Korean won down vs dollar for 3rd day to trade at 20-month low

The South Korean won sank to the lowest level in 19 months against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, falling for a third consecutive day as it tracked a decline in the Japanese yen to the greenback, dealers said.The local currency closed at 1,126.50 per dollar, down 3.9 won from the previous session's end. The won hit an intraday low of 1,129.60 won at one point, the lowest level since July 10, 2013 when it finished at 1,135.80 won.The Japanese currency continued to fall against the dollar as traders b

March 11, 2015

Seoul shares open lower on losses in auto, retailers

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Wednesday on losses in auto and retailers, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 11.45 points, or 0.58 percent, to 1,973.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Auto industry leader Hyundai Motor shed 0.29 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors fell 1.79 percent. Car-parts manufacturer Hyundai Mobis shed 1.75 percent. Retailers also slipped, with No. 1 Lotte Shopping moving down 1.81 percent and Shinsegae dipp

March 11, 2015

Deflation risk pressures BOK to reduce rate

The Bank of Korea is expected to freeze its key base rate at the monetary policy committee meeting this week.However, it will likely face pressure to lower the key interest rate next month as deflation concerns further deepen, analysts said.BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol had indicated that the central bank would have to keep household debt in check following an increase in bank borrowing fueled by low interest rates, hinting that it may keep its rate steady this month.The central bank recently formed a co

March 10, 2015

IBK issues W4b hybrid bond

The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea has issued a hybrid bond worth 400 billion won ($357 million), officials said Tuesday.The hybrid bond, a kind of contingent convertible that combines debt and equity, has a maturity of 30 years. It also allows the holder a call option, or the right to redeem the bond at par after either five or 10 years from issuance.The respective interest rate for each of the two options is 3.84 percent (at 180 basis points over 5-year Treasury) and 4.33 percent (at 200 b

March 10, 2015

Seoul shares down 0.4 pct on continued worries over U.S. key rate

South Korean stocks ended 0.4 percent lower Tuesday as fears that the United States may raise its key interest rate at an earlier-than-expected time continued to dampen investor sentiment here, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.05 points to 1,984.77. Trading volume was high at 420.39 million shares worth 4.69 trillion won (US$4.19 billion), with decliners beating gainers 545 to 270. The decline came

March 10, 2015

Household loan growth decelerates in Jan.

Household loans extended by South Korean financial institutions continued to grow in January but the expansion decelerated from the previous month due mainly to seasonal factors, central bank data showed Tuesday.Outstanding household lending by local lenders and non-banking institutions reached 746.5 trillion won (US$668.7 billion) in January, gaining 671 billion won from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The on-month increase marks a sharp slowdown from a near-record 7.7 tri

March 10, 2015

Korean won trades at over 18-month low vs dollar

The South Korean won traded at an over 18-month low against the U.S. dollar Tuesday, falling for a second consecutive day as growing expectations of an early rate hike in the U.S. and weak growth data from Japan boosted demand for the greenback, dealers said.The local currency was quoted at 1,121.15 per dollar as of 1:30 p.m., down 9.05 won from the previous session's end, tracking a decline in the Japanese currency and other major peers. The yen fell to the lowest level in almost eight years.So

March 10, 2015

PEFs' managing assets soar 100-fold in 10 yrs

Local private equity funds (PEFs) saw their combined assets under management soar more than 100-fold in the past 10 years as they have successfully attracted investors seeking higher investment returns, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.A total of 51.2 trillion won ($45.9 billion) in assets were under management by 277 PEFs at the end of 2014, compared with 400 billion won tallied in 2004 when two PEFs were floated for the first time in the country, according to the Financial Supervisory Servi

March 10, 2015

No. of bank branches drops to five-year low in 2014

The number of bank branches in South Korea dropped to its lowest level in five years in 2014 in the latest sign that lenders are increasingly focusing on non-contact channels to cut costs, data showed Tuesday.The number of bank branches in the country totaled 7,433 last year, falling by 268 from the previous year, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. It marks the second consecutive year of decline.The on-year fall is mostly attributed to weakening demand for face-to-face service at lender

March 10, 2015

Number of stock-rich shareholders on KOSDAQ market surges

The number of stock-rich shareholders on the secondary KOSDAQ market surged this year on the back of a bullish run by the tech-laden bourse, data from corporate tracker showed Tuesday.According to Chaebul.com, there were 51 stockholders who have portfolios worth more than 100 billion won (US$89.77 million) as of Monday, the highest-ever figure on record.Most of the stock rich were major shareholders and owners of IT firms.Kim Beom-su, founder of Daum Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's to

