Woori Bank opens representative office in Poland

Woori Bank, a major South Korean lender, said Monday that it has opened a representative office in Poland in the latest effort to establish a bridgehead in Europe.The opening on Sunday came two weeks after the South Korean bank won approval from the Polish financial regulatory authority to set up the representative office. (Yonhap)The representative office is located in the southwestern city of Katowice near an industrial complex, which is home to assembly lines of Samsung Electronics Co., Hyund

Feb. 6, 2017

Korea logs surplus of non-monetary gold trade for 1st time in four years

South Korea logged a net outflow of gold not held as foreign reserve assets for the first time in four years in 2016, central bank data showed Monday.The balance of trade in non-monetary gold was valued at a surplus of $265 million last year, according to data by the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)Non-monetary gold covers exports and imports of all gold that is not held as foreign reserve assets, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.South Korea's exports of gold came to

Feb. 6, 2017

[KOSDAQ STAR] CJ E&M rises with ‘Guardian’ and ‘Lineage II’

This is the 34th in a series of articles analyzing major companies by market capitalization traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- EdCJ E&M Corp.’s stock price leaped by almost 60 percent in late January driven by the popularity of its cable drama “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God.” Before the tvN series featuring Gong Yoo and Kim Go-eun turned into one of the most popular shows in December and January, the stock price of CJ E&M had stood at 53,400 won ($46.91) at the start of December, th

Feb. 5, 2017

Doha Bank to host investment seminar for Korean firms

Qatar’s third-largest lender Doha Bank Group will host a seminar in Seoul for Korean financial firms and builders interested in investing in the Persian Gulf region, the bank said.The event will run at Lotte Hotel Seoul in central Seoul on Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. where Dohan Bank Group CEO Raghavan Seetharaman and Doha Seoul Office’s Chief Representative Kwak Young-joon will attend.As the Qatari government prepares to host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, there will be business opportunities for Korean

Feb. 5, 2017

Actively traded shares log big price hikes

Prices of the 10 most heavily traded stocks in South Korea have soared more than 30 percent this year, reflecting strong investor appetite for issues that frequently change hands, a market tracker said Friday.According to FnGuide, prices of the main bourse's top 10 stocks in terms of cumulative turnover ratio surged an average 30.5 percent over the past one-month period.  This undated photo shows an investor watching an electronic bulletin board at a brokerage house in Seoul. (Yonhap)The turnove

Feb. 3, 2017

Investment guru under probe for alleged stock price manipulation

South Korea's prosecutors are investigating alleged stock price rigging involving a local investor, known for his stellar investment records on the secondary KOSDAQ market, sources at the financial industry said Friday.The prosecutors are tracking the man, only identified as his surname Won, after securing an arrest warrant from a Seoul court. A file photo of the KOSDAQ index (Yonhap)He is suspected of having taken huge profits by manipulating the share price of Homecast Co., a set-top box maker

Feb. 3, 2017

Illegal private lending on rise amid economic slump

A growing number of South Koreans are seeking help from the state financial watchdog for damages caused by loan sharks amid a prolonged economic slump, official data showed Friday.A total of 2,306 relevant cases were reported to the Financial Supervisory Service last year, up 89 percent from a year earlier. The FSS operates a call center for damages due to illicit private finance.A composite photo of bank lending and leaflets on private loans. (Yonhap)Unregistered loan sharks usually target cash

Feb. 3, 2017

Gold-related funds gather pace on weaker dollar

Gold-related funds here have regained momentum in recent weeks, returning over 6 percent, as the US dollar has weakened after a months-long rally, data showed Friday.Those funds posted an average of 6.41 percent gains in January, reversing a three-month loss of 4.96 percent, according to the Korea Exchange and financial information provider FnGuide. Gold bars in storage. (Yonhap)Gold prices soared 4.5 percent on-month to $1,200.50 an ounce at the end of January, they said. The prices jumped to $

Feb. 3, 2017

3.5m more low-income people eligible for govt.-backed loans

South Korea's financial regulatory body said Thursday it will ease qualifications for relatively low interest rate loans backed by the authorities so that more people can benefit from the program.The Financial Services Commission has decided to lower the credit rating for Miso Finance policy loans to the sixth level or lower from the current seventh or lower. Miso Finance is designed to help those who seek to launch or operate their own businesses. A brochure on Miso Finance policy loans for low

Feb. 2, 2017

Korean firms' facility investments to edge up in 2017

Facility investments by South Korean firms could edge up 0.1 percent in 2017 from a year earlier, but there is a divide between large and small companies, South Korea's state-run Korea Development Bank said Thursday.The combined facility investments planned for this year reached 179.7 trillion won ($156 billion), up 300 billion won from a year earlier, the bank said, citing its recent survey of 3,550 local firms. (Yonhap)Big companies said they would spend 154.6 trillion won on facility investme

