July 25, 2021

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EDITOR'S PICKS

• Markets 
  

  Central bank digital currencies, crypto will coexist: experts

  Government-backed coins and private cryptocurrencies will coexist for a while, despite rising regulatory walls set by the government to counter virtual coins, experts at a global webinar session said on July 22.　 Noting that cryptocurrencies and digital currencies by governments are “two different animals,” they will coexist for now partly because current cryptocurrencies are not actually solving payment problems. “How many of them (cryptocurrencies) are solving actual pa

• Markets 
  

  Kakao looks to join W100tr club with financial subsidiaries’ IPOs

  The combined market capitalization of Kakao and its affiliates is anticipated to reach 100 trillion won ($86.8 billion), as South Korea’s fifth-largest business group’s two financial subsidiaries ready themselves for initial public offerings. 　 As of July 23’s closing bell, the mobile messenger giant and its two listed affiliates, Kakao Games and Neptune, marked an aggregate market cap of 74.84 trillion won, according to the Korea Exchange on July 25. Of that total, Kakao&rsqu

• Markets 
  

  Eximbank to invest W100b into future mobility business

  The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said on July 25 it will invest 100 billion won ($87 million) in future mobility businesses to ensure local firms can gain an upper hand in those fields amid a rapidly changing global market. The areas in which it will allocate investments include electronic, hydrogen-fueled or autonomous driving cars, urban air mobility, eco-friendly vessels and aerospace crafts. The lender made the investment decision in line with the government-led Korean New Deal in

• Markets 
  

  KakaoBank’s blockbuster IPO draws record-breaking bid

  KakaoBank, South Korea’s largest internet-only bank, set a record on July 22 in the initial public offering market history here, having attracted keen attention from investors both at home and abroad ahead of its market debut on the country’s main board Kospi next month. The banking arm of mobile giant Kakao wrapped up its book-building process on July 21. While institutional investors placed their bids to obtain new shares for the IPO, a total of 1,667 domestic and offshore instit

• Markets 
  

  Baemin Hyundai Card attracts 100,000 users

  Baemin Hyundai Card, a food delivery-focused private label credit card product, has attracted over 100,000 users in eight months since the launch in November, card issuer Hyundai Card said July 22. Card users are to redeem reward points in the form of “Baemin points,” which can be used like cash exclusively for food delivery orders through Baemin, South Korea‘s largest food delivery app. Baemin Hyundai Card users have food delivered through the Baemin app an average of 9.2 t

• Markets 
  

  Authorities to tighten grip on unregistered overseas crypto exchanges

  South Korea‘s top financial regulator is considering disciplinary measures against overseas cryptocurrency exchanges that are not registered with the nation’s anti-money laundering body, according to the National Assembly‘s National Policy Committee on July 22. “Business activities carried out by overseas cryptocurrency exchanges targeting local customers without reporting to the Financial Intelligence Unit -- an anti-money laundering unit under the Financial Services Co

• Markets 
  

  Hyundai E&C to continue coal power project in Vietnam despite criticism

  Climate activists on July 23 blasted South Korean builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction for its decision to continue its 1,200-megawatt Quang Trach 1 coal power project along with Mitsubishi and Vietnam’s Construction Corp. Seoul-based not-for-profit organization Solutions for Our Climate said the failure to scrap what was proclaimed to be Hyundai E&C’s final coal project “directly contradicts the company’s own ESG vision” and neutralizes the impact of

• Markets 
  

  Tongyang Life sells entire stake in Woori Financial

  Tongyang Life Insurance sold its entire stake in Woori Financial Group on July 23 to secure more capital, in preparation for a stricter rule on local insurers’ fiscal soundness. According to a regulatory filing, the company had decided to sell all of its 3.74 percent stake (27.04 million shares) in the banking giant to some 60 domestic and foreign institutions, during its shareholders meeting held on July 22. The sale price was 301.5 billion won ($262 million), which accounts 9.7 percent