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  • Economy

    Gov't eyes curbs on employee loan programs offered by large firms

    Low-interest housing loans offered by large corporations to employees are coming under scrutiny as the government tightens curbs on household lending to cool the real estate market, according to industry experts, Sunday. Since these company-funded loans fall outside the regulatory framework, some critics say they could add momentum to an already overheated housing market despite the authorities’ efforts to rein in leverage. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) recently acknowledged this growing concern. “I believe, from the standpoint of public interest, there is room to consider whether some degree of regulation is necessary,” FSS Gov. Lee Chan-jin said at a June 22 press conference, referring to the recent growth of corporate housing loan programs at major semiconductor companies. He added that the FSS had discussed whether such loans could somehow be incorporated into Korea’s debt service ratio (DSR) framework, which caps borrowers’ total debt repayments relative to their income. “Personally, I would like to see that happen, but under a market economy, there are practica

    2 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    Gov't eyes curbs on employee loan programs offered by large firms
  • Economy

    Will Samsung join ADR wave among Asian chipmakers?

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    Will Samsung join ADR wave among Asian chipmakers?
  • Economy

    Gas prices fall under 2,000 won for 1st time in nearly 2 months

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Gas prices fall under 2,000 won for 1st time in nearly 2 months
  • Policy

    Korea cuts fuel price cap by 150 won per liter as oil prices retreat

    2 MIN READBy Lee Gyu-lee
    Korea cuts fuel price cap by 150 won per liter as oil prices retreat
  • Others

    KOSPI slides nearly 6% amid profit-taking in chips

    2 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    KOSPI slides nearly 6% amid profit-taking in chips
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Economy

Korean investors continue purchasing Tesla stocks

Tesla CEO Elon Musk / YonhapBy Anna J. ParkKorean retail investors' love for EV maker Tesla is unending. Not only was Tesla Korean investors' most net-purchased overseas stock in 2020, amounting to $12.7 billion (14.2 tril. won), it was also their top pick in January this year. According to the latest figures on the info portal of Korea Securities Depository (KSD), local retail investors net-purchased $4.7 billion worth of overseas stocks in January, and about 20 percent of that money went into purchasing Tesla shares. In January alone, they bought $929 million worth of Tesla stocks.As of Jan. 28, the total amount of Tesla shares owned by Korean investors exceeded $10.6 billion, or 11.93 trillion won, which is more than a 73-fold jump in just one year. Tesla achieved its first-ever annual profit in 2020, as its yearly revenue reached $31.5 billion with net profit coming in at $721 million. It was the sixth-consecutive quarterly net profit for the company. Revenue was up 28 percent year-on-year. Tesla delivered 499,550 vehicles to customers around the world in 2020, as sales volume re

Feb 1, 2021By Anna J. Park
Korean investors continue purchasing Tesla stocks
Economy

How will GameStop impact Korean stock markets?

A GameStop store is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, Friday. / REUTERS-YonhapKorean stock market’s volatility to increase for time beingBy Anna J. ParkThe GameStop saga is ongoing as a group of retail investors and short-selling hedge funds are battling over the off-line game retailer's stock prices. The struggling video game retailer's stock price soared by a whopping 1,625 percent in just a month, since the stock was traded at $18.84 on Dec. 31. The price finished at $325 a share on Jan. 29. Amid the soaring prices, Citron Research founder Andrew Left said in an online announcement late last week ― after covering its short positions against the game retailer's stocks at a 100 percent loss ― that it will discontinue short-selling research and will focus on finding long-term market opportunities, acknowledging that “where we started Citron was supposed to be against the establishment. We've actually become the establishment.” Yet, despite media hype about imminent bankruptcies of short-selling hedge funds and the historic win of small investors ag

Jan 31, 2021By Anna J. Park
How will GameStop impact Korean stock markets?
  • For GameStop day traders, the moment they've dreamed about
Economy

Contribution What investors can expect from Biden administration

Sylvia ShengBy Sylvia ShengWe expect the Biden administration to focus its near-term efforts on recovery from the virus, both by improving vaccine distribution and by steering another fiscal stimulus package through Congress. On the stimulus, Biden will first attempt to work with congressional Republicans, which will limit the size of any bill. If that fails, congressional Democrats will work alone through the budget reconciliation process, which requires only a simple majority, and would thus likely allow for a larger package. We already expect above-trend growth in the U.S., especially from the second quarter onward. Reinforcing the existing stimulus could turn that into a boom. Although Democrats control the White House along with both the House and Senate, their narrow congressional majorities, along with the centrism of several Senate Democrats ― not to mention Biden's own instincts ― will constrain any sweeping initiatives. We expect the administration to push for tax increases at some point, in part to help fund its spending goals in areas like infrastructure and climate. But

Jan 31, 2021
[Contribution] What investors can expect from Biden administration
Economy

Measures to protect retail investors from short-selling face daunting challenges

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Retail investors are unlikely to level the playing field when it comes to short-selling, despite a growing move by the ruling bloc to increase transparency in the stock market.This is because naked short-selling ― a deeper problem ― cannot be detected in real time under the current operating system and is highly likely to remain so in the future.Short-selling is a much-politicized financial investment method widely used by foreign and institutional investors to profit after selling borrowed shares at a lowered price in a bear market.Naked short-selling involves selling shares without borrowing or ensuring that they can be borrowed later and is illegal.Rep. Park Yong-jin of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is seeking to propose a bill to mandate the electronic processing of short-selling, a move aimed at changing the current practice where borrowing requests are processed by telephone, online messenger services or by hand at brokerages.The National Assembly National Policy Committee member said the longstanding practice is highly problematic,

Jan 29, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Measures to protect retail investors from short-selling face daunting challenges
Economy

