The Korea Herald

U.N. agency advises BOK to keep key rate

South Korea’s central bank should keep the key rate unchanged and turn to alternative means of injecting liquidity in the near future, a U.N. economic institution reported Thursday. In its Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2015, the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific warned that further rate cuts by the Bank of Korea may be difficult to execute due to the already high level of household debt.“The central bank may have to consider alternative means of in

May 14, 2015

AmorePacific owner's stock holdings top 10 tln won

The chairman of South Korea's top cosmetics maker AmorePacific Group become the country's second businessman with stock holdings worth more than 10 trillion won (9.2 billion) on Thursday as shares of listed subsidiaries surged, industry data showed.Suh Kyung-bae had 10.37 trillion won of shares in the four group subsidiaries as of Thursday, according to the data complied by corporate tracker Chaebul.com. Suh follows Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who holds stocks worth 12.35 trillion won, S

May 14, 2015

Seoul shares up 0.3 pct ahead of BOK meeting

South Korean stocks closed higher Thursday, as investors digested the options expiration ahead of the central bank's rate-setting meeting this week, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 6.17 points, or 0.29 percent, to finish at 2,120.33. Trading volume was moderate at 424.2 million shares worth 5.04 trillion won ($4.61 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 465 to 335."We could've seen more sell-offs as the options e

May 14, 2015

Korean Air's loss narrows in Q1

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's top air carrier, said Thursday its loss narrowed in the first quarter of this year from a year earlier on the back of reduced fuel costs and a higher number of passengers.Consolidated net loss came to 133.1 billion won ($121.95 million) in the January-March period, compared with a 155.76 billion won loss a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales edged down 0.9 percent on-year to 2.87 trillion won, while operating profit jumped nearly nine

May 14, 2015

Hanjin Shipping swings to profit in Q1

Hanjin Shipping Co., South Korea's leading shipping line, said Thursday that it swung to the black in the first quarter from a year earlier thanks to lower fuel costs and better streamlined shipping routes.Net profit came to 22.91 billion won ($21 million) in the January-March period, a turnaround from a loss of 224.45 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit came to 155.03 billion won during the cited period, also switching back to the black from a l

May 14, 2015

Finance minister touts S. Korea as investment haven

South Korea has become a safe haven for overseas investors by successfully differentiating itself from emerging markets that have been hurt by the U.S. central bank's tapering, Seoul's economic czar said Thursday.Speaking at a global investors conference in Seoul, Choi Kyung-hwan said that each time the economy was hit by external shocks in the past, its financial and economic stability has actually become sounder."South Korea's external soundness improved after the 1997 Asian financial crisis,

May 14, 2015

Daum Kakao's Q1 net down 40.4 pct on-quarter

Daum Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Thursday its first-quarter profit dipped 40.4 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, dented by falling advertisement revenue.Consolidated net profit came to 30.8 billion won ($28.1 million) in the January-March period, compared with the 51.7 billion won posted a quarter earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit also dropped 38.3 percent on-quarter to 40.3 billion won, wi

May 14, 2015

KB to launch early retirement program

KB Kookmin Bank said Wednesday it would carry out a full-fledged early retirement program in the coming weeks, similar to the one late 2010 when about 3,200 workers left the commercial bank via a voluntary redundancy program.The labor union and management of KB Kookmin recently agreed on the early retirement scheme, which is aimed at scaling back its payroll by about 5,500, according to the bank.The trageted employees will include 4,500 ordinary workers and 1,000 senior members ― including execu

May 13, 2015

Park urges fiscal reform to reduce debts

President Park Geun-hye called Wednesday for efforts to speed up a fiscal reform to reduce state debts.South Korea's operational fiscal balance was in the red by 30.2 trillion won ($27.6 billion) for the January-November period last year, the latest months for which statistics are available, according to the government data.The balance has been on the negative side since 2008, reaching a peak in 2009 when it surged to 43.2 trillion won."We need to speed up a fiscal reform to minimize the public

May 13, 2015

Eight out of 10 listed firms forecast to log better Q2 profits

Eight out of 10 listed firms in South Korea are expected to post better earnings in the second quarter than a year earlier, led by chemicals, airlines and securities firms, data showed Wednesday.Out of 208 listed firms whose earnings guidances were available, 82.2 percent said they expected to see their operating profits rise in the April-June period from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by market researcher FnGuide. Among them, 150 are projected to show on-year growth, while 19 ar

