S. Korea set to unveil export-boosting steps in June

South Korea plans to announce a package of measures next month to counter a slowdown in its exports, a main driver of the country's economic growth, officials said Sunday.The move comes as overseas shipments lost further ground last month. Asia's fourth-largest economy reported an 8.1 percent on-year fall in outbound shipments in April, worsening from a 4.3 percent on-year drop in March.Officials said the finance ministry, together with other government ministries and state think tanks, has star

May 10, 2015

AmorePacific trades lower after stock splits

Shares of AmorePacific Co., South Korea's top cosmetics maker, closed lower on Friday as investors locked in profits upon its market comeback after a 10-day trading suspension for its 10-for-1 stock split.Trading of Amore's shares has been put on hold since April 21 to prepare for lowering the face value of its common stocks from 5,000 won ($4.57) to 500 won, which increased the number of shares in circulation by tenfold. Its shares began trading at 386,000 won in the main KOSPI market, but they

May 8, 2015

Newly registered foreign vehicles in S. Korea up 8.9 pct in April

The number of newly registered foreign cars in South Korea grew 8.9 in April from a year earlier, driven mostly by German brands, including Mercedes-Benz and BMW, industry data showed Friday.According to the data by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, a total of 18,202 foreign vehicles were newly registered in the country last month, up from the previous year's 16,712 units.The latest figure raised the cumulative registration for the January-April period to 77,171, a 26.

May 8, 2015

Foreign currency deposits hit 8-month high in April

Foreign currency-denominated deposits at banks in South Korea reached an eight-month high in April, buoyed by a rise in both U.S. dollar and Chinese yuan deposits, data showed Friday.Foreign currency deposits held by residents reached $68 billion last month, nearing a record $68.6 billion posted in August last year, according to the Bank of Korea. It increased by $5.3 billion from a month earlier.Only deposits that were made by local citizens, foreign companies and foreigners who have stayed her

May 8, 2015

Seoul shares hit 4-week low on German bond woes

South Korean stocks fell to the lowest level in four weeks Thursday as a sharp rise in German government bond yields is feared to trigger a sell-off in the local equity market, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed down 13.58 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,091.00, the lowest level since April 10, when the index finished at 2,087.76. Trading volume was moderate at 419.5 million shares worth 5.38 trillion won ($4.93 billio

May 7, 2015

Slumping exports hamper economic recovery: KDI

Stagnant exports are weighing down on South Korea's economic recovery, which is showing signs of a modest gain on the back of increased domestic demand, a state-run think tank said Thursday. In its latest report on the economy, the Korea Development Institute said a continuing slump in outbound shipments is hurting industrial output and holding up the recovery process.Industrial production grew just 1.8 percent on-year in March, despite a 3.1-percent rise in service sector output, the KDI said.S

May 7, 2015

S. Korea's labor productivity gains in 2014

South Korea's labor productivity continued to improve in 2014 from a year earlier largely on a gain in the service sector, the government said Thursday.The country's overall labor productivity index rose 1.5 percent to 101.9 last year, marking the second consecutive year of on-year gain, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Labor productivity is measured by dividing total industrial output by total labor input, with that of 2010 serving as a baseline of 100.The increase came m

May 7, 2015

S. Korea's money market expands on policy, demand

South Korea's market for short-term financial instruments has grown in recent years, backed by policy efforts to nurture the market as well as increasing demand for new investment vehicles, a report showed Wednesday.The value of the local money market reached 338.9 trillion won($313.2 billion) as of the end of last year, increasing by 71.4 trillion won from the end of 2010, according to the report by the Bank of Korea. From the end of 2013, the market expanded by 15.9 trillion won.With the incre

May 6, 2015

Stock short-selling soars amid bull run

More investors in South Korea are opting to short stocks as they took bearish bets on local equities following a recent strong rally, data showed Wednesday. Daily stock short-selling averaged 360.5 billion won ($333.5million) in the main KOSPI and secondary KOSDAQ markets in April, 68 percent more than December's 214.6 billion won, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange.  Stock short-selling is a trading technique in which investors sell stocks they borrowed on the belief that shar

