Share buyback claims to Samsung units top 670 bln won

Samsung C&T Corp., the construction unit of the top conglomerate, Samsung Group, said Friday that it has received requests from shareholders to buy back their shares worth 670 billion won ($578 million) in a move against a merger with its sister firm, which has fallen short of the amount required to thwart the deal.   Thursday was the deadline for shareholders of Samsung C&T and its de facto holding firm, Cheil Industries Inc., to lodge their claims with the two if they want to exercise their ap

Aug. 7, 2015

Banks‘ foreign currency deposits fall most in 10 months in July

Foreign currency deposits at South Korean banks fell by the steepest pace in 10 months in July, due mostly to a decline in Chinese yuan-denominated deposits, central bank data showed Friday.  Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local residents reached $60.87 billion as of end-July, down $3.8 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The monthly decline marks the biggest fall since a $4.9 billion decline in September last year.  Residents include individual citize

Aug. 7, 2015

S. Korea‘s state pension fund takes hit from Lotte stock plunge

South Korea's national pension fund has suffered heavy losses from a recent plunge in shares of Lotte Group affiliates that was sparked by an ugly succession battle at the country's fifth-largest conglomerate, data showed Friday.  The National Pension Service racked up 77 billion won ($66.2 million) in valuation losses from its investment in Lotte affiliates between July 27 and Thursday, according to the data compiled by market tracker FnGuide.   Currently, the NPS holds more than 5 percent of s

Aug. 7, 2015

Finance minister slams Lotte for family feud

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan on Thursday said he would look into the cash flow and governance structure of the family feud-stricken Lotte Group.“The government is keeping a close watch on the issue. If necessary, state institutions will dig into the shady governance and the cash flow of the company,” Choi told the media. “I am very disappointed that (the management of) the country’s fifth-largest business conglomerate is stuck in an irrational and unfathomable fight

Aug. 6, 2015

Seoul to expand tax benefits for foreign firms

South Korea’s tax authority has decided to expand tax incentives for foreign companies, which would increase the workforce in the nation next year, said economic policymakers on Thursday.According to the 2015 tax code revision unveiled by the Finance Ministry, the ceiling of tax deduction for foreign firms operating here will be raised to 40 percent of their total inbound-investment from the current 20 percent -- when it comes to job creation.Currently, they are offered a corporate deduction of

Aug. 6, 2015

Choi urges public firms to adopt peak wage

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan urged public companies Wednesday to introduce the wage peak system as soon as possible, reiterating it would help widen employment opportunities for young job seekers.In his meeting with 40 chiefs from the state-run agencies and firms, Choi said that “large (public) firms such as LH and the Korea Railroad Corp. should take the initiative in inducing the labor-management agreement on the wage peak system in August.”Under this system pushe

Aug. 5, 2015

S. Korea to pump more capital into two state banks

South Korea's financial authorities are considering pumping money into two state banks with heavy exposure to loss-making local shipbuilders to help them maintain financial health, financial officials said Wednesday.The country's big three shipyards -- Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. -- racked up a record 4.78 trillion won ($4.26 billion) in losses in the second quarter and their combined operating loss is estimated at 4

Aug. 5, 2015

Unused cards continue to drop in June

The number of unused credit cards in South Korea continued its downturn last month on financial authorities' stepped-up efforts to reduce inactive cards in the market, data showed Wednesday.The number of dormant credit cards fell 15.4 percent on-year to 8.34 million at the end of June, according to data compiled by the Credit Finance Association. A dormant credit card refers to one that has not been used for at least one year.The association expected the figure to go down to around 7 million at

Aug. 5, 2015

Finance minister urges public firms to adopt wage peak system

South Korea's public corporations should adopt a wage peak system by the end of August in order to help more young people find jobs, the country's top economic policymaker said Wednesday.Chairing a meeting of some 40 government ministers and heads of state-run corporations, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said the implementation of the wage system is critical for the future of the country."Ministers and heads of public corporations must take a resolute stance on this matter and push forward wag

Aug. 5, 2015

S. Koreans buy new smartphones every 14 months: poll

South Korean smartphone users change their devices every 14 months, with teens changing their handsets in less than a year, a poll showed Wednesday.According to the survey conducted by the Korea Information Society Development Institute, South Koreans on average used their handsets for 19 months, but those using smartphones changed their devices sooner.The poll was conducted on 10,172 respondents, where 92.4 percent said they had a mobile phone.Among the age groups, South Korean teenagers used t

