The Korea Times

Retooling for lucrative future

KDB Daewoo Securities revamps retail business to explore new opportunities By Kwon Mee-yoo KDB Daewoo Securities is putting more efforts into retail services to better cope with the fast-changing financial market. The number of individual investors is on a constant increase and the amount of stock assets owned by individuals has jumped six-fold over the past decade. According to the Korea Securities Depository, 98.9 percent of stock owners are individuals and the average investor owns 12,116 shares. However, stock trading firms' management services toward individuals remains unchanged, despite the shift in the financial needs of customers. KDB Daewoo Securities, the leading stock trading company in Korea, has revamped its retail services to accommodate the latest individual customer’s needs. "We knew such a reform might result in regression in figures but we carried forward the project to innovate retail services for a sustainable development for customers," company spokesman Chwa Gyoung-suk said. The brokerage firm promotes a multi-faceted reform in retail ser

Feb 28, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

’Korea may help Thai restoration’

By Kwon Mee-yoo Korea is seeking to participate in the reconstruction efforts in Thailand, now recovering from damage caused by the devastating flooding. Korean Ambassador to Thailand Lim Jae-hong said the Thai government is putting some 68 trillion won to rebuild the nation hit by floods last year, at the fifth Emerging Market Forum held by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), Friday. According to Lim, the Thai government is going to invest about 13 trillion won to reconstruct the country including the restoration of roads, transportation facilities and schools and the establishment of a flood control system. He added that the country will put up another 55 trillion won for transportation and communication infrastructure such as introducing a bullet train and an advanced public transportation system. "Korean companies could participate in the reconstruction work such as working on river banks and dredging. Korea went through a four-river restoration project and we have strength in the field," Lim said. He also said "hallyu," or the Korean wave, has created a c

Feb 24, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Shoppers use stores as fitting rooms

Purchases are made online at lower prices By Kwon Mee-yoo Kim Ji-won, an office worker in her 20s, went to a department store near her office to buy some spring clothes last week. She looked around the mall, listened to explanations of clerks and tried on the items she liked. However, after trying them on, instead of buying the pieces, she took pictures of the tags with product codes and left the shop. "I will look up the product code on the Internet and there are usually more discounts and promotions, so I prefer buying online," she said. Still, Kim loves to go shopping offline. "It is difficult to imagine the exact color or texture only based on the photo and descriptions online, so I try clothes on at shops to make sure they looks good on me," she said. “Sometimes, I buy at the website of the department store. They have different promotions going on in the store and on the website, so I have to compare prices before making a purchase.” Kim is not the only one who shops this way. Statistics also prove this trend. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy surveyed sales

Feb 23, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Daewoo Securities eyeing global opportunities

By Kwon Mee-yoo KDB Daewoo Securities aims to expand its overseas operations by strengthening the capabilities of units abroad. For that purpose, the firm plans to reinforce the localization of its overseas business as a part of its effort to step up as a global investment bank (IB). Currently, the brokerage's base for overseas activities is its Hong Kong unit. "We have set up a matrix system by which the head office coordinates with overseas branches since 2009," company spokesman Chwa Gyoung-suk said. The matrix system allows swift functioning in each business unit, such as IB operations, sales and other important areas by streamlining a chain of command so as to enable employees to complete their missions with little distraction. The Hong Kong branch recorded some 1.5 billion won of pre-tax profit last year, despite a sluggish global economy and aims to reach 2 billion won this year. To boost independent capabilities, KDB Daewoo increased the Hong Kong unit's capital by $100 million to $200 million in 2011. If needed, it is ready to put another $100 mil

Feb 23, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

BoA study shows elections have no impact on economy

By Kwon Mee-yoo Presidential elections have had little effect on the economy in recent Korean history and it actually slowed down the year after the last one, a study shows. Bank of America Merrill Lynch has researched the 20-year economic history of Korea through 15 economic indicators including the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, private consumption expenditure, the amount of money in circulation and the inflation rate from 1992. The report mainly studied the presidential election years of 1992, 2002 and 2007 and excluded 1997, when the IMF crisis hit the nation. According to the report released last week, the U.S. banking group did not find "strong evidence of a political-business cycle" that affects economic performance. A political-business cycle means that the presidents change every five years and they often make populist pledges to win votes, which are bound to affect the economy. In the United States, the stock market is bearish in the first two years of a presidential term but rebounds strongly in the latter half in general. The study said eco

Feb 20, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Koreans drink 100 bottles of beer a year