May 13, 2015

High earners included in loan transfer program

A government-led loan transfer program aiming to ease interest burdens for low-income borrowers was found to have also benefited high-income earners, according to data submitted Tuesday.According to an analysis submitted by the Financial Services Commission to the parliamentary committee of state affairs, 5 in 100 successful candidates of the program that swaps high variable-rate mortgage loans for long-term, lower fixed-rate ones earned 100 million won ($91,200) or more annually.The program, ca

May 12, 2015

High earners included in loan transfer program

Seoul Food sees record Chinese participation

Seoul Food 2015, Asia’s third-largest food industry exhibition, kicked off on Tuesday, welcoming the largest number of Chinese participants since the event’s launch in 1983, thanks to the imminent sealing of the Korea-China free trade agreement. Theming “Wave on the Table,” the four-day convention attracted global buyers to KINTEX in Ilsan, northwest of Seoul, for cost-saving and healthy products, machinery and solutions in food technology, food packaging, hotel restaurant and catering technolog

May 12, 2015

Seoul Food sees record Chinese participation

Currency war poses dilemma for BOK

Major economies in the Asia-Pacific region are engaging in close competition to lower their currency values, which could aggravate the slowdown of Korea’s exports and put more pressure on local policymakers to consider an additional rate cut, according to analysts.Many investment banks at home and abroad predict Korea will keep its rate untouched at the current level of 1.75 percent per annum during the Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting, slated for Friday.Analysts say could be ri

May 11, 2015

Banks focus on floating-rate loans

Weighed down by the government-led loan transfer program last month, local banks are increasing the interest charges for their fixed-rate mortgages and placing more focus on floating-rate products.Borrowers now have either to bear a higher fixed rate or take the risk of future rate hikes, which has led to complaints that banks are attempting to shift their financial burden onto consumers.According to industry officials on Monday, major banks here upped their housing mortgage fixed rate by up to

May 11, 2015

S. Korea may be 4th-biggest stakeholder in AIIB: minister

South Korea is expected to hold the fourth-largest stake in the new China-led regional infrastructure development bank in light of Seoul's economic power, the top economic policymaker said Monday.In late March, South Korea announced its decision to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as one of its founding members in a bid to further Seoul's own economic interests in the region.Almost all Asian countries, except for Japan, have applied for membership, along with major European countrie

May 11, 2015

Samsung affiliates suffer weak earnings in Q1

Two thirds of Samsung Group's affiliates posted weaker than expected earnings in the first quarter amid weak economic conditions with the group's engineering and chemical units suffering the largest drop in their bottom lines, data showed Monday. Ten out of 15 listed firms affiliated with Samsung Group, the nation's biggest conglomerate, posted earnings short of market estimates projected by more than three brokerage houses in the January-March period, according to the data compiled by market re

May 11, 2015

Illegal FX trades up 54.3 pct last year from 2012

Illegal foreign exchange transactions jumped 54.3 percent in 2014 from two years earlier mainly due to more stringent screening by authorities, the customs service said Monday.The Korea Customs Service said it detected 6.73 trillion won ($6.17 billion) in illegal cross-border movements of money last year, compared with 4.36 trillion won tallied in 2012.Despite the jump in the amount involved, the number of cases stood at 1,640, a modest gain of 1.3 percent from 1,618 reported two years earlier."

May 11, 2015

S. Korea becomes No. 2 foreign investor in China in Q1

South Korea emerged as the second-largest foreign investor in China in the first quarter of this year, a report showed Monday, on expectations that local companies could bask in a bilateral free trade deal.Capping years of negotiations, South Korea and China initialed a free trade agreement in February, with both sides seeking to implement it as early as later this year.South Korean companies invested US$1.62 billion in China in the January-March period, the second-largest amount after Hong Kong

May 11, 2015

Tobacco tax revenue rises despite sales fall

The nation’s tax revenue from tobacco sales has increased in the first four months of this year, despite a fall in cigarette sales following a tax hike on tobacco products, government officials said Sunday. In the January-April period, the tax revenue from cigarette sales jumped 600 billion won ($550 million) from a year ago, officials said. However, sales fell to 180 million packs in January from 400 million packs in December of last year. In April alone, the tax revenue from tobacco sales grew

May 10, 2015

Tobacco tax revenue rises despite sales fall

Bill to limit FSS’ role stirs up controversy

In an attempt to limit the financial regulator’s excessive use of power, lawmakers are set to submit a revision bill that bans the Financial Supervisory Service from interfering in corporate restructuring unless it obtains the creditors’ consent.The corresponding clause, however, could have a double-sided effect as it also offers a legal basis for the FSS to step in as long as it meets the stated requirement.Rep. Chung Woo-taik, lawmaker of the ruling Saenuri Party and chairman of the parliament

May 10, 2015