The korea economic daily

KRW bonds favored amid rekindled interest in riskier assets

SINGAPORE -- Global investors are returning to emerging market debt, including Korean won bonds, as they hunt for higher yields amid stronger local c...

Korea's top craft brewer seeks junior Kosdaq listing

Jeju Beer Co., South Korea's No. 1 craft beer maker, is preparing to become the country's first craft brewery to go public, buoyed by the rapid marke...

Goldman Sachs joins race for Korea’s beauty store chain

Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Area (PIA) has entered the race for a stake in South Korea’s health and beauty franchise CJ Olive Young, beco...

S. Korean COVID-19 test kit maker eyes listing next year

SD Bio Sensor, Inc., a South Korea-based manufacturer of COVID-19 test kits, is pushing to go public early next year, drawing market attention as a st...

Market rally double-edged sword for fund managers as investors exit

The South Korean stock market’s recent rally is both a blessing and a curse for fund managers as investors are increasingly exiting their funds ...

Elecfoil maker IMM Tech aims Korean listing

Iljin Materials Co., a South Korean battery materials maker, is planning to list its Malaysia-based subsidiary IMM Technology on South Korea’s b...

Korean cinema chain foregoes IPO plans due to COVID-19

Megabox JoongAng Co., the third-largest cinema chain in South Korea, will forego plans to go public owing to the global coronavirus crisis that has de...

Korea’s No. 1 chicken franchise raises $8.2bn in subscriptions

South Korea’s No. 1 fried chicken franchise operator Kyochon F&B pulled in a staggering $8.2 billion in deposits during its two-day public s...

Korean fried chicken brand draws over 1,000 investors in bookbuilding

Kyochon F&B, South Korea’s No. 1 fried chicken franchise operator, wrapped up a successful bookbuilding for institutional investors with bid...

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...

Lotte Rental shelves share sale plan as IPO market cools

Lotte Group has indefinitely postponed its plan to list Lotte Rental Co., in the latest sign of a cooldown in the local initial public offering market...

IMM, four other local PEFs shortlisted for CJ Olive Young pre-IPO

IMM Private Equity and four other South Korean private equity firms have been shortlisted for health and beauty franchise CJ Olive Young’s pre-i...

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...

Kakao's exchangeable bond issue lures global investors

South Korea’s mobile platform giant Kakao Corp. is raising the price of shares to be converted from its exchangeable bond issue in Singapore on ...

Hydrogen tank supplier to Hyundai prepares for 2021 IPO

Iljin Composites Corp., the only South Korean manufacturer of composite fuel tanks, is set to mandate Mirae Asset Daewoo Co. and Samsung Securities Co...

Firms vie to become Krafton's $883 mn IPO manager

A competitive lineup of securities firms gathered at game developer Krafton Inc.'s office building in Pangyo, Gyeonggi province on Oct. 21 to pitch fo...

Korean IPOs lose steam as Big Hit shares plummet

Big Hit Entertainment Co., the South Korean entertainment agency behind global sensation BTS, saw its shares drop by as much as 22% on Oct.16, the sec...

Korea's beauty chain pre-IPO attracts PEFs

South Korea's largest health and beauty franchise CJ Olive Young has received preliminary bids from around seven participants including global and dom...

BTS label Big Hit trims gains after strong debut

Big Hit Entertainment Co., the label behind K-pop boyband sensation BTS, nearly halved its initial gains by the close of its first day of trading Oct....

BTS may be allowed to delay military service to age 30

South Korea is likely to allow the seven members of boy band BTS to postpone their mandatory national military service by two years until the age of 3...

BTS members eye $21 mn windfall each from agency’s IPO

The seven members of the global boy band BTS may see their shares in Bit Hit Entertainment Co. rocket to as high as 24 billion won ($21 million) each ...

Big Hit scores second-highest IPO subscription ever at $50.4 bn

Big Hit Entertainment Co., the label behind global boy band sensation BTS, pulled in 58.4 trillion won ($50.4 billion) with shares oversubscribed by 6...

Kakao Pay set to be Korea's first mobile-payment fintech to go public

Kakao Pay Corp. is set to become South Korea’s first mobile-payment fintech company to go public as the company kicks off preparations for an in...

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 ...

Shinhan Bank sells $285 mn in Australian-dollar social bonds

Shinhan Bank has raised A$400 million ($285 million) in five-year bonds denominated in the Australian dollar to fund lending to pandemic-hit companies...

BTS' Big Hit focuses on sustainable fandom-based business model

Big Hit Entertainment Co., behind the K-pop idols BTS, is switching its focus to online concerts, merchandise and character businesses from offline pe...

Korea’s ESG corporate bond issues on course to top $5 bn in 2020

South Korean companies’ issues of environmental, social and governance (ESG) bonds have almost doubled to 5.7 trillion won ($4.9 billion) so far...

Export-Import Bank of Korea sells $500 mn euro bonds with negative yield

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) has issued euro-currency bonds worth $500 million at a negative interest rate, the bank said on Sept. 15, less...

Hyundai Card issues green bonds worth $379 mn to finance eco-friendly services

Hyundai Card Co. has issued green bonds worth 450 billion won ($379 million) to fund its green car financing services, the credit card company said on...

South Korea sells $827 mn worth of euro-currency bonds with negative yield

The South Korean government has issued euro-denominated bonds worth 700 million euros ($827 million) at a negative interest rate, becoming the first n...