Iranian lender Bank Mellat may have to consider pulling its operations out of South Korea with its hands tied here due to the looming fears of secondary boycott actions from the US. “With the upcoming US presidential election, the pressure on Iran will only escalate. Bank Mellat may have to consider closing its operations in Korea,” an official from Bank Mellat’s Seoul branch said. The official explained the Seoul unit has not been able to fully operate, as Korean companies, in

Industry Oct. 20, 2024

Hanwha Investment & Securities, under the wings of South Korea's defense-to-energy conglomerate Hanwha Group, announced Thursday, that it has completed the acquisition of Indonesia’s Ciptadana Securities. Completion of the deal comes over a year after the brokerage house signed an underwriting agreement to acquire an 80 percent stake in Ciptadana Securities for around 49 billion won ($35.7 million) in June 2023. It won final approval from the Indonesian financial authorities last

Industry Oct. 17, 2024

London-based activist investor Palliser Capital is on its way to challenge South Korean chip-to-energy conglomerate SK Group, having secured a stake of over 1 percent in its investment arm SK Square. Having built a stake in SK Square over the past two years, the British activist fund is pushing for changes in the company to improve its market valuation, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Though SK Square is the holding company of the group’s key chip-making affiliate SK hy

Industry Oct. 16, 2024

Singapore-based activist fund Flashlight Capital Partners has offered to acquire Korea Ginseng Corp., an affiliate under South Korea's dominant tobacco company KT&G, at the price of nearly 2 trillion won ($1.47 billion). KT&G called it a “unilateral” offer. Korea Ginseng Corp., under the wings of KT&G, is the company behind the well-recognized red ginseng brand, JungKwanJang. “The acquisition offer was unilaterally released without any discussion with the compa

Industry Oct. 14, 2024

The alliance of MBK Partners and Young Poong took the lead in the power struggle over Korea Zinc, the world's largest zinc smelter, securing an additional 5 percent stake in the company on Monday. Yet with Korea Zinc's separate tender offer lingering on the table, the conflict is likely to evolve into a prolonged proxy fight. The MBK-Young Poong coalition was able to secure over 5 percent stake in Korea Zinc through a tender offer that concluded Monday. Combined with the existing 33.1

Industry Oct. 14, 2024

The current management of Korea Zinc on Friday decided to up the ante to maintain control over the world’s largest zinc smelter, lifting the tender offer price to 890,000 won ($660) per share, higher than 830,000 won presented by the coalition of MBK Partners and Young Poong. While the current management of Korea Zinc, represented by Chairman Choi Yun-beom, initially targeted securing an additional 15.5 percent of the total issued shares, the target has been raised to 17.5 percent. Adding

Industry Oct. 11, 2024

South Korea's central bank lowered the policy rate by 0.25 percentage point on Friday, signaling the end of an era of monetary tightening that had extended over three years. The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy board slashed the base rate by 25 basis points, bringing it down to 3.25 percent. Five of the other six monetary policy board members, not including BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong, agreed to the rate cut, while the remaining member suggested maintaining the rate at the 3.5 percent lev

Economy Oct. 11, 2024

While Korea Zinc has secured the support of US private equity giant Bain Capital amid a battle for management control of the company, market watchers suggest its backing could eventually cost the troubled zinc smelter a hefty amount. To thwart the takeover attempt from the MBK Partners-Young Poong alliance, the current management of Korea Zinc has teamed up with Bain Capital, a big-name investment company with over $185 billion (250 trillion won) in assets under management. Under Chairman Choi Y

Industry Oct. 10, 2024

South Korea finally succeeded in joining the World Government Bond Index, a global benchmark measuring the performance of sovereign fixed income. The inclusion is expected to draw in passive foreign funds worth over $56 billion. The WGBI, managed by Financial Times Stock Exchange Russell, is one of the three key government bond indices, along with the Bloomberg-Barclays Global Aggregate Index and JP Morgan Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets. It is tracked by global funds worth over $2.5 tril

Economy Oct. 9, 2024

Dentlink intends to become a household name in the burgeoning dental prosthetic market, matching the fame of Align Technology, the US company behind the Invisalign clear teeth straightener, said Kook Jin-hyeok, founder and CEO of Innovaid. Kook founded Innovaid in 2021 to offer Dentlink, a unique international service connecting Korean lab technicians with overseas dental practices. Through it, dental clinics around the world can order prostheses such as zirconia crowns and implant restorations

Industry Oct. 8, 2024

Herald Media Group hosted Money Festa 2024 last week, a two-day event offering insights into the latest investment trends spanning from real estate to equity, shedding light on making wise investment decisions to achieve financial freedom. "Everyone dreams of a financially-free life, but the reality is harsh," Choi Jin-young, CEO of Herald Media Group, said in his opening speech at The Platz exhibition hall in Coex, southern Seoul, on Oct 1. "I hope the attendees can find the answ

Economy Oct. 6, 2024

The fight for management control of Korea Zinc, the world’s largest zinc smelter, has escalated into a game of chicken worth over 5 trillion won ($3.7 billion). As the bidding war heats up, its would-be controllers are at risk of falling prey to a “winner’s curse.” On Friday, the last day of the initial tender offer period launched by private equity fund MBK Partners and Young Poong, the biggest shareholder of Korea Zinc, the coalition raised its offer to 830,000 won per

Industry Oct. 6, 2024

South Korea-based crypto data aggregator YouthMeta is seeking a bigger footing in Japan, a country which has been showing a stronger interest in the investment tool recently, according to the company. YouthMeta provides a cryptocurrency price prediction service through its Goya Premium Chart, suggesting the best time to buy and sell more than 200 crypto assets listed on Binance. With the company having over 30,000 users across 27 countries, Japan stands out as a particularly vibrant market with

Industry Oct. 3, 2024

Buddhism can strengthen the ties between South Korea and India, according to Indian actor Gagan Malik. Malik is known for playing the role of Prince Siddhartha in the 2013 film “Sri Siddhartha Gautama,” for which he won best actor at the 2014 World Buddhist Film Festival, but he is also a Buddhist activist and an actor. Malik recently visited Korea, invited by the International Interchange Development Association here. “India is the cradle of Buddhism. The country has seen a gr

People Oct. 3, 2024

MBK Partners, the country’s leading private equity house with over $30 billion to its name, has once again found itself meddling in an ownership turmoil, as it moves beyond its typical buyout-and-exit strategy. Last month, MBK announced plans to acquire around 15 percent of the world’s biggest zinc smelter, Korea Zinc, through a tender offer, joining hands with friend-turned-foe Young Poong. With the bidding price raised once, the tender offer could go up to 2.3 trillion won ($1.75 b

Industry Oct. 3, 2024