The Korea Times

Coupang aims to strengthen profitability through financial biz

Coupang's headquarters in southern Seoul / YonhapBy Anna J. ParkAs Coupang has decided to enter the financial industry, launching Coupang Financial earlier this month, market watchers view the move as an attempt by the e-commerce firm to secure a stable cash cow business. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Coupang Financial, a subsidiary of Coupang Pay, registered itself as a specialized credit financial business on Friday, officially entering the country's credit financial industry. Coupang Pay holds a 100-percent stake in Coupang Financial.With capital assets of 40 billion won ($30 million), Coupang Financial meets the requirement for the specialized credit financial business, which normally requires capital assets of over 20 billion won. Market analysts expect that Coupang will be attempting to expand its financial services to a wider area of financial sectors and retail consumers, once it successfully operates providing credit loan services to Coupang's suppliers and store vendors. They forecast that Coupang Financial will follow the path of Naver Financial dur

Aug 9, 2022By Anna J. Park

Coupang aims to strengthen profitability through financial biz

Economy

Insurers' growing exposure to project financing raises concerns over financial soundness

gettyimagesbank Insurance sector's total exposure reaches W42 tril. By Anna J. ParkLocal insurers are being called on to exercise more careful risk management in project financing due to soaring interest rates.According to a Korea Insurance Research Institute (KIRI) report, the total amount of local insurance industries' project financing has grown to exceed that of banking industries, triggering concerns over the insurance sector's financial soundness. The global interest rate hikes coupled with signs of depressed real estate markets add pressure on the insurers' shoulders to keep their loan assets in check.As of the end of last year, local insurance companies' project financing to real estate assets, such as loans associated with infrastructure projects, stood at 42 trillion won ($32.1 billion), steeply surging from 15.7 trillion won at the end of 2016. It accounts for around 30 percent of the insurance companies' aggregated corporate loans of 137.4 trillion won.

Aug 8, 2022By Anna J. Park

Insurers' growing exposure to project financing raises concerns over financial soundness

Banking & Finance

INTERVIEW Finda brings innovation to local loan markets

Finda's co-founders and CEOs Lee Hye-min, left, and Park Hong-min pose for a photo at the headquarters of Finda located in southern Seoul in late July. Courtesy of FindaLoan platform firm broadens biz portfolio to better aid customers By Anna J. ParkSince Finda, a platform offering a one-stop loan marketplace, was founded in 2015, the fintech company has been exponentially growing by attracting millions of users in the country. Over the past three years, Finda has grown by a whopping 65 times in terms of monthly revenue, and it has been keeping up with its goal to increase its revenue by three times this year compared to 2021.Behind the impressive growth are two aspiring and ambitious startup veterans, co-founders and CEOs Lee Hye-min and Park Hong-min. The Korea Times recently sat down with them at the headquarters of Finda in southern Seoul to listen to their vivid business stories.The two first met in the Silicon Valley in early 2015.Back then, Lee was already a startup superstar in her early 30s, with three successful entrepreneurship experiences, including cosmetics subscription

Aug 6, 2022By Anna J. Park

[INTERVIEW] Finda brings innovation to local loan markets

Economy

Companies struggle to secure female board members

gettyimagesbankBy Anna J. ParkThe country's capital market act revision that requires the mandatory appointment of a female member on corporate boards came into effect on Friday. The revision was first enforced as a law in August 2020, but it had a two-year grace period before going into effect. The statute prohibits the single-gendered formation of a company's board, when the company's entire asset size exceeds two trillion won ($1.5 billion). As many large-sized companies' board members are mostly male-dominated, corporations are now in urgent need of searching for competent female board members.According to data by Korea ESG Research Institute, some 81 percent of companies are subject to the revision as of the end of April this year. Yet, 31 companies out of the subjected 167 firms have yet to secure a spot for female board members, including container transportation firm Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), energy generating and solution firm Doosan Enerbility, construction and engineering firm Doosan Bobcat and leading aviation firm Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). As seen in the afo

Aug 5, 2022By Anna J. Park

Companies struggle to secure female board members

Banking & Finance

Will SGI's planned IPO succeed?

The headquarters of Seoul Guarantee Insurance (SGI) in central Seoul / Yonhap Gov't aims to complete retrieval of public funds injected into SGI by 2027By Anna J. ParkAs Seoul Guarantee Insurance (SGI) is set to go public within the first half of the next year, the company sent request for proposals (RFPs) to several local securities firms earlier this month to appoint main underwriters for the upcoming IPO process.The IPO decision was made by the government on July 21, aiming to accelerate the retrieval of public money injected into the insurance company so that the government can realize its original plan of completing the retrieval process by 2027.Altogether, 10.25 trillion won ($790 billion) was put into the company for two years from 1999 during the Asian Financial Crisis to aid the firm's massive payment for guaranteeing corporate bonds. As a result, state-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) currently possesses a 93.85 percent stake in the insurance

