Business - The Korea Times

Hana Financial chief attends CES amid rise of digital finance

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, second from right, watches OLED screens set up at LG Electronics' booth on the sidelines of this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Jan. 5. Courtesy of Hana Financial GroupBy Lee Min-hyungHana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo attended the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to discuss the future of digital finance amid the big blur era between conventional industries and finance, the group said Sunday. The Hana chief visited the event venue in Las Vegas with a group of 20 young officials from its key affiliates, to catch up on the latest digital trends and seek new business opportunities in digital finance with overseas partners there.“It is very meaningful for me and our young staff to attend the world's largest tech and innovation fair,” Ham said. “We expect our staff to join hands together to achieve our group-wide vision of 'finance connected as one for all,'” he said.Ham visited the booth of Asleep, an AI-powered sleep-tracking software startup, in which Hana invested in. The company focused

Jan 8, 2023By Lee Min-hyung

Hana Financial chief attends CES amid rise of digital finance

Tesla's unexpected fall frustrates young Korean investors

The Tesla logo is seen at the company's store in Cherry Creek Mall, Denver on Feb. 9, 2019. Shares of Tesla tumbled Tuesday, Jan. 3, on the first full day of trading since the company announced 2022 delivery numbers that fell short of targets. AP-YonhapInvestors depressed by bleak market outlook, soaring interestBy Lee Min-hyungThe year 2023 got off to a rocky start for many young Korean investors, whose assets are largely stuck in their stock accounts. Of particular concern is the fact that most of their portfolios focus on once-red hot U.S. stocks, such as Tesla and Apple. Investing in such large-cap growth stocks in the world's largest economy was all the rage earlier on in the pandemic.But what appeared to be the unstoppable rally of the renowned tech giants has ended up in a sharp decline over the past year. Investors here said they feel increasingly stressed amid the ever-pessimistic outlook on the global economy. They remained poles apart over whether to dump the invested stocks at this period of financial uncertainty.“I took out non-collateral loans worth around 100 mil

Jan 8, 2023By Lee Min-hyung

Tesla's unexpected fall frustrates young Korean investors

Daol Financial Group focuses on securing liquidity

Daol Financial Group headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul / Courtesy of Daol Financial GroupMarket responds positively to Daol's nimble moves with stock price riseBy Anna J. ParkContinuing its aggressive restructuring, Daol Financial Group decided to sell its credit rating agency affiliate earlier this week. The move is in line with its latest efforts to secure liquidity by selling its key affiliates. The group said it signed an agreement with Mason Capital Management and Lead Capital Management on Wednesday to sell its 100 percent stake in the credit rating subsidiary at a price of 13 billion won ($10.2 million). Both sides plan to complete the necessary steps for the sale, such as the financial authority's approval of the change in the largest shareholder of the company, within the first half of this year. The group explained that the decision to sell the subsidiary is to restructure its business strategies, as it focuses on finding new growth engines. It also aims to secure liquidity from a medium- and long-term perspective, promoting stable growth by preemptively responding to the unce

Jan 6, 2023By Anna J. Park

Daol Financial Group focuses on securing liquidity

Telecom stocks in spotlight on hopes of earnings recovery

The logo of SK Telecom is seen in front of its headquarters in Seoul. Yonhap By Lee Min-hyungTelecom stocks are drawing attention due to their potential for an earnings rebound in 2023, after major mobile carriers suffered severe stock price falls last year. According to data from market tracker FnGuide, the combined operating profit of Korea's top three mobile carriers ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― is forecast to rise by 7.43 percent in 2023 from the previous year on hopes of sales growth and falling marketing costs.Shares of SK Telecom, the largest telecom company here, reached a high of around 63,000 won ($49.50) in April, but have since been on a steep decline. SK Telecom shares closed at 47,300 won on Thursday. KT shares also reached about 38,000 won by early last December, but then went on a losing streak to around 33,700 won as of closing on Thursday.But analysts shared a rosy outlook on their potential rebound this year.“KT shares have been in the doldrums

Jan 5, 2023By Lee Min-hyung

Telecom stocks in spotlight on hopes of earnings recovery

Financial officials visit CES to showcase vision for digital transformation

Seen above is the Las Vegas Convention Center where the Consumer Electronics Show 2023 is taking place. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungA group of ranking financial officials have flown to Las Vegas to attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) there amid the blurring boundaries between the finance and technology sectors. Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung was the first to arrive in the U.S. for the four-day tech fair. He left Tuesday with the firm's executives and some other working-level officials in charge of digital-related tasks for the firm and its key affiliates. They included Kim Myung-hee, chief digital officer of the group, and Shinhan Bank Vice President Lim Soo-han.Shinhan Bank set up its independent booth there for the first time among Korea's commercial lenders. The bank unveiled its Cinnamon metaverse platform, in which users can manage various financial products by using Churros, the platform's cyber money. It will take more time for it to see wider use here or abroad, but the company expects the platform to generate huge marketing effects in the lead-up to its di