May 6, 2015

S. Korea's tax benefit for married at bottom among OECD

Married couples in South Korea received one of the smallest tax breaks among other advanced economies, a study showed Tuesday, although the government has been trying to promote marriage to tackle low birth rates. The effective income tax rates for singles ranged between 0.9 and 13 percent in 2013, which was 0.2-0.6 percentage point more than those for married couples, Ahn Jong-seok, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Public Finance, said in a report.The effective tax rate is the average ra

May 5, 2015

China's growing trade power hurting S. Korean exports: report

China's growing competitiveness in international trade is causing South Korean exports to lose market share, which can spell trouble for Asia's fourth-largest economy, a report said Tuesday.Chinese products with good export potential are forcing South Korean goods to surrender market share, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in the report based on the assessment of how a country's emergence on the global trade arena affects others among South Korea, Japan and China.Such developments are

May 5, 2015

S. Korea, Vietnam sign bilateral FTA

South Korea and Vietnam signed a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) Tuesday, the Seoul government said, with the countries seeking to implement the deal before the year's end.The Korea-Vietnam FTA was officially signed by the countries' trade ministers in a ceremony held in Hanoi, about a month after the deal was initialed, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy."The two countries have agreed to work together for early implementation of the Korea-Vietnam FTA," it said in a pre

May 5, 2015

Asia should lure more infrastructure investment: finance minister

South Korea's finance minister called on Asia Monday to better meet regional demand for infrastructure development by attracting more outside investment and strengthening ties between regional economic institutions, Seoul's finance ministry said.Choi Kyung-hwan, who doubles as deputy prime minister for economic affairs, made the call in a speech to the board of governors session of the Asian Development Bank's annual meeting held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan."Asian countries need to speed

May 4, 2015

AIIB to use U.S. dollar as settlement currency: source

The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is expected to use the U.S. dollar as its currency of settlement, a diplomatic source here said Monday, despite Beijing's ambition for the internationalization of China's yuan. Fifty-seven countries, including South Korea, became founding members of the AIIB, which is seen as a potential counterbalance to U.S. and Japan-led multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. The U.S. and Japan did not join the AIIB. The s

May 4, 2015

Korean won rises most among emerging market currencies

The South Korean won has seen the biggest surge in its real effective exchange rate among emerging currencies since the U.S. Federal Reserve first hinted at tapering its quantitative easing two years ago, data showed Monday. The won's real effective exchange rate was 113.46 as of end-March, 11.2 percent higher than in April 2013, when then Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke signaled a reduction in its massive monetary easing, according to data by the Bank for International Settlements. The REER

May 4, 2015

Seoul shares open higher on exporters' gain

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday due to strong gains from key exporters, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 4 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,131.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares led the growth, with Samsung Electronics adding 0.85 percent and LG Display climbing 0.34 percent. No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix also moved up 0.76 percent.Carmakers also traded bullish, with No. 1 Hyundai Motor increasing 1.48 percent and its smaller sister Kia Moto

May 4, 2015

S. Korea's current account surplus hits 4-month high in March

South Korea's current account surplus reached a four-month high in March as imports fell at a much faster clip than exports, data showed Monday, stoking concerns over upward pressure on its currency.The current account surplus came to $10.39 billion in March, nearly double the $6.44 billion surplus from the previous month and marking the 37th consecutive month of surplus, according to the provisional data released by the Bank of Korea.The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border t

May 4, 2015

S. Korean banks' loan delinquency rate falls in March

The delinquency rate of loans extended by South Korean banks, including household lending, fell in March from a month earlier, the financial watchdog said Monday.The combined delinquency rate of bank loans stood at 0.69 percent at the end of March, down 0.08 percentage point from a month ago, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The decline came as the amount of cleared bad debts worth 2.5 trillion won ($2.3 billion) outpaced fresh bad loans worth 1.4 trillion won during March.The deli

May 4, 2015