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  • Economy

    Korea's ETF market overtakes Kosdaq for 1st time

    The domestic exchange-traded fund (ETF) market overtook the Kosdaq in market capitalization for the first time last week, data showed Sunday, ahead of the Kosdaq's 30th anniversary in July. The ETF market has grown rapidly this year, driven by increased participation from retail investors and strong interest in artificial intelligence-themed investments, while the Kosdaq has declined amid broad weakness in the index. According to the Korea Exchange, total net assets of domestic ETFs stood at 519.75 trillion won ($337.94 billion) as of Thursday, exceeding the Kosdaq’s market capitalization of 499.3 trillion won. Although Friday’s total net asset figure has yet to be finalized, industry officials estimate that ETF net assets continued to outpace the Kosdaq through Friday. It marked the first time that the domestic ETF market's net assets exceeded the Kosdaq's market capitalization since the first ETF was launched in Korea in December 2002. The two markets first reversed positions on Tuesday. A day later, the Kosdaq briefly moved back ahead, but ETFs regained the lead on Thursday. The g

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    Korea's ETF market overtakes Kosdaq for 1st time
  • Economy

    Korea's $518 bil. chip megaproject sparks Kosdaq rally, fails to lift KOSPI

    2 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    Korea's $518 bil. chip megaproject sparks Kosdaq rally, fails to lift KOSPI
  • Economy

    DWS Group bullish on Korea logistics, upbeat on stock market reforms

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    DWS Group bullish on Korea logistics, upbeat on stock market reforms
  • Economy

    Korean won drops against US dollar on fresh concerns of conflict between US, Iran

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korean won drops against US dollar on fresh concerns of conflict between US, Iran
  • Economy

    Seoul shares down 2% late Monday morning on tech losses, Iran uncertainty

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Seoul shares down 2% late Monday morning on tech losses, Iran uncertainty
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Economy

December job loss largest in over 2 decades

People wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus walk at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. APSouth Korea reported the largest job loss in December since 1999 as a resurgence in new coronavirus cases dealt a blow to jobs in the service sector, data showed Wednesday. For the whole of 2020, the country also shed the largest number of jobs since 1998, when the country was in the midst of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, according to Statistics Korea. The number of employed people reached 26.5 million last month, 628,000 fewer than a year earlier and marking the 10th straight month of job losses, the data showed.It marked the sharpest on-year fall since February 1999, when the country lost 658,000 jobs in the wake of the Asian financial turmoil.The country has reported job losses every month since March, when the nation lost about 195,000 jobs, the first on-year job loss since 2009, due to the fallout of the pandemic.Last month, the pace of the decline in job losses accelerated as the country raised social distancing guidelines amid a resurgenc

Jan 13, 2021
December job loss largest in over 2 decades
Economy

SsangYong should stand on own feet with new investor: KDB chief

Korea Development Bank Chairman Lee Dong-gull speaks during an online press conference at the bank's headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Korea Development BankBy Lee Min-hyungSsangYong Motor should put an immediate end to the unceasing dispute between management and labor to ensure it can revive its business after painstaking restructuring efforts, Korea Development Bank (KDB) Chairman Lee Dong-gull said Tuesday.“Any further discord between the two is intolerable,” Lee told reporters during an online press conference. “The carmaker should stand on its own feet by maintaining a sincere attitude for its ongoing discussion with a potential investor.”Lee stepped up criticism of the carmaker over its deepening internal dispute at a crucial time when the company needs to focus its energy on revival. SsangYong Motor filed for court receivership recently amid snowballing debts after the subsidiary of India's Mahindra & Mahindra failed to repay loans worth 60 billion won ($54 million) last month. “SsangYong Motor should be reminded that this is the co

Jan 12, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
SsangYong should stand on own feet with new investor: KDB chief
Economy

