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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Woori diversifying portfolio into securities, insurance

Woori Bank headquarters in downtown Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Woori Bank signed a business agreement with Hanwha Group's insurance, securities and asset management arms to promote digital business, it said Sunday. They will jointly promote new digital businesses and cooperate in fine-tuning strategies for joint marketing and securities partnership services.Woori Bank, for example, is hoping to expand its global cooperation with Hanwha subsidiaries and affiliates in Vietnam and introduce joint marketing campaigns for their new insurance products and services. Pension products will be also promoted in partnership with Hanwha's asset management subsidiary.Officials of Woori and Hanwha will set up a joint council composed of working-level officials for close and efficient cooperation.The first joint project will be providing an online securities trading service launched by Hanwha on a platform operated by Woori. With the app, Woori WON Banking, the two sides expect timely cooperation amid sustained popularity of the stock market since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic

Dec 12, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Woori diversifying portfolio into securities, insurance

Mirae Asset wins lawsuit against China's Anbang Insurance over US hotel deal

Mirae Asset Financial Group headquarters in central Seoul / Courtesy of Mirae Asset GroupBy Anna J. ParkMirae Asset Global Investments has won a years-long lawsuit against China's Anbang Insurance Group over a $5.8 billion acquisition deal involving luxury hotels in the United States, the Korean company said Friday.It said the Delaware Supreme Court upheld the state's Chancery Court decision made in December 2020, which ruled in favor of Mirae Asset that the Chinese company was in breach of contract.With the win, Mirae Asset is expected to receive about 700 billion won ($594 million) from Anbang Insurance, including a pre-paid contract deposit of $580 million as well as legal costs.The legal battle goes back to September 2019, when Mirae Asset signed a contract with Anbang Insurance to buy 15 U.S. hotels owned by the Chinese insurer. Mirae Asset paid $580 million as a contract deposit for the deal. The contract was supposed to be implemented by April 2020, yet Mirae Asset decided to withdraw from the contract in May 2020 on the grounds that Anbang had failed to carry out its prerequi

Dec 10, 2021By Anna J. Park
Mirae Asset wins lawsuit against China's Anbang Insurance over US hotel deal

Smaller brokerage firms log better returns

gettyimagesbankBy Anna J. ParkSmaller brokerage firms turn out to have higher return on equity (ROE) ― the measure of a company's net income, divided by its shareholders' equity ― as well as higher return on assets (ROA), compared to major securities firms. According to data compiled by the Korea Investors Service, KTB Investment & Securities logged the highest ROE among local brokerage firms, as of the end of the third quarter. The firm's ROE of 36.9 percent is much higher than bigger companies, including Samsung Securities' 19.45 percent, NH Securities' 16.18 percent and Mirae Asset Securities' 13.16 percent.Other smaller and medium-sized brokerage firms ― Kiwoom Securities, Heungkuk Securities, HanYang Securities, and eBest Securities ― all logged ROEs in the 20 percent range, which is higher than their bigger competitors.In terms of ROA, Heungkuk Securities recorded the highest figure of 5.7 percent, which is 3.3 percentage points higher than its year-on-year figure. KTB Investment & Securities, BNK Investment, eBest Investment and Kiwoom Securities followed the list, as

Dec 10, 2021By Anna J. Park
Smaller brokerage firms log better returns

Samsung replaces CEOs of financial units

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance CEO nominee Hong Won-hak, left, and Samsung Asset Management CEO nominee Seo Bong-kyun / Courtesy of each companyBy Park Jae-hyukSamsung Fire & Marine Insurance Executive Vice President Hong Won-hak was named the insurer's new CEO, while Samsung Securities Sales & Trading Division Head Seo Bong-kyun was recommended to lead Samsung Asset Management, the companies said Friday.Samsung Card CEO Kim Dae-hwan, who was promoted to “president” from “vice president” the same day, retained his position. Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Securities also kept their CEOs unchanged.All of the five major financial units of Samsung were initially expected to allow their chief executives to continue their duties, considering their earnings performances throughout this year.Samsung Fire and Samsung Asset, however, eventually decided to bring a generational shift to their leadership, respectively, as Samsung Electronics did during its year-end reshuffle earlier this week, in line with Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's latest intention to c

Dec 10, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Samsung replaces CEOs of financial units

Shinhan, IBK unions seek four-day workweek

gettyimagesbank By Park Jae-hyukUnionized workers at Shinhan Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) are asking their managements to institute a four-day workweek, backed by presidential candidates including Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Sim Sang-jeung of the minor opposition Justice Party.Shinhan Bank union leader Kim Jin-hong, who was reelected earlier this month, is in talks with the bank's management to test a four-and-a-half-day workweek next year, as a preparatory step to a four-day workweek which he promised to the union members.According to the union, the four-and-a-half-day workweek will not reduce the bank's regular weekly working time from 40 hours. Under the system, employees are just allowed to work for only four hours on one of five weekdays, if they can finish doing the remaining four hours of work during the other four weekdays.IBK union leader Kim Hyung-seon, who was reelected last month, also promised the union members t

