Shinhan Financial Investment "45% Respondents Forecast KOSPI at 2300-2500 Range in Second Half"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Shinhan Financial Investment announced on the 13th that, as a result of a survey on the economic outlook for the second half of this year conducted among corporate members of the Shinhan Connect Forum and Shinhan Digital Forum, 45% of respondents expected the KOSPI index to be in the 2300?2500 range.

According to the survey conducted among 200 members of the Shinhan Connect Forum and 3,000 members of the Shinhan Digital Forum, executives of leading domestic companies forecasted the KOSPI index for the second half of this year to be in the 2300?2500 range (45%) and 2500?2700 range (24%), indicating a negative or similar business environment compared to the current situation. 81% of respondents believed that the business environment would recover after the second half of 2023.

The Shinhan Connect Forum by Shinhan Financial Investment is a networking program targeting companies with annual sales or market capitalization exceeding 200 billion KRW, while the Shinhan Digital Forum is an untact program composed of domestic corporate executives.

Corporate executives expressed the greatest concerns about prolonged inflation and continued interest rate hikes, as well as unstable international situations, asset value declines, and challenges in securing talented personnel. To prepare for this unstable business environment, 67% of executives indicated their willingness to revise their business plans for the second half of the year, prioritizing securing new growth engines, reducing debt, and securing liquidity.

Additionally, due to concerns over the global financial market environment and ongoing economic slowdown, 34% of executives reported that their companies have not yet invested or managed surplus funds, and among those planning future investments or management, 41% intend to increase their allocation to domestic and foreign bonds and alternative assets.

Executives identified stability as the most important factor when managing corporate funds, with 45% of respondents stating that they use advisory services through securities firms. When asked about the key success factors for companies, more than half cited a business vision preparing for the future, and securing talented personnel was also considered an important factor.

Yang Jin-geun, Head of Retail Strategy at Shinhan Financial Investment, said, "To address the concerns and needs of corporate executives amid uncertain global financial market conditions, we continuously provide corporate total services, which are financial advisory services necessary for corporate management. Through annual membership programs such as the Shinhan Connect Forum and Shinhan Digital Forum, we offer opportunities for knowledge lectures by domestic and international scholars once or twice a month, as well as platforms for member exchanges."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.