BOK chief warns household debt near tipping point, keeps rates steady

BOK chief warns household debt near tipping point, keeps rates steady

Rhee Chang-yong, governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK), warned on Thursday that mounting household debt is now undermining both private consumption an...

Samsung Asset leads H1 AUM rankings amid ETF boom

Samsung Asset leads H1 AUM rankings amid ETF boom

South Korea’s asset management industry posted stellar growth in the first half of 2025, buoyed by a 28% surge in the country’s benchmar...

Affinity Equity nets $220 mn from block sale of Shinhan Financial

Affinity Equity nets $220 mn from block sale of Shinhan Financial

Affinity Equity Partners has unloaded its remaining shares in Shinhan Financial Group, the second largest banking group in South Korea, for about 58...

Partners Group sees infrastructure secondaries quadrupling to $60 bn

Partners Group sees infrastructure secondaries quadrupling to $60 bn

Infrastructure secondaries are gaining momentum as the infrastructure sector attracts investors seeking stable and predictable returns amid heighten...

Korean pension funds, insurers seek customized investment vehicles

Korean pension funds, insurers seek customized investment vehicles

South Korean institutional investors are increasingly interested in separately managed accounts (SMAs) that offer customized strategies, as well as ...

POBA bullish on REITs, real estate debts and senior housing

POBA bullish on REITs, real estate debts and senior housing

South Korea’s Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA) is betting big on real estate investment trusts (REITs) and senior housing in the US...

Samsung flexes financial muscle as insurance, card units top rankings

Samsung flexes financial muscle as insurance, card units top rankings

Samsung Group’s financial affiliates are closing in on KB Financial Group for the top spot in South Korea’s financial services sector, u...

Mubadala, Goldman Sachs to invest $700 mn in Kakao Mobility

Mubadala, Goldman Sachs to invest $700 mn in Kakao Mobility

United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. and Goldman Sachs are set to invest a combined $700 million in Kakao Mobil...

S.Korean gaming giant Netmarble eyes headquarters building sale

S.Korean gaming giant Netmarble eyes headquarters building sale

Netmarble Corp., a leading South Korean gaming company, is seeking to sell its headquarters building in Seoul, which could fetch up to 800 billion w...

Hana Asset Management to merge with Hana Alternative Asset

Hana Asset Management to merge with Hana Alternative Asset

Hana Financial Group, the parent of Hana Bank and Hana Securities Co, will merge its two asset management arms to bolster its non-banking services, ...

Hana Financial CEO set for reappointment with foreign investor backing

Hana Financial CEO set for reappointment with foreign investor backing

More than half of the foreign shareholders in Hana Financial Group have thrown their support behind Chief Executive Ham Young-joo for a second term,...

S.Korean investors name their 33 favorite alternative asset managers

S.Korean investors name their 33 favorite alternative asset managers

Blackstone and HarbourVest Partners are South Korean institutional investors’ preferred private equity firms, according to a survey by Korea I...

LG companies flock to debt, equity markets to raise $2.8 billion

LG companies flock to debt, equity markets to raise $2.8 billion

Companies under South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate LG Group scrambled to sell shares and bonds to raise 4 trillion won ($2.8 billion) e...

PAG raises $4 bn for opportunistic Asia real estate fund

PAG raises $4 bn for opportunistic Asia real estate fund

PAG, an Asia Pacific-focused alternative investment firm, on Friday announced the final close of its 10th opportunistic real estate fund at $4 billi...

Foreigners return to Korean debt market; Korea on course to join WGBI

Foreigners return to Korean debt market; Korea on course to join WGBI

Foreigners scooped up South Korean government bonds in January despite the country’s ongoing political upheavals, betting big on the country&r...

Shinhan Bank reclaims top spot as S.Korea’s leading lender

Shinhan Bank reclaims top spot as S.Korea’s leading lender

Shinhan Bank, a key arm of Shinhan Financial Group, reclaimed its position as South Korea’s top lender posting its largest-ever profit in 2024...

