Banks’ household loan growth slows sharply

The growth of household loans by South Korean banks sharply slowed in July as housing transactions became sluggish after a tax benefit over home purchasing expired, the central bank said Wednesday.Household loans by local banks, including home-backed and credit loans, reached 470 trillion won ($421.4 billion) as of end-July, up 100 billion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.In June, household loans grew 4.8 trillion won, the largest monthly growth in six months, as more

Aug. 7, 2013

Korea’s sale of foreign currency bonds likely to fall

South Korean financial firms are likely to trim the sales of foreign currency-denominated bonds in the second half as borrowing costs are rising amid speculation over U.S. monetary stimulus cuts, a report showed Wednesday.The issuance of foreign currency bonds amounted to $14.7 billion in the first half, down 37 percent from a year earlier, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance.It said that yields on U.S. Treasury and spreads on benchmark borrowing rates have been

Aug. 7, 2013

Seoul shares dip 1.48 pct on U.S. policy woes

South Korean stocks dropped 1.48 percent Wednesday, as investors again awoke to the fact that the U.S. central bank will soon start winding down its stimulus scheme, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 28.29 points to close at 1,878.33. Trading volume was moderate at 307.7 million shares worth 3.49 trillion won ($3.12 billion) with decliners far outstripping gainers 550 to 256. "Concern on reduction of the U

Aug. 7, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on U.S. policy woes

South Korean stocks began lower Wednesday as investors were unnerved by the U.S. signaling another cut in economic stimulus, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 14.70 points, or 0.77 percent, to 1,891.92 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most large caps lost ground, led by market bellwether Samsung Electronics falling 1.7 percent and leading automaker Hyundai Motor dipping 2.6 percent. Financial blue-chips also moved downward. Shinhan Financial shed

Aug. 7, 2013

Foreigners turn to net buyers of local stocks in July

Foreigners became net buyers of local stocks last month after their net selling hit a nearly two-year high in June, mainly due to the U.S. Fed chairman's hint at maintaining its monetary stimulus policy, the financial regulator said Wednesday. Overseas investors bought a net 1.34 trillion won ($1.16 billion) worth of local shares in July, a turnaround from the 5.14 trillion-won net purchase a month earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The value of foreign investors' sha

Aug. 7, 2013

Mirae Asset targets major U.S. buyouts despite slump

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., one of the nation’s major financial firms, is pushing for an aggressive merger and acquisition of U.S.-based assets, even as other brokerages express doubts, citing market maturity. The Korean firm is considering forming a consortium with U.S. private equity fund investors to purchase the L.A.-based coffeehouse chain Coffee Bean & Tealeaf. But the deal could be scuppered at any moment, Mirae Asset officials said, refraining from disclosing details related to t

Aug. 6, 2013

Financial authorities at odds on KONEX rules

South Korea’s financial authorities are divided over the entry barrier to the venture-driven stock market launched last month, sources said Tuesday, casting a pall over the market’s growth down the road.According to the sources, the Prime Minister’s Office recently requested the Financial Services Commission, the top financial regulator, to lower the entry barrier to the Korea New Exchange market, a new bourse for start-ups.“The KONEX needs short-term support in the initial stages to foster the

Aug. 6, 2013

Samsung Asset lists ETF on Japanese bourse

Samsung Asset Management Co., a financial arm of South Korea‘s No. 1 conglomerate Samsung Group, said Tuesday it has listed an exchange-traded fund on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.Samsung Asset said it has introduced the KODEX Samsung Group, one of its ETF product lineups that tracks a basket of affiliates under Samsung Group, to make the financial instrument more accessible to Japanese investors.It marked the second time for the firm to tap the Japanese stock market, after Samsung Assets introduced

Aug. 6, 2013

Korea sharply narrows economic gap with U.S.