Dec 10, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Shinhan, IBK unions seek four-day workweek

Shinhan to invest W2 trillion in digitization next year

Shinhan Financial Group's headquarters in Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Park Jae-hyukShinhan Financial Group's digitization investments will grow to 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion), the largest among local banking groups' digital transformation budgets, up from this year's 800 billion won, industry officials said Thursday.“Our board members were informed of the digitization plan during Thursday's meeting on the direction of our business strategy next year,” a Shinhan official said. Among the 2 trillion won, Shinhan Bank will spend 1 trillion won.The key subsidiary of Shinhan Financial Group will use most of the money for its online-to-offline (O2O) businesses, including its food delivery app which will be launched later this year. It seeks to tie up with 80,000 stores in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province for the stores to deliver their foods using the bank's mobile app.The bank will also continue to improve its artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain technologies, while considering investments in fintech and mobile platform companies.Shinhan Card will increase the size of i

Dec 9, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Shinhan to invest W2 trillion in digitization next year

Standard Chartered Bank Korea appointed as Shinhan Life's custodian for offshore bonds

A branch of Standard Charted Bank Korea in Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Standard Chartered (SC) Bank Korea announced Thursday that it was appointed as the “custodian” for the international assets of Shinhan Life Insurance. Custody services are provided by financial institutions for the safekeeping and administration of financial assets on behalf of investors, when the investors trade bonds or equities. The bank has been providing custody services for the onshore and offshore assets of Orange Life Insurance, formerly ING Life Insurance, since 2006. Shinhan Life has requested financial institutions to participate in the selection process of the custodian for its offshore bonds since August. It appointed the bank after a two-month, meticulous screening process. Through close collaboration with the global network of parent company Standard Chartered Group, which has a presence in 59 markets and provides custody in over 100 markets, the bank's employees dedicated to the custody business in Korea are able to provide world-class, one-stop corporate banking services.

Dec 9, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Standard Chartered Bank Korea appointed as Shinhan Life's custodian for offshore bonds

Samsung's ETF expert to lead Korea Investment Management

Samsung Asset Management Deputy CEO Bae Jae-kyu / Korea Times file By Park Jae-hyukSamsung Asset Management Deputy CEO Bae Jae-kyu, who is well-known for introducing the Korean Market's first exchange traded-fund (ETF), was named the new leader of Korea Investment Management (KIM), according to industry officials, Thursday.KIM is an asset management subsidiary of Korea Investment Holdings (KIH).Its recent leadership decision is interpreted as KIH Chairman Kim Nam-goo's intention to bet on the rapid growth of the local ETF market, amid the slowdown lately in the public offering fund market.Bae, who previously worked for Korea Merchant Banking and SK Securities, joined Samsung Asset in 2000, and came up with the nation's first ETF, the KODEX 200, in 2002, after convincing financial authorities of its value.Despite earlier thoughts last month that he would be ousted from his position after the year-end annual reshuffle of senior executives, he also enabled the listing

Dec 9, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Samsung's ETF expert to lead Korea Investment Management

DGB chief urged to resign after alleged bribery in Cambodia

DGB Financial Group Chairman Kim Tae-oh / Courtesy of DGB Financial GroupBy Park Jae-hyukDGB Financial Group Chairman Kim Tae-oh is facing growing calls from the bank's union and civic groups to step down. He was indicted without detention Monday for allegedly giving $3.5 million to a Cambodian broker last year to enable DGB's subsidiary, Daegu Bank, obtain a commercial banking license from the Southeast Asian country's financial authorities.“Getting a license by offering a bribe is a serious crime, as it weakens Korea's credibility and competitiveness in the international community,” said a representative from the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office. “This is the first time for us to apply the Act on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials, which enables punishments of those who bribed brokers.”Kim's attorney denied the charge, saying the chairman will sincerely participate in his trial to clarify any misunderstandings and reveal the truth.Daegu Bank's union, however, issued a statement Tuesday demanding he resign immediately.“If the trial incurs a

Dec 9, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
DGB chief urged to resign after alleged bribery in Cambodia

Woori Bank opens branch in Hungary

Woori Bank's promotional image for the branch opening in Hungary / Courtesy of Woori BankBy Anna J. ParkWoori Bank recently opened a branch office in Budapest, Hungary after receiving formal authorization from the East European country's central bank, the Korean lender said Tuesday.Woori Bank plans to offer corporate financing services for Korean companies that made inroads into Hungary as well as European companies operating in the country. Korea is the largest foreign investor in Hungary and Woori Bank hopes the opening of the branch will strengthen the lender's European network.Attracted by relatively cheap labor and massive financial assistance from the Hungarian government, Korean battery producers including LG Energy Solution and SK On as well as their main suppliers are planning to make large-scale investments in that country. That means more commission fees for Korean banks operating there. Hungary offers a 9-percent corporate tax rate, which is the lowest among the 27-member European Union and this trait has attracted major overseas investments into the country. The East Eur

Dec 7, 2021By Anna J. Park
Woori Bank opens branch in Hungary
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