Streamlining wave hits financial sector

Banks, brokerages, insurance firms carry out early retirement plans to cut costsKorea’s financial sector is headed for a fresh round of restructuring, with major banks pushing employees to opt for early retirement plans amid growing worries over the lackluster earnings outlook.Domestic banks, brokerages and insurance firms are taking steps to reduce their workforces as they brace for lower earnings due to the stronger regulatory supervision including a cut in commission fees and the uncertaintie

Dec. 26, 2011

Creditors demand Kumho Petrochemical sell stake in Asiana

Creditors demanded Kumho Petrochemical sell off its stake in Asiana Airlines to facilitate the petrochemical company’s separation from Kumho Asiana Group.“We urged Kumho Petrochemical to dispose of some 14 million shares it holds in Asiana Airlines to meet the requirements for its separation from Kumho Asiana Group,” an official at one of the creditors said Monday. For this, the creditors decided to remove the collateral on the 7.72 percent of the airliner’s common stocks, or some 14.13 million

IndustryDec. 26, 2011

Seoul shares drop on institutional selling

Korean stocks finished 0.56 percent lower on Monday as uncertainties about Europe overshadowed upbeat U.S. data, prompting institutional sell-offs, analysts said.The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. After opening briefly higher, the benchmark KOSPI dropped 10.52 points to 1,856.70. Trading volume was moderate at 424 million shares worth 2.97 trillion won ($2.58 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 448 to 357. “Investors are not paying much attention to past economic data as they ar

Dec. 26, 2011

Seoul shares end 0.56% down on institutional selling

South Korean stocks finished 0.56 percent lower on Monday as uncertainties about Europe overshadowed upbeat U.S. data, prompting institutional sell-offs, analysts said.The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.After opening briefly higher, the benchmark KOSPI dropped 10.52 points to 1,856.70. Trading volume was moderate at 424 million shares worth 2.97 trillion won ($2.58 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 448 to 357.“Investors are not paying much attention to past economic data as the

Dec. 26, 2011

KT to start long-awaited LTE service from next week

By Lee Ji-yoonKT Corp, the nation’s second-largest telecom operator, plans to start its long-awaited Long Term Evolution service from next week after a Seoul court gave it the green light on Monday to ditch its feature phone service.According to KT, it will shut down the second-generation network service in phases, first in Seoul at 10 a.m. on Jan. 3, starting faster LTE service straight away on that day. The Seoul High Court on Monday overturned a lower court ruling in favor of some 900 users w

IndustryDec. 26, 2011

Kumho Petrochemical pressed to sell stake in Kumho Asiana

Creditors of Korea Kumho Petrochemical Co. are pressing the company to sell its stake in Asiana Airlines Inc., a major affiliate of Kumho Asiana Group, in order to separate the petrochemical firm from the group, industry sources said Monday.Park Chan-koo, chairman of Kumho Petrochemical, has been se

Dec. 26, 2011

BOK under pressure to tighten this week

 

Dec. 26, 2011

'Anonymous' hackers target US security think tank

LONDON (AP) _ The loose-knit hacking movement ``Anonymous'' claimed to have stolen thousands of credit card numbers and other personal information belonging to clients of U.S.-based security think tank Stratfor. One hacker said the goal was to pilfer funds from individuals' accounts to give away as

TechnologyDec. 26, 2011

IT-related application sales nearly double

Sales of information technology-based applications in Korea have almost doubled on average over the past three years, driven by soaring demand for high-tech solutions to upgrade products, a poll showed Sunday. Five-hundred companies, chiefly non-IT, raked in more than 160 billion won ($139 million) collectively from the business-to-business transactions last year, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Total output has surged more than 28 percent to almost 50 trillion won between 2007 a

IndustryDec. 25, 2011

Regulators plan to fuel growth to ETF market

Retirement and pension funds may be allowed to engage in ETF to nurture long-term investmentKorea’s financial regulators plan to nurture the fledgling ETF market by allowing pension and retirement funds to engage in the investment vehicle in question as part of efforts to encourage long-term investment practices. The country’s financial regulators led by the Financial Services Commission are reviewing options aimed at giving an impetus to the ETF market starting from early next year. ETF, or exc

Dec. 25, 2011

Self-employed biz lending accounts for 33.9 percent of SME loans

The amount of money borrowed by self-employed entrepreneurs accounted for 33.9 percent of all loans taken out by small and medium enterprises, data showed Sunday, raising worries it may weigh on government efforts to curb private sector debt.Korean lenders extended loans worth 157.9 trillion won ($137.4 billion) to self-employed business-people as of the end of November, from a total of all SME loans that reached 465.2 trillion won, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.Th

Dec. 25, 2011

Korean businesses bracing for escalating uncertainties

Korea is girding itself for a series of external uncertainties surrounding its economy that are expected to reach their peak in the first quarter of next year, officials said Sunday.Amid a global economic slowdown, the bulk of sovereign debts issued by five highly indebted eurozone countries will mature during the January-March period, the most serious risk factor that could rattle financial markets across the globe.Washington’s additional sanctions on Iran for the latter’s suspected nuclear arm

Dec. 25, 2011

Shares likely to gain ground on improving U.S. data

South Korean stocks will likely continue to gain ground this week as improving U.S. economic indicators are expected to bolster investor sentiment, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark KOSPI rose about 1.5 percent last week to close at 1,867.22 on Friday. The rise came despite a plunge on Monday caused by news of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.Investors were spooked by heightened geopolitical risks, but soon turned their focus more to economic news coming from the U.S. and Europe.S

Dec. 25, 2011