Japan’s high-tech resources helped weather Lost Decade: BOK

Japan has been going through a series downturns and recessions further weighed down by declining asset prices and a strong currency since the 1990s. This inevitably led the once second-largest economy in the world to face nearly two decades of hardship.Despite being in the doldrums, Japan was able to weather the storm quite well thanks to its diverse and sustainable pool of conglomerates, and small and medium enterprises, according to a Bank of Korea report obtained by a local newswire.The repor

March 25, 2013

Top 10 chaebol’s property investment up 6.6%

South Korea’s top 10 conglomerates saw their investment in real estate climb 6.6 percent in 2012 from the previous year, data showed Monday, apparently as they sought to make profits from leasing their property amid an economic slowdown. A total of 92 listed companies affiliated with the country’s family-controlled conglomerates, known as chaebol in Korean, owned real estate worth 13.61 trillion won ($12.2 billion) for investment purposes at the end of last year, compared with 12.77 trillion won

March 25, 2013

Weak yen concerns escalate in Korea

Korea’s newly appointed finance minister, Hyun Oh-seok, revived his nation’s concerns over weakness in the yen and said that the Group of 20 nations should revisit the issue. “Japan’s expansionary policies are having various ripple effects on many countries,” Hyun, 62, told reporters on Saturday in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province on his second day as finance chief. “The yen is depreciating while the won is gaining and this is flashing a red light for Korea’s exports.” Japan central bank Governor Haru

March 25, 2013

FTA negotiator to be named assistant deputy minister

The newly created Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will offer the assistant deputy minister post to Choi Kyung-lim, the chief negotiator for the ongoing free trade agreements.The trade department, which was formerly affiliated with the Foreign Ministry, was officially merged into the trade ministry on Saturday, following the long-delayed parliamentary approval of the government organization bill on Friday.“We have asked chief FTA negotiator Choi to take the assistant deputy minister positi

March 24, 2013

S. Korea's new finance minister cautious on adopting Tobin tax

South Korea's new finance minister said Saturday that it needs to be cautious of adopting the so-called Tobin tax, indicating that such a measure could trigger a capital outflow.   The South Korean government said earlier that the country may move to tighten its regulation on capital flows in and out of the country amid worries that growing volatility in the currency market could hurt the country's overall economic stability.   As part of the new measures, the government said it is considering i

March 23, 2013

Seoul shares to rebound on eased eurozone woes

  South Korea's stock market is expected to rebound next week as concerns over the eurozone crisis ease and a series of stimulus measures set to be revealed boost investor sentiment here, analysts said Saturday.   The country's key stock index, the KOSPI, dropped 1.9 percent this week to close at 1,948.71 on Friday, weighed down by an escalating fiscal problem in Cyprus and a cyber attack on several media outlets and banks.   Standard & Poor's, a global credit appraiser, slashed Cyprus's soverei

March 23, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.11 pct on eurozone woes

South Korean stocks closed 0.11 percent lower Friday due to rising concerns over the eurozone fiscal crisis, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 2.11 points to 1948.71. Trading volume was low at 244 million shares worth 3.28 trillion won (US$2.94 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 426 to 370."While investors are taking a wait-and-see stance on the recovery of the U.S. economy, the crisis in the eur

March 22, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on Cyprus woes

　South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as investors took a wait-and-see stance due to the rising concerns over the eurozone economy following an aborted rescue plan for Cyprus, analysts said.　The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 3.99 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1946.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading. 　Carmakers traded lower, with No. 1 industry player Hyundai Motor losing 0.47 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors moving down 0.18 percent. Top auto parts make

March 22, 2013

No deadline for S. Korea to decide on TPP talks: USTR chief

South Korea doesn't need to feel pressed for time in deciding whether to join the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, a top U.S. trade official said Wednesday."There's no formal deadline," Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis said at a press conference for foreign journalists in Washington. "The idea is that if economies aren't ready right now, that they'll be able to join once it's done and essentially accede to the TPP."Marantis said an envisioned TPP deal woul

March 21, 2013

Consumption inequality grows between rich and poor

The consumption gap is further widening between the rich and poor as income inequality and consumer prices rise.Statistics Korea said Tuesday that the bottom 10 percent of households by income concentrate their spending on daily necessities such as food and settling monthly utility bills.Meanwhile, the top 10 percent spend their wealth on education for their children, travel, entertainment and other cultural activities.Groceries and nonalcoholic drinks accounted for more than 23 percent of total

March 19, 2013

S. Korea pushes for 10 tln won extra budget to boost economy

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance is looking to devise a supplementary budget worth 10 trillion won to boost jobs and support the middle class.At is confirmation hearing on Tuesday, deputy prime minister Hyun Oh-seok, the nominee for the minister of strategy and finance said the ministry would need to consider devising a supplementary budget in line with the government’s macroeconomic policy.It will further look into ways to raise the budget in terms of timeline by comprehensively viewing all

March 19, 2013

Yen’s weakness to hit Korean auto industry hard

The Japanese yen’s continued depreciation will likely hit South Korea’s automobile, steel and textile industries hard by weakening their competitiveness against Japanese products in the global market, a report said Monday.The Japanese currency traded at 95.25 yen per dollar on Friday, down 21.5 percent from 78.38 yen quoted on Sept. 19, with its value against the Korean won tumbling 23.5 percent as of end-February from early June last year.“South Korea needs to step up efforts to diversify its k

March 18, 2013

S. Korea's producer price growth picks up in Feb.

South Korea's producer prices grew at a faster pace in February than the previous month as oil prices picked up and the local currency depreciated to the dollar, the central bank said Monday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, grew 0.7 percent in February from the previous month, after rising 0.2 percent on-month in January, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The data marked the fastest gain since a 0.7 percent on-month gain in February 2012.Last month, prices o

March 18, 2013