Eximbank opens center to study inter-Korean economic development

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said Wednesday it has opened a center to study inter-Korean economic development and integration to support the government policy on national unification.Eximbank said the center will study issues related to North Korean economic development and provide its views on North Korea policy. It will also research ways to revive inter-Korean economic cooperation and help the North serve as a member of the international community, the bank said.Eximbank is entru

April 16, 2014

Finance Ministry calls for ‘no extra spending’ in next year’s budget

The Finance Ministry appeared to be seeking to improve the nation’s fiscal balance next year by slashing unnecessary expenditure and reducing the number of government projects.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance on Tuesday called upon government agencies and ministries to follow the principles of pay as you go, also known as “paygo” budgeting rules, to help counter worsening fiscal deficits and debt ratios. The guidelines were approved on the same day at a Cabinet meeting in which the 2015 gove

April 15, 2014

Seoul shares end down on bearish investor sentiment

South Korean stocks ended lower Tuesday as investors sat on their hands ahead of an announcement of China’s gross domestic product and earnings of U.S. big tech caps while institutional investors dumped their shares, analysts said. The South Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 4.75 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,992.27. Trading volume totaled 191,446 million shares worth 3.49 trillion won ($3.4 billion), with gainers leading losers 406 to 3

April 15, 2014

Eight investors join Korean gold bourse

Eight more members have joined Korea’s gold trading platform, an indication that the newly launched gold bourse is gaining investors’ attention, the Korea Exchange said Tuesday. With the new members, a total of nine securities firms and 56 dealers, importers and wholesalers will be registered as members of the bourse.In late March, the KRX opened the country’s first spot gold bourse, for immediate transactions, to help bring transparency to the largely unregulated gold trading market.Futures fir

April 15, 2014

Financial regulator to ease IPO requirements

The Financial Services Commission on Tuesday unveiled plans to improve the corporate financing environment by easing the regulations on initial public offerings and devising ways for invigorating the moribund local capital market.The regulator said as the first step toward easier IPOs, it will remove hurdles to stock listings and relax the rules on filing and disclosing corporate financial information to the extent that it does not hurt the interests of investors."In order to create a virtuous c

April 15, 2014

Chaebol profit from unlisted firms

In clear contrast to Korean stockholders, who get the smallest of dividends in the OECD, conglomerate chiefs and their family members received huge dividends last year from their unlisted affiliates.The amount includes dividends from money-losing operations, and this has once again aroused skepticism about the integrity of Korea’s family-owned conglomerates.According to a corporate audit report submitted to the Financial Supervisory Service on Monday, Booyoung Group’s chairman Lee Joong-keun and

April 14, 2014

Data leaks discovered at IBK, Citi capital firms

Up to 30,000 pieces of customer information at two capital firms were leaked and likely circulated in the market, the nation’s financial regulators said Monday. The Financial Supervisory Service, which has been cooperating with the prosecution in combing the financial sector for more data breaches following other cases earlier this year, found that data involving some 34,000 clients at IBK Capital and Citi Capital were leaked to illegal brokers. The bulk of the leaked data files were illegally c

April 14, 2014

Seoul shares end little changed on lack of leads

South Korean stocks finished nearly flat Monday on lack of upward momentum, with foreign investors dumping their shares, analysts said. The South Korea won fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.42 points, or 0.02 percent, to 1,997.02. Trading volume was 201.42 million shares worth 2.82 trillion won ($2.7 billion), with gainers leading losers 409 to 307.“Advanced markets such as the U.S. fell in recent days, with emerging markets like Brazil rising on

April 14, 2014

BOK likely to launch team to study reunification issues

The nation’s top central banker said Saturday that the Bank of Korea is considering setting up a team to deal with currency and economic integration related to inter-Korean unification.BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, speaking to reporters during his visit to Washington, D.C., said the central bank needs to play a role in studying unification issues from the economic perspective. Lee is visiting the U.S. capital to participate in a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20. “A v

April 13, 2014

Gov't pours W14t into covering pension funds deficit over past 5 years

The government has poured almost 14 trillion won ($13.5 billion) into the pension funds for public servants and soldiers over the last five years to cover their deficit, data showed Sunday.The government pumped a combined 13.9 trillion won to plug losses by the pension funds from 2009-2013, according to the finance ministry, and around 3.8 trillion won may go to covering the two pension funds' deficit this year, up from 3.3 trillion won tallied for last year.The growing deficit threatens to weig

April 13, 2014

New massive data leak found at card companies

The personal information of more than 100,000 customers was once again found to have been stolen from leading credit card companies.This time, the theft also involved Shinhan Card, which had previously been left out from information leak scandals.Watchdog Financial Supervisory Service discovered that the corresponding data had been leaked from Shinhan, KB Kookmin, NH NongHyup cards, as well as from Kwangju Bank, officials said Friday.KB Kookmin and NH NongHyup cards were punished earlier for oth

April 11, 2014

Regulator to unveil plan to promote initial public offerings

South Korea’s financial regulator will remove hurdles for initial public offerings on the country’s stock market in a bid to invigorate a sector that has been on a downward spiral, sources said Friday.The Financial Services Commission will unveil a plan next week to revive the IPO market, which is expected to include measures on enhancing the independence of KOSDAQ, South Korea’s secondary bourse, reviewing stock listing regulations and promoting venture-focused KONEX market, according to the so

April 11, 2014

Hyun meets Australian, Canadian counterparts

Korea and Australia agreed to further bolster the economic ties between their two nations and work toward an early implementation of the free trade agreement they signed earlier this week, the Finance Ministry said Friday. In a meeting held on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meetings in Washington, Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok and Joe Hockey, treasurer of Australia, discussed such issues, stressing that the FTA would contribute significantly to the mutual development of their countries.The FTA

April 11, 2014

Banks’ foreign currency deposits fall in March

Foreign currency deposits in South Korean banks declined in March from a record high in the previous month as companies tapped the deposits to pay import bills, the central bank said Friday.Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents reached $51.1 billion as of end-March, down $1.58 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.Residents include local citizens, foreigners staying here for more than six months and foreign companies. The data excludes inte

April 11, 2014

Shares rise to 4-month high

South Korean stocks closed higher Thursday, led by gains in tech and some defensive shares with the pace of the Korean won’s ascent to the U.S. dollar slowing on verbal intervention by foreign exchange authorities, analysts said. The won closed at a near six-year high.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 9.66 points, or 0.48 percent, to 2,008.61. Trading volume was moderate at 219 million shares worth 4.1 trillion won ($3.94 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 492 to 310.The

April 10, 2014