March 10, 2015

Government to frontload spending to boost economy

The government will frontload a part of its policy fund in an effort to revive the economy this year amid low consumer prices, industrial production and wage growth.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Monday that it would inject 10 trillion won into the market out of 15 trillion won remaining in the 46 trillion won policy fund.Media reports indicated that it would spend 10 trillion won by the first half of this year.However, the Finance Ministry did not give a specific timeline and said in

March 9, 2015

Korean won, shares tumble on U.S. rate rise concerns

The Korean won and stocks tumbled Monday as strong U.S. job data increased expectations that the U.S. central bank would raise its interest rate sooner than projected.The won-dollar exchange rose 13.4 won to 1,112.1 won as investors offloaded their Korean won holdings for the dollar, making the won weaker. This is the first time that the won-dollar exchange rose above the 1,110 mark since Dec. 8, 2014, at 1,117.7 won. U.S. job data showed Friday that its unemployment rate reached 5.5 percent las

March 9, 2015

Lawsuits by local insurers double in 2014

The number of lawsuits filed by local insurance companies nearly doubled last year, industry data showed on Monday.The key reason was that insurers generally tightened their evaluation process and reduced the payout in order to cut costs, and customers reacted by increasingly overclaiming their insurance.Insurers were involved in a total of 1,112 lawsuits last year, up 71.87 percent from 647 cases in the previous year, according to data by the Financial Supervisory Service.Among these, 986 cases

March 9, 2015

Seoul shares down 1 pct on U.S. rate hike fears

South Korean stocks ended 1 percent lower Monday as investor sentiment was sapped by growing prospects of a rate hike in the United States, analysts said. The South Korean won lost ground against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 20.12 points to 1,992.82, falling behind the 2,000-mark it had reached during the previous trading session. Trading volume was low at 288.78 million shares worth 3.93 trillion won (US$3.54 billion), with decliners outpacing gain

March 9, 2015

Korean won sinks to 1-month low on increased bet on U.S. rate rise

The South Korean won fell to the lowest level in a month on Monday as better-than-expected U.S. jobs data spurred speculation the Federal Reserve would accelerate its move toward raising interest rates.The local currency closed at 1,112.1 per dollar, down 13.4 won from the previous session's end, after falling to as low as 1,112.60 won at one point.The closing price marks the lowest since 1,117.70 won on Dec. 8, 2014.Beating the market median forecast, data by the Labor Department showed on Frid

March 9, 2015

BOK to hold rate in March, rate cut looming next month: poll

Despite growing pressure for a rate cut, South Korea's central bank is expected to hold steady on growing concerns over household debt and delay any move until next month when it releases the latest economic outlook, analysts said Monday.Fourteen of the 18 analysts surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, projected the Bank of Korea (BOK) to keep the base rate unchanged at its policy meeting scheduled for Thursday. If the forecast is on track, it will extend the

March 9, 2015

Seoul shares likely to rise on ECB measure, foreign buying

The South Korean stock market is likely to continue its upward move next week as investor sentiment is boosted by a stimulus measure in the eurozone and continued buying by foreign investors, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,012.94 points on Friday, marking the highest level in five months and a 1.2 percent rise from a week ago, as the European Central Bank's upgrade in its growth estimate for the eurozone economy and a bond-purchasing program set

March 7, 2015

FSC nominee urges end to KEB labor dispute

Yim Jong-yong, nominee for the Financial Services Commission chairman, said that the disputed merger of Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank should be based on a mutual management-labor agreement.He effectively took a step back from his predecessor Shin Je-yoon, who earlier suggested that the merger could proceed even without the consent of the KEB labor union.“(The merger of the two banks) should first go through a mutual agreement between management and labor,” Lim said Friday in a written statem

March 6, 2015

Self-employed ratio reaches record low

The number of self-hired workers declined to all-time low last year, as the economic slowdown struck harder on start-ups than salaried workers, data showed Friday. The percentage of self-hired workers fell to 22.1 percent in 2014, down 0.4 percent from a year ago, according to data revealed by Statistics Korea and KB Financial Group’s management research institute.While the number of all workers grew 550,000 to 18.7 million on-year, the total number of self-hired workers rose only 1,000. The gro

March 6, 2015