Korea's economic recovery remains 'elusive': economists

gettyimagesbankData for industrial output, consumption and investment rise in December By Lee Kyung-min Data for the country's industrial output, consumption and investment all turned upward in December, raising hopes that the economy has bottomed out and is about to get back on track for recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic.According to data released Friday by Statistics Korea, industrial output grew 0.5 percent last month from a month earlier, while retail sales edged up 0.2 percent, the first rebound since last September. Facilities investment jumped 0.9 percent during the same period. However, economists say these numbers are not enough to fan optimism since data in the coming months will be grim, an inevitable result given tightened economic activities in the last two months of 2020 will be translated into figures for February and March.Seoul National University economist Lee In-ho said the much-needed momentum for growth remains elusive, given the expected data for the coming months.“Social distancing rules last November and December dealt a severe blow to the economy. Dat

Jan 29, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Korea's economic recovery remains 'elusive': economists
Economy

Mirae Asset reports record earnings of W1.1 trillion in 2020

Mirae Asset Daewoo headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Mirae Asset DaewooBy Lee Min-hyungMirae Asset Daewoo has reported a record operating profit of 1.12 trillion won ($1 billion) for 2020, up 51.76 percent from the previous year, on robust sales in its overall businesses ― such as wealth management and investment banking ― the brokerage firm said in a preliminary earnings report released Friday.This is the first time that a local securities firm's annual operating profit has surpassed 1 trillion won.“We have achieved stable and solid sales performance at our major businesses,” an official from the company said.Mirae Asset also reported annual sales of 16.89 trillion won during the same period, up 9.42 percent from a year earlier.“We are going to keep carrying out thorough risk management and solidifying balanced revenue structures,” the official said.

Jan 29, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Mirae Asset reports record earnings of W1.1 trillion in 2020
Economy

Naver to outmatch Kakao in data-driven financial business

By Lee Kyung-min Naver Financial CEo Choi In-hyuk Korea Times fileNaver Financial will be able to gain the upper hand over rival Kakao Pay in data-driven financial services after it was granted a license to run “MyData,” defined as easy, fast and comprehensive viewing of and access to financial services. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) recently announced that requests filed by the Naver subsidiary along with 27 other applicants seeking to become MyData operators were all approved, allowing them to begin operating the new service starting Feb. 5. The final go-ahead clears the way for the financial subsidiary of Korea's largest portal to attract a greater number of customers than the subsidiary of Kakao Corp., which has yet to clear a slew of eligibility issues. My Data is a key policy initiative led by the FSC to foster innovation in the financial market. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the size of the domestic data industry market grew to over 19.2 trillion won ($17.3 billion) in 2020, up 14 percent from 16.8 trillion won in 2019. The data sales and

Jan 29, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Naver to outmatch Kakao in data-driven financial business
Economy

Carlyle set to invest $300 mil. for Kakao

Kakabo Mobility's homepage / Screen capture from the companyBy Lee Min-hyungLogo of Kakao Taxi, a taxi ride-hailing app operated by Kakao MobilityCarlyle Group is set to invest $300 million (335 billion won) in Kakao Mobility's pre-initial public offering (IPO) capital expansion. Both sides are expected to sign a final deal no later than the end of February.According to the investment industry, the U.S.-based private equity firm (PEF) was recently accepted as a major investor for the Kakao affiliate's capital increase plan. Under the deal, Carlyle is expected to secure a 10 percent stake in the technology services firm. Two other PEFs are known to have taken part in the bidding for Kakao Mobility's pre-IPO fundraising, prior to Carlyle being named. UBS, a U.S.-based investment bank, is advisor for the deal.Carlyle set Kakao Mobility's corporate value at around 3 trillion won.Kakao Mobility operates the nation's largest taxi-hailing app, Kakao Taxi, and dominates the market. The company started out as a transportation platform service provider, but has since expanded to developing aut

Jan 28, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Carlyle set to invest $300 mil. for Kakao
Economy

Investment banks lose ground amid Naver's global expansion

Naver's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / YonhapTech giant conducting large deals without hiring financial advisersBy Park Jae-hyukGlobal investment banks have been excluded from benefiting from Naver's aggressive expansion into the global market, as the country's dominant web portal has begun to conduct large, cross-border deals without hiring financial advisory firms, according to industry officials on Thursday.It has been usual for foreign investment banks to earn commissions by participating in big deals being pursued by Korean companies. Naver, however, completed a series of huge investments recently under the supervision of its own in-house experts.Last week, the Internet portal operator's decision to take over the Canadian entertainment platform operator, Wattpad, for $600 million surprised market insiders because the largest-ever buyout deal in the Korean firm's history did not involve any investment banks.Although Naver hired several foreign law firms in the United States and Canada for legal advice, the acquisition deal was directed mainly by the company's own t

Jan 28, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Investment banks lose ground amid Naver's global expansion
Economy

IMF urges Seoul to resume short-selling

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, left, attends an online meeting with Andreas Bauer, assistant director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund, at Government Complex Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of the Ministry of Economy and FinanceBy Lee Kyung-min The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended the resumption of short-selling in Korea, Thursday, escalating an ongoing debate over the much-politicized issue ahead of by-elections in April.Retail investors in Korea have been calling on the government to retain a ban on short-selling, imposed in March of 2020 to curb speculative trading amid a widening fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. They fear that share prices could plunge upon the resumption of the investment method used by institutional and foreign investors to profit after selling borrowed shares at low prices in a bear market. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI exceeded 3,000 points for the first time, Jan. 6, powered largely by retail investors who have spent the last year purchasing key large

Jan 28, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
IMF urges Seoul to resume short-selling
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