The Korea Herald

Weak won means good time to invest

Since the beginning of this year, the won has lost more than 4 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar. Among Asian currencies ― some of which have strengthened ― only the yen has weakened more.Is there something serious going on?The short answer is no. What economists call the fundamentals ― inflows and outflows for trade and investment, equity values, interest rates and so on ― are all sound enough. It’s more to do with general investor unease about what Japan is doing to reboot its econo

April 15, 2013

Seoul shares edge down on Chinese growth data

South Korean stocks closed a tad lower Monday, as worse-than-expected Chinese growth data weighed down investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency sharply gained against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 3.78 points to finish at 1,920.45. Trading volume was moderate at 323.1 million shares worth 4.14 trillion won (US$3.69 billion) with gainers outnumbering losers 457 to 343. "China's lower-than-expected growth weighed down on the KOSPI,

April 15, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.82 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.82 percent lower late Monday morning, dented by losses in large-cap exporters, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 15.81 points to 1,908.42 as of 11:20 a.m. Shares of top-cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.53 percent, with flat panel giant LG Display dipping more than 2 percent. Local blue-chip zinc smelter Korea Zinc plunged 13 percent on a market forecast of gloomy quarterly results. In contrast, telecom shares gained groun

April 15, 2013

Number of per capita credit cards marks first fall in five years

The number of credit cards held by South Koreans moved down in 2012 from a year earlier, data showed Monday, apparently as the protracted economic slump undermined consumer sentiment.The country’s economically active population held 4.6 credit cards per person in 2012, industry data showed. The number compares to 4.9 tallied a year earlier, marking the first drop since 3.7 tallied five years ago.Local credit firms have issued a total of 117.1 million cards as of end-2012. South Korea’s economica

April 15, 2013

Five big firms disqualified from FTC’s fair trader list

Five big enterprises saw their “certification of excellence in fair trade” withdrawn after being named to have engaged in irregular practices including price fixing.The Fair Trade Commission said Sunday that it has downgraded the fair trade assessments on POSCO, POSCO C&C, Samsung Construction & Trade Corp., Hyundai Mobis and Shinsegae.While 27 companies were granted the certification from the antitrust regulator at the end of last year, the five players have been excluded from the fair trader l

April 14, 2013

[Graphic News] Import car repair costs average $2,300

Repair costs for import cars produced by companies such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz average 2.6 million won ($2,300), far exceeding the average of 840,000 won for the five Korean-made brands.Over the weekend, the Korea Insurance Development Institute released the import car repair costs paid by nonlife insurance companies in 2011.The institute’s report showed that import car repair charges were three times higher than those for domestic cars.Further, components of import cars were five times more e

April 14, 2013

[Graphic News] Import car repair costs average $2,300

NTS to check spending of unreported incomes

The National Tax Service said it would trace where the money from the underground economy has flowed, as much of it is used in illegal businesses or to bequeath wealth.The NTS sees all undeclared or untaxed income as part of the underground or “shadow” economy.“Looking back at past tax inquiries, illegal loan sharks, self-employed people with high incomes and entrepreneurs hide a part of their incomes to invest in other businesses, use it in slush funds or siphon it overseas to hand down to thei

April 14, 2013

Woori Financial chief Lee offers to resign

Woori Financial Group said Sunday that its chairman Lee Pal-seung expressed his willingness to resign before the end of his term. Lee, regarded as a close confidant of former President Lee Myung-bak, has been under pressure to step down from his high-profile post under the new government.In a statement, the outgoing chairman said he hopes that “privatization of Woori Financial would be achieved as soon as possible for the development of the nation’s financial industry.” Lee also said he did his

April 14, 2013

Woori Financial chief Lee offers to resign

Samsung Electronics shares may take a hit in Q2: analysts

Shares of South Korea's tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co. may take a hit some time before the second half of this year, stoking concerns the local stock market could reel from the fall, if realized, given the company'sbig market proportion, analysts said Sunday. Shares of the world's largest mobile phone maker closed at 1,517,000 won (US$1,342) on Friday, down 1.49 percent from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX). The market bellwether had dropped to the 1,180,0

April 14, 2013

Samsung Electronics shares may take a hit in Q2: analysts

Builders face big restructuring amid dim earnings outlook

Fears of a massive restructuring are again lingering in the local construction industry as leading contractors are known to have logged steep losses in the first quarter amid a protracted industry downturn, data showed Sunday. The combined operating profit of eight listed construction companies here is estimated at 197.7 billion won (US$174.9 million) for the January-March quarter, down 75.2 percent from a year ago, according to the data compiled by local corporate information tracker FnGuid

