Lingering global uncertainties such as the eurozone debt crisis are posing risks for the South Korean economy as they threaten to sap its growth momentum, the top economic policymaker said Wednesday.“The Korean economy faces such challenges as eurozone woes, the standoff over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and signs that the U.S. economy could face problems,” Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan told a weekly meeting of economic ministers.“Our economy relies heavily on autos and semiconductors to generate gr

April 4, 2012

South Korea’s trade surplus in industrial components and materials rose 5.2 percent on-year in the first quarter of 2012, mainly due to a drop in imports, a government report showed Wednesday.The trade surplus reached $20.8 billion in the January-March period, compared with $19.8 billion a year earlier, according to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.Imports of industrial components and materials contracted 2.9 percent on-year to $39.9 billion in the three-month period, while export

April 4, 2012

The government on Tuesday approved a revised regulation to force large retailers to close one or two days a month or cut operating hours as part of efforts to protect smaller businesses and traditional markets. Under the revision to the Distribution Industry Development Law, discount stores and supermarket chains will face fines of 10 million won ($9,666) for first violation and 20 million won for the second.Currently, the nation’s top three retail giants E-Mart, Homeplus and Lotte Mart open eve

IndustryApril 3, 2012

Expectations for record quarterly earnings are rising for Samsung Electronics with a recent report indicating that the firm has beaten its rival Apple Inc. in global smartphone sales for the first quarter.Global investment bank Canaccord Genuity’s technology analyst Michael Walkley said in a report released Tuesday that he sees Samsung selling 41 million smartphones from January-March, outperforming Apple’s 32.6 million and Nokia’s 12.5 million.Raising his yearly estimate for smartphones to 723

IndustryApril 3, 2012

South Korea’s food and agriculture exports rose more than 11 percent on-year in the first quarter of 2012 on solid demand in the United States, Japan and China, the government said Tuesday.In the January-March period, South Korea shipped $1.82 billion worth of farm products, up 11.2 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.The growth was largely led by an increase in shipments of fresh produce and fishery products, which rose

April 3, 2012

South Korean stocks finished 0.99 percent higher Tuesday on hopes for a recovery of the global economy, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark KOSPI advanced 19.99 points to close at 2,049.28. Trading volume was moderate at 587 million shares worth 5.99 trillion won ($5.6 billion), with gainers outpacing 302 to 518.Positive manufacturing data from the U.S. released Monday added to growing hopes the global economy is on a recovery track. On Monday, the local

April 3, 2012

Local demand for loans are expected to rise to a 42-month high in the second quarter, but borrowers are likely to see more obstacles in getting such loans, data showed Tuesday. The Bank of Korea released a survey of 16 banks, showing the tightening lending situation in the domestic financial market at a time when concerns are growing over household debts. “Given increased credit risks amid the economic slowdown, local lenders are likely to beef up risk management for loans for smaller firms,” th

April 3, 2012

Life insurance firms’ overseas branches saw their net losses snowball last year due to huge cost in operating businesses in foreign countries.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, eight overseas units of three major life insurance companies ― Samsung, Korea and Kyobo ― reported a combined net loss of $16 million (18.2 billion won) in 2011.Their losses increased by 22 percent compared to the figure of 2010, the FSS said.“Though the profit from collecting insurance premiums increased by

April 3, 2012

profile-KhangKhang Sung-wook profile- Took office as chief executive of GE Korea in January 2012.- Worked at Cisco Systems as president for enterprise and commercial business in Asia Pacific from October 2002 to December 2011.- Served as general manager of enterprise systems group at Hewlett-Packard Korea, managing director of Compaq’s Korean operations and regional managing director for Tandem Computers’ East Asia operations between 1990 and 2002.- Started his career as system engineer at IBM i

IndustryApril 3, 2012

Overseas construction orders won by South Korean companies rose 6 percent in March from a year earlier, helped by large building contracts secured in the Middle East and South Asia, data showed Tuesday.The data by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs showed local builders signed deals totaling $5.5 billion last month, compared with $5.2 billion a year earlier.Last month’s gain comes after orders dropped sharply in January and February of this year, which raised alarm bells in the

April 3, 2012

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves soared to a fresh high in March due mainly to increased gains from asset management, the central bank said Tuesday.The country’s foreign reserves reached a record high of $315.95 billion at the end of last month, up $150 million from February, according to the Bank of Korea.The previous record was $315.8 billion set in February this year. Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its foreign reserves surpass the $300 billion mark for the first time in April 2011 a

April 3, 2012

Korea is ripe for high-frequency trading, according to one expert who led a workshop on the subject in Seoul last week. The Speed Traders Workshop took place on Wednesday in Gangnam, covering strategies for high-frequency trading, regulation, the future of the practice and other concepts. High-frequency trading refers to the use of sophisticated technology, allowing for the execution of millions of securities trades per second.The workshop was led by Edgar Perez, author of “The Speed Traders: An

April 3, 2012