challenger banks
Scope
Date
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E-commerce
Naver to challenge Amazon with launch of Smart Store platform in Spain
South Korea’s top online portal operator Naver Corp. is taking its online shopping platform Smart Store to Spain to support small merchants in...
Jun 06, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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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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Corporate culture
Inside Coupang: Close-knit, challenge-seeking, data-driven
Coupang Corp. has a unique corporate culture for a company headquartered in South Korea. Industry insiders highlight that this uncommon cultur...
Jun 01, 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
Colosseum rises to e-commerce challenge with one-stop solution
Fulfillment companies are expected to enjoy sharp growth this year, thanks to the global e-commerce boom fueling demand for fulfillment services, ...
May 13, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Chemical Industry
Hanwha challenges monopoly in S.Korea’s nitric acid sector
South Korea’s industrial nitric acid sector, currently led by Hu-Chems Co. with around a 90% market share, will see a change in the competitiv...
Apr 21, 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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Korean chipmakers
Samsung, SK Hynix at crossroads, challenged by underdogs
South Korea’s leading chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. are at a crossroads, challenged by smaller rivals such as Micron Te...
Mar 14, 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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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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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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Korean chipmakers
Samsung, SK Hynix challenged by underdog Micron’s 176-layer NAND
South Korea’s leading chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. are being challenged by smaller rival Micron Technology Inc.’s ...
Nov 16, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Airlines
Korean Air bid to acquire Asiana faces challenges, activist opposition
The owner of Korean Air Lines Co.’s reported bid to acquire local rival Asiana Airlines Inc. faces several hurdles, including painful job cuts, ...
Nov 13, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Logistics
Korean firms face triple whammy of soaring KRW, freight rates, Biden
South Korea’s major companies are facing a triple whammy of challenges — a stronger Korean currency, soaring seaborne and air freight rate...
Nov 08, 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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Economic growth
Korean economy rebounds in Q3 on exports, challenges ahead
South Korea’s economy returned to growth in the third quarter on strong exports, marking the first quarterly expansion since the outbreak of the...
Oct 27, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
Latest News
- 1 Hyundai, Waymo forge multi-year, strategic partnership for self-driving vehicles
- 2 AI startup MarqVision raises $16.5 mn to close Series A
- 3 Taihan Cable wins $630 mn power grid project in Singapore
- 4 Korean startup scene is gloomy, say 2 out of 5 startup CEOs
- 5 MBK ups stakes for Korea Zinc to match buyback offer