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  • Economy

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

    DWS Group said Monday that European real estate is expected to deliver annual returns of 9 percent over the next five years, offering fresh investment opportunities for Korean investors despite their recent caution toward alternative assets. Speaking during a press meeting at the International Finance Center in Seoul, officials from the German asset manager noted that European real estate has become increasingly attractive as supply remains tight across major sectors, while demand continues to be supported by structural factors. Clemens Schaefer, global head of real estate for the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa at DWS Group, said vacancy rates in Europe's residential, logistics and office sectors are significantly lower than those in the U.S. But new supply is expected to remain limited, as high development costs and relatively low expected returns have discouraged developers from launching new projects. The company forecast that European real estate will generate annual returns of 9 percent over the next five years, compared with 7.2 percent for the U.S. and 7 percent for

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

    Korea's $519 bil. chip megaproject sparks Kosdaq rally, fails to lift KOSPI

    2 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    Korea's $519 bil. chip megaproject sparks Kosdaq rally, fails to lift KOSPI
  • Economy

    Korean won tumbles to fresh 17-year low on foreign stock selloff

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korean won tumbles to fresh 17-year low on foreign stock selloff
  • 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
  • Economy

    Korea's ETF market overtakes Kosdaq for 1st time

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

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Economy

Unlisted stock trading becomes more accessible via apps

GettyimagesbankBy Anna J. ParkShinhan Financial Investment announced Monday that it has partnered with PSX Inc. to launch an unlisted stock trading exchange platform, Seoul Exchange. With an account at Shinhan Financial Investment, retail investors can easily trade various local companies' unlisted shares on the platform through mobile and PC devices. The transactions are immediately settled and supported by Shinhan Financial Investment's accounts. Shinhan's brokerage affiliate and PSX will offer free transactions until the end of February next year, to mark the service's launch. Before the partnership between the companies, investors aiming to trade unlisted stocks at the PSX site ― which was named the Pangyo Exchange until recently ― had to privately set up a meeting and exchange signed contracts for trades. With the service, investors can trade unlisted stocks, as they do with listed stocks through mobile applications of local brokerage firms. The PSX was selected by Shinhan Financial Group's venture capital nurturing program, the Shinhan Futures' Lab, and has maintained close tie

Dec 29, 2020By Anna J. Park
Unlisted stock trading becomes more accessible via apps
Economy

Prestige Biologics expected to be 2021's first bio IPO in KOSDAQ market

Prestige Biologics' key facility located in Osong, Chungcheong Province. / Courtesy of Prestige BiologicsBiopharma companies to lead IPO boom in year 2021By Anna J. ParkAs the bullish market conditions in bio and healthcare sectors look set to continue into next year, Prestige Biologics ― a Korean biopharma company focusing on CDMO (contract development manufacturing organization) manufacturing ― is expected to be the first bio company to be listed on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market in year 2021. Over 7.22 million shares are slated to be offered through the IPO process.Founded in 2016, the company keeps a strategic partnership with Singapore-based biopharmaceutical firm Prestige Biopharma, manufacturing biosimilar products developed by Prestige Biopharma, such as a biosimilar of Genentech's anti-cancer drug Herceptin. Prestige Biopharma's CEO Park So-yeon and COO Kim Jin-woo are Prestige Biologics' largest shareholders as well, each holding 21.72 percent of the company's shares. Prestige Biopharma is preparing its IPO at Korea's main bourse KOSPI next year as well. While Mirae Asset Dae

Dec 28, 2020By Anna J. Park
Prestige Biologics expected to be 2021's first bio IPO in KOSDAQ market
Economy

42 conglomerates earned W1.42 trillion in brand license fees from affiliates last year