By Kwon Mee-yoo The average Korean consumes more than 100 bottles of both beer and soju a year, according to industry estimates, which provides a firm grasp of the obvious that Koreans love to drink. According to numbers by the Korea Alcohol and Liquor Industry Association (KALIA), a total of 1.7 million kiloliters of beer was distributed in the country last year. This translates to 3.5 billion bottles, considering that 500-milliliter bottles are standard size. Simply dividing this with Korea’s 39 million people over the drinking age of 19, and it could be said that the average adult drank 89 bottles of beer last year. KALIA believes the real number could exceed 100 bottles per head when only counting those who actually drink regularly. There were about 3.2 billion bottles of soju distributed in 2011, which translates to 84 per head when divided by those over 19. When restricting the estimate to real drinkers, KALIA says the consumption for soju would also exceed 100 bottles per person. Drinkers here often mix the two beverages as ``poktanju,’’ the local equivalen

Feb 19, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Most popular wine in Korea cuts price

By Kwon Mee-yoo Montes Alpha, the most popular wine in Korea, will see its retail price cut by 10 percent, it was announced Wednesday. More than 280,000 bottles of the Chilean wine were sold last year, topping wine sales records. Its importer Nara Cellar said it will reduce the price of 15 Montes wines, including Montes Alpha, by about 10 percent. A bottle of Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon was priced at around 44,000 won at retail stores and it is expected to go down to 40,000 won. “We decided to cut the price as we now can sell wines directly to customers,” an official of Nara Cellar said. The company said the markdown comes from simplified distribution stages due to a revision of the Liquor Tax Law. The government will lift bans on liquor importers selling wine directly to retail stores or customers from this month. A bottle of wine currently has to go through a Korean importer, a wholesale dealer and retailer before arriving at the hands of customers. The price cut by the Montes line might affect the local wine industry. Some claim that local importers and wholesa

Feb 16, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Samsung card supports youths

By Kwon Mee-yoo Samsung Card, one of Korea's leading credit card firms, aims to boost corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities with steady participation from employees as well as customers. The company's major Green Shoot Campaign is to support the blossoming youth, as the name indicates. The main programs of the campaign include the Donation of Love Fund and the Challenge! Golden Bell Scholarship. The Donation of Love Fund allows donations by Samsung Card customers to support young cancer and leukemia patients and children in need easily by using their bonus points or charging the amount to their credit cards. This began as an online fundraising event for child leukemia patients in 2003 and more than 60,000 Samsung Card employees and cardholders have participated in the program for the past nine years. Customers can subscribe at the card's website at www.samsungcard.com and choose to whom and how much they want to donate. They can either give regularly or as a lump sum. Donations are also possible via the phone by calling 1588-8700. Donors can select fro

Feb 15, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Lotte VEEX Platinum Card works best for mileage collection

By Kwon Mee-yoo Lotte Card has launched the VEEX Platinum Card, which provides a new scheme of accumulating mileage points, to satisfy frugal users who want to save as much as possible. Customers using the VEEX Platinum Card are rewarded with mileage points, equivalent to 1 percent of their domestic usage. For purchases made overseas, the card firm gives back points worth 1.5-2 percent of the total spent. Each cardholder can accumulate up to 1 million points per month. It is relatively higher than other card companies generally gives only rewards 0.2 percent of spending in mileage points. Moreover, Lotte Card gives points for up to 3 percent of purchases made at Lotte Membership allies, including Lotte Department Store and Lotte Mart. Lotte Card simplified qualifications for mileage saving and any customers using VEEX Platinum for amounts over 300,000 won will receive up to 1 percent of their card usage in points. VEEX Platinum has other benefits including a Visa Card premium service such as discounts at restaurants in hotels and airports, duty free shops and free va

Feb 15, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Shinhan opens children’s libraries

By Kwon Mee-yoo Sinhan Card is narrowing the gap in education quality between city and rural areas by establishing children's libraries through the Shinhan Arumin Library project as a way of giving back to society. The program began in 2010 through the Kid and Future Foundation and aims to establish small libraries at local children's centers across the country. The first Arumin Library opened at a community center in Gwanak, Seoul in December 2010, and 230 libraries have opened since then. There are 45 libraries in the Seoul, Incheon and Gangwon area, 43 in Gyeonggi Province, 33 in Chungcheong Province, 51 in Gyeongsang Province, 53 in Jeolla Province and five in Jeju Province. The card firm selected local community centers in need of support and provided about 1,000 books to each of the Arumin Libraries. "The aim of the Arumin Library project is to provide a better educational environment for children and youths. They can come and browse as well as study at the environment-friendly places," a Shinhan Card official said. The libraries have become a stronghold fo

Feb 15, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Kwon Mee-yoo

Read more

Retooling for lucrative future

’Korea may help Thai restoration’

Shoppers use stores as fitting rooms

Daewoo Securities eyeing global opportunities

BoA study shows elections have no impact on economy

Koreans drink 100 bottles of beer a year

Most popular wine in Korea cuts price

Samsung card supports youths

Lotte VEEX Platinum Card works best for mileage collection

Shinhan opens children’s libraries

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