banking finance
Scope
Date
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Central bank
Bank of Korea governor flags rate hike as economy improves
South Korea’s central bank governor on Thursday flagged a possible policy rate hike before the end of the year as the domestic economy recover...
May 27, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Fintech
KakaoBank’s skyrocketing valuation fuels debate on financial reform
There have been near-endless debates regarding the “proper valuation” of KakaoBank, South Korea’s largest internet-only bank that ...
May 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Fintech platform Toss seeks $180 mn in fresh funding
South Korean fintech startup Toss is seeking to raise 200 billion won ($177 million) in fresh funding, which would almost treble its valuation to 8 ...
May 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Banking & Finance
Internet-only K Bank to raise $1.05 bn in rights offering
South Korea’s first internet-only bank, K Bank, will be raising 1.2 trillion won ($1.05 billion) from existing and new investors for business ...
May 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Digital currency
Naver joins Korean central bank's digital currency initiative
South Korea’s platform giant Naver Corp. is taking the leap into the digital currency platform market with its plans to participate in the Ban...
May 14, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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ESG
Hanwha Group secures $4.4 bn from KDB to finance ESG business
South Korea’s Hanwha Group has clinched a 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion) commitment from the state-run Korea Development Bank over the next fiv...
May 12, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Korea Credit Data raises over $35 mn from Pavilion, GS, KB Bank
South Korea-based fintech firm Korea Credit Data (KCD) has raised around 40 billion won ($36 million) from Singapore-based private equity firm Pavil...
Apr 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Kakao Bank applies for preliminary review of 2021 IPO
Kakao Bank, South Korea's No.1 mobile banking app., has kicked off the process to go public by applying for a preliminary review of its stock market...
Apr 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Samsung Group
Banks keen to lend to Samsung heirs for inheritance tax
South Korean banks are queuing up to extend credit to Samsung Group's de-facto leader Jay Y. Lee and his family who are due to pay over 2 trillion w...
Apr 14, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Rights offerings
Korean Air kicks off biggest-ever rights offer to finance Asiana takeover
Korean Air Lines Co. has kicked off its 3.3 trillion won ($3 billion) rights offering, the biggest amount ever by any South Korean company, to help ...
Feb 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
S.Korean internet-only bank seeks to raise $540 mn; attracts global PE firms
South Korea’s internet-only bank, K bank, is seeking to raise up to 600 billion won ($540 million) through a rights offering, attracting glo...
Feb 19, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Alternative investments
Korean banks fund alternative deals with $540 mn loans via KIC
South Korean banks have offered a combined $540 million in syndicated loans to fund overseas alternative investments, in which Korea Investment Corp...
Feb 09, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Banking & Finance
Tight margins, regulatory meddling weigh on Korean banks
The five leading banks in South Korea, including Kookmin and Shinhan, logged their first drop in net profit last year in five years, dented by shrin...
Feb 08, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Platform investment
Naver plans over $1 bn bond issue in H1 to finance platform investment
Naver Corp., South Korea’s top online portal, plans a bond issue worth as much as 1.26 trillion won ($1.13 billion) in local and ove...
Jan 31, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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ESG bonds
Hana Bank issues $600 mn euro-currency bonds with negative yield
Hana Bank has become South Korea’s first commercial bank to issue foreign currency bonds at a negative yield, raising 500 million euros ($606 ...
Jan 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Internet portal Naver in negotiations to buy Korea’s Jeju Bank
Naver Corp., South Korea’s top online portal, is interested in buying Jeju Bank, named for and based on the country's largest island, to secur...
Jan 19, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Economy
S.Korean banks' household, company loans near $1.8 trn
South Korean households and companies have taken out fresh loans worth 208 trillion won ($189 billion) from banks last year, pushing the outstanding...
Jan 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Rights offerings
Kakao Bank wraps up $921 mn rights offering
South Korea's mobile-only bank has wrapped up its $920.5 million rights offering, placing the enterprise value at around 9.3 trillion won ($8.6 ...
Dec 30, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Airlines
Hahn & Co finances $700 mn Korean Air deal with about $400 mn debt
Hahn & Co., a South Korean private equity firm, has completed the payment for the 790 billion won ($722 million) purchase of Korean Air Lines' i...
Dec 17, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Project financing
KEXIM to finance Korean firms' Mozambique LNG plant project
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) will provide $500 million in project financing to South Korean companies for their $550 million construction...
Dec 10, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Survey
Bank CEOs in Korea pick big tech as top 2021 challenge
Chief executives of banks operating in South Korea have picked the emergence of big technology companies and fintech startups in the credit market a...
Dec 08, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Shinhan, Hana fund KKR’s $5.6 bn UK deal with $63 mn in loans
Two leading South Korean banks – Shinhan and Hana – have provided a combined 47 million pounds ($63 million) in senior loans to finance ...
Dec 04, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPOs
Anchor Equity, TPG invest $500 mn in Korean mobile banking app
Hong Kong-based Anchor Equity Partners has agreed to invest 250 billion won ($226 million) to buy new shares in South Korea’s KakaoBank, shortly...
Nov 17, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Subordinated bond issues
Kookmin Bank sells $500 mn in subordinated bonds to fund ESG projects
South Korea’s Kookmin Bank has issued $500 million in subordinated bonds as part of its efforts to expand loans for environmental, social and go...
Oct 29, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Business expansion
Shinhan closing in on HSBC to be top foreign bank in Vietnam
Shinhan Bank Vietnam Ltd., the Vietnamese subsidiary of Shinhan Bank, is close to becoming the top foreign bank in Vietnam thanks to its solid perform...
Oct 27, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPOs
TPG to invest $222 mn in mobile banking app KakaoBank
TPG will acquire a 2.7% stake in South Korea’s mobile banking app KakaoBank for 250 billion won ($222 million) ahead of an initial public offeri...
Oct 27, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Central bank
Bank of Korea keeps rate steady at record low; signaling no further action
The Bank of Korea has left its policy rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5% as was widely expected, citing a slow economic recovery amid the ongoing ...
Oct 14, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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KEPCO set to finance $190 mn for Vietnam’s coal power plant project
Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) will move forward with its participation in Vietnam’s coal-fired power plant project, after the deal came c...
Oct 05, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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KB Financial to end coal project financing for low-carbon economy
KB Financial Group will no longer finance coal power projects at home and abroad, nor invest in them, said the South Korean banking group, with a set ...
Sep 28, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Korea’s mobile banking app KakaoBank to push for 2021 IPO
KakaoBank Corp., the mobile banking arm of South Korea’s online messaging app operator Kakao Corp., is planning an initial public offering next ...
Sep 23, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
language
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