Business - The Korea Times

DLF fiasco casts cloud over Woori's privatization

By Kim Bo-eunQuestions are arising over whether Woori Financial Group's privatization will face a setback after the price of its shares fell following a scandal surrounding the bank's mis-selling of financial derivative products.Among the two banks involved in the case, Woori sold most of the options known as derivative-linked funds (DLFs) that incurred major losses for investors.Woori Financial's share price began to fall in early August, when media reports over the case began.Trading of Woori's shares as a financial group began on Feb. 13, at 15,400 won per share. The highest price was 16,000 won on Feb. 14 but it entered a downward trend from then onwards.Woori's stock price did not fluctuate much for months but plunged in August, marking its lowest price at 11,100 won on Aug. 29. In attempts to boost the price, Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung bought back 5,000 shares in July for the fifth time this year, bringing his total stockholding to 63,127. However, the share price has stayed well below its peak of 16,000 won. It closed at 12,200 won, Monday.Behind the move is

Nov 8, 2019By Kim Bo-eun

Fates of insurance CEOs up in air amid earnings shock

KB Insurance CEO Yang Jong-heeBy Lee Kyung-min Some heads of insurance subsidiaries of Korea's leading financial groups are not likely to have their term extended, due to weaker-than-expected performances including sales declines and investment losses.Chances are slim that KB Insurance CEO Yang Jong-hee will manage to clinch another term. His second two-year term is set to end in December. The “right-hand man” of KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, Yang caused a lot of surprise when he was appointed as the group vice president, a rare promotion that skipped over others many years his senior in a financial group defined by its conservative hierarchy. The promotion came in recognition of a successful merger and acquisition of LIG Insurance, a two-year project of the then group core strategist who maintained strong performance track records since he worked at KB Kookmin Bank. The largest factor clouding his extension is the financial group's performance in 2019. The non-life insurer reported 166.2 billion won ($143.5 million) in net profit in the first half of this y

Nov 8, 2019By Lee Kyung-min

Fates of insurance CEOs up in air amid earnings shock

Banks' race for open banking app overheated

getty imagesbankBy Jhoo Dong-chanDomestic lenders' competition to get the upper hand in the nation's open banking app market is overheating.According to industry sources, commercial banks made some form of “gentlemen's agreement” under which they would not promote their open banking apps before they were officially rolled out Oct. 30.However, Shinhan broke the deal by encouraging customers to register their accounts with other banks from Oct. 25, an official from one of the major lenders, asking not to be named, said.“Each bank's digital division head promised each other not to promote their open banking apps before the official launch date, but Shinhan broke the deal,” the official said.“The deal was non-binding, so there's not much we can do about it. But Shinhan's move was very disappointing.”Shinhan denied the allegations.“There was no such agreement at all,” a Shinhan Bank official said. “It is true Shinhan promoted its open banking app beforehand for a smooth transition, but we never agreed to such a deal.”Woori and KE

Nov 6, 2019By Jhoo Dong-chan

Eximbanks vow cooperation for risk diversification

Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) CEO Bang Moon-kyu, center, joins hands with executives of export credit agencies from 15 countries during the 2019 Asian EXIM Banks Forum at the Shilla Hotel Jeju, Wednesday. / Courtesy of EximbankBy Park Jae-hyukThe Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) has been holding the three-day Asian EXIM Banks Forum on Jeju Island, the state-run bank said Wednesday.The forum was launched in 1996 to boost ties among export credit agencies (ECAs) in Asia.It is comprised of ECAs of 11 Asian countries and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which participates as a permanent observer. The 11 countries are Korea, China, Japan, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Turkey and Australia.The event, which started Tuesday, has been attended by the 11 ECAs and four observers ― the ADB representing Asia, the U.K. Export Finance representing Europe, Export Development Canada representing the Americas, and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development representing the Middle East.They discussed measures to enhance cooperation in order to overcome uncertain

Nov 6, 2019By Park Jae-hyuk

Eximbanks vow cooperation for risk diversification

Demo day for insurance startups

AIA Korea CEO Cha Tae-jin, center, poses with participants of the second round of AIA Open Innovation at the life insurer's headquarters in central Seoul, Oct. 31. The Korean unit of the global insurance group held a demo day for startups in the insurance industry to wrap up the year-long program, which is part of its CSR activities. / Courtesy of AIA Korea