Feb. 2, 2017

Authorities to crack down on audit info leaks

South Korea's state financial watchdog said Thursday it will crack down on unfair stock trading using illegally acquired corporate audit information.The move comes as local companies have entered the full-fledged settlement and accounting season. The logo of the Financial Supervisory Service (Yonhap)Over 95 percent of incorporated firms in the nation finish their fiscal year at the end of December.Accounting settlements and outside audits are usually held between January and March."(Those firms)

Feb. 2, 2017

‘Lack of savings limit monetary easing effect on consumption’

A member of the Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee said a shortage in Korea’s accumulated savings in the past decade seems to have limited the central bank’s current monetary easing effect on consumption.“While we have to prepare for aging, it seems that our accumulated savings (since the 1997 Asian financial crisis) have been in shortage. This could be the reason why boosting consumption through monetary easing did not work normally as we expected,” Lee Il-houng, one of seven member of t

Feb. 1, 2017

Financial watchdog to address unfair auto lease contract terms

Consumers here will shoulder less financial burden for canceling car lease contracts under the related authorities' drive to address unfair business practices, the state financial watchdog said Wednesday.The number of people leasing cars instead of buying ones has been on a constant rise. Consumers' complaints have increased as well. A file photo about leasing a car (Yonhap)A total of 192 civilian petitions related to car leases were filed with the Financial Supervisory Service last year, up fro

Feb. 1, 2017

Internet-only K-Bank joins banking federation

The internet-only K-Bank, which is expected to launch operations in late February, has become a new member of the Korea Federation of Banks as of Tuesday, the KFB said.It is the first time that the KFB added a new bank member in 25 years since Pyeonghwa Bank joined the association in 1992. K-Bank‘s head office in Gwanghwamun in Seoul. (K-Bank)The number of KFB members is now 21 with the joining of K-Bank.Among nonbanking financial institutions, the Korea Housing Finance Corp. and the Korea Finan

Feb. 1, 2017

Fake South Korean banknotes decreased sharply in 2016

The number of counterfeit South Korean banknotes detected here dropped 58.3 percent in 2016 from a year earlier, the central bank said Wednesday.A total of 1,373 counterfeit bills were found last year, compared to 3,293 in the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)The decline came as the number of fake 50,000-won bills fell 99.1 percent on-year to 19 last year. In 2015, four people were caught making 2,012 fake 50,000-won bills, though none of the counterfeit bills were circulat

Feb. 1, 2017

Listed firms‘ market cap rankings shaken up over 20 years

Major South Korean companies listed on the local stock market have gone through a sea change in their market capitalization rankings over the past two decades amid the rise of large exporters and fall of several banks, data showed Wednesday.The Korea Exchange released the list of the top 50 firms as of January 1997 before the country was battered by an Asiawide financial crisis, often called the IMF crisis here for a massive bailout from the global institution. A composite photo of South Korea's

Feb. 1, 2017

Some 15% of overseas card bills paid in Korean won

South Koreans pay for nearly 15 percent of their overseas credit card bills in the won, not local currencies, forking out more in additional fees, government data showed Wednesday.According to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service, South Korean credit card holders' won-based payments of their foreign bills came to 1.4 trillion won ($1.21 billion) in the first quarters of 2016, or 14.7 percent of their combined bills worth 9.6 trillion won. (Yonhap)The number of settlements using the Kore

Feb. 1, 2017

ING Life CEO tapped for second term

Cheong Mun-kuk, president & CEO of ING Life Insurance, has been chosen for a second term, company officials said Wednesday, as it plans an initial public offering this year.MBK Partners, a local private equity firm holding a major stake in the Seoul-based insurer, has decided to let him manage the firm for another three years, they added. Cheong Mun-kuk, president & CEO of ING life Insurance (Yonhap file photo)The nomination requires shareholders' approval in their annual meeting to be held late

Feb. 1, 2017

BOK vows to maintain monetary easing policy

South Korea's central bank vowed Tuesday to keep the current monetary easing policy to support growth amid uncertainties at home and abroad.The Bank of Korea has left its key rate unchanged at an all-time low of 1.25 percent since June when it made a surprise rate cut to bolster Asia's fourth-biggest economy. (Yonhap)"We plan to maintain the monetary easing policy to support the recovery of economic growth," the BOK said in a report submitted to the National Assembly earlier in the day.The BOK a

Jan. 31, 2017

Korea to sell W3tr worth of Treasury bills in Feb.

South Korea plans to sell 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion) worth of Treasury bills next month to speed up frontloading of the government spending in the coming months, the finance ministry said Tuesday.The bills will have a maturity of 63 days and be sold in three separate auctions throughout the month, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. (Yonhap)Treasury bills are designed to raise money to cover short-term financial shortfalls, and thus are generally sold with a maturity of less th

Jan. 31, 2017