Shinhan to acquire Lotte Insurance for W693.3b

The ASX healthcare sector rose in June, with the sector up 13.31% and up 2.27% in July, though still down about 18% year to date. Singular Health (SHG) reported US$500,000 licence payment and $10.1m cash, Imagion (IBX) received US FDA IND clearance for MagSense HER2 Phase 1b/2, and Recce (RCE) gained ethics approval to advance R327G to Phase 3.

South Korea’s five largest financial groups reported combined first-half net income of 13.12 trillion won, a record, up 9.7% year over year, driven by a market rally boosting brokerage and asset management fees, according to company filings. KB led with 3.88 trillion won, followed by Shinhan 3.44 trillion and Hana 2.4 trillion. NH and Woori posted 1.78 and 1.61 trillion won.

Shinhan Financial Group reported its Q2 2026 consolidated net profit rose 12.2% QoQ to KRW 1.8201 trillion, the highest quarterly result, helped by higher non-interest income from strong domestic stock-market activity. H1 net profit was KRW 3.4427 trillion. The group also approved a KRW 740 per-share dividend and plans KRW 700 billion in treasury stock purchases and burns by October.

Shinhan Financial Group reported Q2 net profit of 1.82 trillion won, up 17.5% year on year, a record quarterly high, citing higher interest and non-interest income. Operating income rose 22.9% to 2.47 trillion won, revenue increased 7.9% to 25.06 trillion won, and loan-loss reserves were 437 billion won. Shinhan Bank’s Q2 net profit was 1.31 trillion won.

Sutton Harbour Group Plc (SHG), which controls Plymouth’s out-of-commission airport, sold the North Quay House office block for £1.25m to help reduce bank debt. SHG said it is continuing asset disposals, including King Point Marina, to generate working capital. NatWest agreed in March to defer £6.5m until end-September; SHG’s £18m NatWest loan facility expires end-2025. SHG reported portfolio valuation £45.72m (down from £48.47m).

Seoul’s KOSPI fell 1.02% to 8,144.38 by 11:20 a.m. on May 28, according to Yonhap, after recent gains to a record close of 8,288.7. The decline followed renewed Iran tensions after U.S. strikes and uncertainty over a peace deal. Samsung Electronics dropped 2.12% and SK hynix rose 0.62%; shipbuilders and defense firms fell, while LG Energy Solution surged 14.34%.