Aug. 5, 2015

Ruling party lawmaker summoned over alleged sexual assault

A ruling party lawmaker has been summoned for questioning over a sexual assault allegation, police said Tuesday.Rep. Sim Hag-bong of the ruling Saenuri Party is suspected of sexually assaulting a woman in her 40s at a hotel in Daegu, a major city in North Gyeongsang Province, on July 13. The woman accused Sim of raping her, but later said there was no coercion.According to the Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency, Sim denied that he tried to persuade the woman to change her statement.The 54-year-old

Aug. 4, 2015

S. Korea's consumer prices grow less than 1% for 8th straight month in July

South Korea's consumer prices grew less than 1 percent for the eighth month in a row in July, a government report showed Tuesday, as Asia's fourth-largest economy grapples with deflation concerns.The country's consumer price index inched up 0.7 percent last month from a year earlier, the report by Statistics Korea showed. The latest number remains unchanged from 0.7 percent on-year growth tallied in June."Weak international crude prices are continuing to influence overall consumer inflation," sa

Aug. 4, 2015

Presidential office rules out tax hike

The presidential office Monday ruled out a tax hike as it renewed calls for the reform of South Korea's rigid labor market to help create jobs for young people."The government's position remains unchanged that a tax hike is the last resort," An Chong-bum, the senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, told reporters.He said the government is making efforts to expand sources of tax revenue, noting a tax hike could cause many side effects, though he did not elaborate on what these could b

Aug. 3, 2015

Retail sales backtrack on MERS scare in June

South Korea's retail sales edged down in June as the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome caused people to stay away from large retail outlets, a government report showed Monday.Retail sales reached little over 29.34 trillion won ($25.15 billion) in June, down 0.6 percent from the 29.51 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to the report by Statistics Korea. It was also down from 31.48 trillion won reached in May."The MERS outbreak caused shoppers to shy away from large markets

Aug. 3, 2015

Mortgage loans continue to soar in July

Mortgage loans extended by major South Korean banks continued to increase in July on the back of a recovery in the local housing market and a low rate trend, industry data showed Monday.The outstanding mortgage lending by seven commercial banks, including Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, reached a combined 321.57 trillion won ($275.67 billion) at the end of July, up 527 billion won from the 321.44 trillion won a month earlier, according to the data.The banks also sold 2.84 trillion won worth of as

Aug. 3, 2015

S. Korea's current account surplus hits new high in June

South Korea's current account surplus soared to a fresh record high in June as an increase in the surplus in the goods balance offset a widening service account deficit caused by the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, data showed Monday.The current account surplus reached US$12.19 billion in June, compared with a revised $8.62 billion surplus in May, according to the provisional data released by the Bank of Korea. The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border trade.With t

Aug. 3, 2015

Top 10 conglomerates' overseas sales down 4.6 pct in 2014

South Korea's top 10 business groups' exports fell 4.6 percent on-year in 2014, data showed Sunday, with only three experiencing an increase in overseas sales.  The combined revenue from exports for the conglomerates came to 546.4 trillion won ($466 billion) last year, compared to 573.1 trillion won posted in 2013, the data compiled by industry tracker Chaebul.com showed.  The overseas market was responsible for 51.1 percent of the groups' combined revenue in 2014, down 2.2 percentage points fro

Aug. 2, 2015

S. Korea's exports shrink for seventh consecutive month in July

South Korea's exports again shrank from a year earlier in July, posting an on-year drop for the seventh consecutive month, the government said Saturday.   The country's overall outbound shipments came to US$46.61 billion last month, down 3.3 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.   However, the country's trade surplus jumped from $2.34 billion in July 2014 to $7.76 billion last month as imports plunged 15.3 percent on-year to $38.85 billio

Aug. 1, 2015

Foreign banks cut Korea’s growth outlook to 2.6%

Global investment banks recently revised down their outlook on South Korea’s economic growth, despite the favorable financial indexes for exporters compared to earlier this year.According to the Korea Center for International Finance, the projection of 10 major IBs since June on the nation’s 2015 gross domestic product growth is set at 2.6 percent on average.Though the IBs shared the view that Korea would see a recovery from the third quarter after bottoming out in the second quarter, they cut t

July 30, 2015