South Korean stocks plunged to an almost 3-month low Monday as investors remained concerned that the terrorist attacks in Paris will weigh down the eurozone economy.The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 30.27 points, or 1.53 percent, to 1,943.02. Trading volume was light at 408.7 million shares worth 4.08 trillion won ($3.48 billion), with decliners surpassing gainers 631 to 200.Analysts said the Paris attacks, believed to be

Nov. 16, 2015

The number of subscribers to smartphone-based mobile banking services topped 60 million in South Korea in the third quarter, central bank data showed Monday.Smartphone banking users of 16 local commercial banks and the Korea Post reached a combined 60.08 million as of end-September, up 4.4 percent from 57.52 million three months earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea.The number of smartphone banking clients has been on a steep rise for the past few years, from 37 million in

Nov. 16, 2015

South Korean stocks traded 0.91 percent lower late Monday morning amid growing concerns over terrorist attacks in Paris, coupled with the rising woes over the U.S. key interest rate, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 17.91 points to 1,955.38 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares continued to trade bearish, with top market cap Samsung Electronics falling 1.62 percent and LG Electronics losing 0.91 percent. SK hynix shed 1.61 percent.Builders also lost ground, with Hyundai E

Nov. 16, 2015

South Korean stocks started lower Monday as demand for risky assets fell after the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Indexshed 23.13 points, or 1.17 percent, to 1,950.16 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Believed to be Islam-related terror attacks, the incidents in the French capital Friday night (Paris time) left more than 100 dead, with hundreds more injured.Tech shares led the decline, with top tech behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 1 percent a

Nov. 16, 2015

Share buybacks by South Korean listed companies soared this year leading to a boost in share prices, data showed Monday.A total of 91 firms listed on the local stock market have bought back shares worth 9.22 trillion won ($7.88 billion) this year as of last Thursday, up from 1.82 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange. Of the companies listed on the main KOSPI market, 42 companies bought back a combined 9.18 trillion won, while 49 players on the tech-la

Nov. 16, 2015

South Korean stocks dropped 1 percent on Friday as investors trimmed their holdings, dismayed by growing prospects of a U.S. rate hike within this year following recent Fed officials' remarks, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 20.07 points to 1,973.29. Trading volume was light at 329.6 million shares worth 4.16 trillion won ($3.57 billion), with decliners surpassing gainers 572 to 263."The market is expected

Nov. 13, 2015

South Korea is engaged in a "partnership strengthening" endeavor with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank that can assist the mega institution in successfully engaging in future development projects, a senior official said Friday.Vice Finance Minister Joo Hyung-hwan said in a conference hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul that the partnership can allow South Korean builders, with extensive experience in overseas projects, to discover projects that can be undertaken

Nov. 13, 2015

Korea’s main bourse operator announced Thursday it will release a new index for measuring a listed company’s environmental, social and governance performance later this month.　The Environmental, Social and Governance index, or ESG, is one of the United Nations’ principles of responsible investment, which encourages investors to look into corporate responsibility factors in making investment decisions. 　For the ESG index to gain investors’ support, the Korea Exchange said the market needs an enha

Nov. 12, 2015

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Thursday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of top Fed officials' remarks that could provide a glimpse of the U.S. central bank's monetary policy direction, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 3.91 points to 1,993.36. Trading volume was light at 382.5 million shares worth 3.4 trillion won ($2.9 billion), with winners surpassing losers 454 to 344."Concerns over a

Nov. 12, 2015

Savings banks' net profit tripled in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 on the back of increased interest income and decreased loan-loss reserves, the financial watchdog said Thursday.The combined net profit of 79 savings banks operating in the country came in at 173.4 billion won ($149.9 million) in the July-September period, compared with 5.8 billion won tallied in the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The savings banks close their books in June.The secondary lenders

Nov. 12, 2015

South Korean stocks started slightly lower Thursday, as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the central bank's rate decision, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 2.38 points, or 0.12 percent, to 1,994.89 in the first 30 minutes of trading.The Bank of Korea is holding a rate-decision meeting, with the results to be announced soon. Major shares started mixed, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics and automaking giant Hyundai Motor trading in negative te

Nov. 12, 2015

South Korea's financial watchdog said Wednesday that it has picked 175 small and medium enterprises to be placed under debt restructuring this year as part of government-led efforts to sort out highly indebted firms and prevent their sudden collapse.The number of debt-heavy firms selected for 2015 rose by 50 to 175 this year from a year earlier, with 70 of them given a rating of "C" and the remaining 105 graded a "D," according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The C-rated companies are subje

Nov. 11, 2015

Household loans extended by local lenders increased at the fastest clip last month, central bank data showed Wednesday, amid the rising possibility of a looming U.S. rate hike.Outstanding household loans extended by local banks reached 624.8 trillion won ($539.3 billion) as of the end of October, up 9 trillion won from the previous month, according to data from the Bank of Korea.The on-month gain is the largest-ever since January 2008 when the central bank started to compile related data, breaki

Nov. 11, 2015

South Korean stocks started higher on Wednesday following marked setbacks in recent days caused by worries over a rate hike in the U.S., analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 2.79 points, or 0.14 percent, to 1,999.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The index bounced back from a 1.44 percent decline on Tuesday amid expectations that the Fed would raise its near-zero interest rate as early as December following recent strong labor market data.Tech bellwether Samsu

Nov. 11, 2015