Korea's antitrust watchdog said Sunday 42 large business groups earned a combined 1.42 trillion won ($1.29 billion) by selling brand licenses to their affiliates last year amid concerns conglomerate owners could glean profits from such transactions.The 2019 tally marked a 7.6 percent rise from the previous year's 1.32 trillion won, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC).Of 64 business groups that are required to disclose such data, 42 conglomerates, or 65.6 percent, raised brand commission fees from their affiliates last year, the watchdog said.SK and LG topped the list by charging their affiliates 270.5 billion won and 267.3 billion won, respectively.Next were Hanwha with 147.5 billion won and Lotte with 102.4 billion won.Conglomerates with assets of over 5 trillion won are required to publicly disclose the details of brand license contracts with affiliates every year.Korea's family-run conglomerates, called chaebol, have been under fire for cross-shareholding arrangements among affiliated companies, often meant to strengthen owner families' control of the entire group.

Dec 27, 2020
42 conglomerates earned W1.42 trillion in brand license fees from affiliates last year
Economy

Finance ministry in dilemma over Industrial Bank of Korea dividends

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki speaks during a ministerial meeting at the government complex in Seoul, on Dec. 23. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe Ministry of Economy and Finance could be affected by a regulator's call for banks to reduce their dividends which will result in shareholders seeing less of a payout this year from the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK).The finance ministry is the largest shareholder of the state-run lender. But with the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) reaffirming its strong determination to cut local banks payment of dividends amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, chances are growing that the ministry will get less in dividends from the IBK.The ministry made 166.2 billion won in dividends in 2019 from the IBK ― and had expected a similar amount this year.But the IBK reported dismal earnings this year with a net profit of 976.4 billion won for the first three quarters of 2020, down 20 percent from the same period last year.This will place more burden on the ministry, as it will have to revise its budget to make up for the loss in dividends.FSS Governor Yoon Suk-heun

Dec 27, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
Finance ministry in dilemma over Industrial Bank of Korea dividends
Economy

INTERVIEW 'Hydrogen economy will accelerate carbon neutrality'

Dr. Joseph S. Francisco Courtesy of Dr. Joseph S. FranciscoDistinguished UPenn professor stressed transparent communications, research investment By Lee Kyung-min The government should maintain transparency in communicating with people fearful of job loss and industries unsure of return on investments, in a coordinated effort to promptly advance the carbon-neutral initiative, a distinguished professor of chemistry said.The global green drive is increasingly gaining traction in countries around the world as an opportunity to reduce our actions that impact the environment, an inevitable course of action due not to a question of morality or ethics but rather one of economic survival.Infrastructure building should therefore be pursued via effective use ― or reuse ― of existing facilities, equipment and, above all, human resources, which in turn will help reduce the cost of initial investment and smooth the transition of workers and their skillsets developed in the past few decades. Long-term green research investments will seem counterintuitive to many carbon-reliant businesses that bea

Dec 27, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
[INTERVIEW] 'Hydrogen economy will accelerate carbon neutrality'
Economy

Stock buybacks hit 8-year high amid pandemic

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min The number of listed companies that purchased their own shares jumped 64 percent in 2020, hitting an eight-year high. This came due to a plunge of stock prices amid the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with government measures that eased related requirements.Whether the bought shares will be retired, retained or put back in the market remains to be seen, as retail stock holders might not see the assumed effect of raising stock value materialize.This is highly possible given only about one in ten firms retired stock in 2020, meaning the shares purchased can be released in the market for their own profit at the expense of retail investors with a small number of shares. Stock buyback is executed by firms to reduce the number of outstanding shares on the market, which in turn increases the ownership stake of the stakeholders. A company might repurchase shares because it believes the market has discounted its shares too steeply, to invest in itself, or to improve its financial ratios.Data from the Korea Exchange (KRX) showed a total of 516 listed companies in the

Dec 27, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Stock buybacks hit 8-year high amid pandemic
Economy

