A team of scholars from University of St. Gallen in Switzerland won the International Insurance Society’s 2019 Shin Research Excellence Award, endowed by Kyobo Life Insurance, the Korean insurer said Sunday. According to the firm, Alexander Braun, adjunct professor of risk management, Sebastian Utz, assistant professor of finance, and Jiahua Xu, a postdoctoral researcher, were awarded by the IIS for their research titled, “Are Insurance Balance Sheets Carbon-Neutral? Harnessing

The volume of capital raised through initial public offering in the South Korean stock market surpassed 1 trillion won ($863 million) in the first half of the year, data from the Korea Exchange showed Sunday, with NH Investment & Securities leading the way among underwriters. Some 1.09 trillion won in equity capital was raised in the first half of the year, according to the nation’s sole bourse operator, a 39.6 percent increase from the same period last year.  Eighteen companies j

Mere hours after the US Federal Reserve hinted at an interest rate cut, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Thursday that South Korea would take apt measures to deal with economic shifts, hinting at mirroring the Fed’s move. The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday left the key rate on hold in the 2.25-2.5 percent range, but added it “will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion,” since uncertainties of the rate outlook have increased. The Fed’s s

The nation’s financial watchdog plans to launch a “comprehensive audit” on bourse operator the Korea Exchange (KRX) by the year-end, local reports said Wednesday. If carried out, the in-depth audit will mark the first such inspection of KRX in nine years.  The news comes amid the Financial Supervisory Service’s ongoing audit of local brokerages and financial institutions, following its decision to revive the comprehensive audit, which was abolished in 2015. The audit

Almost two years after South Korea’s leading commercial banks launched mobile apps to attract new customers and keep existing ones, the focus is now on whether their quality matches the prestige of the banks they are attached to.To compete against fast-paced and innovative internet-only banks Kakao Bank and K-Bank, the big four -- Shinhan, KB Kookmin, KEB Hana and Woori -- have been providing low-cost services, merging separate apps into one, and even hiring K-pop celebrities as brand amba

South Korean brokerages’ combined net profit hit a record high in the first quarter, the nation’s financial watchdog said Monday, boosted by profit from investment banking services and diversified sources of revenue. The combined net profit of 56 brokerages jumped 183.3 percent on-quarter to 1.46 trillion won ($1.18 billion) in the January-March period, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed. The figure narrowly beat the previous record, 1.45 trillion won, set in the firs

Mirae Asset Global Investments said Thursday it hosted a forum last week where top fund managers and experts from eight countries gathered to share their insights on the latest trends in global exchange-traded funds market.The 2019 Mirae Asset Global ETF Rally was held June 7-8 in Seoul and Hongcheon, located about 100 kilometers northeast of the capital city.  The participants included Australia-based ETF manager BetaShares CEO Alex Vynokur, Canada’s Horizon ETFs CEO Steve Hawkins, U

For the past 12 years, the world’s top five intellectual property offices -- known collectively as the IP5 offices -- have led global efforts to build a unified, applicant-friendly patent system. They have also improved the quality of the patent examination process and the efficiency of relevant administrative work by integrating the concepts of work-sharing, data exchange and standardization, say the organizers of the 12th annual IP5 meeting in Incheon, South Korea’s western port ci

Foreign holdings of South Korean bonds amounted to 119.2 trillion won ($111 billion) at the end of last month, reaching a new monthly high, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service, while the local stock market remained stagnant. The figure surpassed the previous monthly record high of 114.3 trillion won in August 2018.  Overseas investors’ debt holdings accounted for 6.7 percent of the total market, according to the FSS data. They net purchased 11.3 trillion won worth

Weeks following the Korean financial regulator’s rejection of its request to set up the nation’s third and fourth internet-only banks, Toss Bank may have to draw up a fresh list of strategic investors to get a second shot. The Financial Services Commission on Sunday pointed out issues with Toss Bank’s shareholding structure and lack of a feasible plan to raise capital as key reasons behind its decision to reject the application.  In a shocking turn of events, the FSC on Ma

