Asset managers' earnings drop 12.3 pct

SEOUL, March 10 (Yonhap) -- The total earnings of asset management firms in South
Korea fell 12.3 percent in the first three quarters of fiscal 2008 due mainly to
non-operating losses, the nation's financial regulator said Tuesday.
The combined net income of 63 local and foreign asset managers stood at 345.5
billion won (US$224.1 million) in the April-December period last year, compared
with 393.8 billion won a year earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS)
said in a statement.
The net drop came after some firms logged losses in non-operating activities, the
watchdog said. The asset management companies close their books on March 31.
Mirae Asset Global Investments, an asset-managing unit of leading brokerage Mirae
Asset Securities, logged the largest net income at 133.4 billion won, followed by
KB Asset Management, an affiliate of top lender Kookmin Bank, with 21.8 billion
won, according to the FSS.
The companies had a combined 301.1 trillion won in assets under their management
as of the end of 2008, down 6 percent from a year earlier, the FSS said.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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