Hahn & Co., the nation's largest private equity firm based on assets under management, launched a bid on Monday to take full ownership of cement producer SsangYong C&E, offering over 700 billion won ($525 million) for the shares it does not hold. Hahn & Co. will offer 7,000 won per share for the cement producer to secure an additional 20.1 percent stake in the company, spending 701.8 billion won, according to an announcement made through regulatory filings from its special purpo

Two employees sort out dollars at Hana Bank's Counterfeit Notes Response Center in central Seoul on Monday. Korea's foreign reserves stood at $415.7 billion as of end-January, down $4.39 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. It was the first time in three months for the figure to fall. The US greenback has been strengthening as the market has lowered its expectation of an early pivot in the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. Korea was the world's ni

Hahn & Co., the nation's largest private equity firm based on assets under management, announced Friday that it has acquired 100 percent stake in SKC's fine ceramics business for 360 billion won ($270 million). SKC operates as the semiconductor material arm under SK Group, the country's second-largest conglomerate. The acquisition comes three months after the contract was signed in late October. Under Hahn & Co.’s ownership, the company will operate with a new name

Viva Republica, the operator of financial technology app Toss, has kicked off procedures for an initial public offering, having selected lead underwriters. Securities firms estimate that the company's valuation could reach up to 20 trillion won ($15.1 billion). Viva Republica selected crosstown rivals in the local IPO market -- Korea Investment & Securities and Mirae Asset Securities -- as the lead underwriters, according to industry sources Friday. The securities firms have reportedly

Mastern America, the US subsidiary of local asset manager Mastern Investment Management, has joined hands with Hironic, a Korean medical device company, to expand its presence in the US market. Mastern America announced Friday that it has forged a four-party memorandum of understanding with Hironic, the city of Taylor, Texas, and the Taylor Economic Development Corp. A signing ceremony was held in Seoul on Wednesday, with Mastern America CEO Joseph Oh, Hironic CEO Lee Sang-won, Taylor Mayor Bran

Korea's inflation grew at slower pace in January, coming down to the 2 percent range for the first time in six months, data showed Friday. The government warned on the possibility of prices resurging in the months ahead. Consumer prices rose 2.8 percent on-year last month, according to data from Statistics Korea. The figure shows inflationary pressure easing significantly, following rises of 3.2 percent in December and 3.3 percent in November. It is also the smallest increase seen since 2.3 perc

Mirae Asset Global Investments is to launch a new exchange-traded fund product investing in interest rates, seeing lucrative opportunities amid the relatively high-interest rates, the asset manager said Thursday. The asset manager, with total assets under management surpassing 300 trillion won ($225 billion) as of the end of 2023, is to add a new product to its Tiger ETF lineup to secure the lead in the local ETF market. Named the Mirae Asset Tiger Synth CD 1Y Rate Active ETF, the financial prod

The Korean government saw its tax revenue fall by more than 50 trillion won ($37.5 billion) in 2023 compared with a year earlier due to a slowdown in the chip industry and a contraction in the property market, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. Korea’s tax revenue totaled 344.1 trillion won for 2023, down 13.1 percent or 51.9 trillion won, from the previous year's 395.9 trillion won, according to preliminary figures suggested by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It was the first

Korean private equity firms are increasingly betting big on health-focused companies at home and abroad, in a bid to capitalize on the growth potential of the health care and wellness sector amid a globally aging population. In Korea alone, where accelerated demographic change is observed due to the low birth rate, the number of people aged 65 or over was 9.73 million in 2023, about 20 percent of the total population, surging from 10 percent back in 2010. Hahn & Co., the nation's largest pri

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong (center) and other company officials deliver coal briquettes to low-income households in Seodaemun-gu, northern Seoul, Thursday. The financial giant raised donations of 200 million won ($150,000), with some 150 million won coming from employees. The fund will be used to provide heat supplies through a local charity. (Shinhan Financial Group)