Aug 5, 2022By Anna J. Park

Banking & Finance

KakaoBank employees at loss over employee stock ownership plan

KakaoBank's Pangyo headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / NewsisBy Anna J. Park KakaoBank's stock price rose by 4.78 percent, ending at 32,900 won ($25) on Thursday's trading session, following the previous day's solid first-half earnings report. The digital bank raked a record-high net profit of 123.9 billion won in the first half, which is 6.8 percent year-on-year increase.Despite enjoying a stock price high since late June, employees of the internet-only bank cannot enjoy the ride to the fullest. Many of them are monitoring the stock price anxiously, as the stock price at Thursday's closing is still more than 15 percent lower than its initial offering price of 39,000 won, set last summer at the time of the bank's listing debut on the main benchmark KOSPI. At the time of the IPO, KakaoBank allocated 19.5 percent of its offering shares to its employee stock ownership plan, or a total of 12.7 million shares at a price of 39,000 won per share, which is the same as the initial offering price. Given that the total number of employees at the time was 1,014, each employee of the ba

Aug 4, 2022By Anna J. Park

KakaoBank employees at loss over employee stock ownership plan

Banking & Finance

Hana Securities forms strategic partnership with Vietnam's BIDV Securities

Hana Financial Group's Co-Vice Chairman and Hana Securities CEO Lee Eun-hyung, third from right, stands next to key officials from Hana Securities and Vietnam's BIDV Securities Company (BSC) at Melia Hanoi Hotel in Vietnam, Wednesday. Courtesy of Hana SecuritiesBy Anna J. ParkHana Securities has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with BIDV Securities Company (BSC), a Vietnamese brokerage firm, aiming to consolidate its foothold for further expansion in the Southeast Asian country. According to Hana Securities, the company chief, Lee Eun-hyung, who's also Hana Financial Group's co-vice chairman, signed the cooperative MOU with the Vietnamese firm at Melia Hanoi Hotel in Vietnam's capital city, Wednesday. Under the bilateral strategic partnership, Hana Securities plans to share the firm's know-how in operating its top-notch research centers with BSC. The Korean securities company also aims to facilitate the development of innovative digital brokerage platforms for the Vietnamese market.Founded in November 1999, the Hanoi-headquartered BSC was the 11th-largest brokerage firm in Vi

Aug 4, 2022By Anna J. Park

Hana Securities forms strategic partnership with Vietnam's BIDV Securities

Economy

FSC chief urges state lenders to effectively carry out $95 billion to support heavily-indebted households

Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Joo-hyun stands next to the heads of eight state-owned financial institutions at the Government Complex in central Seoul, Tuesday morning. YonhapBy Anna J. ParkKorea's top regulator on Tuesday called on state-owned lenders to effectively implement 125 trillion won ($95 billion) worth of financial support programs to aid heavily indebted households.In a meeting with the leaders of eight state-owned financial institutions, Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Joo-hyun urged the banks to effectively carry out the public support initiatives, aiming to reduce the financial burdens of vulnerable borrowers who have been hit hard by high inflation and increased economic uncertainties.“While raising borrowers' conveniences in using the state financial support programs, the state-led financial institutions are once again urged to strengthen their promotional efforts to minimize the number of people not relying on the state programs, just because they haven't heard about them,” the FSC chief said during the meeting. Financial Se

Aug 2, 2022By Anna J. Park

FSC chief urges state lenders to effectively carry out $95 billion to support heavily-indebted households

Economy

Are retail investors deserting KOSPI?

Employees work at the dealing room of Hana Bank's headquarters in central Seoul, Tuesday. Korea's main benchmark KOSPI ended at 2,439.62 points at Tuesday's closing, a 0.52 percent fall from the previous session. Daily trading started at 2,451.00 points at the beginning of the session. YonhapRetail investors' fatigue over bear market causes their exodus By Anna J. ParkWhile the main benchmark KOSPI showed signs of a slight recovery in late July after months of severe plunges, retail investors have resorted to net-selling local stocks. According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), retail investors net-sold 976.4 billion won worth of KOSPI-listed stocks during the six trading sessions from July 25 to Aug. 1, when the main benchmark index logged a consecutive winning streak of six sessions. It was the first time since last December for the KOSPI to record a winning streak of more than five consecutive trading sessions. Despite the temporary rally mood of the market, more retail investors chose to either take short-term trading profits or sell their long-held stocks to retrieve their investment

Aug 2, 2022By Anna J. Park

Economy

94% of illegal short selling done by foreign investors

Lee Yoon-su, director of the Capital Market Bureau at the Financial Services Commission (FSC), speaks during a press conference about the financial regulator's strengthened measures on illegal short-selling practices at the Government Complex in central Seoul, July 28. YonhapBy Anna J. ParkForeign investors account for about 94 percent of illegal short selling cases caught by financial authorities over the past 12 years. According to Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) data submitted to Rep. Lee Jung-mun of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, 93.7 percent of 127 people who have been sanctioned by the financial authorities since 2010 turned out to be foreign investors. “Considering that foreign investors accounted for 67.9 percent of cumulative short selling transactions over the past five years, the fact that they account for more than 93 percent of those who were sanctioned due to illegal short selling practices shows that the local financial authorities have been passive in curbing wrongful short selling practices on the part of foreign investors,” the lawmak

Aug 1, 2022By Anna J. Park

Anna J. Park

Read more

Coupang aims to strengthen profitability through financial biz

Insurers' growing exposure to project financing raises concerns over financial soundness

INTERVIEW Finda brings innovation to local loan markets

Companies struggle to secure female board members

Will SGI's planned IPO succeed?

KakaoBank employees at loss over employee stock ownership plan

Hana Securities forms strategic partnership with Vietnam's BIDV Securities

FSC chief urges state lenders to effectively carry out $95 billion to support heavily-indebted households

Are retail investors deserting KOSPI?

94% of illegal short selling done by foreign investors

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