Korean companies’ response to disruptions in the global supply chain, the policy lender explained. It was held in partnership with international consultancy firm Environmental Resources Management Korea and leading local

By Steve Brice August started off poorly for investors. Peak to trough, global equities fell 9.2 percent, with the losses accelerating in the first three days of August when they lost 6.4 percent. While equity markets have recouped almost all the early-August losses, the earlier sell-off is naturally leading to a lot of questions about how investors should respond to such weakness. Are such sell-offs short-term buying opportunities or are they signs of more sinister things to come? The mistake m

The Korea Value-up Index, the key component of the government’s push to boost corporate value and address the “Korea Discount,” is to enlist 100 companies, including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and Mirae Asset Securities, according to the bourse operator Korea Exchange. On Tuesday, the Korea Exchange released the details on the value-up index, a stock index comprising "best practice" Korean companies complying with the corporate value-up program. The initiative

Global investment bank Morgan Stanley has come under the scrutiny of local authorities, following the suspicious execution of a sell order on SK hynix shares made before releasing a bearish report on the chip giant’s outlook. On Sept. 15, during the Chuseok holiday, Morgan Stanley’s Asia-Pacific desk published a report titled “Winter Looms.” It suggested a skeptical projection of the company earnings, citing a weak demand for general dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM,

The Seoul-headquartered, state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said Sunday it has teamed up with Czech state financial institutions in an effort to help Korean companies expand business on Czech soil and beyond. Eximbank Chairman and CEO Yoon Hee-sung and Korea Trade Insurance Corp. Chairman Jang Yeong-jin have signed an agreement with their Czech counterparts at National Development Bank, Czech Export Bank, Export Guarantee and Insurance Corp. to pursue bilateral financial cooperation, accordin

Private equity firm MBK Partners and Young Poong’s envisioned takeover of Korea Zinc would wreak havoc on the world’s biggest zinc refiner’s business in Australia, according to the chief of Ark Energy, an Australian renewable energy arm under Korea Zinc. “Even if MBK Partners and Young Poong succeed in taking over management control of Korea Zinc, it will not be easy for them to take on the ongoing business in Australia,” Ark Energy CEO Choi Ju-won, also known as Mi

The envisioned takeover of Korea Zinc would wreak havoc on its business in Australia because the demands on private equity firms like prospective buyer MBK Partners are incompatible with the long-term requirements of the industry, according to the chief of Ark Energy, Korea Zinc's Australian renewable energy subsidiary. MBK Partners, a big-name private equity house based in Seoul, recently joined hands with Young Poong to win control of Korea Zinc, the world's largest zinc smelter. Y

Seoul-based private equity house MBK Partners said Thursday it hopes Korea Zinc will be acquired by a Korean conglomerate, not a Chinese one, if its buyout attempt of the world’s biggest zinc refiner turns out to be a successful venture. “MBK Partners is not a foreign fund. We do not have any plan to sell Korea Zinc to Chinese capital,” MBK Partners Vice Chairman Kim Kwang-il said at a press conference held in central Seoul on Thursday. The press event was held to shrug off the

The local stock market is likely to remain stuck on growth for the time being, reflecting the woes of the US economy, market analysts said. They also advised investors to build up a defensive portfolio to respond to high volatility. The local bourse has remained sluggish in recent days, coupled with concerns about the recession of the US economy. The benchmark Kospi, which closed at 2,681 points on Sept. 2, has been fluctuating at around 2,500 in recent days, marking an around 100-point drop. Fo

MBK Partners, a big-name private equity house based in South Korea, has stepped into the ongoing management dispute involving the country’s leading zinc smelter Korea Zinc, siding with its rival Youngpoong Group. Youngpoong Group’s owning family, the Chang clan, which holds a combined 33.1 percent shares in Korea Zinc, teamed up with MBK Partners by signing a shareholder agreement Thursday, in an agreement to jointly exercise voting rights on the shares. The two also agreed on a ca

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok vowed Thursday to curb snowballing household debt and thoroughly control the payment crisis involving e-commerce platforms Tmon and WeMakePrice. The nation's household debt has been on fast growth, sparked by a rise of mortgage loans with the increasing number of housing transactions since around June, Choi said at a meeting of economy-related ministers held at the governmental complex in central Seoul. "The government will work to stably control the risi

Foreign investors are on a massive selling spree of South Korean stocks, dumping shares worth over 1 trillion won ($746 million) on the benchmark Kospi Wednesday, fueled by concerns that the US economy could be heading toward a recession. On Wednesday, overseas investors shed shares worth 1.04 trillion won on the Kospi, continuing the sell-off stance shown in recent weeks. After offloading shares over 2.7 trillion won in August, they ditched shares worth 4.41 trillion won this month, according t

South Korean asset managers are eagerly introducing diverse fund products tracking the Indian stock market, seeking lucrative opportunities in its strong growth. Korea Investment Management, a big-name asset manager here, listed two active funds tracking India-domiciled companies Tuesday, the ACE India Consumer Power Active ETF and ACE India Market Representative Big5 Group Active ETF. According to the firm, Korea Investment Management is the first company in Asia to launch an actively managed f

While South Korean regulators maintain a wary eye against short selling, the prolonged ban and imposing stricter guidelines on the practice could drive foreign investors away from the local equity market, experts said. Following heavy market fluctuations, local regulators enforced a complete ban on short selling in November. Short selling is a trading strategy that involves borrowing and selling stocks expected to decline in price. The halt, initially set to last until June, has been prolonged

Standard Chartered Bank Korea has appointed Lee Kwang-hee, managing director and executive vice president, as its new CEO, the global lender said Friday. Lee, recognized as an expert in corporate banking, will succeed the outgoing CEO, Park Jong-bok. "A detailed evaluation was conducted on the nominees' leadership in the financial sector, willingness to share the bank’s vision, efforts for boosting public interest and sound business administration," the bank's executive