Banks’ profitability falls to 10-year low

Korea’s commercial banks saw their profitability sharply worsen this year due mainly to a retreat in their earnings on interest, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed Monday.Regulatory officials at the FSS revealed that the two major profitability indices ― return on asset and return on equity ― for the first-tier banking industry this year have dropped to their lowest levels since 2003.For the first nine months of this year, the banking sector posted 0.32 percent in collective ROA,

Nov. 4, 2013

Tong Yang investors to rebuke regulators via state auditor

Hundreds of investors facing losses from their investment in Tong Yang Group debts will ask the state auditor to probe regulatory officials for belated efforts regarding Tong Yang’s default, a consumer advocate group representing the investors said Monday. The Financial Consumer Agency plans to lodge a request this week with the national auditor on behalf of 340 investors for a probe on the officials at the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service in charge of overseei

Nov. 4, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.7 pct amid global uncertainties

South Korean stocks closed 0.7 percent lower as investors sat on the sidelines amid economic uncertainties from China and the eurozone, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 14.25 points to finish at 2,025.17. Trading volume was light at 232.4 million shares worth 3.48 trillion won ($3.28 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 496 to 306.Analysts said Seoul shares closed lower as economic uncertainties stemming

Nov. 4, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.36 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.36 percent lower late Monday morning, led by bearish builders and telecoms, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 7.43 points to 2,031.99 as of 11:20 a.m.Builders continued to lose ground, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction falling 0.33 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Construction losing 2.14 percent. Daelim Industrial edged down 0.1 percent.Mobile carriers also traded lower, with leading SK Telecom falling 1.5 percent

Nov. 4, 2013

S. Korean credit appraisers' ratings inflated: data

South Korea's top credit appraisers are found to be granting inflated ratings for bonds issued by local firms, data showed Monday, sparking concern for their trustworthiness.Three local appraisers -- Korea Ratings Co., NICE Investors Service Co. and Korea Investors Service Co. -- have granted top ratings of between "AAA" and "A" on 78.9 percent of corporate bonds floated here as of Friday, market data showed.Korea Investors Service has given such investment grades on 82.6 percent of bonds evalua

Nov. 4, 2013

Seoul shares open lower amid weak momentum

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as investors sat on the sidelines amid weak growth momentum on the main bourse, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 14.91 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,024.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.2 percent and leading steelmaker POSCO moving down 0.32 percent. Top chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.3 percent.Builders also traded lower,

Nov. 4, 2013

U.S. expands JPMorgan hiring probe to Korea

U.S. investigative authorities are reportedly expanding their investigation into JPMorgan’s alleged practice of hiring the children of high-level Chinese officials in return for business favors to similar activities in Korea, Singapore and India.South Korean financial authorities said Sunday that they had yet to receive any request for cooperation in the probe.The New York Times reported Saturday that the three countries were the focus of the probe, led by the U.S. Department of Justice and the

Nov. 3, 2013

Korea expected to control won’s pace

Korea is expected to face a conflict of interest with the U.S. over foreign exchange policies as the world’s largest economy has urged Asia’s fourth-largest economy to refrain from market intervention.The U.S. last week called for Korea to maintain a transparent foreign exchange market and reduce its reliance on exports amid the Korean government’s toughened stance against the won’s excessive gain against the dollar.The U.S. also said that it would “press” its Korean partners not to control the

Nov. 3, 2013

NTS sets up task force on overseas tax evasion

The National Tax Service said Sunday that it plans to form a task force to further crack down on offshore tax evaders in an effort to secure revenue needed for the government’s welfare pledges.The special team, consisting of tax investigators and lawyers, will take full advantage of its information resources through global pacts with 80 countries that also aim to curb tax evasion. Also, NTS commissioner Kim Duk-joong and tax chiefs from 16 countries agreed to expand cooperation in a Study Group

Nov. 3, 2013

Samsung Group to open materials R&D center Tuesday

Samsung Group, South Korea’s biggest conglomerate, plans to open its new research and development complex for electronic materials next week in a city south of Seoul, industry sources said Sunday. According to the sources, the R&D center completed 22 months after it broke ground in January 2012, was jointly invested by five of the group’s subsidiaries ― Samsung Electronics Co., Samsung SDI Co., Cheil Industries Inc., Samsung Fine Chemicals Co. and Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co. The comp

