Seoul shares little changed amid waning U.S. gov't shutdown woes

South Korean stocks ended almost flat Wednesday as investors shrugged off concerns about the partial government shutdown in the U.S. with steady foreign buying, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 0.6 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 1,999.47. Trading volume was light at 231.8 million shares worth 4.31 trillion won ($4.01 billion) with decliners outstripping gainers 463 to 329.KOSPI moved in a tight

Oct. 2, 2013

S. Korea plans to sell up to 33.8 tln won worth currency bonds next year

South Korea plans to sell up to 33.8 trillion won ($31.5 billion) worth of currency stabilization bonds next year as it braces for potential increased market volatility, the finance ministry said Wednesday.Of the total, 15.8 trillion won will be used to pay back maturing bonds, with 2 trillion won assigned to pay back debts earlier than scheduled. The remaining 16 trillion won would be a net growth in currency bond issuance, according to the finance ministry. It is lower than the 19 trillion won

Oct. 2, 2013

Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gains

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Wednesday, tracking U.S. peers overnight on confidence that the U.S. government shutdown won't last long, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 12.30 points, or 0.62 percent, to 2,011.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Shares gathered ground across the board, with tech and financial blue-chips leading the climb. SK hynix, South Korea's chip giant, jumped more than 3.6 percent, and Shinhan Financial Group,

Oct. 2, 2013

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

South Korean stocks closed almost flat Tuesday, as continued foreign inflow offset concerns about the U.S. government's shutdown, analysts said. The local currency edged up against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 1.91 points, or 0.1 percent to finish at 1,998,87. Trading volume was light at 275.0 million shares worth 3.84 trillion won ($3.57billion) with decliners far outpacing gainers 508 to 302.The main index started off a tad higher, and bobbed i

Oct. 1, 2013

Seoul shares up 0.6 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.6 percent higher late Tuesday morning, cheered by bullish large-cap exporters, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 12.06 points to 2,009.02 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech and auto blue chips shored up the main index. Samsung Electronics rose 1.02 percent, and Kia Motors, the smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor, gained 1.53 percent. In contrast, domestic-focused issues lost ground, with state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Powe

Oct. 1, 2013

Seoul shares open higher despite U.S. budget woes

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, dispelling worries about a policy deadlock in the United States, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 6.63 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,003.59 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Large-cap stocks led the gain, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics rising 0.44 percent and Hyundai Motor shooting up 1 percent. U.S. and European markets finished lower, as U.S. lawmakers failed to break the impasse over the fisca

Oct. 1, 2013

Tong Yang chief likely to lose control of group

Three debt-ridden units of Tong Yang Group filed for court receivership Monday, as part of the conglomerate’s desperate moves to avoid defaulting on corporate bonds and commercial paper totaling more than 100 billion won ($90.9 million) that matured on the day.The court is to manage assets of Tong Yang Inc. ― the group’s de facto holding firm ― Tong Yang Leisure and Tong Yang International and later could order the group owner to sell some corporate or private assets for management normalization

Sept. 30, 2013

NTS imposes W743.8b in back taxes, penalties in first half

The National Tax Service said Monday that it imposed penalties and back taxes of more than 743.8 billion won ($692.1 million) against conglomerates and wealthy individuals in the first half of this year.It investigated 377 cases involving those suspected of evading taxes via offshore paper companies and borrowed-named accounts between January and June, the NTS noted via a press statement.In 2012, the NTS looked into 771 cases, down from 869 in 2011.The tax agency’s list of suspects included cong

Sept. 30, 2013

Corporate profitability improves in Q2

South Korea’s corporate profitability improved in the second quarter from a year earlier as the economic recovery helped raise local firms’ sales growth, the central bank said Monday.The average ratio of operating profit to sales, a key barometer of profitability, came in at 5.5 percent in the second quarter, up from 4.7 percent in the previous year, the Bank of Korea said in a report based on a survey of 1,755 companies.Sales rose 1.4 percent on-year in the second quarter, a turnaround from a 0

Sept. 30, 2013

Seoul shares fall 0.74 pct on Tong Yang fear

South Korean stocks closed 0.74 percent lower Monday, as an ongoing liquidity crisis of a South Korean conglomerate unnerved investors, analysts said. The local currency inched down against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 14.84 points to finish at 1,996.96. Trading volume was light at 283.1 million shares worth 4.09 trillion won ($3.79billion) with losers far outstripping gainers 540 to 277. Tong Yang Group, the 38th-largest family-run company in

Sept. 30, 2013

Seoul shares open lower amid U.S. uncertainties

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as the rising uncertainties over the U.S. debt-ceiling debate and budget plan dented investors' sentiment here, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 15.57 points, or 0.77 percent, to 1,966.23 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips traded lower, with No. 1 player Samsung Electronics falling 0.15 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix losing 0.66 percent. Leading flat panel maker LG Display shed 1.31 percen

Sept. 30, 2013

Shares to trade higher on foreign buying

The South Korean stock market is expected to gather ground this week as foreign investors are anticipated to continue their buying rally, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged up 0.4 percent on Friday from a week earlier, closing at 2011.80.Earlier last week, Seoul shares gathered ground as the Federal Reserve decided to keep its current quantitative easing moves in place during the Federal Open Market Committee meeting held a week earlier.The growth, however, was l

Sept. 29, 2013

Tong Yang chief under pressure to surrender private assets

Tong Yang Group chairman Hyun Jae-hyun has come under growing pressure to give up his personal properties as an emergency move to prevent the conglomerate from falling into default, according to some market insiders Sunday.The observers highlighted Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Choi Soo-hyun’s recent remarks that Tong Yang Group owners are required to take direct responsibility by conducting concrete measures.They also cite the lukewarm stance of the group’s creditors including the state-co

Sept. 29, 2013

Public firms face daunting task to tackle growing debt

The debt owed by major public agencies in South Korea is expected to grow sharply in the years to come, data showed Friday, presenting a daunting task for the public sector to streamline their business in order to tackle the growing debt problem.According to the data by the finance ministry, the combined debt owed by 41 public agencies, including state-run enterprises, will reach 573 trillion won ($531.8 billion) in 2017, up from 520 trillion won projected for this year. These public agencies’ a

Sept. 29, 2013

Korea to ensure fiscal health through ‘paygo’ system

The South Korean government is expected to introduce the so-called pay-as-you-go system to help ensure its fiscal soundness while working to significantly boost its tax revenues, officials said Sunday.The paygo is a system widely practiced in the United States and other advanced countries where any increase in direct spending prompted by a new law or revision must be offset by other spending decreases or revenue increases, meaning any new law that requires government spending must find its own r

Sept. 29, 2013

Debt grows 3 times faster than GDP: data

National debt has grown three times as fast as the country’s gross domestic product growth since the Asian currency crisis in the late 1990s, raising concerns over its fiscal viability.Korea is expected to see its national debt reach 515.2 trillion won ($478.5 billion) next year, according to data on 2014 fiscal budget proposed by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.It will increase almost nine-fold in 2014 from 1997 when its national debt stood at more than 60 trillion won.The Finance Ministry

Sept. 27, 2013

CJ E&M under second tax audit in 7 months

The National Tax Service has launched another probe into CJ Entertainment & Media, seven months after it conducted a regular audit of the company. Tax investigators on Thursday raided the company headquarters in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, and confiscated computer hard disks, documents and account books, officials said.The company underwent a regular tax probe in February and CJ Group did in June.The unexpected probe aroused speculation that the tax agency might have found new evidence to suppor

Sept. 27, 2013