Resumption of short-selling politicized ahead of April election

gettyimagesbank By Lee Kyung-min A ban on short-selling, an emergency measure put in place in March 2020 to help create a floor for the then-plummeting stock market at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, is increasingly becoming a political issue ahead of the upcoming by-elections in April. Ruling party lawmakers are stepping up their push for an extension of the ban set to expire March 15, despite Monday's announcement by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) that made clear it will allow the resumption of the financial investment method. Whether the financial authorities will make a policy course correction remains to be seen as the FSC has yet to produce any material improvement in strengthening the punishment for illegal short-selling and granting greater accessibility for individual investors to the financial investment method. Short-selling refers to the sale of borrowed shares with the expectation of earning profits from a price fall when the shares are bought back at a lower price. It is widely used by foreign and institutional investors seeking leverage

Jan 12, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Resumption of short-selling politicized ahead of April election
Economy

S&P urges Korea to maintain expansionary monetary, fiscal policies

S&P Global Ratings Asia-Pacific chief economist Shaun Roache speaks during the Institute of Global Economics' online seminar, Tuesday. / YonhapBy Park Jae-hyukS&P Global Ratings has indicated support for lower interest rates and a larger fiscal stimulus for Korea to sustain its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.Shaun Roache, the chief Asia-Pacific economist of the global credit rating agency, said on the sidelines of his appearance at a seminar organized by the Institute for Global Economics, Tuesday, that the Korean government should ensure that financial stimuli should not be withdrawn too quickly.The economist remained optimistic over the outlook of the local economy saying it would grow 3.6 percent, this year, higher than the 3 percent growth outlook predicted by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the Ministry of Economy and Finance (3.2 percent) and the OECD (2.8 percent). However, he pointed out Korea's temporary, part-time and self-employed workers have been hit especially hard by the pandemic and there is still a long way for the country to go in terms of achieving b

Jan 12, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
S&P urges Korea to maintain expansionary monetary, fiscal policies
Economy

Volatility major risk for bitcoin investors

A pedestrian walks in front of an office of bithumb, a Seoul-based cryptocurrency exchange, on Jan. 8 when its price topped 40 million won for the first time. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungWith bitcoin's bullish run coming to an abrupt halt this week, investors are urged to remain cautious before jumping into the cryptocurrency craze due to lingering risks over price volatility.Bitcoin extended an unprecedented super rally that began in December last year, with its unit price exceeding the symbolic and psychologically important level of 40 million won ($36,000) last week. The frenzy came only about 11 days after its price exceeded 30 million won.But bitcoin started tumbling ― by more than 20 percent in two days ― from Sunday, marking the biggest drop since March of last year.The global bitcoin craze mostly stems from ample liquidity in the market following the coronavirus pandemic that erupted early last year.Korea's retail investors have also paid keen attention to investing in the cryptocurrency and stock markets amid the depreciating value of the local currency and prolonged low interest

Jan 12, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Volatility major risk for bitcoin investors
Economy

LG Energy Solution considers KOSPI listing prior to NASDAQ

The headquarters of LG Group located on Yeouido, Seoul. / YonhapLG Energy Solution to go public as early as the end of Q3 By Anna J. Park LG Energy Solution, an EV battery manufacturing subsidiary of LG Chem, has accelerated its public offering schedule, aiming to be listed on Korea's benchmark KOSPI by sometime around the end of the third quarter this year.According to industry sources familiar with the issue, the global lithium-ion battery manufacturer plans to go forward with listing on the NASDAQ, after completing the initial public offering (IPO) process for the KOSPI market.“The firm plans to get listed on the NASDAQ once it finishes the IPO process with the KOSPI index,” a high-level industry source familiar with the issue said. “As decisions related to IPOs should be confirmed by the company's board of directors, the company's listing plans are expected to be approved by the board of directors as early as sometime around next month.”The source also expected the EV battery manufacturer will make its KOSPI debut as early as the end of the third quarter.

