South Korean stocks closed slightly higher Tuesday on gains in autos like Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors that were helped by foreign buying, amid easing concerns over the political unrest in Iraq, analysts said. The South Korean won fell sharply against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 7.96 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,001.55. Trading volume was moderate at 232.79 million shares worth 3.46 trillion won (US$3.39 billion), with gainers outpacing losers

June 17, 2014

The number of stock analysts in South Korea decreased by nearly 20 percent over the last three years as the bearish stock market has worsened earnings of many brokerages, leading them to let their analysts go.Local brokerages had 1,276 analysts as of last month, down 19.2 percent from an all-time high of 1,580 in February 2011, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association.The report showed that the findings provide the starkest evidence yet of the market’s sluggish performance in rece

June 17, 2014

The South Korean financial watchdog said Tuesday it will closely monitor stock trading by paper companies set up in tax havens to ferret out local nationals disguised as foreign investors to dodge domestic law and engage in illegal activities.The Financial Supervisory Service said out of 38,437 foreign corporations investing in the country, 7,626, or 20 percent, are offshore companies based in 62 tax haven-designated countries including the Cayman Islands, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Barbados,

June 17, 2014

South Korea’s decade-long effort to become a regional financial hub has been held back by excessive regulations and oversight not found in other markets, a report by the lobbying group for large businesses said Tuesday.The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) report, based on input from 15 large and medium-sized foreign financial firms operating in the country, list complaints that largely berate inconsistencies, focus on irrelevant details and excessive regulatory filings.South Korea has set o

June 17, 2014

Standard Chartered Korea has agreed to sell its capital and saving bank units to Japan-based finance company J Trust as part of a restructuring plan to find a breakthrough in the stagnant market.According to the deal signed on Monday, the 100 percent stake in both SC Savings Bank and SC Capital will be sold for 151 billion won ($148 million), the bank said in a statement.The deal still requires approval from financial regulators from both South Korea and Japan but is expected to be finalized by

June 17, 2014

Standard Chartered Korea has agreed to sell its capital and savings unit to Japan-based finance company J Trust, the firm announced Monday.The 100 percent stake in two of its affiliates -- SC Savings Bank and SC Capital -- will be sold for 151 billion won ($148 million), the bank said in a statement.The deal still requires approval from financial regulators from both South Korea and Japan but is expected to go through at the end of 2014. If it does, it would be the first time a Japanese lender h

June 16, 2014

South Korean stocks inched up 0.14 percent on Monday on hopes of Europe’s stimulus measures, with investors taking a wait-and-see stance against unrest in Iraq, analysts said. The South Korean won fell sharply against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 2.74 points to 1,993.59. The trading volume was moderate at 227.9 million shares worth 1.19 trillion won ($1.17 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 440 to 368.The KOSPI started a tad lower, following a shar

June 16, 2014

Excess funds held by South Korean households and nonprofit agencies gained in the first three months of the year as consumption growth lagged behind income, central bank data showed Monday.Their excess funds totaled 25.3 trillion won ($24.8 billion) in the January-March period, compared with 15.6 trillion won three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Excess funds are the volume of money that remains on the balance sheets of households after deposits and stock investments

June 16, 2014

Seoul shares are expected to bounce back slightly this week following a big drop Friday due to fears that Iraq could be sliding toward civil war, which are likely to be a one-off factor, analysts.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed down 0.23 percent, or 4.63 points, to 1,990.85 on Friday from a week earlier. Compared with Thursday’s session, the KOSPI nosedived 1.03 percent, or 20.80 points last Friday, as foreign investors were spooked by news of unrest in Iraq. They went on

June 15, 2014

The head of South Korea’s central bank reiterated the importance of mutual respect between the bank and the Finance Ministry following the nomination of a new minister.“The Finance Ministry and the central bank each have their roles. Therefore, it is important for the two to respect each other’s role while narrowing the gap in their economic views through talks and information sharing,” Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol told reporters on Friday, restating his earlier remarks on the Finance Ministry

June 15, 2014

A Seoul court ruled Friday that the state tax office refund Lone Star Funds 119 billion won ($117 million) in taxes collected from the U.S. buyout fund in its sale of a stake in Korea Exchange Bank.In June 2007, Lone Star, which bought KEB in 2003, sold part of its stake in the lender for 1.19 trillion won via a block sale.Local tax authorities withheld 10 percent of the sale proceeds in capital gains taxes. Challenging the taxation, LSF-KEB Holdings, Lone Star's subsidiary, filed a lawsuit.The

June 13, 2014

The South Korean currency will continue to rise against the U.S. dollar, possibly breaching the psychologically sensitive 1,000 won level within this year, backed by a steady current account surplus and improving economic outlook for Asia’s fourth-largest economy, analysts said Thursday.But the pace of its appreciation will be curbed in part by limited intervention by the currency authorities, they said.The local currency gained some 12 percent against the greenback in the past year, and the gai

June 12, 2014

South Korean stocks closed lower Thursday as institutional investors unloaded tech shares and the central bank froze its key interest rate as expected, analysts said. The South Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.15 percent, or 3.02 points, to 2,011.65. The trading volume was moderate at 246.89 million shares worth 4.15 trillion won ($4.1 billion) with gainers leading losers 487 to 330. The market started lower and maintained the bearis

June 12, 2014

Faced with an urgent need to find new sources of revenue to help drive up their sluggish profit, local banks are now focusing on strengthening online and mobile services. This is mainly because customers are quickly embracing such services, with mobile banking users in South Korea surpassing the 50 million mark in the first quarter of this year, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea. Despite these fast-changing trends, most of the major lenders here still use an outdated security syste

June 12, 2014

South Korea’s central bank froze the key interest rate for the 13th consecutive month on Thursday as it measures risk factors at home and abroad amid the country’s moderate recovery trend.The monetary policy committee, led by Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, unanimously decided to keep the benchmark seven-day repo rate at 2.5 percent as widely expected.“Given various indicators, the current rate level seems to be adequate enough to support the recovery trend,” Gov. Lee said in a news conference.H

June 12, 2014