Seoul shares open slightly higher on U.S. gains

South Korean stocks inched up Monday, as investor sentiment was soothed by gains in U.S. equity markets, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.73 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,001.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.78 percent on the back of its brisk earnings outlook. The electronics arm of Samsung Group unveiled on Friday its third-quarter earnings estimate after posting a record quarterly operating profit of

Oct. 7, 2013

Tong Yang securities unit comes under indefinite probe

The Financial Supervisory Service said Sunday that it had launched a special probe into the securities subsidiary of debt-laden Tong Yang Group for an indefinite period.The financial regulator will look into Tong Yang Securities, which is suspected of illicit bond underwriting of its affiliates, and find out whether it has used its customers’ money to invest in those bonds.This is the first time in 15 years the FSS has launched such an “exclusive investigation.”“Given the severity of the matter,

Oct. 6, 2013

Foreigners’ buying of Seoul stocks hits record high

Foreigners’ net buying of South Korean stocks hit a record monthly high in September on the back of sound economic fundamentals that quelled concerns about a possible U.S. stimulus cut, the financial regulator said Sunday. Overseas investors snapped up a net 8.3 trillion won ($7.74 billion) worth of local equities last month, the highest amount tallied ever, the Financial Supervisory Service said, adding that it marked a third consecutive month of a foreign buying spree.In August, foreigners bou

Oct. 6, 2013

Conglomerates’ subsidiaries soar some 50% in 5 years

The number of companies belonging to the nation’s leading family-controlled conglomerates, known as chaebol, has jumped nearly 50 percent over the past five years, industry data showed Sunday.The nation’s top 30 family-owned conglomerates had a combined 1,246 subsidiaries as of the end of last year, up 47.8 percent from the 843 reported at the end of 2007, according to the data by Chaebol.com.The number of chaebol subsidiaries, however, edged down this year, with the figure reaching 1,237 as of

Oct. 6, 2013

World Bank’s Korea office likely to be located in Songdo

The government is pushing to house the South Korean office of the World Bank in an international business center west of Seoul, officials said Sunday.The Cabinet will likely approve a plan to establish the local office of the global financial institution in the Songdo International Business District in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, according to the officials.If the plan passes a Cabinet meeting, it will require parliamentary approval before being finalized, they said.The World Bank, whic

Oct. 6, 2013

Shares likely to move downward this week

South Korean stocks are expected to trade in negative terrain this week, weighed down by uncertainties arising from a prolonged political impasse in the United States, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 0.74 percent last week from the previous week, closing at 1,996.98. The main index moved in a tight range, putting shares directionless since Washington declared a partial halt to its government operations as of Oct. 1 after the Republicans and Democrats failed to

Oct. 6, 2013

Seoul shares likely to move downward next week

South Korean stocks are expected to trade in negative terrain next week, weighed down by uncertainties arising from a prolonged political impasse in the United States, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 0.74 percent this week from the previous week, closing at 1,996.98.The main index moved in a tight range, putting shares directionless since Washington declared a partial halt to its government operations as of Oct. 1 (Seoul time) after the Republicans and

Oct. 5, 2013

Tax revenue falls nearly 6 trillion won on-year

Tax revenue collected during the first eight months of this year shrank by nearly 6 trillion won from a year earlier, data showed Friday, affected by the prolonged low economic growth trend.According to the data provided by the National Tax Service, it had collected about 129.7 trillion won ($121 billion) in tax revenue during the January-August period. This is down 5.8 trillion won from what was collected a year earlier.The on-year revenue decline stood at 8.3 trillion won until July, but the l

Oct. 4, 2013

Investments in overseas securities surge

South Koreans’ holdings of overseas securities advanced in 2012 from four years earlier, data showed Friday, due mainly to low interest rates and favorable foreign exchange market conditions.The value of foreign securities held by local investors reached $116.5 billion in 2012, compared to $93.8 billion tallied in 2008, when the U.S. financial crisis dented investors’ sentiment, the Bank of Korea data showed.The figure came to $130.8 billion at end-July this year, maintaining its stable growth.S