Nov. 3, 2013

Top 20 chaebol’s profitability worsens in 2012

Major South Korean conglomerates saw their profitability deteriorate in 2012 from four years earlier due to the global economic slowdown and weak domestic demand, data showed Sunday.The top 20 family-controlled conglomerates, known here as chaebol, posted an average operating profit margin of 5.6 percent last year, compared with 6.3 percent in 2008, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and Chaebul.com, which tracks the country’s conglomerates.Last year’s average operating profit margin, o

Nov. 3, 2013

IBK logs 5.2 % on-quarter rise in net profit

South Korea’s state-run Industrial Bank of Korea said Friday that its third-quarter earnings rose 5.2 percent from three months earlier on higher interest income.Net income amounted to 190.5 billion won ($179.6 million) in the July-September period, compared with 181.1 billion won the previous year, the bank said in a regulatory filing.The bank said that its interest income rose in tandem with its lending growth, and its non-interest income also increased amid a stock market rally.But IBK’s net

Nov. 3, 2013

Seoul shares likely to move downward next week

South Korean stocks are expected to trade lower next week, dented by worries that China may take austerity measures at its political meeting to keep inflation under control, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,039.42, up 0.1 percent from a week earlier. The main index almost touched the 2,060 mark on Wednesday on the back of a strong foreign buying spree that had continued for 44 consecutive sessions, starting on Aug. 28 until Oct. 30.The foreign buy

Nov. 2, 2013

IMF still not confident about Korean stocks

The International Monetary Fund has taken a wait-and-see position over some global investors’ view that Korea’s financial market, including the two major bourses, has become safe to invest in.In its assessment on the Korean economy released on Friday, the Washington, D.C.-based organization said the country “has emerged as a safe haven of sorts in the summer’s market turmoil.”The IMF acknowledged that low inflation and ample foreign exchange reserves have strengthened Korea’s attractiveness to r

Nov. 1, 2013

Seoul shares gain 0.46 pct on sound exports

South Korean stocks closed 0.46 percent higher on the back of the country's brisk exports that offset investors' concerns over U.S. tapering of its economic stimulus, analysts said. The local currency ended unchanged against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 9.33 points to finish at 2,039.42. Trading volume was light at 290.1 million shares worth 3.59 trillion won ($3.37 billion) with gainers outstripping losers 402 to 394. The main index kept its upwar

Nov. 1, 2013

Seoul shares up 0.3 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.3 percent higher late Friday morning, led by bullish tech firms and insurers, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 5.64 points to 2,035.73 as of 11:20 a.m.Chip giant SK hynix widened its gains further to surge nearly 4 percent. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, a major non-life insurer, shot up 2.5 percent.  In contrast, retail blue-chip Lotte Shopping slumped more than 3 percent, with LG Chem, a leading chemical producer fallin

Nov. 1, 2013

Seoul shares open higher on record-high exports

South Korean stocks began higher Friday as blue-chip exporters gained on the back of record-high exports for October, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.93 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,039.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Samsung Electronics soared 1.7 percent, with Hyundai Motors rising 0.4 percent. Chip giant SK hynix hiked more than 2 percent. The trade ministry said South Korea's trade surplus reached an all-time monthly high of $50.5 billion

Nov. 1, 2013

Stocks, won could ‘retreat’ on stimulus decision in U.S.

Korea’s stock market and local currency could retreat instead of rally after the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee set a firmer stance on its monetary stimulus, analysts and policymakers said.The benchmark KOSPI fell 1.43 percent to 2,030.09 on Thursday following overnight losses on Wall Street where the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Wednesday at 15,618.76, down 0.39 percent. The Korean won lost 0.5 won closing at 1060.7 won to the U.S. dollar, as demand for the greenback rose as foreign

Oct. 31, 2013

FTC to probe conglomerates’ deals with overseas affiliates

The antitrust regulator is considering cracking down on irregular deals between conglomerates and their overseas subsidiaries, whereas only domestic units have been subject to probes for intra-group trading.The new potential policy of the Fair Trade Commission was proposed after some lawmakers argued that “big firms’ overseas units have been a regulatory loophole as the authorities focus on the illegal cross-affiliate trading in the domestic market.”During a parliamentary hearing on the FTC, Rep

Oct. 31, 2013