World Bank President Ajay Banga stressed that South Korea can play a pivotal role in leading other developing countries with its experience in growth and development, during a media briefing Thursday as part of his visit to Seoul. "What Korea did in 30 years -- to go from being an underdeveloped, challenged country, to having come through a crisis to come out like this -- was quite remarkable,” he said at the Global Knowledge Exchange & Development Center in northern Seoul. &ldquo

The total face value of damaged bills and coins discarded by the Bank of Korea reached nearly 4 trillion won ($2.98 billion) last year, marking a sharp rise from previous years as more in-person business transactions occurred with the end of the pandemic, the central bank said Wednesday. A total of 483.85 million damaged bills and coins were pulled out of circulation by the central bank due to damage in 2023, up 71.17 million from 412.68 million tallied a year earlier. The face value of the de

The Korean government plans to expand tax incentives for the nation’s strategic technologies such as advanced chips and displays as part of a tax revision that takes effect next month. The Finance Ministry on Tuesday unveiled a set of tax reform plans, including tax cuts worth up to 950 billion won ($711 million) per year, in a bid to attract more investment into new growth drivers and boost the local economy. The chip and display sectors have already been protected as strategic industries

Local lenders are expanding their presence in India, the world’s fifth-largest economy, as Korea-India economic ties deepen amid the global supply chain reshuffle. KB Kookmin Bank, one of the top five lenders in Korea, will launch two new branches in India this year in Chennai and Pune. The lender has deployed six employees in the country for the setup. “An approval from local authorities came in October. We plan to open the branches in the early third quarter,” an official f

Koramco Asset Management, the nation's largest real estate investment firm, saw its overseas assets under management reach nearly 5 trillion won ($3.73 billion) in 2023, having garnered new investment funds worth 400 billion won amid a sluggish global real estate market. The asset management firm announced Monday that it raised 400 billion won last year, bringing the volume of the foreign assets it manages on behalf of clients to more than 4.8 trillion won. This accounts for nearly 30 per

Mirae Asset Global Investments' Canadian subsidiary Horizons ETFs saw its assets under management surpass 30 trillion won ($22.8 billion) this month, marking ninefold growth in over 10 years. Horizons ETFs has become the fourth-largest ETF operator in Canada with its AUM standing at $22.8 billion as of Jan. 10, from $2.2 billion when Mirae Asset Global Investments had acquired the unit in 2011, according to the Korean firm on Friday. The latest figure translates to roughly $30 billion Can

The internet-only K bank said Friday that it is pushing for an initial public offering this year following a failed attempt last year. “The IPO will be an opportunity for K bank to take another big leap,” said CEO Choi Woo-hyung, who took the post on Jan. 1. “K bank will grow with all its members through thorough preparations.” K bank was launched in April 2017, becoming the nation’s first internet-only bank. As of 2023, it boasted 9.53 million users. After years

Foreign investors continued the selling spree on the local stock market amid heightened geopolitical tensions both within and outside the Korean Peninsula, while the Korean won weakened against the dollar. The benchmark Kospi closed at 2,440.04 points Thursday. Though it dipped to the 2,430 range on the previous trading day, it managed to make a slight recovery backed by the 119.6 billion won ($82 million) net buying of retail investors. Yet foreigners continued the selling streak for five conse

By Steve Brice How to invest in China is the question I am asked the most. China is facing a lot of headwinds. The economy has slowed dramatically from the post-COVID reopening boost at the turn of last year and geopolitical tensions are everywhere for people to see. Against this backdrop, I see a three-pronged approach to China investments. First, focus your China equity investments in areas that are less likely to face headwinds. Second, diversify to other parts of Asia. And third, conside

Local authorities' decision to keep the doors shut for exchange-traded funds linked to the price of bitcoin has led to concerns that Korea may be left behind by changing global financial trends. While the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s authorization of spot bitcoin ETFs represented a milestone long in the works for the virtual assets market, the financial product remains off limits for Korean investors, as local authorities announced the trading of related products for lo