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...

Hanwha acquires Indonesian bank, first foreign banking venture by Korean insurer

Hanwha acquires Indonesian bank, first foreign banking venture by Korean insurer

Hanwha Life Insurance Co. has become the first South Korean insurance firm to advance into the overseas banking sector by securing a controlling sta...

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...

Naver Ventures to plant flag in Silicon Valley with TwelveLabs bet

Naver Ventures to plant flag in Silicon Valley with TwelveLabs bet

Naver Ventures, the first dedicated Silicon Valley venture capital arm of Naver Corp., has made its debut investment in Nvidia Corp.-backed TwelveLa...

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...

S.Korea’s Naver to launch Silicon Valley venture arm in aggressive AI push

S.Korea’s Naver to launch Silicon Valley venture arm in aggressive AI push

Naver Corp., South Korea’s top internet portal operator, plans to set up a dedicated venture capital arm in Silicon Valley in a move seen as a...

KakaoBank posts record Q1 profit, eyes Thai expansion after Indonesia

KakaoBank posts record Q1 profit, eyes Thai expansion after Indonesia

KakaoBank Corp., a leading South Korean internet-only bank, posted its highest quarterly profit in the first quarter, defying a drop in interest inc...

Soon for sale: Altos Ventures-backed Cafe Knotted operator

Soon for sale: Altos Ventures-backed Cafe Knotted operator

Silicon Valley-based Altos Ventures-backed Good Food For Good (GFFG), operator of South Korea’s popular dessert cafe, Cafe Knotted, will likel...

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...

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 Innotek ventures into automotive AP module market

LG Innotek ventures into automotive AP module market

LG Innotek Co., a major South Korean electronics parts developer, has forayed into the automotive application processor (AP) module market, poised f...

Hyundai Motor launches future strategy division overseeing M&As

Hyundai Motor launches future strategy division overseeing M&As

Hyundai Motor Group has created a future business strategy division that serves as a control tower for the automotive group’s expansion into n...

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...

HS Hyosung Advanced Materials seeks to sell tire steel cord business

HS Hyosung Advanced Materials seeks to sell tire steel cord business

South Korea’s HS Hyosung Advanced Materials Corp. is seeking to sell its tire steel cord business to secure funds for its new growth ventures ...

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...

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’s Shinsegae, China’s Alibaba to set up e-commerce joint venture

Korea’s Shinsegae, China’s Alibaba to set up e-commerce joint venture

South Korea’s retail conglomerate Shinsegae Group has joined forces with Chinese online shopping giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to better co...

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...

Celltrion BioSolutions launched to venture into CDMO

Celltrion BioSolutions launched to venture into CDMO

Celltrion Inc. on Tuesday launched its contract development and manufacturing organization unit Celltrion BioSolutions Co. in its foray into the CDM...

Hyundai AutoEver establishes JV in Indonesia

Hyundai AutoEver establishes JV in Indonesia

South Korea's Hyundai AutoEver Corp. said on Monday it built the joint venture PT Terra Link technology in Indonesia with India's MapmyIndia. T...

Hyundai, BAIC to inject $1.1 bn in China joint venture  

Hyundai, BAIC to inject $1.1 bn in China joint venture  

Hyundai Motor Co. and its Chinese partner Beijing Motor Corp. (BAIC) will jointly invest $1.1 billion in their joint venture, which produces and sel...

Language learning app Speakeasy joins ranks of unicorn startups

Language learning app Speakeasy joins ranks of unicorn startups

Speakeasy Labs Inc., a South Korea-focused language learning app operator, has joined the ranks of unicorn startups after raising $78 million at a v...

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 ...

S.Korea's Smilegate invests in GTA producer's studio

S.Korea's Smilegate invests in GTA producer's studio

Smilegate, the South Korean developer of the world’s top first-person shooter game Crossfire, said on Tuesday it invested in the US-based medi...

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