Seoul shares up 0.13 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.13 percent higher late Monday morning, led by gains in carmakers and construction companies, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 2.51 points to 1,989.32 as of 11:20 a.m.   Carmakers led the market gain, with No. 1 player Hyundai Motor rising 1.02 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors adding 0.73 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis also climbed 1.29 percent.   Builders also traded higher, with industry leader H

May 20, 2013

Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 1.36 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,988.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor rising 0.26 percent and top steelmaker POSCO adding 0.93 percent. Leading mobile carrier SK Telecom added 2.13 percent.U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday on the country's improv

May 20, 2013

Japan to outperform Korea in GDP growth

Japan’s economic growth rate is expected to surpass that of Korea for the first time in 15 years as the world’s third-largest economy gains momentum based on the yen’s rapid depreciation.Japan’s economy has been recording unexpected growth over the last couple of years, while Korea has been performing below market expectations, according to data from central banks in Korea and Japan.Korea’s GDP growth had fared well in comparison to Japan until 2011. Asia’s fourth-largest economy posted above it

May 19, 2013

Hyundai Motor joins U.S. fuel-cell vehicle project

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. has been named a partner in a U.S. project to develop next-generation fuel-cell electric vehicles, the company said Saturday.Hyundai Motor is one of only four foreign automakers that has been named a partner for the so-called H2 USA project, it said. The others are Germany’s Mercedes-Benz and Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co.The U.S. project seeks to develop new, efficient fuel-cell batteries, along with the necessary infrastructure to

May 19, 2013

Seoul, Moscow reach deal on fishing quota for 2013

SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea and Russia have struck a deal on the 2013 quota for Korean fishing boats operating in Russian waters, the Fisheries Ministry said Friday. During the negotiation held in Moscow from Tuesday to Thursday, the two countries agreed to set South Korea’s fishing quota for pollack for this year at 20,500 tons, which is half of last year’s allotment, the ministry said. However, if South Korea’s bill to prevent illegally-caught Russian crabs from reaching the country via

May 19, 2013

Samsung’s quarterly investment hits 3-year low

Samsung Electronics Co.’s investment sank to a three-year low in the first quarter of this year as the global tech giant sharply reduced its spending on new plants and equipment amid lingering global economic uncertainties, company data showed Sunday.Samsung, the world’s top maker of smartphones, spent a total of 7.29 trillion won ($6.52 billion) in capital expenditures and spending on research and development in the January-March period, the lowest quarterly figure since 2010, according to the

May 19, 2013

Shares likely to move upward this week

South Korean stocks are expected to rise this week on economic stimulus efforts by governments, analysts here said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 1,986.81 this week, up 2.16 percent from 1,944.75 a week earlier.The KOSPI moved in a tight range earlier this week as the Japanese currency continued to drop to over 100 yen against the U.S. dollar, but later advanced on hopes for strong economic stimulus efforts by governments and a belief that effects of the weakening Japa

May 19, 2013

Yen’s fall against Korean won in May biggest since 2000

The Japanese yen has declined by the most against the Korean currency this month in three years, adding to fear it will hurt the export-oriented local economy down the road, data showed Sunday. In the month to May 13, the local currency exchanged hands at 1,103.20 won per 100 yen, appreciating 24 percent from an average of 1,451.49 won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea and local brokerage houses. That marks the biggest fall in the Japanese currency to the won si

May 19, 2013

Korea’s corporate debt to hit $2tr by 2017: S&P

Korea’s corporate debt is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2017 as non-financial firms increasingly issue debt and take out loans to service their obligations, a report by Standard & Poor’s said Sunday. This would lead debt to account for 122 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, or to the level seen in 2009, raising concern over Korea’s business fundamentals.S&P noted that it is generally dangerous for the corporate debt-GDP ratio to surpass 90 percent.Non-financial firms’ debt amoun

May 19, 2013

Korea to cut 55tr won in regional project spending

The government is expected to make a sweeping overhaul of regional spending and subsidies as it seeks to balance the budget through expenditure cuts.It is looking to cut annual spending worth about 55 trillion won ($49 billion) for nearly 1,000 regional projects, including infrastructure development.Economic-related ministries, including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, reportedly proposed cuts in infrastructure spending of about 10-12

May 19, 2013

NHN liquidates assets in Cayman Islands

NHN, Korea’s largest search engine operator, has completed its liquidation of its overseas assets based in the tax haven of Cayman Islands, according to a public disclosure filing.The portal giant’s NHN Global, established in 2004 on the islands, is said to have shut down after converting its assets worth some 19 billion won into cash up until early this year. As of last Wednesday, NHN Global is now off the books.The operator of Naver set up its Cayman Islands-based entity after investing in a j

May 16, 2013

Hanwha General sanctioned for hiding info leak

The Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday that it issued a caution against Hanwha General Insurance for allegedly seeking to conceal the leakage of customers’ information in the aftermath of hacker attacks.Though the nonlife insurance unit of Hanwha Group saw personal information totaling about 157,000 cases leaked due to an hacking incident between March and May 2011, it hid the fact at least for one year until September 2012, said FSS officials.Further, it has been found that Hanwha Gene

May 16, 2013

FSS to launch consumer-initiated probe system

The Financial Supersory service will implement consumer-initiated inquiries in the coming weeks, officials said Thursday.Over the past two months under initiative of Governor Choi Soo-hyun, the FSS has mapped out details of the system, under which consumers are entitled to request the regulator to conduct probes into financial firms.“We will soon unveil measures to effectively introduce the system,” an official said. “Its implementation date will also be publicized as soon as a deliberative boar

May 16, 2013

Markets subdued despite upbeat Japanese growth

Financial markets were subdued Thursday despite encouraging growth figures out of Japan, as investors paused for breath a day after the main U.S. stock indexes struck record highs.Stocks have been buoyant for most of this year amid hopes over the U.S. economy, an easing of concerns over Europe's debt crisis and an expectation that central banks will continue with their super-easy monetary policies for a while longer.``This rally is not dead, it's just resting,'' said Alastair McCaig, market anal

May 16, 2013

Foreigners purchase net 6.2 tln won worth of S. Korean bonds

Foreigners have continued to expand investment in the South Korean bond market this year despite heightened geopolitical risks from North Korea's nuclear programs, the finance ministry said Thursday.Foreigners have made a net investment of 6.2 trillion won ($5.6 billion) in the bond market here so far this year, bringing their total bond holdings to 97.4 trillion won as of end-April, according to a report by the ministry.Foreign investment made up 7.2 percent of the total outstanding Korean bond

May 16, 2013

Seoul shares gain 0.79 pct on eased yen fear

South Korean stocks closed 0.79 percent higher Thursday, as a stabilizing yen offset concerns over the negative impact the currency may bring to the local economy, analysts said. The Korean won inched down against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 15.55 points to finish at 1,986.81. Trading volume was moderate at 309.5 million shares worth 4.43 trillion won (US$3.96 billion) with gainers outstripping losers 445 to 369. "The yen has been stabilizing a

May 16, 2013

Seoul shares up 0.63 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.63 percent higher late Thursday morning, led by gains in IT companies and logistics firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 12.42 points to 1,983.68 as of 11:20 a.m.NHN, the No. 1 Internet portal service provider, spiked more than 7 percent on foreign buying in spite of an unfair trading probe launched by the anti-trust watchdog. Hyundai Merchant Marine, a leading logistics firm, rose more than 8 percent. In contrast, Daew

May 16, 2013