Korea to focus on fueling economic recovery momentum in 2016

South Korea will focus on fueling economic recovery momentum in 2016 and strive to push forward meaningful reforms as it moves past a disappointing year full of difficult challenges, the government said Wednesday.  In its 2016 economic directives, the finance ministry made clear it will push forward policies that can prop up growth in the short term and improve the overall competitiveness of Asia's fourth largest economy down the line.   It said 2016 will also be the year that reform measures pu

Dec. 16, 2015

Seoul shares start higher ahead of imminent Fed rate hike

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Wednesday on hopes that uncertainties tied to the U.S. rate hike will soon be eased.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 26.5 points, or 1.37 percent, to 1,959.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading.  The Federal Open Market Committee kicked off its two-day meeting on Tuesday (U.S. time), which is expected to end the near-zero borrowing costs after nearly a decade. The results are to be available on Wednesday.   On the back of expec

Dec. 16, 2015

Korea's jobless rate stays pat at 3.1% in November

South Korea's unemployment rate stayed pat in November compared with the month before as gains in the manufacturing and hospitality sectors were offset by losses in the agrofisheries and retail segments, a government report showed Wednesday.  According to the report by Statistics Korea, the rate stood at 3.1 percent last month, unchanged from October and the year before.  The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for last month reached 3.4 percent, also flat from the 3.4 percent figure tallied f

Dec. 16, 2015

Seoul logs trade surplus for 46th straight month in Nov.

South Korea posted a trade surplus for the 46th month in a row in November as imports dropped at a much faster pace than exports, customs data showed Tuesday.  According to data from the Korea Customs Service, the country's trade surplus reached a record high of $10.32 billion last month, up nearly two-fold from the $5.26 billion reported a year earlier. The total was also up sharply from the $6.6 billion reported for October.  Exports were down 4.8 percent on-year to $44.38 billion last month,

Dec. 15, 2015

Asian stocks fall as investors await Fed rate hike decision

Asian stock markets were mostly lower Monday following Wall Street's losses as investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision this week on raising interest rates for the first time the financial crisis.  KEEPING SCORE: Tokyo's Nikkei 225 sank 1.9 percent to 18,869.25 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.8 percent to 21,285.92 The Shanghai Composite Index bucked the regional trend, rising 0.5 percent to 3,453.29. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 retreated 1.4 percent to 4,957.80 and South Korea's Kospi

Dec. 14, 2015

Korea calls for financial safety net, macroeconomic health at G20 meeting

South Korea is calling for the creation of a global financial market safety net and improvements in the macroeconomic health of countries at the Group of Twenty deputies meeting in China, the government said Monday.  The two-day gathering being held in Sanya on Hainan Island, marks the first meeting of representatives from the world's 20 key systemically important industrialized and developing economies, after Beijing assumed the rotating chairmanship, the finance ministry said.  The working-lev

Dec. 14, 2015

Korea‘s home rental deals fall 6.1% in Nov.

South Korea's home rental transactions contracted 6.1 percent on-month in November mainly due to a drop in seasonal demand, the government said Monday.   In the one-month period, the number of home rental transactions reached 115,138 units, down from 122,617 transactions in October, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.  Compared with a year earlier, monthly transactions inched up 1.5 percent from 113,451 units.  Data showed that in the 11 months of this year, transaction numb

Dec. 14, 2015

Korea, Taiwan sign deal to cooperate in ETF market

Stock bourse operators of South Korea and Taiwan have signed a tentative deal to cooperate in the exchange traded funds area, Seoul officials said Sunday.  An ETF refers to an investment fund traded on stock exchanges and represents a basket of stocks that reflects an index, which provides retail investors and institutions with a more liquid and risk-hedging tool.  The Korea Exchange, South Korea's stock bourse operator, said that it signed a memorandum of understanding with its Taiwanese counte

Dec. 13, 2015

Over half of biz in Korea seek belt-tightening management next year: poll

More than half of business leaders in South Korea are seeking "belt-tightening" management next year amid gloomy outlooks for overall economic conditions, a poll showed Sunday.  According to the poll of CEOs of 235 businesses by the Korea Employers Federation, a business lobby, 52.3 percent answered they will carry out the belt-tightening management next year.   Of those polled, 32 percent said that they will maintain the "status quo," while only 17.4 percent answered that their management will

Dec. 13, 2015

Korea's exports to grow slower than global average this year

South Korea's exports will likely grow at a slower pace than the global average for the second straight year in 2015, a state-run think tank said Sunday, pointing to unfavorable overseas market conditions facing many Korean companies.  According to the Korea Development Institute, South Korea's exports in terms of volume are expected to remain unchanged from a year earlier.   This will be lower than the 3.2 percent gain that the International Monetary Fund is projecting for this year.  It would

Dec. 13, 2015

Seoul shares down 0.2% amid Fed rate hike woes

South Korean stocks fell 0.18 percent Friday as investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Fed's upcoming rate-setting meeting. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 3.45 points to 1,948.62. Trade volume was thin at 375.12 million shares worth 4.08 trillion won ($3.46 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 467 to 343."The market did not move much with the absence of major players. Before next week's major events such as the Fe

Dec. 11, 2015

Korea facing tough economic challenges in 2016: finance minister

South Korea will face some tough challenges in 2016 as it moves to prop up growth that has been hit hard by the sluggish global economy, the top economic policymaker has said.In a meeting with reporters late Thursday, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan predicted that overall conditions in 2016 may not improve much from this year. He cited potential fallouts from the planned U.S. interest rate hikes that can raise financial sector volatility and other persistent uncertainties."Everyone must be on g

Dec. 11, 2015

Korea-EU FTA to come into full force Sunday

South Korea's free trade deal with the European Union will go into full effect this weekend, four years after it was "provisionally" implemented, the government said Friday.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said that starting Sunday, all provisions of the South Korea-EU free trade agreement will be implemented fully.The FTA effectively went into effect on July 1, 2011, under an arrangement to prevent administrative delays from holding back tariff cuts and free movement of goods. South K

Dec. 11, 2015

BOK chief urges more efforts to manage debt

South Korea's central bank chief urged all economic players Friday to keep close tabs on their debt levels as global economic uncertainty has escalated ahead of an imminent U.S. rate hike.The call by Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol came amid growing concerns over South Korea's soaring household debt, which is feared to hamper consumer spending and drag down Asia's fourth-largest economy."If one economy employs excessive leverage, it will force economic players to shoulder a heavy financial burden

Dec. 11, 2015

Most Koreans short on retirement savings

Most South Koreans don’t have enough funds saved for their postretirement life, especially married couples with children, a report showed Friday.According to the report released by the KB Financial Group Research Center, which surveyed 2,906 Koreans aged 25-59 nationwide on their household finances, Koreans need an average monthly income of 2.26 million won ($1,920) for postretirement expenses. However, based on the surveyed individuals’ savings, public and private pension plans and other financ

Dec. 11, 2015

Korea's import, export prices drop at faster rate in Nov.

South Korea's export prices continued to slip at a fast rate in November largely due to a sharp cut in raw material prices, the central bank said Friday.Export prices, in local currency terms, dropped 8.6 percent on-year last month, quickening from a 6.2 percent cut in the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea."Export prices in November dropped 1 percent from the previous month due to a cut in prices of home appliances, coal and petroleum products," the central ban

Dec. 11, 2015