Jan 5, 2023By Lee Min-hyung

Financial officials visit CES to showcase vision for digital transformation

Life insurers strengthen digitalization

KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, second from left, stands next to KB Life Insurance CEO Lee Hwan-joo, third from left, during an inaugural ceremony held at the KB Life Tower in southern Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of KB Life InsuranceBy Anna J. ParkInsurance companies have set as this year's priority expanding their in-house digital-related units or seeking partnerships with fintech firms to increase their tech capabilities. This move is more salient among life insurance companies than their non-life peers, so as not to lag behind the more tech-savvy financial sector. KB Life, which started anew from January this year after consolidating its systems with Prudential Life, which the company acquired in 2020, said it has launched a new Digital Transformation (DT) headquarters. The new unit is in charge of developing data-based digital business models and a data governance system, which will strengthen the company's financial platform usage. The insurer said it aims to transform the company's structure into a more agile and dynamic one to provide differentiated and innovative prod

Jan 4, 2023By Anna J. Park

Financial sector New Year's greeting

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, fourth from left, talks with Korea Federation of Banks Chairman Kim Gwang-soo, third from left, at the New Year's meeting of the financial sector leaders held at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. At the meeting, Choo asked the finance industry to play an active role to lessen difficulties faced by the working class and SMEs amid an economic downturn. To his right are Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Joo-hyun and Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong. Yonhap

Jan 3, 2023By Yoon Ja-young

Card firms seek new growth drivers amid crisis

gettyimagesbankBy Anna J. ParkMajor local card companies are seeking new growth momentum as they vow to weather looming economic threats. Both incumbent and newly appointed CEOs of these companies urged their employees to differentiate themselves from other companies' services to seek growth. Shinhan Card CEO Moon Dong-kwon speaks during an appointment ceremony held at the company's headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Shinhan CardShinhan Card's new CEO Moon Dong-kwon, who took office on Tuesday, said the company aims to achieve customer-centered innovation as its first priority amid unfavorable market conditions of high interest rates, high inflation and high foreign exchange rates.“Based on synergy created through Shinhan's own networks, Shinhan Card needs to evolve into a unique platform company that provides greater value to customers and society,” Moon said. KB Kookmin Card CEO Lee Chang-kwon delivers his New Year message during a ceremony held at the firm's headquarters in Seoul, Monday.The urgency expressed by the CEO is shared by other major card company ch

Jan 3, 2023By Anna J. Park

Card firms seek new growth drivers amid crisis

Manufacturers eye 1.16% economic growth for 2023: poll

Employees work at Hyundai Motor's manufacturing plant in Ulsan. YonhapKorean manufacturing firms expect the country's economy to grow in the low 1 percent range this year amid sluggish domestic demand and exports, a poll showed Tuesday.The survey of 2,254 manufacturers, taken by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), showed their average growth estimate for Asia's fourth-largest economy reaching 1.16 percent for this year.Some 9 percent of the respondents forecast the economy to shrink in 2023 from a year earlier, with a mere 0.3 percent anticipating growth rates of more than 3 percent.The median forecast is slightly lower than projections by the government and other institutions.The finance ministry has projected the economy to grow 1.6 percent this year, with the Bank of Korea predicting a 1.7 percent gain. The state-run Korea Development Institute and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have put forward a growth estimate of 1.8 percent.The KCCI attributed the manufacturers' grim outlook to concerns about slumping domestic demand stemming from high

Jan 3, 2023

Manufacturers eye 1.16% economic growth for 2023: poll

FDI pledges to Korea hit all-time high in 2022: data

This Nov. 17, 2022 file photo, provided by S-Oil, shows Lotte E&C CEO Ha Suk-joo, S-Oil CEO Hussain Al-Qahtani, Hyundai E&C CEO Yoon Young-joon and Hyundai Engineering CEO Hong Hyeon-sung, from left to right, posing for photos at a signing ceremony for the Shaheen Project in Seoul. YonhapForeign direct investment (FDI) pledges to Korea hit an all-time high last year, surpassing $30 billion for the first time, data showed Tuesday.Foreigners pledged to invest $30.45 billion here last year, up 3.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The previous record high was $29.51 billion in 2021.The amount of investment that actually arrived in Korea, however, fell 3.1 percent on-year to $18.03 billion.The number of FDI pledges grew 12.1 percent to 3,463, and the number of investments that actually arrived rose 12.4 percent to 2,325, the data showed.By segment, the manufacturing sector saw FDI pledges more than double to $12.48 billion, an all-time high, particularly in the textile and clothing, chemical engineering, metal and ele