Shares up 1.49% on eased eurozone woe

South Korean stocks closed 1.49 percent higher Monday on rising hope of the settlement of the fiscal crisis in Cyprus, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 28.96 points to 1977.67. Trading volume was low at 264.3 million shares worth 3.38 trillion won ($3.02 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 540 to 266.“The stock market gathered ground following the eased concerns over the fiscal crisis in Cyprus,” s

March 25, 2013

HSBC expects Korea to hike key rate in Q3

The Bank of Korea will likely raise interest rates in the third quarter of this year as Korea picks up momentum on economic growth and inflation, the Asia research head of HSBC said. HSBC Korea disclosed on Friday a global research report by Ronald Man, economist and HSBC global research head of Asia, claiming that inflation pressure and a boost in international trade would keep the current sustained growth rolling. Man wrote in his report that “we maintain our view that the monetary easing cycl

March 25, 2013

Bank customers seek cyber crash damages

Korean consumer activist groups are looking to arbitrate with local banks attacked by malware on March 20 to seek compensation for consumers who may have suffered losses from the latest nationwide network crash.The Financial Consumer Agency and Korea Financial Consumer Federation are joining forces to hear consumer concerns even though Shinhan Bank and Nonghyup have restored most of their systems since the cyber attack.They plan to negotiate on behalf of consumers, but will file a class action l

March 22, 2013

FSC chief Shin vows to overhaul financial groups

Financial Services Commission chairman Shin Je-yoon pledged to revamp the governance structure of major financial groups during his inaugural speech on Friday.Though the system which puts financial firms under management of their parent financial holding companies was introduced 12 years ago, it has yielded a variety of problems, said the new chief financial regulator.Shin stressed that financial authorities are set to overhaul details in the financial groups, such as Woori, KB, Shinhan and Hana

March 22, 2013

Banks still sidelined by cyber attacks

Banks in Korea that had been exposed to malware allegedly planted by North Korea to cause a nationwide network crash were back in business tending to their daily customers, financial authorities said Thursday.However, it may take a while to fully normalize their operations as the country’s financial regulators said that banks such as Nonghyup are still trying to retool some of their networks linked to automated teller machines.Shinhan Bank said that it has restored its system and is operating at

March 21, 2013

Shares down 0.44 percent on Q1 earnings woes

South Korean stocks closed 0.44 percent lower Thursday due the gloomy outlook over first-quarter corporate earnings, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 8.59 points to 1950.82. Trading volume was low at 258 million shares worth 3.52 trillion won ($3.16 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 493 to 295.“Local shares trade lower despite the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain stimulus measures due to t

March 21, 2013

9 insurers fined for colluding to fix commission rates

SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Thursday that it has fined nine life insurers a combined 20.14 billion won ($18.06 million) for colluding to fix commission rates.The nine are Samsung Life Insurance, Kyobo Life Insurance, Hanwha Life Insurance, Shinhan Life, MetLife, Prudential Life Insurance, ING Life Insurance, AIA and Allianz Life Insurance, according to the Fair Trade Commission.The watchdog found that they colluded to fix commission rates by setting the minimum a

March 21, 2013

Korea’s FDI inflow lags behind global peers

Foreign direct investment in South Korea hovered below that of global peers last year, data showed Thursday, apparently due to the lack of positive leads in the local economy.South Korea’s FDI inflow came to $9 billion in 2012, down 11.9 percent from $10.2 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.The number lags behind $119.7 billion for China, which edged down 3.4 percent over the cited period. India and Malaysia sa

March 21, 2013

FSS urges ‘caution’ in financial sector

Regulators issued a “caution” to the financial industry over possible cyberattacks in the wake of a network glitch in two financial groups on Wednesday.For several hours from around 2 p.m. on the day, two bank units of Shinhan Financial Group and three subsidiaries of Nonghyup Financial Group suffered serious problems in its online transaction systems.The Financial Supervisory Service immediately raised the alarm level for cybersecurity to “caution” from “attention.”The nation’s regulator also l

March 20, 2013

BOK will not test Korean market: governor

The Bank of Korea will not test how the Korean economy performs and responds to its monetary policy, Governor Kim Choong-soo said in a meeting with economic researchers and professors on Wednesday.Kim’s remarks came in defense of the central bank’s decision to freeze its key base rate at 2.75 percent this month for the fifth straight month, reiterating that the global economy, albeit slowly, is heading for recovery.There has been consensus in the market that the central bank may move to lower it

March 20, 2013

Shares down on Cyprus woes

South Korean stocks dropped 0.97 percent on Wednesday as investors stepped to the sidelines on an aborted bailout plan for Cyprus, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 19.15 points to 1,959.41. Trading volume was moderate at 322.4 million shares worth 3.7 trillion won ($3.3 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 562 to 251.“The Cyprus rejection raised concerns on the eurozone region and foreigners continued to

March 20, 2013

KB Financial chief strives to settle conflict

KB Financial Group chairman Euh Yoon-dae has seemingly been successful in resolving the recent conflict between management and outside directors.Euh was tackling a false allegation ― raised by a KB Financial senior executive ― that some outside directors dispatched by financial authorities sought to block KB Financial from taking over ING Life Korea.Foreign investors were informed of the allegation, which had not been verified, via a report by the U.S.-based Institutional Shareholder Services In

March 20, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.97 pct on Cyprus woes

South Korean stocks dropped 0.97 percent on Wednesday as investors stepped to the sidelines on an aborted bailout plan for Cyprus, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell19.15 points to 1,959.41. Trading volume was moderate at 322.4 million shares worth 3.7 trillion won (US$3.3 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 562 to 251."The Cyprus rejection raised concerns on the eurozone region and foreigners cont

March 20, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.32 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.32 percent lower late Wednesday morning, led by losses in foodmakers and brokerage houses, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell6.39 points to 1,972.17 as of 11:20 a.m.Blue-chip confectionery maker Orion slumped 3 percent with major brokerage house Mirae Asset Securities tumbling 3.5 percent. In contrast, large-cap auto-related stocks gathered ground. No.1 player Hyundai Motor edged up 0.2 percent with its auto-parts making affil

March 20, 2013

Shares rise on exporter gains

South Korean stocks closed 0.53 percent higher Tuesday as local exporters rebounded from their recent losses sparked by concerns over the eurozone economy, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.38 points to 1978.56. Trading volume was low at 313.3 million shares worth 3.62 trillion won ($3.26 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 471 to 318.“The increase came as the market recouped excessive losses made in

March 19, 2013

Heungkuk Life sanctioned for irregular practice

The Financial Supervisory Service on Tuesday issued an “institutional caution” against Heungkuk Life Insurance for glossing over irregular practices at a sales branch.“While the Heungkuk branch attracted policyholders via unauthorized practices, the headquarters did not take any disciplinary action despite internal detection,” an FSS official said.Ultimately, the headquarters suffered losses worth 1.22 billion won ($1.1 million) ― as extra costs for resolving unfair contracts between the branch

March 19, 2013

No. of female execs to rise in Korean firms: poll

More than four in 10 South Korean companies predict the number of female executives will increase in the future as young women with purchasing power are emerging as their core clients, a poll showed Tuesday. According to the survey of 304 local companies taken by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 43.8 percent of the respondents said that they will likely have more women in the C-suites.While 53.9 percent of the companies polled said the number of female executives will remain at the cu

March 19, 2013