Business - The Korea Times

Fighting against COVID-19

NongHyup Bank CEO Son Byung-hwan, second from left, listens to officials from a local car parts manufacturer hit by COVID-19 in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, March 30. The new CEO vowed to facilitate prompt offering of loans to help small- and medium-sized enterprises suffering from liquidity shortages. Courtesy of NongHyup Bank

Mar 30, 2020By Lee Kyung-min

Mirae Asset chairman donates dividends for 10th year

By Kim Bo-eunMirae Asset Financial Group Chairman Park Hyeon-jooMirae Asset Financial Group's Chairman Park Hyeon-joo has decided to donate share dividends for the 10th consecutive year.The group said Monday, Park will donate dividends he will receive from Mirae Asset Global Investments and Mirae Asset Capital for 2019. Park will donate 1.7 billion won ($1.39 million) this year, which will bring total accumulated donations to 25 billion won.Park has donated dividends from Mirae Asset Global Investments since 2010. This year, he is receiving dividends from Mirae Asset Capital for the first time, and is donating the entire amount.The funds have been donated to the Park Hyeon-joo Foundation, to be used for fostering talent, as well as social welfare projects.Since 2007, the foundation has been sending 700 promising students every year on overseas exchange programs, funding tuition and living expenses.It is the country's largest overseas exchange scholarship program. The foundation has sent 5,817 students to 50 countries over the years.The foundation is also offering students opportuniti

Mar 30, 2020By Kim Bo-eun

Mirae Asset chairman donates dividends for 10th year

INTERVIEW 'Asset management biz in Korea to grow rapidly'

Barings Asset Management Korea Representative John Park / Courtesy of Barings Asset Management KoreaBarings Korea generates consistent return based on research capabilityBy Kim Bo-eunWith Korea's economy slowing down in recent years, many foreign financial firms have left the local market. However, Barings Asset Management, which entered Korea 30 years ago, is continuing its operations here, based on expectations of growth in the asset management business."Korea is an important market for Barings," John Park, representative director for Korea, told The Korea Times in a recent phone interview. "Barings strongly believes that the asset management business in Asia, including Korea, is expected to grow faster than other developed countries or regions globally."The investment firms' rational is based on the fact that the allocation of assets to financial instruments from real estate has increased and the size of investment by pensions, including the national and private pensions, has also been significantly boosted, he said.Barings Korea plans to maintain a consistent strategy for its ope

Mar 29, 2020By Kim Bo-eun

[INTERVIEW] 'Asset management biz in Korea to grow rapidly'

Hana Bank's new money transfer service

Tottenham Hotspur footballer Son Heung-min promotes Hana Bank's new service in this file photo. The lender said Friday it has launched a mobile automatic money transfer service through which small companies and the self-employed will be able to register their frequent transaction data in their mobile app. This enables customers to make regular transactions more easily. Courtesy of Hana Bank

Mar 27, 2020By Lee Min-hyung

Eximbank to launch 20 tril fund for virus-hit firms

The headquarters of the Export-Import Bank of Korea in Seoul YonhapThe Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) will launch a 20 trillion won ($16.3 billion) emergency fund for local firms suffering financial setbacks from the coronavirus, the state-run lender said Thursday. The move comes after the spread of COVID-19 here is on track to paralyze the export-driven local economy. Companies with a heavy reliance on overseas markets have been hit hardest by the global pandemic.According to the Eximbank, the fund will help companies particularly in the manufacturing sector ― such as parts and equipment ― overcome liquidity crises.Earlier last month, the bank allocated 3.7 trillion in special financial aid; but with COVID-19 rapidly spreading nationwide and freezing economic activities here and abroad, calls have grown for the government to expand its financial support to the private sector.Against a similar backdrop, the lender decided to establish an additional 16.3 trillion won fund for local firms to deal with the virus-related economic crisis. The fund will be used to extend the due da

Mar 26, 2020

Eximbank to launch 20 tril fund for virus-hit firms

Hearing from virus-hit merchants

Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung, second from left, and Woori Bank CEO Kwon Kwang-seok, third from left, speak with Namdaemun Market merchants at Woori Bank's branch nearby the market in central Seoul, Wednesday. It was Son's first branch visit after he was reappointed as group chairman for a second-term at a shareholders meeting the same day. / Courtesy of Woori Bank

