Korean LPs favor direct lending for private debt investment
More than half of South Korea’s key asset owners, led by the National Pension Service, are inclined to expand overseas private debt investment i...
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...
Investors eye Goldilocks stock market in 2021; Biden, pandemic negatives
South Korea’s stock markets are expected to continue their uptrend into next year, fueled by aggressive foreign buying on the back of strong cor...
Korean Air to buy rival Asiana in $1.6 bn deal to emerge as world’s 7th airline
Korean Air Lines Co. will spend 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion) to own a majority stake in beleaguered local rival Asiana Airlines Inc., in a deal t...
Amazon, SK Telecom join hands in Korea e-commerce market
SK Telecom Co. and online retail giant Amazon.com have agreed to team up in South Korea’s e-commerce market, in a deal that could lead to cross-...
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, ...
Korean Air, Asiana may merge MRO businesses after spin-off
South Korea’s two largest airliners, Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc., may combine their airplane repair and maintenance businesses...
Parent of Korean Air seeks to buy rival Asiana Airlines
Hanjin Group, which owns South Korea’s flag-carrier Korean Air Lines Co., is seeking to buy local rival Asiana Airlines Inc., signaling a mega d...
S. Korea's shipping firms grapple with container shortages
Growing shipping volumes and surging sea freight rates are wreaking havoc on South Korea's shipping companies, reeling from a dire shortage of contain...
Korean startup to rival Dolby in unconquered 3D audio market
Gaudio Lab Inc., backed by SoftBank Ventures, is throwing down the gauntlet to Dolby Laboratories for the three-dimensional (3D) audio market, for whi...
S. Korean stock market posts record-high market cap; SK biopharm added to MSCI
South Korea's benchmark Kospi reached a two-year high closing at 2485.87 points on Nov. 11, posting an eight-session winning streak driven by imminent...
Korean teachers' fund names ex-education minister as CEO
South Korea’s Ministry of Education has chosen Kim Sang-gon, formerly deputy prime minister and education minister, as the new chief executive f...
Korean shipbuilding industry rebounds from near bottom
South Korea’s shipbuilding industry is slowly emerging from its rocky cycle of ups and down in recent years, thanks to a recovery in the global ...
South Korean investors ramp up US stock purchases
South Korean investors ramped up overseas stock purchases amid looming uncertainty surrounding the US Presidential Election during the first week of N...
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...
Kakao webtoon platform Piccoma becomes No.1 grossing app worldwide
Kakao Corp., South Korea's platform giant, announced on Nov. 9 that its webtoon (digital comics) platform Piccoma has become the No. 1 grossing mobile...
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...
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...
Largest domestic carrier Korean Air posts Q3 surplus; peers swing negative
South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air Lines Co. has posted an operating profit for two straight quarters thanks to robust cargo operations keepi...
Will Korean audiences return to movie theaters?
Anyone connected with South Korea's film exhibition industry has good reason to be feeling depressed these days. Box office returns in September were ...
Korean LPs to boost protection against unforeseen events
The prolonged coronavirus era is pushing South Korean asset owners, including the Teachers’ Pension and insurance firms, to tighten contracts fo...
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...
Korean pension funds’ CIOs look to diversify GP pool
South Korean pension funds are seeking to diversify their pool of alternative asset managers to broaden real estate- and developed markets-focused por...
Korean VR startup acquired by Fortnite creator
Hyprsense, a facial motion capture software developer, has been acquired by Epic Games, the creator of international blockbuster game Fortnite, accord...
Korean investors pick private debt as preferred asset class
South Korea’s institutional investors, including pension funds, mutual aid associations and insurers, plan to increase the private debt portion ...
Naver, CJ ink $531 mn deal on entertainment content, logistics
South Korea’s largest internet portal Naver Corp. and logistics and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group have signed a 600 billion won ($531 mill...
Korean police fund raises risk appetite for private debt
South Korea’s Police Mutual Aid Association (PMAA) has recently selected an opportunistic strategy fund for private debt investment as the $3 bi...
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...
Korean insurers, Shinhan Alternative commit $130 mn in KKR CMBS fund
South Korea's insurers along with Shinhan Alternative Investment Management Inc. have committed $130 million in the real estate stabilized credit (RES...
Korean fried chicken brand eyes global expansion post-IPO
Kyochon F&B, South Korea’s No.1 fried chicken franchise operator, will increase its number of overseas outlets by more than tenfold by 2025 ...