Nov 6, 2019By Kim Bo-eun

Young blood

Woori Bank CEO Sohn Tae-seung, second row seventh from left, poses with university students at the bank's headquarters in Seoul, Nov. 4. The 30 students will create online content to promote the bank over the next four months. Courtesy of Woori Bank

Nov 5, 2019By Lee Kyung-min

Apple's biometric flaw another headwind to fintech

Apple's Senior Vice President Craig Federighi demonstrates “Face ID” authentication technology during the launch ceremony of iPhoneX at Steve Jobs Theater in California in September 2017. / Screen capture from Apple's Youtube channelBy Park Jae-hyukA recent alleged glitch in Apple's “Face ID” has raised concerns among consumers, who have been wary of using biometric authentication for financial transactions on mobile devices since similar errors were found in Samsung and Google smartphones, according to industry officials, Friday.Last Thursday, several local news outlets, including MBN and JTBC, reported that a child made payments of 9.6 million won ($8,200) after unlocking the facial recognition system in his father's iPhone X smartphone.Although the father in his 40s registered his facial information to his smartphone, the son was able to access the device as his own face resembles his father's, the broadcasters said.The iPhone user surnamed Kim asked Apple for a refund but was denied, according to the reports.“The probability that a random person in t

Nov 5, 2019By Park Jae-hyuk

Apple's biometric flaw another headwind to fintech

Hyundai Capital eyes auto industry as future growth engine

Hyundai Capital headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul / Courtesy of Hyundai CapitalBy Jhoo Dong-chanHyundai Capital, a consumer financial service providing unit of Hyundai Motor Group, has selected the automotive industry as its future growth engine and is enhancing its related activities. According to financial circles, Hyundai Capital held an in-house forum recently to discuss its earnings overseas and future business plan. At the event, the financial service firm also invited automotive technology analysts to analyze the latest trends.“We studied various automotive technologies together such as autonomous driving, eco-friendly vehicles and car-sharing networks as well as the latest vehicle trends,” a Hyundai Capital official said.“Trends are changing more rapidly overseas in terms of automotive technology. The industry is now accommodating autonomous vehicle technologies. This will fundamentally change insurance and finance programs regarding vehicles.”At the event, Hyundai Capital said it would roll out various financial products accommodating self-driving vehicl

Nov 4, 2019By Jhoo Dong-chan

Hyundai Capital eyes auto industry as future growth engine

Banks join hands with mobile carriers

KEB Hana Bank's head of future finance projects Yeom Jeong-ho, center, poses with SK Telink CEO Kim Sun-jung, left, and SK Telecom's head of sales Kim Sung-soo after the three signed an agreement to collaborate on developing innovative services in the finance and telecommunications sector, at the SK Telecom's office in central Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of KEB Hana BankBy Kim Bo-eunBanks have been collaborating with telecommunications firms amid heightened competition to secure customers, tearing down the walls that had separated the industries.They are seeking to win over customers by providing convenient mobile banking services and cutting costs of phone plans.KB Kookmin Bank, as the first mover, joined hands with LG Uplus, embedding a USIM chip in designated mobile phones that are tied to affordable phone plans.Users of the designated smartphones get the USIM chip, which they can place in new handsets when they switch phones, eliminating the need to set up a certification system.The phone plans are designed so that the more KB-related services the user adopts, the greater the dis

Nov 4, 2019By Kim Bo-eun

Investors flock to REIT shares

Hana Financial Investment analyst Chae Sang-wook speaks during an investment briefing for the Lotte Real Estate Investment Trust, at the brokerage's head office on Yeouido, Seoul, Oct. 2. / Courtesy of Hana Financial InvestmentBy Jhoo Dong-chanThe shares of real estate investment trusts (REITs) are continuing their bullish run of the past year thanks to investors' rush to seek stable dividends amid the nation's sluggish stock market, according to analysts.A REIT is a firm that operates various income-producing real estate, ranging from office and apartment buildings to warehouses, hospitals, shopping centers, hotels and even woodland.Investors are also eyeing foreign REITS as Korea's stock market has stagnated. According to the Korea Exchange, Sunday, the share price of Shinhan Alpha REIT closed at 8,570 won ($7.34) in the Nov. 1 session, up nearly 3,000 won from a year ago.The share price of E REITs KOCREF has jumped 32.4 percent from a year ago.Experts said domestic REITs are likely to continue their uptrend for awhile.“Domestic REITs account for less than 0.1 percent in aggr