Jan 11, 2021By Anna J. Park
LG Energy Solution considers KOSPI listing prior to NASDAQ
Economy

Dollar gaining ground on hopes for new US president

Traders work at a dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, Monday. A screen in the background shows the rising won-dollar exchange rate which closed at 1,097.3 won per dollar, up 7.5 won, from the previous trading day. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe U.S. dollar is gaining ground against the Korean won on hopes of a faster-than-expected economic rebound of the world's largest economy after the Biden administration takes office.After pandemic fears started escalating in April last year, the won-dollar exchange rate dipped to below the 1,100-won level per dollar. Early last year, the won was traded at as high as around 1,280 won per dollar.From the beginning of 2021, however, the dollar has been strengthening its valuation against the Korean currency. A lingering fear of tension between the U.S. and North Korea is also seen as a factor to drive up the valuation of the safe asset, after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un underlined his country's nuclear developments in a recent New Year address.The rising exchange rate is expected to persist for the time being, but is not enough to p

Jan 11, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Dollar gaining ground on hopes for new US president
Economy

Carrot's 'per-mile' insurance service attracts 100,000 subscribers

Carrot Insurance's head office in Seoul / Courtesy of Carrot InsuranceBy Lee Min-hyungCarrot Insurance, the nation's first digital insurer, has attracted more than 100,000 subscribers for its “pay-per-mile” car insurance product in less than a year since its launch last February, the company said Monday.Earlier last year, the non-life insurer launched the service under the fresh concept of allowing drivers to pay only for the miles they drive and a relatively small monthly fee.The number of its subscribers has reported steep growth since November when more than 50,000 enrolled in the service for the first time. The figure has since doubled in about two months.“Customers pay only for what they drive and still get fully insured,” Carrot Insurance CEO Paul Jung said. “This is a service they have never experienced before. Such a transparent yet reasonable approach makes our customers feel satisfied, safe and better. This new concept for the insurance business will open up a new paradigm in the industry.”Carrot hopes to continue expanding its foothold i

Jan 11, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Carrot's 'per-mile' insurance service attracts 100,000 subscribers
Economy

Financial shares sag despite a bullish market run

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Shares of bank, securities and financial groups continue to underperform compared to their IT, bio and electronic goods counterparts, an inevitable result given the gradual yet irreversible reshaping of the industrial landscape and the corresponding change in stock valuation over the past few decades.The notable poor performance in the recent strong bullish market bodes ill for the once-booming industry since its traditional business model ― receiving interest income on lent money ― will no longer be protected.This is because their budding fintech competitors will increasingly seek to challenge what has been the easiest way to make money through offering loans at a lower rate, coupled with overall enhanced digital-oriented customer services. Further advancing the grim outlook are planned initial public offerings (IPO) of Kakao Bank and Kakao Pay, the financial and IT subsidiaries of Kakao Corp., in the first half of the year, a major concern for traditional financial firms already losing investor funds to high-tech shares amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The

Jan 11, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Financial shares sag despite a bullish market run
Economy

Woori to provide 'exceptional' support for digital banking

Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung holds an online meeting with top executives at the group's headquarters in Seoul, Jan. 8. Courtesy of Woori Financial GroupBy Lee Min-hyungWoori Financial Group will provide unwavering financial support for its digital business this year by increasing its budget, the company said in a statement Sunday.The financial holding firm said it would provide an “exceptional” level of benefits for group-wide digital transformation throughout 2021.Chairman Son Tae-seung shared the plan during a recent online meeting with a group of 50 ranking executives of its key affiliates.“To become a digital No. 1 banking group, every executive should change their mindset and unwaveringly support digital innovation,” he said.With the rise of digital banking last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, major banks are on track to close sales offices and increase their investments in the digital banking sector.Declaring a group-wide vision of “digital first, change everything” last year, Son has also been at the forefront of encouraging

Jan 10, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Woori to provide 'exceptional' support for digital banking
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