Mobile messenger Kakao’s entry into the stock trading market, via its fintech spinoff Kakao Pay, will boost growth of the financial technology sector and the brokerage market, according to local analysts on Thursday. The Financial Services Commissions, South Korea’s financial regulator, on Wednesday approved Kakao Pay’s request to acquire a controlling 60 percent stake in local brokerage Baro Investment & Securities. The stock trader has been renamed to Kakao Pay Securi

The Financial Services Commission, South Korea’s financial regulator, said Wednesday that it has approved fintech firm Kakao Pay’s request to become the largest shareholder of brokerage house Baro Investment & Securities. With that final authorization, the fintech firm will be able to operate stock trading businesses on its own mobile platforms as well as those run by its parent firm, mobile messenger giant Kakao. Last year the Kakao fintech spinoff submitted an application

Hana Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in South Korea, said Tuesday it is considering acquiring a stake in a local bank in Myanmar. The Southeast Asian nation has recently started allowing foreign financial companies to run operations, to a limited extent. “While having applied at the local financial authorities in Myanmar for launching a branch in the local market, Hana Bank is also considering to acquire a stake in a major local bank,” said a spokesperson from Hana Fi

Responding to the quick spread of the new coronavirus, South Korea’s credit card issuers are running a hotline with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according the Credit Finance Association Tuesday. Through the emergency communication line, the KCDC makes real-time requests to card companies for payment records to identify the places visited by the infected -- both Korean citizens and foreign nationals. Health authorities are allowed to access the payment informat

NHN, one of South Korea’s largest internet service providers, said Monday that its credit and debit card-based payment services will be available on tech giant Google’s flagship platforms including Google Play, YouTube and Google Drive. The firm -- based in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province -- offers a mobile payment solution called Payco, which was already available to a limited extent on the Google platforms. Since November 2017, Payco subscribers have been able to use Payco membershi

Financial giant Woori Financial Group said Friday that it has delayed the process to select CEO candidates for its banking unit Woori Bank. The announcement came after the nation’s financial watchdog Financial Supervisory Service decided the day before to impose sanctions on top executives of Woori Financial Group and Hana Financial Group. “The company has decided to readjust the schedule for shortlisting CEO candidates due to recent changes,” the financial conglomerate sai

The startup market here saw record investments of 4.28 trillion won ($3.61 billion) last year, according to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on Thursday. The figure was up from 2.38 trillion won in 2017. Of the total, private funds invested 1.48 trillion won, or 35 percent, of money injected into the local startup industry. By segment, smart health care companies received 617.2 billion won, while sharing-economy businesses and financial technology firms attracted 276.1 billion won and 12

The median price of apartments in Seoul surpassed the 900 million won ($760,000) threshold in January for the first time, according to commercial bank KB Kookmin Bank on Thursday. The bank’s monthly report on real estate prices showed that the median price of Seoul apartments reached 912.2 million won as of this month, a record high since comparable data started to be compiled in December 2008. A housing unit with a market value of 900 million won or more, categorized as an “exp

Eun Seong-soo, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said Wednesday that the financial regulator will come up with measures to monitor risks of financial conglomerates in a comprehensive manner. “The FSC will keep trying to establish sophisticated risk assessment rules for financial conglomerates, which will not overlap with the existing regulations in the financial sector,” said the FSC chairman in a meeting jointly organized by financial think tanks Korea Institute of Fi

The recent brouhaha surrounding hedge fund company Lime Asset Management is stoking concerns about a potential liquidity crunch across the financial market in South Korea. At the heart of the controversy is what is called a total return swap. Simply put, a TRS is a financial deal that helps fund operators like Lime Asset enjoy leverage. For instance, a hedge fund can acquire underlying assets, including bonds, equities, commodities and mortgage-backed securities, in partnership with a cash-r

The overall value of the shares in Samsung affiliates and subsidiaries held by South Korea’s largest institutional investor, the National Pension Service, jumped nearly 60 percent over the past year, according to data made public Tuesday. The NPS’ shares in 13 Samsung units were worth 49.28 trillion won ($41.7 billion) as of Wednesday last week, up 57 percent from 31.4 trillion won ($26.7 billion) Jan. 2 last year, according to financial research firm FnGuide. The whopping increa

The number of foreign investors in South Korea’s stock and bond markets exceeded 480,058 last year, up 1,358 from a year earlier, according to the nation’s financial regulator Financial Supervisory Service on Monday. Of the total figure, individuals made up 11,657, while institutional investors made up 36,401, including 23,064 private funds, 2,305 pension funds, 997 stock brokerage firms, 738 banks and 512 insurance firms. By nationality, the US and Japan were the two largest pl

Last year, the number of newly minted coins hit the lowest value on record and the number of banking branches continued to drop, according to data on Monday. The Bank of Korea, the nation’s central bank, said newly issued coins last year amounted to some 36.4 billion won ($30.9 million) in value, the lowest since comparable data started being compiled in 1992 and down 14.3 percent from a year earlier.  The figure is even lower than the 39.6 billion won worth of newly made coins i

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday that three sectors for electronic materials, parts and equipment, which have been affected by trade restrictions of Japan since last year, are back on a stable track as a result of governmental support.“We have come with specified measures on the voluntary investment worth 2 trillion won ($1.72 billion) by the private sector here and additional investment plans by global companies,” said Finance Minister Hong at a meeting in Incheon.“

South Korea’s largest conglomerate on Tuesday appointed new chief executives -- all in their 50s -- in an apparent move to tackle challenges in the fast digitalization of the capital market and diversify its business portfolio for sustainable growth.Samsung Group’s insurance unit, Samsung Life, has appointed Jeon Young-muk as its new CEO. He has served as CEO of Samsung Asset Management since 2018. Samsung Life vice presidents -- Kim Dae-hwan and Shim Jong-keug -- have been tapped to

Myeong-dong, one of the largest retail districts in Korea, was the only area among the world’s top 10 global shopping streets that saw an average rent drop on-year in 2019, according to global real estate consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield. According to a recent report published by the consulting firm, the annual average rent in the Myeong-dong district came in at $862 per square foot, down 1.5 percent on-year. In order to rent a store area of 30 pyeong, or 99 square meters, for insta

Amid growing concerns over worsening profits, insurance companies in South Korea said Monday they plan to roll out new services, incorporating new technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence. They also pledged more investments for the emerging technologies and startups.“Korean insurance firms will utilize new technologies, including AI, in different areas from risk assessment, to have a competitive edge in the face of the looming ‘fourth industrial revolution,’&rd

D.Camp, a leading South Korean startup accelerator, said Sunday that augmented reality solution startup Qrio and health tech startup 9to6 topped its first pitching competition of 2020, held last week in Seoul. The event was organized together with InvestHK, an agency responsible for foreign direct investment in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, a state-run trade organization.Qrio has developed a mobile AR application that helps users create their own virtual action figures

Samsung Group is expected to replace most of the chief executives at its financial units, including Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Card, according to news reports on Sunday.According to local business daily the Korea Economic Daily, the conglomerate is scheduled to carry out its annual reshuffle of C-level executives this week, starting with its flagship Samsung Electronics and other IT affiliates on Monday.Financial units, including Samsung Securities and Samsung Card, will follow suit on T

With bills on personal data and credit information passing the legislature, Korean financial authority Financial Services Commission and other financial organizations on Thursday vowed to make joint efforts to create a better, fair environment for the financial technology market.“The FSC hopes to see fintech firms achieve successful results of their businesses this year, and for that, it will not spare efforts to support them,” said Kwon Dae-young, director general of FSC’s fin