April 14, 2013

KOSPI to reach 2,000 mark in two weeks: analysts

Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index is expected to gradually rebound toward the 2,000 mark in about two weeks, as few downside risks remain that can undermine investor sentiment in the short term, analysts said.“We expect to see a gradual rebound in share prices. I think it will be possible (for the KOSPI) to reach 2,000 in the short term of one to two weeks,” said Samsung Securities analyst Kwak Joong-bo. The KOSPI fell from 2,004.89 on March 29 and has yet to recover. He added that most negative fac

April 12, 2013

BOK freezes key rate despite forecast of low growth

The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee Thursday left the benchmark interest rate for April untouched at 2.75 percent, marking a freeze for the sixth consecutive month despite its forecast of the nation’s low economic growth for this year.The central bank said gross domestic product growth is projected to stay at 2.6 percent this year, lower than its 2.8 percent forecast three months ago.Some Finance Ministry officials had hoped ― or predicted ― that the BOK would slash the rate in conside

April 11, 2013

BOK freezes key rate despite forecast of low growth

NTS unveils plans for 5-year underground economy crackdown

The National Tax Service on Thursday vowed to focus on tax collection from the nation’s underground economy to secure funds needed to promote the government’s welfare programs.Revealing its 2013 policy direction at a meeting of heads of NTS’ local offices in Seoul, the tax agency said it hopes to secure an extra 28.5 trillion won ($25.2 billion) in the five-year plan to secure an increased welfare budget, aside from its usual tax collection activities. The tax agency said it would focus its inve

April 11, 2013

NTS unveils plans for 5-year underground economy crackdown

BOK boosts credit supply for small firms

The Bank of Korea said Thursday that it has decided to ease its credit policy to increase its supply of low-interest loans through commercial banks to small and medium enterprises.The central bank raised its aggregate credit ceiling to 12 trillion won ($10.6 billion) from 9 trillion won, which has been maintained since October 2012.Loans will be extended to SMEs and start-ups that have “exceptional” technology with interest rates of 0.5-1.25 percent, down from 1.25 percent through a rise in the

April 11, 2013

Seoul shares gain 0.73 pct on stimulus hope

South Korean stocks closed 0.73 percent higher Thursday, buoyed by the United States Federal Reserve's decision to maintain stimulus measures, analysts said.The local currency gained against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 14.22 points to finish at 1,949.80. Trading volume was moderate at 380.3 million shares worth 4.71 trillion won (US$4.17 billion) with advancers far outpacing decliners 552 to 244."The Federal Reserve's decision to maintain its s

April 11, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.2 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.2 percent lower late Thursday morning, led by losses in autos and builders, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 3.78 points to 1,931.80 as of 11:20 a.m. Carmakers traded lower, with No. 1 player Hyundai Motor falling 2.99 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors losing 0.38 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis shed 3.04 percent. Construction firms also lost ground, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction decre

April 11, 2013

Online transactions of NongHyup Bank paralyzed

NongHyup Bank, the banking unit of South Korean financial holding company NongHyup Financial Group Inc., said Wednesday its online and smartphone banking system was paralyzed for an unknown reason.The bank said that an error occurred at 6:20 p.m. at its operating system located in Anseong, 77 kilometers from Seoul. The online transaction system remained malfunctioning as of 7:35 p.m."No hacking activities were identified behind the failure," an official from the bank said. "We are currently maki

April 10, 2013

Shares gain on Chinese data

South Korean stocks closed 0.77 percent higher Wednesday, buoyed by easing Chinese inflation data that offset heightening fears over North Korea’s repeated war threats, analysts said. The local currency inched up against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 14.84 points to finish at 1,935.58. Trading volume was light at 312.4 million shares worth 4.08 trillion won ($3.57 billion) with advancers far outpacing decliners 640 to 187. “A country’s economic policy s

April 10, 2013

KDB Financial backs off from privatization

The state-controlled KDB Financial Group has shifted its policy direction under the Park Geun-hye administration away from privatization.The future business policies of KDB Financial can be seen via the inaugural speech of its new chairman Hong Ky-ttack, who took office this week.Hong said the financial group would bolster its long-standing role as the nation’s leading provider of policy loans for state projects.His remarks could mean that the Park government has scrapped the earlier project of

April 10, 2013

Extra budget bill due next week

Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said Wednesday that the government plans to submit its bill proposing additional funds to the National Assembly next week.“We will submit the supplementary budget bill for National Assembly approval by the end of April after a Cabinet meeting next week,” said Hyun, also the country’s deputy prime minister, in a meeting with economic-related officials.The ministry said it will finalize the size of the budget with political parties and try to speed up its efforts to u

April 10, 2013