South Korea has sharply narrowed its economic gap with the United States last year from 30 years ago, due mainly to the 2008 financial crisis that hampered U.S. economy, data showed Tuesday, while its economic difference with China has become wider. According to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea, South Korea‘s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic performance, came to US$1.29 trillion in 2012, while the U.S. held a 14-fold higher $16.24 trillion.The gap marked a sharp dro

Aug. 6, 2013

Seoul shares fall 0.5 pct on tech, steel shares

South Korean stocks declined 0.5 percent Tuesday, led by losses in tech and steelmakers, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 9.6 points to close at 1,906,62. Trading volume was light at 286.3 million shares worth 3.32 trillion won (US$2.97 billion) with decliners outnumbering gainers 473 to 312. "A slew of upbeat economic indexes here and abroad since last week drove up the KOSPI. But this week's been

Aug. 6, 2013

BOK likely to freeze key rate for 3rd straight month: poll

South Korea's central bank is almost certain to freeze the key interest rate for the third month in a row for August amid improving signs of the local economy and concerns about China's slowdown, a poll showed Tuesday.All 20 analysts predicted that the Bank of Korea (BOK) is expected to leave the benchmark seven-day repo rate unchanged at 2.5 percent on Thursday, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.In May, the BOK made its first rate cut in sev

Aug. 6, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on renewed Fed woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday weighed down by a U.S. federal banker's remarks implying that a cut in its stimulus may be drawing near, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 10.03 points, or 0.52 percent, to 1,906.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Blue-chip exporters lost ground. Tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics dipped nearly 2 percent, with steelmaker POSCO falling 1.7 percent. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fish

Aug. 6, 2013

Growing household debt poses risks to economy

South Korea’s household debts grew in the second quarter, mainly pushed by the government’s moves to bolster the sagging property markets, data showed Monday, spawning concerns that households‘ capacity to repay debt is worsening.Household loans by local banks, including home-backed and credit loans, reached 469.9 trillion won ($420.1 billion) as of end-June, up 4.8 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. Such lending grew a combined 8.27 trillion won in the second

Aug. 5, 2013

Seoul shares fall 0.37 pct on profit-taking

South Korean stocks closed 0.37 percent lower Monday, largely due to a selling binge by institutional investors to take profits, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 7.16 points to finish at 1,916.22. Trading volume was light at 230.4 million shares worth 2.71 trillion won ($2.42 billion), but gainers outnumbered decliners 417 to 360. "There was institutional demand for profit-taking after the KOSPI rallie

Aug. 5, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on Samsung case

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Monday led by a loss in Samsung Electronics, analyst said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 1.24 points, or 0.06 percent, to 1,922.14 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The world's leading smartphone maker, which takes up about 17 percent of KOSPI's market cap, slid 0.7 percent, after the U.S. government overturned its trade panel's sales ban on older devices made by Apple Inc.The veto from the Obama administration on Satur

Aug. 5, 2013

BOK warns of excessive foreign bond investment

The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee warned of increasing risks associated with one particular foreign asset manager holding a “big pot” of Korean fixed-income securities.They said that the central bank and financial regulators should keep an eye on such an “excessive bond ownership” by the foreign company to preemptively counter volatility following an expected tapering of U.S. quantitative easing, according to the minutes of its July policy meeting.An exit from U.S. monetary stimulus

Aug. 4, 2013

Shares likely to move upwards

South Korean stocks are expected to gather ground this week on the back of upbeat U.S. data and signs of an improving Chinese economy, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed up 1.1 percent at 1,923.38 on Friday from the previous week. The main index started off falling below the 1,900 mark on Monday on lack of fresh leads but gained momentum after the Bank of China said it will inject 17 billion yuan ($2.77 billion) worth to avoid a liquidity crunch.U.S. jobless cl

Aug. 4, 2013

MBK picked as top bidder for ING’s Korean unit

Global insurance giant ING Group has selected the South Korean private equity fund MBK Partners Ltd. as the preferred bidder for the sale of its South Korean unit, industry sources said Sunday.According to the sources, MBK offered to purchase a full stake in ING Life Korea for around 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion), changing its earlier suggestion at buying a 90-percent stake for 1.5-1.6 trillion won.Tongyang Life Insurance Co., South Korea’s fifth-largest insurer, was earlier selected as the ma

Aug. 4, 2013