Oct. 4, 2013

Tong Yang Securities sought suspension

Tong Yang Securities CEO Jeong Jin-seok was found to have pushed forth a voluntary business suspension in a low-key manner, which is inviting mounting criticism in the financial market.Though his attempt failed in the face of skepticism from financial regulators and the company’s executives, the chief of the embattled Tong Yang Group’s brokerage unit had sought to halt operations before the conglomerates’ five units filed for court receivership earlier this week, according to industry sources on

Oct. 4, 2013

Seoul shares almost flat amid U.S. gov't shutdown woes

South Korean stocks closed little changed Friday after a choppy trading, as investors took to the sidelines on speculation that the partial government shutdown in the U.S. could last longer than expected, analysts said. The local currency rose slightly against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 2.49 points, or 0.12 percent, to finish at 1,996.98. Trading volume was light at 236.5 million shares worth 4.24 trillion won ($3.95 billion) with decliners f

Oct. 4, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.44 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.44 percent lower late Friday morning, dented by losses in large-cap exporters, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 8.83 points to 1,990.64 as of 11:20 a.m.Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipyard, slumped more than 3 percent, with LG Chem, a leading chemical maker, dipping 2.6 percent. In contrast, tech firms, though paring earlier gains, stayed in positive terrain. Samsung Electronics was up 0.4 percent, and SK h

Oct. 4, 2013

Tong Yang’s six financial units under regulators’ scrutiny

Financial regulators have widened the scope of their inquiry into the debt-saddled Tong Yang Group, not ruling out the possibility that six financial units of the conglomerate were misused as an illegitimate funding source to nonfinancial affiliates.The group’s financial units are Tong Yang Securities, Tong Yang Investment, Tong Yang Asset Management, Tong Yang Financial Services, Tong Yang Life Insurance and TY Money Financial Services.The expanded probe of the Financial Supervisory Service com

Oct. 3, 2013

Foreign investors’ net stock buying hits W10tr in one month

Foreign investors are maintaining their active buying spree on Korea’s main bourse, posting a combined net purchase of stocks worth about 10 trillion won ($9.3 billion) since the end of August.According to the Korea Exchange, foreigners net purchased local stocks for the 26th consecutive trading session between Aug. 23 and Oct. 2. The collective volume came to 9.6 trillion, marking the highest figure in 15 years since the 1997 Asian foreign exchange crisis.Though the U.S. government’s tapering s

Oct. 3, 2013

Creditor banks urge big firms to improve balance sheets

Creditor banks of South Korea’s major conglomerates are pressing their debtor companies to improve balance sheets in order to avert a liquidity squeeze following the collapse of Tong Yang Group, industry sources said Thursday. Creditor banks called on Dongbu Group, the 17th-largest firm in Korea, to upgrade its financial soundness via all possible means, including selling assets, restructuring and securing liquidity if necessary, according to bank officials.Other big enterprises including Doosan

Oct. 3, 2013

Patent applications for coffee-related products surge

The number of new applications submitted to the country’s copyright agency for coffee-related products and brands surged in 2012 from four years earlier, data showed Wednesday.Around 1,100 coffee-related trademark applications were filed in 2012, rising sharply from an annual figure of 300 cases tallied in 2008, according to the Korean Intellectual Property Office.Market watchers said the increase came as more individuals started their own coffee businesses amid the rising popularity of the drin

Oct. 3, 2013

Tong Yang under fire for unethical deal

The issue of ethics and codes of conduct in the financial industry has returned to the spotlight in the wake of the cash-strapped Tong Yang Group’s woes, two years after the secondary savings bank scandal yielded a huge number of victimized depositors.Over the past year, Tong Yang Securities allegedly actively attracted retail investors for corporate bonds and commercial paper that were issued by some of its nonfinancial Tong Yang affiliates.Market insiders and the political sector are raising t

Oct. 2, 2013