Balanced budget unlikely till 2016

The extra budget that the government recently drew up will likely delay achieving a fiscal balance until 2016 due to increased spending coupled with less-than-expected tax revenues, a government report showed Friday.The government earlier unveiled a 17.3 trillion won ($15.4 billion) extra budget aimed at boosting the country’s slowing economic growth. This was the second largest since 2009 when it announced 28.4 trillion won in extra spending in response to the fallout from the global financial

April 19, 2013

KB board OKs stake hike in insurance unit

The board of KB Financial Group Inc. on Friday approved the group’s move to raise its stake in its life insurance unit, making it a fully-owned unit.The board of South Korea’s No. 2 banking group said it gave the green light to the motion earlier in the day to buy the remaining 49 percent stake in KB Life Insurance Co. held by ING Group, without dissenting votes, a deal estimated at around 170 billion won ($152 million).KB Life Insurance was established in 2004 as a joint venture between Kookmin

April 19, 2013

Shares edge up on metal, financial gains

South Korean stocks closed 0.35 percent higher Friday, as gains from non-ferrous metals and financial firms overshadowed concerns over worsening quarterly earnings, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 6.69 points to finish at 1,906.75. Trading volume was moderate at 324.8 million shares worth 4.37 trillion won ($3.91 billion), but decliners outnumbered gainers 422 to 379. “Those that have dipped in the past several

April 19, 2013

Seoul shares edge up on metal, financial gains

South Korean stocks closed 0.35 percent higher Friday, as gains from non-ferrous metals and financial firms overshadowed concerns over worsening quarterly earnings, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 6.69 points to finish at 1,906.75. Trading volume was moderate at 324.8 million shares worth 4.37 trillion won ($3.91 billion), but decliners outnumbered gainers 422 to 379. "Those that have dipped in the past

April 19, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on large-cap losses

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Friday, dented by blue-chip losses amid lackluster corporate earnings here and abroad, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.75 points, or 0.3 percent to 1,894.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics slid 1.6 percent, with second-largest listed firm Hyundai Motor retreating more than 2 percent. Major banking groups also trended lower, with No. 3 Hana Financial dropping 1.3 per

April 19, 2013

Korea needs to be proactive, open more for FDI: foreign chambers

Korea needs to implement more proactive policies and further open its market to boost foreign direct investment, foreign chambers said at an economic forum hosted by Herald Corp. in Seoul on Thursday.“Korea is a very unique country with an advanced economy and relatively high growth rate. There are various attributes that make Korea an attractive place to make investments,” said Henry An, cochairman of the American Chamber of Commerce’s taxation committee.But he added that the country should try

April 18, 2013

Securities regulators to get more probe powers

Korea’s securities regulators will be entitled to investigate alleged stock manipulation cases with “special criminal authority” under the Park Geun-hye administration’s commitment to weeding out unfair trading.The government unveiled policies Thursday to grant criminal authority to Finance Services Commission investigators monitoring the brokerage industry and some nongovernmental inspectors at the Financial Supervisory Service.“The authority allows the securities inspectors to immediately hand

April 18, 2013

Cosmetics firms’ sales soar last year

South Korean cosmetics companies saw their sales rise at an alarming clip last year helped by women’s increased spending on cosmetics despite the protracted economic downturn, industry data and sources said Thursday. “Local cosmetics companies enjoyed a boom in their sales last year despite a prolonged economic slump as women increased spending on cosmetics,” an industry source said. “The companies’ sales are expected to grow between 10 percent and 20 percent this year.” LG Household & Health Ca

April 18, 2013

Imported beer sales grow at double-digit rate in Q1

Sales of imported beer at local discount chains grew at a double-digit pace in the first three months of the year as consumers’ taste is shifting in favor of foreign-made beer instead of locally made beer, industry sources and data said Thursday. The government’s regulation to promote the fair trade of alcoholic beverages was one of the reasons behind a drop in locally made beer sales and a steep growth in imported beer sales, industry sources said. In January, the National Tax Service launched

April 18, 2013

Regulator to consider TV viewing fee raise

The nation’s broadcasting regulator said Thursday it will consider raising a public broadcaster’s monthly viewing fee this year in an effort to stabilize its finances.“We will come up with measures to stabilize finances of public broadcasters,” the Korea Communications Commission said in a 2013 policy report to President Park Geun-hye.The report did not directly mention KBS, the country’s largest public broadcaster. However, a KCC member said during a press briefing on the plan on Wednesday that

April 18, 2013

Seoul shares fall 1.24 pct on Q1 earnings woe

South Korean stocks closed 1.24 percent lower Thursday due to rising concerns over the listed firms' earnings for the first quarter, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 23.78 points to finish at 1900.06. Trading volume was moderate at 336.9 million shares worth 4.2 trillion won (US$3.75 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 464 to 339.  "Investors sat on the sidelines as the first-quarter earnings of l

April 18, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.32 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks moved down 0.32 percent late Thursday morning due mainly to losses in techs and autos, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) decreased 6.11 points, to 1,917.73 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech blue chips traded lower, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.66 percent and its smaller affiliate LG Electronics losing 0.12 percent. Leading chipmaker SK hynix shed 2.78 percent.Carmakers also lost ground, with No. 1 player Hyundai Motor falling 1.3 p

April 18, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as U.S. firms posted lackluster quarterly results amid the jittery market, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.89 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,915.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most large-cap firms lost ground, with tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics slipping 0.4 percent and steelmaker POSCO dropping 1.6 percent. U.S. markets ended bearish overnight as some ma

April 18, 2013

Short-term investments hit record high on North Korean tensions

A growing number of investors are opting to invest their money in short-term financial instruments or hold onto cash, in part due to North Korea risks.Capital invested in financial instruments ranging from cash and cash equivalents to repurchase agreements and demand deposits amounted to a record 676 trillion won ($604 billion) as of Wednesday, according to data by the Bank of Korea and the Korea Financial Investment Association.This was an increase of about 9.4 trillion won from late last year,

April 17, 2013

Seoul in dilemma over bans on short selling to brake speculation

Short selling, a speculative stock investment technique, has come under the spotlight in the financial market as a pharmaceutical-oriented company CEO recently argued that the firm’s shares were hit by foreign speculators.The Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Exchange launched their review as to whether there is an urgent necessity to issue a ban on short selling of “each company’s shares.”A short-selling investor seeks short-term gains by issuing “sell” orders with borrowed stocks: Th

April 17, 2013