KB Financial to buy back $359 bn in shares after record net profit in 2024

KB Financial to buy back $359 bn in shares after record net profit in 2024

KB Financial Group Inc., South Korea’s largest financial holding group, will spend nearly 1.8 trillion won ($1.2 billion) to boost shareholder...

Korean bonds heavily oversubscribed in January boom

Korean bonds heavily oversubscribed in January boom

South Korea’s debt market got off to a strong start this year, as several blue chip companies made a bold return to the bond market for new is...

Foreign investors sells $3.86 bn in S.Korean stock market

Foreign investors sells $3.86 bn in S.Korean stock market

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said on Wednesday that the foreign investors' net selling in the South Korean stock market was $3.86 billion in December las...

Real estate debt outshines corporate credit: Savills IM

Real estate debt outshines corporate credit: Savills IM

Private credit has been among the top picks for alternative investors over the past few years. During the period of high interest rates, corporate l...

Korean lenders to Accell warn they may boycott KKR

Korean lenders to Accell warn they may boycott KKR

KKR & Co. is facing a huge backlash from South Korean financial services firms after the debt restructuring of Dutch bicycle manufacturer Accell...

Korea debt financing faces woes as $34 bn in corporate bonds mature in H1

Korea debt financing faces woes as $34 bn in corporate bonds mature in H1

South Korea’s financial markets will see nearly 50 trillion won ($34 billion) in corporate bonds mature in the first half of next year —...

Korea Inc. to face refunding risks with record corporate bond maturities

Korea Inc. to face refunding risks with record corporate bond maturities

South Korean companies are expected to face refunding risks thanks to record corporate bond maturities in the first half of 2025, as fundraising con...

RaonSecure to supply biometrics to SBI Sumishin Net Bank

RaonSecure to supply biometrics to SBI Sumishin Net Bank

South Korean cybersecurity firm RaonSecure Co. said on Monday it signed a $2.5 million contract with SBI Sumishin Net Bank, the largest internet ban...

Korean firms halt bond, share issues despite tighter liquidity

Korean firms halt bond, share issues despite tighter liquidity

South Korean companies are postponing bond issues and initial public offerings on chilled investor sentiment in the aftermath of President Yoon Suk ...

IFM Investors bets big on infrastructure investing: Gee-Grant

IFM Investors bets big on infrastructure investing: Gee-Grant

IFM Investors, a global investment manager owned by Australian pension funds, is looking to infrastructure as the fastest-growing asset segment for ...

Korean pension funds buy a net $1.2 bn in Kospi stocks in November

Korean pension funds buy a net $1.2 bn in Kospi stocks in November

South Korean pension funds continued their Kospi market buying spree for a fourth straight month in November, notching their largest net purchases o...

Mirae Asset’s TIGER Nasdaq 100 ETF crosses $2.8 bn in net assets

Mirae Asset’s TIGER Nasdaq 100 ETF crosses $2.8 bn in net assets

South Korea's Mirae Asset Global Investments said on Tuesday that that its TIGER Nasdaq 100 ETF has become the second US-focused ETF listed in South...

S.Korean retail investors rush to buy Indian stocks on dips

S.Korean retail investors rush to buy Indian stocks on dips

South Korea's mom-and-pop investors have upped their stake in Indian stocks, hoping that Donald Trump's return to the White House will boost the Sou...

In South Korea, cash is king on US election, Samsung uncertainties

In South Korea, cash is king on US election, Samsung uncertainties

South Korean investors are hoarding cash as Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s top memory chipmaker, hurts local stocks and uncertainties ov...

Kakao Pay backs out of acquisition deal for SSG Pay, Smile Pay Hanwha in talks to buy five-star hotel Paraspara Seoul Kia's Lego-like PV5 with 16 variants to hit market in July Stray Kids make K-pop history with landmark stadium show in Germany S.Korea’s most prominent business leader returns with all charges cleared