Seoul shares trade flat in late morning trade

South Korean stocks traded almost flat late Wednesday morning as investors continued to take a wait-and-see approach on the U.S. monetary policy meeting slated for next week, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 1.64 points, or 0.08 percent, to 1,991.81 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares continued to trade mixed, with Samsung Electronics losing 0.62 percent while its smaller rival LG Electronics climbed 0.82 percent. Flat panel maker LG Display added 1.21 percent.M

Dec. 11, 2013

Seoul shares open lower ahead of FOMC meeting

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday as investors continued to take a breather ahead of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee slated for Dec. 17-18, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged down 2.43 points, or 0.12 percent, to 1,991.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares traded mixed, with No. 1 Samsung Electronics falling 0.28 percent, while its smaller rival LG Electronics added 1.04 percent. Top chipmaker SK hynix advanced 1.23 percent.Shi

Dec. 11, 2013

Korea to exclude foreigners from DSME sale

Financial authorities plan to prevent foreign investors from bidding for the state-funded Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.Government officials said Tuesday that the state policy decision came after Russia’s state-controlled oil producer Rosneft was rumored to have recently expressed interest in DSME, which is scheduled to be put up for auction in the coming months.An official cited national security reasons for the exclusion of non-Korean bidders, saying that the shipbuilder manufacture

Dec. 10, 2013

Korea decides not to recognize Bitcoin as real currency

Korean financial authorities said Tuesday that they have decided not to recognize Bitcoin, or cyber currency, as a real legal currency.The conclusion came after a week of debate among officials of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Bank of Korea, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service.Officials said Bitcoin, which can be traded between individuals online without going through financial institutions such as banks, does not meet standard regulations governin

Dec. 10, 2013

FSS to send Tong Yang chief’s case to prosecution for fraud probe

The Financial Supervisory Service decided to hand over Tong Yang Group chairman Hyun Jae-hyun and its former brokerage unit chief Jeong Jin-seok to the prosecution on charges of financial fraud, officials said Tuesday. The financial watchdog said that it has transferred its investigative data on chairman Hyun and ex-CEO Jeong to the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office. The data is said to concern Jeong’s alleged pressure on Tong Yang Securities employees to promote aggressive sales of commercial

Dec. 10, 2013

Consumer prices likely to grow 2-2.5% next year

South Korea’s consumer prices will likely grow in the range of 2 to 2.5 percent next year, the Finance Ministry projected Tuesday.The ministry said in a report that the price growth rates in major advanced countries will remain stable “for the time being” thanks to relatively low costs of import of raw materials. South Korea’s consumer prices will also likely show a similar trend, it said.The ministry predicted that South Korea’s consumer price growth rate will be about 0.2 percentage point lowe

Dec. 10, 2013

Household loans see largest jump in 4 months

Household loans extended by South Korean financial institutions grew by the largest amount in four months in October amid an increase in housing transactions, the central bank said Tuesday.Outstanding household lending by local banks and non-bank institutions totaled a record 676.1 trillion won ($643.2 billion) as of end-October, up 4 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The October gain marked the largest monthly increase since a 6.55 trillion won on-month advanc

Dec. 10, 2013

Seoul shares close 0.35 pct lower on weak momentum

South Korean stocks closed 0.35 percent lower Tuesday as investors sat on the sidelines amid the weak growth momentum in the market, analysts said. The local currency inched up against the U.S. dollar to reach a year-high level.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 6.93 points to 1,993.45. Trading volume was low at 195.7 million shares worth 2.95 trillion won ($2.8 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 484 to 318.Analysts said Seoul shares lost ground as investors t

Dec. 10, 2013

Seoul shares trade lower in late morning trade

South Korean stocks traded lower late Tuesday morning as investors sat on the sidelines amid the lack of growth momentum in the market, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 5.04 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,995.34 as of 11:20 a.m. Shipbuilders lost ground, with Hyundai Heavy Industries moving down 1.35 percent and Samsung Heavy Industries losing 0.4 percent. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering declined 2 percent.Tech shares traded mixed, with Samsung E

Dec. 10, 2013

Seoul shares open flat on U.S. woes

South Korean stocks opened almost flat Tuesday as investors were cautious on concerns over a possible tapering of economic stimulus by the United States, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched down 0.62 points, or 0.03 percent, to 1,999.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Blue chip shares traded mixed, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics moving down 0.76 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor climbing 1.09 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO shed 0.59 per

Dec. 10, 2013

NTS claims success in taxing black market

The government is bearing fruit from its plan to normalize the underground economy in an effort to secure tax revenue to finance its welfare pledges.In a report to the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee on Monday, the Korea Customs Service and the National Tax Service said they secured tax revenue amounting to around 1.99 trillion won ($1.9 billion) as of the end of September this year.This accounted for 72.8 percent of the initial target set early this year when the two tax and

Dec. 9, 2013

Card firms face sanctions for illicit insurance sales

The nation’s financial regulator has detected hundreds of instances of illicit insurance underwriting by card companies and is weighing penalty options, sources said Monday.The Financial Supervisory Service recently investigated allegations against card companies that customers were insufficiently informed about the insurance plans before applying over the phone. The problematic underwriting of insurance plans sold via card firms centers upon the telemarketers involved calling up the card users

Dec. 9, 2013

Seoul shares close 1.01 pct higher on U.S. data

South Korean stocks closed 1.01 percent higher Monday, curbing earlier concerns that improved U.S. jobs data may weigh on investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency soared against the U.S. dollar to reach a year-high level.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 19.97 points to 2,000.38. Trading volume was low at 220.8 million shares worth 2.88 trillion won (US$2.73 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 410 to 385.Analysts said the local stock market gathered g

Dec. 9, 2013

Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gain

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on the back of overnight gains on Wall Street, curbing earlier concerns that improved U.S. jobs data may weigh down on investors' sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 19.99 points, or 1.01 percent, to 2,000.40 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with Samsung Electronics adding 1.54 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor climbing 0.65 percent. Leading steelmaker

Dec. 9, 2013

Creditors to discuss fate of Ssangyong E&C

Financial authorities are working to placate creditors of Ssangyong Engineering & Construction, as the builder could face a more serious situation than its current debt rescheduling: delisting from the stock market.The Financial Services Commission’s efforts have been stepped up after the Military Mutual Aid Association moved to provisionally seize the bank accounts of the cash-strapped construction firm.Over the weekend, the FSC held emergency talks with the company’s creditors -- both financia

Dec. 8, 2013

Shares to gather ground amid eased U.S. woes

The South Korean stock market is expected to trade higher this week on eased concerns over an early tapering of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 2.9 percent last week to close at 1,980.41. Investors continued to take a wait-and-see approach ahead of U.S. non-farm job data coming out after Friday’s trading session, which would give investors a better glimpse of when the Federal Reserve will commence tapering of its

Dec. 8, 2013