Snowballing debt raises concern over defaults

GettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Over 20 percent of households consisting of self-employed persons is feared to see their debt surpass their income next year, if the current extension of loan and deferring of interest payments lapses in March 2021, putting the authorities in a bind over whether to continue emergency financial assistance put in place to weather the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic induced economic crisis.Commercial lenders are becoming increasingly fretful over a steep rise in the number of firms and households failing to make interest repayments on loans, a strong indication of insolvency. Industry officials and the central bank say loan screening should be strengthened to help distinguish borrowers experiencing a short-term liquidity squeeze from “zombie firms” with questionable interest payment ability, a crucial step to maximize the effective allocation of limited resources.Data from a Bank of Korea report released Dec. 24 on financial stability showed that of 2,298 firms that publicly list their financial statements, 2.5 percent will experience a liquidity

Dec 27, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Snowballing debt raises concern over defaults
  • COVID-19 deepens economic polarization in Korea
Economy

Gov't seeks additional small biz relief grants

In this Dec. 7, 2020, file photo, an outdoor shopping street remains vacant amid fears of the coronavirus in Seoul. APSouth Korea is seeking to include relief grants of up to 3 million won (US$2,700) for small business owners in a new COVID-19 economic relief program expected to be announced this week, according to officials Sunday.The country's third round of emergency relief package, expected to reach nearly 5 trillion won, will likely be announced later in the week, after being approved in a senior ruling party-government meeting and the regular weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, according to ruling party and government officials.The move comes as smaller merchants and self-employed people are facing the growing burdens of paying rental fees due to the government's order to suspend their business amid the protracted pandemic.The government is reportedly planning to provide up to 1 million won to 2 million won to small retail business sites as "business stability funds," with roughly 1 million won in additional funds for subsidies for rent.The grants will only be available to busin

Dec 27, 2020
Gov't seeks additional small biz relief grants
  • COVID-19 deepens economic polarization in Korea
Economy

COVID-19 deepens economic polarization in Korea

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min A cram school instructor surnamed Jang is increasingly worried that she might not be able to hold onto her job for even a few more months, as the COVID-19 pandemic is taking a turn for the worse, indicated by a ban on gatherings of five or more people.“I was put on unpaid leave shortly after the metropolitan office of education recommended that cram schools shut down. I thought I could get by with unemployment benefits, only to find out I was ineligible because I had not subscribed to the state-run social welfare program,” she said.A restaurant owner surnamed Jeong said temporary shutdowns of his business in Myeongdong, Seoul, in August following the second wave of the virus spread was nothing compared to how he is likely to do over the next couple of weeks.“My business has no hope of recovery. The only thing certain is that I will have no customers for days, weeks and even months, and that I am saddled with snowballing debt.”The plight experienced by the two workers in businesses that traditionally rely on in-person transaction

Dec 27, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
COVID-19 deepens economic polarization in Korea
  • Gov't seeks additional small biz relief grants
  • Snowballing debt raises concern over defaults
  • 'Aftermath of COVID-19 to linger over Korean economy next year'
Economy

Global oil prices on slow yet apparent recovery path

GettyimagesbankBy Anna J. Park Global oil prices have been directly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic this year, even logging a historic negative price during the market crash in April. Since the futures contracts for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded in minus territory for the first time in history, global oil prices have been on a slow, long-term recovery, despite fluctuations.WTI February futures were traded at $48.20 per barrel as of 7 p.m. GMT, Christmas Eve, on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), up 0.17 percent from the previous session. During the past month alone, the WTI price has risen about 11.75 percent, reaching up to $50 per barrel last Friday. The oil prices' recent upward move has been attributed to market expectations of an economic recovery next year based on large-scale vaccine distribution against COVID-19.Brent Crude Futures, which take up more than half of international contracts, also moved in a similar upward path, trading at $51.37 a barrel Christmas Eve, up 0.25 percent from the previous session. The futures price has jumped by 7.9 percent in less than

Dec 26, 2020By Anna J. Park
Global oil prices on slow yet apparent recovery path
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