banking service
Scope
Date
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Fintech
KDB bets big on fintech platform Toss ahead of 2023 IPO
The Korea Development Bank (KDB) has decided to invest 80 billion won ($72 million) in the fintech startup Toss via a rights offering. This marks th...
Jun 04, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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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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Korean startups
Laundry service Wash Swat wraps up $16 mn Series B round
South Korea-based laundry service startup Wash Swat Inc. has secured 17.5 billion won ($16 million) in Series B round funding, bringing the company'...
May 03, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Future mobility
Hyundai Motor pilots EV mobility service for pets
Hyundai Motor Group will pilot an urban mobility service for pets in Seoul, using a specially designed Ray EV model by Kia Corp. The group said on A...
Apr 26, 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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Venture capital
GS Galtex to partner with Kakao for mobility services
South Korea's GS Caltex Corp., aiming to become a logistics platform, will invest around 30 billion won ($26 million) in Kakao Mobility Corp. to str...
Mar 31, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Future mobility
Kakao forays into pet taxi service; buys Pet Me Up
South Korea-based Kakao Mobility Corp., a subsidiary of mobile giant Kakao Corp., has acquired the country's leading pet taxi service, Pet Me Up, in...
Mar 09, 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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Tech, Media & Telecom
Two thirds of Koreans use OTT services; YouTube favored
Two out of every three Koreans used over-the-top (OTT) media last year, with YouTube the favored platform from which to watch videos and other strea...
Feb 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Leadership & Management
Serial entrepreneur builds gateway for cloud services
“You see all of these buildings? All of the companies in these buildings will become our clients."These were the words of Lee Han-joo, chief e...
Jan 27, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
SK Innovation buys 13% stake in China’s EV battery-swap station operator
SK Innovation Co. has signed a deal to acquire a 13% stake in a Chinese electric vehicle battery-swap station operator, as the South Korean company ...
Jan 21, 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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Future mobility
Autonomous driving startup 42dot plans Level 4 self-driving in Seoul
42dot, a South Korea-based autonomous driving startup, plans to launch a Level 4 self-driving service in some areas of Seoul next year.The company s...
Dec 21, 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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Future mobility
Hyundai Motor JV to launch robotaxi services in US by 2023
Hyundai Motor Group's autonomous driving joint venture Motional and US-based ride-hailing company Lyft have joined forces to offer robotaxi servic...
Dec 17, 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)