Bank lending rates on home-backed loans inch down in Sept.

Bank lending rates on new home-backed loans in South Korea edged down in September from a month earlier amid a record-low policy rate, central bank data showed Thursday.The average rate for fresh mortgages extended to households came in at 2.92 percent last month, down 0.02 percentage point from August, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea.The numbers for household loans including mortgages dipped 0.02 percentage point on-month to 3.11 percent, while that for corporate lending edg

Oct. 29, 2015

KEPCO inks Dubai smart grid deal, enters Mideast market

South Korea's state-run power monopoly said Thursday that it has inked a smart grid system deal with Dubai that can lead to more business opportunities down the road.The $3 million agreement with Dubai Electricity & Water Authority signed in the United Arab Emirates is the first smart grid building contract secured by the company in the Middle East, Korea Electric Power Corp. said. The project calls for the building of a smart grid station that includes solar power generation and energy storage

Oct. 29, 2015

Fed keeps rate at record low but will consider December hike

The Federal Reserve is keeping its key short-term interest rate at a record low in light of a weak global economy, slower U.S. hiring and subpar inflation. But it signaled the possibility of a rate hike in December.A statement the Fed issued Wednesday said it would monitor job growth and inflation to determine “whether it will be appropriate to raise the target range” for its benchmark rate at its next meeting.It marked the first time in seven years of record-low rates that the central bank has

Oct. 29, 2015

Nov. biz outlook turns sour amid uncertainty over China, U.S. rate hike

A majority of companies in South Korea are pessimistic about business outlooks for next month due to worries over the Chinese economy and a possible rate hike in the U.S., a poll showed Thursday.According to the survey conducted on 600 South Korean companies by the Federation of Korean Industries, the business survey index for November stood at 95.9.A reading below 100 means companies that are pessimistic about business conditions down the road outnumber optimists.After peaking at 103.7 in March

Oct. 29, 2015

Top 10% of Koreans control 66 pct of wealth: report

The top 10 percent of South Koreans control 66 percent of the country's wealth, with the inequality gap becoming more acute over time, a report showed Thursday.According to the report by Kim Nak-nyeon, an economics professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, Asia's fourth-largest economy is encumbered by a sizable difference in wealth between the haves and have-nots.While the rich monopolized wealth that includes both financial and property holdings, the lower 50 percent only accounted for 2 percen

Oct. 29, 2015

Card spending hits record high in Q3

South Korea's credit card spending hit a record high in the third quarter, data showed Thursday, pointing to a recovery in domestic demand from the fallout of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak.Total card spending reached 166.5 trillion won ($147.1 billion) in the July-September period, up 13.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association.It marks the first time that the purchases made with credit cards broke the 160 trillion-won mark,

Oct. 29, 2015

Household loans keep growing at face pace in Sept.

South Korean banks' household lending continued to grow at a fast clip in September amid rising demand for mortgage loans, the financial watchdog said Thursday.Outstanding household loans by local lenders reached 615.1 trillion won ($543.9 billion) as of end last month, up 6.2 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The September gain was slightly lower than the 7.7 trillion won on-month rise in August. Home-backed mortgages rose 5.9 trillion won on-mont

Oct. 29, 2015

‘Foodpolis best site for foreign firms eyeing Asia-Pacific’

The Korea National Food Cluster, or Foodpolis, is the strongest pick of headquarters for foreign food companies seeking to enter markets in Asian economies, the Korean Agriculture Ministry said Wednesday.　In a press conference for foreign journalists, Lee Ju-myeung, director general of the food industry policy unit in the ministry, said that the world’s first state-supported food cluster offers a balanced incentive package that exceeds other food clusters in practicality. 　“We offer more than ju

Oct. 28, 2015

Korea economy to grow 3% in 2016: think tank

The South Korean economy is expected to grow 3 percent in 2016 from this year amid a prolonged slump in exports and a delay in the recovery of domestic demand, a major think tank said Wednesday.The forecast by the Korea Institute of Finance is grimmer than the government's prediction of 3.3 percent and the Bank of Korea's 3.2 percent projection. But it is slightly higher than forecasts made by South Korean private economic think tanks.The KIF also predicted Asia's fourth-largest economy to expan

Oct. 28, 2015

Korea's housing market keeps improving in Q3: report

South Korea's housing market continued to show signs of improvement in the third quarter, aided by a significant rise in the number of home transactions, as well as a steady increase in prices, a report showed Wednesday.In the three-month period ending on Sept. 30, home transactions spiked 21 percent on-year to 290,937, according to the report by the state-run Korea Development Institute.The sharp increase follows the 39.1 percent on-year surge in the second quarter and the 18.3 percent gain tal

Oct. 28, 2015

Korea's industrial electricity sales gain 1% in Q3

Electricity consumption by South Korea's industrial sector rose moderately from a year earlier in the third quarter, fueled by higher demand from automakers, chemical producers and machinery equipment companies, the government said Wednesday.Sales of industrial electricity came to 68.63 billion kilowatt-hours in the July-September period, up 1 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Electricity sales serve as a barometer of industrial activ

Oct. 28, 2015

Korean housing permits jump in Q3

Construction permits issued for new homes jumped 21 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, underscoring a strong sign of recovery in the country's real estate market.The number of new home permits issued came to 70,121 units in the July-September period, up from 58,024 from the year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The third-quarter rise marked the ninth consecutive on-quarter increase, with the pace a

Oct. 28, 2015

Economic uncertainties still persist: BOK chief

The head of South Korea's central bank drew a rather gloomy picture for the future of the local and global economies Wednesday, saying they both face great uncertainties caused by the world's two largest economies."It is hard to think of a time when the domestic and global economies did not face uncertainties, but I believe the keyword that best describes recent conditions in the global economy is uncertainty," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a monthly breakfast meeting with economic scho

Oct. 28, 2015

Korea ranks 4th globally in biz climate: World Bank

South Korea's business environment ranking has risen to fourth place among 189 countries on improvements in property registry, contract enforcement and minor investor protection, a report by the World Bank showed Wednesday.According to the international institution's annual "Doing Business 2016" ranking report, the ranking represents a one-notch rise from South Korea's standing a year earlier.The World Bank evaluates overall business conditions by applying so-called case scenarios in 10 specific

Oct. 28, 2015

Gov't to pump 9 tln won more to keep growth momentum alive

The government will inject an extra 9 trillion won ($7.95 billion) into the local economy in the fourth quarter to keep alive the growth momentum generated in the past few months, the finance ministry said Tuesday.In a meeting of economy related ministers chaired by Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan in Seoul, policymakers said every effort will be made to generate sustainable domestic demand by take advantage of excise tax cuts, a rise in household income and aggressive fiscal spending measures.A

Oct. 27, 2015

Korean consumer sentiment improves in Oct.

Consumer sentiment in South Korea improved in October for the fourth consecutive month, with better outlooks for income and spending, central bank data showed Tuesday.The consumer sentiment index for October came to 105, gaining 2 points from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.A reading above 100 indicates optimists outnumber pessimists.The index has been on a steady rise since it dipped to 99 in June, slipping below the benchmark 100 for the first time since Januar

Oct. 27, 2015

Gov't to buy 590,000 tons of rice to help stabilize prices

The government will buy 590,000 tons of locally produced rice this year to help stabilize the market price of the staple grain, the farm ministry said Monday.The amount represents an increase of 200,000 tons from the original plan announced in early September that called for 360,000 tons to be set aside as part of the country's strategic reserves, and 30,000 tons to be pledged to the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said.The extra 200,0

Oct. 26, 2015