Producer prices rise in April

Korea's producer prices rose from a month earlier in April, marking the first on-month growth in eight months, central bank data showed Thursday.The producer price index for April came to 98.60, up 0.2 percent from 98.42 the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Bank of Korea (Yonhap)Producer prices serve as an indicator of future consumer inflation.The increase marked the first on-month rise since August 2015. The April tally also marked the highest reading

May 19, 2016

Korean firms sign 7 MOUs to build hospitals in Iran

Korean builders have signed a series of memorandums of understanding to build hospitals in Iran amid widening bilateral cooperation in the health care sector, the health ministry here said Wednesday.Samsung C&T, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and four other companies signed seven MOUs with Iranian medical schools to build seven medical centers with a combined 6,000 beds in Tehran during a business fair held in the Iranian capital on Saturday and Sunday, according to the Ministry of Health an

May 18, 2016

[Graphic News] Gloomy outlook for South Korea’s growth continues

Global and local organizations continued to make downward revisions on South Korea’s growth outlook amid sluggish economic data at home and abroad.Most recently, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its 2016 growth forecast of Asia’s fourth-largest economy to 2.7 percent from 3.1 percent, citing sluggish global trade and a slowdown in China.The International Monetary Fund lowered its 2016 growth estimate for Korea to 2.7 percent, and the Bank of Korea also revised down i

May 17, 2016

Samsung acquires stakes in five start-ups in Q1

Samsung Electronics has newly acquired stakes in five start-ups in the first quarter of this year as part of its ongoing efforts to elevate its software prowess.According to its quarterly report filed Monday, the five firms include SensiFree (15.09 percent), Unispectral (7.76 percent), Zyomed (2.17 percent), Keyssa (2.06 percent) and Bot Home Automation (0.99 percent).Samsung’s digital city complex in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province (Samsung Electronics)Even though the total spending, worth about 10 bi

May 17, 2016

Buyout giant KKR not eyeing ailing sectors in Korea: CEO

U.S. private equity giant KKR & Co. is not keen on investing in ailing sectors in Korea including shipbuilding and steel, its CEO said Tuesday.“We’ve avoided, not just in Korea but around the world, investing in steel or shipbuilding or auto companies mainly because of cyclical nature of those businesses,” said George Roberts, cochairman and co-CEO of KKR, at a press conference in Seoul.George Roberts, cochairman and co-CEO of U.S. private equity firm KKR, speaks during a press conference in Seo

May 17, 2016

U.S. reveals how much Treasury debt Saudi Arabia owns

Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities rose in March, with the Treasury Department revealing for the first time in four decades how much Saudi Arabia owns.In its latest report, Treasury said Monday that that total holdings increased 0.8 percent to a record $6.29 trillion. The figure climbed even though China, the largest holder of Treasury debt, trimmed its portfolio by 0.6 percent to $1.24 trillion. National flag of Saudi Arabia (Yonhap)For the first time since 1974, when the government b

May 17, 2016

Two out of 10 brokerage workers hold contract positions

The ratio of nonpermanent in the entire paid workers at Korea's 20 largest securities companies exceeded 20 percent in the first quarter due to increased staff turnover rates, government data showed Tuesday.In the January-March period, 20.8 percent of 30,174 workers at the 20 major brokerages held a short-term contract. It was up from 15.2 percent in 2014 and 18.6 percent last year, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS)."As a growing number of securities firms adopt a pe

May 17, 2016

Park says innovation is at the heart of survival strategy

Korea should relentlessly seek a "path of innovation" rather than resting on its past laurels, President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday, underscoring that innovation is at the core of the country's survival strategy amid a global economic slowdown.During a forum in Seoul, Park highlighted that South Korea has been pushing for economic innovation through a set of economic reform initiatives including regulatory reform and investment in research and development. President Park Geun-hye (Yonhap)"We can

May 17, 2016

S. Korea, Indonesia sign 11 MOUs on cooperation in trade, maritime affairs and other areas

South Korea and Indonesia agreed Monday to bolster bilateral cooperation in infrastructure development, trade, investment, maritime affairs, energy and other areas, as the former seeks to step up its foray into the Southeast Asian market.The two sides signed 11 memorandums of understanding (MOU) largely over firming up their economic ties after President Park Geun-hye and her Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo held a summit at Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's presidential office. President Park Geun

