Korean bank global business

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea’s top cinema chains seek merger to counter box office slump

South Korea’s two leading multiplex operators Lotte Culture Works Co. and Contentree JoongAng Corp. have tentatively agreed to merge in a bid ...

Earnings 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...

Mergers & Acquisitions 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...

E-commerce Coupang’s Q1 revenue up; quarterly dip signals rising competition

Coupang Inc., South Korea’s largest e-commerce platform, extended its year-on-year sales growth with an 11.1% increase to post $7.9 billion in...

Asset management Korea Investment & Securities deepens global ties with 2nd IR in New York

Korea Investment & Securities Co. (KIS), the brokerage unit of Korea Investment Holdings Co., said on Wednesday it hosted its flagship investor ...

Beauty & Cosmetics Seoul-backed K-beauty brands set to make global mark

As Korean beauty products continue to captivate global consumers, five Seoul-based cosmetics and wellness companies are gearing up to penetrate deep...

Tech, Media & Telecom Samsung steps up AR race with advanced microdisplay for smart glasses

Samsung Electronics Co. has launched a major push into next-generation microdisplays for augmented reality (AR) glasses as it aims to position itsel...

Asset management Korea Investment & Securities to sell Goldman Sachs funds

Korea Investment & Securities Co. said on Tuesday it is set to sell funds operated by Goldman Sachs Asset Management LP in South Korea, offering...

Korean games NCSOFT invests in US game startup emptyvessel

NCSOFT Corp. has made an equity investment in emptyvessel, a US indie games studio, as part of efforts to expand into the first-person shooter genre...

Arts Maybe Happy Ending: A robot love story that rewrote Broadway playbook

On an unremarkable evening in November 2024, inside the opulent Belasco Theatre in Manhattan, something quietly historic was taking place.A delicate...

Pension funds NPS yet to schedule external manager selection; PE firms’ fundraising woes deepen

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest pension fund, has yet to decide on a plan to select local extern...

Woori Financial wins approval for Tongyang, ABL Life acquisition

Woori Financial Group Inc., South Korea’s fourth-largest financial services provider, has received conditional approval from the country&rsquo...

Automobiles BMW surpasses Mercedes in Korean sales for 1st time in 10 years

The top five imported car brands in South Korea underwent a major shake-up last year. BMW overtook Mercedes-Benz in sales for the first time in a de...

Arts Seoul appeal: Korean art captivates Indonesia’s affluent connoisseurs

JAKARTA – Last Thursday, Baik Art gallery in Jakarta, Indonesia, was crowded with well-heeled art patrons eager to meet a revered artist from ...

Mergers & Acquisitions CJ CheilJedang scraps $3.5 bn green bio sale, shifts gears to expansion

CJ CheilJedang Corp., South Korea’s largest food and beverage company, said on Wednesday it has scrapped a planned sale of its green bio busin...

Business & Politics Trump Jr. meets Korean business chiefs in back-to-back sessions

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, spent his one-and-a-half-day visit to South Korea in back-to-back private meetings wi...

Korean chipmakers Samsung in talks to supply customized HBM4 to Nvidia, Broadcom, Google

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s leading memory chipmaker, is in talks to supply customized sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory, or HBM...

Debt financing Kookmin Bank raises $700 mn in forex bonds amid strong demand

Kookmin Bank, a unit of KB Financial Group, raised $700 million in foreign exchange bonds on Tuesday, signaling a recovery in investor sentiment tow...

Business & Politics US tariffs add risk premium to dollar assets: Maurice Obstfeld

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The US tariff increases are adding risk premiums to dollar-denominated assets, undermining the dollar’s role as a glo...

Shipping & Shipbuilding Hanwha Ocean shares sink after KDB's sale of 4.2% stake

Investors rushed to dump Hanwha Ocean Co. shares early Tuesday after its second-largest shareholder, Korea Development Bank, cashed in on a 4.2% sta...

Automobiles Exports of Korea-made used cars to hit record high in 2025

South Korea’s exports of used cars by its homegrown auto brands are expected to hit a historic high this year, thanks to their improved brand ...

Earnings Shinhan Financial’s overseas business blooms, on track for record earnings

Shinhan Financial Group Co., South Korea’s leading financial holding company, is poised to surpass 1 trillion won ($692 million) in annual net...

Mergers & Acquisitions LG Chem to sell water filter business to Glenwood PE for $692 million

South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. has agreed to sell its water filter business – the world’s second-largest producer of reverse osmosis m...

Steel POSCO raises ship steel prices as Korea's tariffs curb supply

POSCO Holdings Inc. has raised second-quarter prices of thick plates used in vessels amid concerns over tighter supply after South Korea levied anti...

Asset management Mirae Asset bets on China as Korean investors’ US focus draws concern

South Korea’s leading asset manager Mirae Asset Financial Group is increasingly unveiling China-focused investment products as Chairman P...

Business & Politics Seoul, Washington agree on July tariff deal framework in '2+2' trade talks

WASHINGTON, D.C. – South Korea and the US have agreed to work together to craft a comprehensive tariff-liberalization package by July 8, marki...

Mergers & Acquisitions Kyobo Life poised to buy Japan’s SBI Group-owned savings bank

Kyobo Life Insurance Co. is in the final stages of negotiation with Japanese financial group SBI Holdings Inc. to buy about a 50% stake in SBI Savin...

E-commerce JD.com opens Korean logistics centers, preluding C-commerce invasion

JD.com, often dubbed China’s answer to Amazon.com, has opened its own logistics centers in South Korea, becoming the first Chinese e-commerce ...

Earnings Hyundai Motor posts solid Q1; rough road ahead on Trump's auto tariffs

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. defied mounting global trade headwinds and a fresh round of US import tariffs to deliver record ...

IPOs LG Electronics eyes India IPO delay, says plan in flux

LG Electronics Inc. is mulling putting off an initial public offering of its wholly owned subsidiary in India amid growing volatility in the global ...