Hana Financial net down 54%

Hana Financial Group Inc., South Korea’s No. 4 banking group, said Monday its second-quarter earnings fell 54 percent from a year earlier due mainly to the absence of a one-off stake gain.Net income came to 225.1 billion won ($196.2 million) in the April-June period, compared with 489.8 billion won the previous year, said the group, which competed to buy the Korea Exchange Bank in February.Hana Financial’s net profits include KEB’s earnings results.In the second quarter of 2011, the group posted

July 16, 2012

Foreign financial firms using dividends to transfer wealth overseas

Foreign investment banks and asset management companies are paying huge dividends that surpass their net profits or remitting a large amount of profit to their headquarters overseas. Standard Chartered Bank Korea paid a dividend of 100 billion won ($87.1 million) this year to Standard Chartered Korea, the 100 percent shareholder of the bank. Dividend per share was 381 won. The dividend was the same amount as last year although the bank’s net profit decreased by 21 percent to about 255 billion wo

July 16, 2012

Seoul shares edge up 0.27 percent on eased concerns

South Korean stocks rose 0.27 percent on Monday as investor sentiment was boosted by growing expectations over a global recovery and corporate earnings forecasts, analysts said. The local currency gained ground against the U.S. dollar.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 4.9 points to finish at 1,817.79. Trading volume was light at 263.5 million shares worth 3.2 trillion won ($2.8

July 16, 2012

Entertainers hugely in debt: report

Some Korean entertainers who own expensive buildings in Seoul are saddled with heavy debts because of massive real estate purchases, according to a report by Chaebul.com, a local website offering public information about wealthy Korean tycoons and entertainers.The entertainers borrowed billions of won to buy buildings but property prices have dropped, leaving some in negative equity, the website said.It conducted an analysis on 27 commercial buildings owned by 26 entertainers, based on property

July 16, 2012

Seoul shares open higher on upbeat U.S. firm earnings

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Monday, boosted by better-than-expected corporate earnings reports in the United States last week, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 0.93 points, or 0.05 percent to 1,813.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading.JP Morgan Chase beat market anticipations, reporting a net $5 billion profit for the second quarter, w

July 16, 2012

Korea ratchets up drive to upgrade FTA with ASEAN

Korea is stepping up efforts to seal high-level bilateral free trade pacts with some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in a bid to further boost trade volume, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said Sunday.According to the ministry, Korea is set to hold minister-level talks with Vietnam soon over a bilateral free trade accord.Korea is also in negotiations with Indonesia over a so-called comprehensive economic partnership agreement, which is equivalent to a free trade agreement. Last week

July 15, 2012

Overseas sales of Hyundai’s premium sedans more than double

Overseas sales of Hyundai Motor Co.’s premium sedans such as the Genesis and the Equus more than doubled in the first five months of the year, buoyed by rising demand in the United States, industry sources said Sunday.According to the sources, Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s leading automaker, exported a total of 28,865 Genesis, Equus and Grandeur sedans in the January-May period, compared with 12,958 units a year earlier.Hyundai Motor sold a total of 13,553 Grandeur sedans in overseas markets in t

MobilityJuly 15, 2012

LG Electronics suspends Olympic ads

LG Electronics, Korea’s second-largest consumer electronics maker, temporarily suspended its television advertisements promoting the company’s Cinema 3-D Smart TV and the London Olympics last week.The company stopped showing its ads for two days after receiving a warning from the Korean Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee, according to media reports.Non-Olympic corporate sponsors are not allowed to market their brands or products using the word “Olympic.”LG Electronics’ 3-D

IndustryJuly 15, 2012

Conglomerates’ cash conditions to worsen amid global slowdown

A majority of Korean companies, including blue chips, listed on the stock market, are expected to see their free cash flow decline due to the global economic slowdown, said FNGuide, an online financial information service provider.It has estimated that free cash flow of 98 listed companies will fall to 18.4 trillion won on average this year, or 53.8 percent down from about 40 trillion won at the end of last year.Almost 80 percent of the 98 listed companies will see a drop in their free cash flow

July 15, 2012

FTC powers come under pressure

Political parties consider ending antitrust watchdog’s exclusive right to file complaints with prosecutionThe Fair Trade Commission is facing growing criticism over its exclusive right to decide whether firms face criminal investigation for antitrust activities, after a series of lenient decisions.With the aim of stopping abuse by law enforcement agencies, the Fair Trade Law dictates that the antitrust watchdog is the only entity with the right to file a complaint with the prosecution regarding

IndustryJuly 15, 2012

Airlines set to increase domestic fares

The nation’s two largest flight carriers ― Korean Air and Asiana Airlines ― are expected to raise fares for domestic flights ahead of the peak summer season, possibly affecting other low-budget carriers in the coming weeks. Asiana Airlines said Friday that it will increase fares of all domestic flights by an average of 9.9 percent from Aug. 3, the first hike since August, 2004. The company said the price hikes would amount to 6 percent for Monday to Thursday flights, 12 percent for Friday to Sun

IndustryJuly 15, 2012

Samsung, KB Asset see more rate cuts

South Korea’s biggest bond investors expect the Bank of Korea to lower borrowing costs again this year, as Thursday’s unexpected cut signals the nation’s economy has deteriorated.The Bank of Korea unexpectedly reduced the benchmark seven- day repurchase rate to 3 percent from 3.25 percent, the first cut since February 2009, it said in a statement today in Seoul. Only two of 16 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted the move, while the rest expected no change.Samsung Asset Management Co.

July 15, 2012

Asiana named best airline in Asia

Asiana Airlines has earned the Best Airline in Asia title from the British transport research company Skytrax, the air carrier said Sunday. In the Airline of the Year rankings, Asiana Airlines ranked second next to Qatar Airlines, it added. During the award ceremony held on Thursday in Farnborough, the U.K., the airline received the Best Airline in Asia award together with the award for the Best Economy Class Airline Seat. Asiana said its premium services like dispatching chefs and sommeliers as

IndustryJuly 15, 2012

Seoul bourse likely to attempt rebound this week

Korean stocks are expected to move upward this week, trying to make up for the sharp losses seen in the last seven days, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index tumbled 3.2 percent from a week earlier to finish at 1,812.89 this week, as investors opted to sell off shares on disappointing U.S. employment data and a hike in borrowing costs for Spanish debts. The main index plunged as low as the 1,780 mark on Thursday after the central bank lowered its key rate for the first

July 15, 2012

Six out of ten paid by card in Q1

Payment by credit card surpasses 60% for first time while card issuances dropPurchases made by credit card surpassed 60 percent of all purchases made in the first quarter for the first time. Korea’s Credit Finance Association announced on Sunday that payment by credit card reached 63.3 percent in the first quarter. It means that most purchases were done by credit cards, said the association, probably excluding small amounts below 2,000 won paid in cash. The ratio increased almost three-fold from

July 15, 2012

Money circulation stiffens

Despite the government’s various monetary policy measures including the key interest rate cut to 3 percent, money circulation is slowing more than ever in Korea, reports showed. According to the Bank of Korea, money multiplier, the core indicator used to assess circulation levels, dropped to 21.9, it’s lowest point in the past decade. Money multiplier is the ratio of the volume of the money and substitutes in circulation to the volume of actual money supplied by the central bank. A decrease in t

July 15, 2012