May 16, 2016

OECD cuts S. Korea‘s 2016 growth estimate

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Monday cut its 2016 growth forecast of the South Korean economy to 2.7 percent from 3.1 percent, citing sluggish global trade and a slowdown in China.For next year, it anticipated that Asia’s fourth-largest economy will attain 3 percent growth as the world economy picks up steadily, according to the latest report titled, “OECD Economic Survey of Korea.”In its earlier forecast, the OECD had expected that South Korea‘s economy would grow

May 16, 2016

Korea posts 51st straight trade surplus in April

Korea posted its 51st straight monthly trade surplus in April as an economic slowdown dragged down imports faster than exports, customs data showed Monday.The country’s trade surplus stood at $8.82 billion last month, down slightly from a four-month high of $9.85 billion in March, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Busan Port in South Korea (Yonhap)The increase was largely attributed to a cut in imports that outpaced a drop in exports.Exports fell 11.2 percent on-year to $41 b

May 16, 2016

Family feud escalates over Kumho Terminal merger

Two sons of the Kumho Group founder are likely start a lengthy legal battle over a merger between Kumho Terminal and Kumho & Co., a special purpose company set up by the elder brother to bring his empire back under his control.Kumho Petrochemical, run by younger brother Park Chan-koo, has recently sent an official request to Kumho Terminal to stop the merger with Kumho & Co., threatening to take legal action if it does not drop the case.Calling the deal a serious dereliction of duty, Kumho Petro

May 13, 2016

BOK freezes rate for 11th month

The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee on Friday left the base interest rate unchanged at a record-low 1.5 percent for the 11th consecutive month in May. The decision was expected by 11 of 12 analysts in a Yonhap News survey. The rate freeze comes as the Korean central bank comes under increasing pressure to provide liquidity to two policy banks which are heavily exposed to troubled shipping and shipbuilding industries.  BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol (Yonhap)Discussions on how to recapitalize the

May 13, 2016

Report says women leaving workforce for family, from lack of quality jobs

More than 90 percent of Korean women in their latter 30s, now economically inactive, had been previously employed, a report said Thursday, a finding that supports arguments that they are leaving the workforce to care for child and family.According to the report from the Korea Employment Information Service (KEIS), out of 836,000 women in the 35-39 age group who were not working, 93.8 percent, or 785,000, formerly held jobs. Fifty-seven percent of the women who previously had worked were raising

May 12, 2016

Biz leaders ask Park to expand summit diplomacy on economy

Korean business leaders on Wednesday requested President Park Geun-hye to engage in more summit-level "economy diplomacy," saying her recent visits to Iran and Mexico were of great help to firms here striving to tap into overseas markets.They delivered the message in a meeting with Park to pool ideas on boosting economic cooperation abroad. More than 300 business leaders attended the session. President Park Geun-hye (Yonhap)They include the heads of five major business lobby groups -- the Korea

May 12, 2016

Kaesong industrial park output reached $3.23 bln in 11 years of operation: white paper

The total value of products churned out from the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea reached $3.23 billion in the 11 years of its operations before it was shut down earlier this year, a report by South Korea's unification ministry said Thursday.The joint factory park that began production in 2005 as part of a deal reached between the leaders of the two countries in June 2000, had been the last remaining economic link between the two countries. On Feb. 10, Seoul announced the closure of the

May 12, 2016

Measures needed to soften blows of massive layoffs

The government has been trying to settle differences with the Bank of Korea over how to recapitalize policy banks to finance corporate restructuring.While pledging to pursue a proper policy mix, government officials are keeping pressure on the central bank to directly inject money into two state-run lenders -- Korea Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of Korea. They say a bank recapitalization fund suggested by the BOK head last week will not be speedy and efficient enough to carry forward t

May 12, 2016

Korea's ICT exports dip 14.3% on April

Korea's exports of information communication technology (ICT) goods dropped 14.3 percent last month due mainly to a continued slump in sales of semiconductors and displays, government data showed Thursday.ICT exports reached $12.53 billion in April, down from $14.62 billion a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. LG UHD Display (Yonhap)Exports of ICT goods accounted for 30.5 percent of the country's $41.05 billion worth of overall shipments abroa

May 12, 2016

PM stresses service sector to boost economy

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn called Thursday for enhancing the competitiveness of the country's service sector as part of a broader country-wide effort to prop-up the sluggish economy.The premier said that the service sector has good growth potential but has made a relatively small impact on exports. He pointed out that the local service sector's contribution to the national economy lags far behind those of the world's advanced industrialized countries. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (Yonhap)The t

May 12, 2016