Mar 26, 2020By Kim Bo-eun

Shinhan chairman reappointed

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung speaks during the general shareholders' meeting at the group headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Shinhan Financial GroupBy Park Jae-hyukShinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung was officially reappointed to another three-year term at a general shareholders meeting Thursday, overcoming opposition from the group's largest shareholder, the National Pension Service, and the world's largest proxy advisory service provider Institutional Shareholder Services over his alleged cronyism.His reappointment has been attributed to Shinhan's satisfying performance throughout his first term.In 2019, Shinhan maintained its status as the leading banking group with a 3.4 trillion won ($2.7 billion) net profit. The financial group has also enhanced its non-banking business with aggressive M&As while expanding its regional presence in Southeast Asia.“I appreciate our shareholders and customers allowing me to serve as the chairman once more,” he said. “I feel a sense of responsibility for living up to their expectati

Mar 26, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk

Reappointment paves way for Son to push for M&As

Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung / Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunWoori Financial Group's shareholders approved a second term for Son Tae-seung as group chairman, Wednesday, paving the way for him to go forward with his plan to turn Woori into a leading financial group. His official term is three years, ending in March 2023.With the reappointment clearing away uncertainty surrounding Woori, Son is expected to speed up his three key aims ― scaling up the group's portfolio through M&As, boosting revenue from overseas businesses and regaining market confidence by strengthening consumer protection.The financial authorities earlier this year slapped sanctions on Son that barred him from serving another term, holding him responsible for Woori Bank's mis-selling of investment options referred to as derivative-linked funds (DLF) which caused major losses for investors last year. Son doubled as Woori Bank CEO until Woori group separated the positions of group chief and bank CEO.However, on March 8 he filed an administrative suit against the punishment, as well as an injunction s

Mar 25, 2020By Kim Bo-eun

Reappointment paves way for Son to push for M&As

Korean banks expand presence in Southeast Asia

By Anna J. ParkKorean banks have strengthened their foothold in Southeast Asia by opening more branches and corporate entities in the rapidly-growing market, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said Wednesday.According to data from the financial watchdog, the number of Korean bank outlets operating abroad ― corporate bodies, branches and offices ― came to 195 in 39 countries at the end of last year, up five from the previous year. The newly added operations are mostly located in Southeast Asian countries, including India, Indonesia and Vietnam.While nearly 70 percent of all the banks are located in Asian continent, 41.5 percent of the total number of 195 are based in nine Southeast Asian countries, namely Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines. The number of Korean banks' outlets in the nine countries increased to 81 at the end of 2019 from 75 at the end of 2017. Their combined total assets and net profits also jumped to $30.59 billion and $364.4 million, respectively, from $21.04 billion and $239 million, during the same period.The

Mar 25, 2020By Anna J. Park

Korean banks expand presence in Southeast Asia

BOK to begin supplying dollars under US currency swap deal next week: official

Bank of Korea. YonhapSouth Korea is seeking to begin supplying U.S. dollars under its bilateral currency swap arrangement with the United States next week, a Bank of Korea (BOK) official said Wednesday, a move that is widely expected to help ease dollar shortage caused by the new coronavirus pandemic.Negotiations are underway to finalize the currency swap deal, BOK Dep. Gov. Ryoo Sang-dai told reporters."There are many issues that need to be discussed, but (the talks) are moving forward without any major difficulty," he said.The BOK earlier said it has agreed to a US$60 billion currency swap arrangement with the U.S. Federal Reserve.Ryoo said the money will be supplied in several installments but that the BOK is working to make sure the first batch will be "considerably sizable."The currency swap deal marks the second of its kind to be signed between South Korea and the U.S.The BOK said the country supplied a total of $16.4 billion under its first currency swap agreement worth $30 billion.The country supplied $4 billion in the first batch of installments under the 2008 agreement, the

Mar 25, 2020

Banking & Finance