IMM joins $600 mn fund for K-beauty unicorn Goodai Global in M&A drive

IMM Private Equity and five other South Korean private equity firms are set to invest a total of 800 billion won ($600 million) in Goodai Global Inc...

S.Korea avoids recession with 0.6% Q2 GDP growth; US tariff impact seen limited

The South Korean economy returned to firmer footing in the second quarter, expanding 0.6% from the previous three months, as a recovery in exports a...

Hyundai Hyms sale kicks off as J& Private Equity sends out teaser letters

Hyundai Hyms Co., a Kosdaq-listed ship block manufacturer, is officially on the auction block as its private equity owner, J& Private Equity (J&...

Korea Investment & Securities, UBP seek private banking partnership

Korea Investment & Securities Co. (KIS), a unit of Korea Investment Holdings Co., said on Thursday it has discussed a strategic partnership with...

South Korean airlines bank on China routes for profit recovery

South Korean airlines are ramping up international routes, particularly to China, Japan and Southeast Asian countries, in a bid to boost profitabili...

IMM Credit closes $700 mn blind credit fund backed by NPS

IMM Credit & Solutions Inc. (ICS), the private credit unit of South Korea’s major investment firm IMM Holdings Inc., has raised nearly 1 t...

BOK chief warns household debt near tipping point, keeps rates steady

Rhee Chang-yong, governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK), warned on Thursday that mounting household debt is now undermining both private consumption an...

K Shipbuilding up for sale as Korean shipyards ride new boom

K Shipbuilding Co., a mid-tier South Korean shipbuilder, will be put on the market this month after a strong turnaround. The deal, estimated at 500 ...

Korean waste management firm Koentec put on market for $730 mn

Korea Environment Technology Co. (Koentec) is up for sale in a deal that could fetch up to 1 trillion won ($730.4 million) with global private equit...

Hanwha acquires Indonesian bank, first foreign banking venture by Korean insurer

Hanwha Life Insurance Co. has become the first South Korean insurance firm to advance into the overseas banking sector by securing a controlling sta...

NH, KB Securities, Kookmin Bank, Kim & Chang lead capital markets in H1

NH Investment & Securities Co. retained its lead in South Korea’s equity capital market (ECM) in the first half, riding a surge in large-s...

Affinity Equity nets $220 mn from block sale of Shinhan Financial

Affinity Equity Partners has unloaded its remaining shares in Shinhan Financial Group, the second largest banking group in South Korea, for about 58...

Fubon Bank expands Korea presence into banking

Fubon Bank, Taiwan’s largest bank, is poised to open its first office in Seoul in July, expanding its footprint in South Korea beyond insuranc...

KakaoBank rallies after winning Thai virtual banking license

Shares in KakaoBank Corp. soared as much as 17% to hit their highest level in nearly three years on Friday after the South Korean internet-only bank...

Partners Group sees infrastructure secondaries quadrupling to $60 bn

Infrastructure secondaries are gaining momentum as the infrastructure sector attracts investors seeking stable and predictable returns amid heighten...

Korea’s stablecoin trade at $42 bn; BOK balks at non-bank stablecoin deals

South Korea’s central bank is cautious about non-banks and fintech firms issuing and handling stablecoins amid a global cryptocurrency rally, ...

BOK turns more dovish after 25 bp rate cut; 2025 growth outlook halved

The Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.5%, citing growing concerns over faltering do...

Korean pension funds, insurers seek customized investment vehicles

South Korean institutional investors are increasingly interested in separately managed accounts (SMAs) that offer customized strategies, as well as ...

Morgan Stanley stalwart Cho bows out after over 10 years at the helm   

The investment banking head of Morgan Stanley’s Seoul office is stepping down after overseeing a series of landmark deals over more than a dec...

POBA bullish on REITs, real estate debts and senior housing

South Korea’s Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA) is betting big on real estate investment trusts (REITs) and senior housing in the US...

KIC bets on Asian real estate; eyes residential, data centers

The Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) is zeroing in on Asia’s real estate market by region, while targeting residential facilities and data c...

KakaoBank posts record Q1 profit, eyes Thai expansion after Indonesia

KakaoBank Corp., a leading South Korean internet-only bank, posted its highest quarterly profit in the first quarter, defying a drop in interest inc...

Woori Financial wins approval for Tongyang, ABL Life acquisition

Woori Financial Group Inc., South Korea’s fourth-largest financial services provider, has received conditional approval from the country&rsquo...

Kookmin Bank raises $700 mn in forex bonds amid strong demand

Kookmin Bank, a unit of KB Financial Group, raised $700 million in foreign exchange bonds on Tuesday, signaling a recovery in investor sentiment tow...

Hanwha Ocean shares sink after KDB's sale of 4.2% stake

Investors rushed to dump Hanwha Ocean Co. shares early Tuesday after its second-largest shareholder, Korea Development Bank, cashed in on a 4.2% sta...

Kyobo Life poised to buy Japan’s SBI Group-owned savings bank

Kyobo Life Insurance Co. is in the final stages of negotiation with Japanese financial group SBI Holdings Inc. to buy about a 50% stake in SBI Savin...

SK Innovation E&S, JB Financial team up for renewable energy loans

JB Financial Group Co., the parent company of Jeonbuk Bank and Gwangju Bank, will join hands with SK Innovation E&S Co. and InnerGen Co. to roll...

EQT set to invest in KKR-backed fashion unicorn Musinsa

EQT, Europe's largest private equity firm, is set to invest 20 billion to 30 billion won ($14 million-$21 million) in Musinsa, South Korea’s f...

Hahn & Co. acquires SK Specialty for $1.8 billion

Hahn & Co., South Korea’s largest private equity firm, has finalized the acquisition of SK Specialty Co., the world’s leading produc...

KKR, Carlyle, Hillhouse race to buy Korean beauty device maker Classys

Global private equity giants such as KKR & Co., Carlyle Group and Hillhouse Capital Group Holdings are vying to acquire Classys Inc. as the Sout...