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| The interior of Hana Financial Group headquarters seen through a window. Korea Times file |
By Yi Whan-woo
Koreans are likely to look for more secure and thrifty ways to invest in 2023 amid high inflation, costly borrowing rates and slow economic growth adding to people's woes, a report said Wednesday.
Released by Hana Institute of Finance, the report also urged financial services companies to adopt a more efficient mix of in-person and offline services in the post-pandemic era where there will be a greater reliance on digital technology, while clients' firsthand experiences are still valued.
Operated under the wing of Hana Financial Group, the institute said 43 percent of its survey participants responded that the financial balance for 2023 will be worse than last year's. The negative outlooks outnumber the positive outlooks, with only 12 percent of the survey takers forecasting the financial balance will improve this year from a year earlier.
Under the circumstances, the institute projected that people will try harder to safeguard the value of their assets.
Accordingly, they will opt for relatively safe means of investment such as bonds, rather than high-risk, high-return products.
Regarding how to collect money for investment, 61 percent of the survey takers picked frugality as a key to successfully managing their assets, saying they are willing to spend less and save small sums of money.
Concerning financial service trends, the report said there will be a perk-up demand from consumers to receive such services offline after three years of pandemic restrictions, although they will still use online banking depending on the context.
Some 32 percent of the survey takers answered they look for practices of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) values by financial companies more than ever, suggesting the firms will need to focus more on green and ethical marketing.
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