William B. Stanton, Citibank Korea’s head of commercial bank, speaks at the “Singapore Digital Day” seminar, hosted by the Korean unit of the international banking giant, at Google Campus in Seoul on Wednesday. Around 100 corporate strategy, planning and treasury officers as well as Yip Wei Kiat, Singapore’s ambassador to Korea, attended the event, where experts shared their knowledge of the digital market and global opportunities in Singapore and ASEAN nations. (Citibank

South Korea has decided to change its liquor tax system for the first time in 50 years, shifting from a price-based to volume-based system, starting with domestically brewed beer and rice wine, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Wednesday. The tax revision bill for 2020 will state that liquor tax will be levied based on the amount of alcohol sold, rather than adopting ad valorem calculations, which is based on the retail base price. The government plans to submit the bill to the National A

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi shed 7.34 percent in May alone, according to the Korea Exchange on Tuesday, its largest monthly loss since October last year.The main bourse’s lackluster performance last month is fueling concerns among investors still recovering from the shock in October, when the stock market experienced the steepest monthly decline in a decade.  At that time it shed 13.37 percent, weighed down by the US’ decision to implement 10 percent tariffs on $200 bill

South Korea’s wealthy are more concerned about inheritance issues than generating profit from financial products in terms of asset management, data compiled by Samsung Securities showed Monday.The data was based on 1,630 cases of regular consulting with the firm’s clients who have over 3 billion won ($2.6 million) deposited in the firm for investment.  Of the clients, 30.2 percent acknowledged that inheritance issues were their priority concern, while 30 percent chose collecting

South Korean battery maker LG Chem said Sunday that its vice chairman hosted the firm’s first-ever recruitment event in Europe in an effort to search for global talent. On Friday, Vice Chairman and CEO Shin Hak-cheol hosted the event in Frankfurt, Germany, attended by 30 undergraduate and graduate students from 10 major universities and institutes across Europe. The firm’s Chief Human Resources Officer No In-ho also joined the event. The event not only marked the firm&rsquo

South Korea’s main bourse Kospi posted a weak return rate of 0.03 percent since the beginning of the year, data from the Korea Exchange showed Sunday, putting the bourse near the bottom rank among its G20 counterparts. According to the KRX, the Kospi’s rate of return stood at a lackluster 0.03 percent as of Friday, the last trading day of May, placing it at No. 19 out of 20 major bourses around the world. Its rate of return hovered just above Turkey’s benchmark XU100, which ran

South Korea’s petroleum and refinery company Hyundai Oilbank has been actively promoting a culture of philanthropy through its “1% Nanum Foundation,” which is funded through a portion of the employees’ monthly salary, the firm said Thursday.The foundation, which was established in 2011, has been serving as a means for more than 95 percent of the firm’s employees and executives to donate a portion or 1 percent of their salary for charitable work.  Nanum means &l

South Korea’s decision to lower the tax rate on securities transactions by 0.05 percentage point is set to take effect on Thursday, with the financial sector divided on whether it will successfully stimulate the market.Tax levied on stocks listed on the nation’s main bourse Kospi will be cut down to 0.1 percent from the previous 0.15 percent. Stocks on the secondary tech-heavy Kosdaq will be traded at the rate of 0.25 percent instead of the previous 0.3 percent. The rate for third-ti

In an apparent move to advocate the incumbent government’s real estate measures, the Land Ministry said Tuesday that Seoul’s housing prices had grown at a stable rate for the past five years, compared to fluctuations observed in real estate transaction prices in other major cities. Seoul saw an average 18.9 percent rate fluctuation in its housing price from 2014 to 2018, according to the data, which was released as part of a seminar co-hosted by the ministry and the state-run Ko

South Korean firms have issued more than 5 trillion won ($4.27 billion) worth of environmental, social and governance-related bonds so far this year, which surpasses the volume of the asset class floated for the entirety of last year. ESG-related bonds are fixed income investments -- mostly issued by government-run organizations or institutions at the moment -- that finance environmental or social projects that help boost transparency and sustainability in society. Local firms including state-ru