Most Koreans say tax hikes needed for welfare: poll

More than six out of 10 South Koreans believe that President Park Geun-hye cannot implement the welfare programs she promised during her election campaign without raising taxes, a survey showed Monday.The telephone survey released by the Economic Reform Research, an independent economic institute, found that 65.6 percent of 800 respondents said that President Park Geun-hye could not implement her welfare programs without raising taxes. The survey taken on March 2 has a margin of error of 3.5 per

March 11, 2013

Ministry mulls reducing tax benefits

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Monday that it was considering reducing tax-exemptions and benefits “comprehensively” and across the board, in line with President Park Geun-hye’s pledge to boost welfare spending for the middle class.The downsize of tax benefits could apply to foreign investors, but an official at the Finance Ministry said that nothing had been decided yet regarding tax revision for foreigners.A local newspaper reported that the Finance Ministry had begun looking into w

March 11, 2013

Stocks, currency post minimal volatility

Major financial indices recorded limited volatility Monday, despite growing worries over negative effects on the stock and foreign exchange markets from geopolitical tensions on the Korean Peninsula.The movements of stock prices and foreign exchange rates Monday drew wide interest as South Korean and U.S. troops launched their annual joint drills earlier in the day.Though stocks fell below the 1,990 mark and the U.S. dollar was traded above 1,100 won during the morning trading session, the two m

March 11, 2013

Seoul shares slip 0.13 pct on N. Korean risks

South Korean stocks closed 0.13 percent lower on Monday as North Korean risks dented investor sentiment despite positive U.S. jobs data, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell2.66 points to 2,003.35. Trading volume was moderate at 387.5 million shares worth 3.63 trillion won (US$3.32 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 540 to 280."Heightening geopolitical tension is weighing on the local stock market d

March 11, 2013

Seoul shares slip 0.08 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.08 percent lower late Monday morning as foreigners and retail investors opted to scale back holdings, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell1.66 points to 2,004.35 as of 11:20 a.m.Large caps were mixed. The country's top automaker Hyundai Motor slumped 1.64 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors lost 1.5 percent.In contrast, market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.33 percent.The local currency was changing hands at 1,0

March 11, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on exporter falls

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Monday due mainly to falls in shares of key exporters, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell11.45 points, or 0.57 percent, to 1,994.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Major blue chips lost ground, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics slipping 0.6 percent and top automaker Hyundai Motor falling 2.11 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,097.3 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 7 won from F

March 11, 2013

Eximbank, IIAC consider joining forces for airport project in Myanmar

The Export-Import Bank of Korea could assist Incheon International Airport Corp to finance Myanmar’s new airport project as the state-run airport operator is currently looking into ways to fund the potential deal worth up to $600 million, said sources familiar with the situation.IIAC could seek Korea Eximbank, which has a non-binding agreement with IIAC to support the export of its airport operation know-how, to back its consortium through the policy bank’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund

March 10, 2013

N.K. risks feared to weigh on Seoul’s markets this week

South Korean stocks are expected to be affected this week by how the North Korea risks heightened by the U.N.’s toughened sanctions on its nuclear test will be playing out among investors’ sentiment, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed down 20.48 points or 1.01 percent to 2,006.01 on Friday from the previous week.Earlier this week, the market tided over the increased uncertainty after the automatic across-the-board budget cuts in the U.S. went in

March 10, 2013

S. Korea prepared to take necessary steps to stabilize market

South Korea will take necessary steps to stabilize its markets in case any additional provocations by North Korea result in heightening geopolitical risks, a senior finance ministry official said Saturday.The steps will be part of what is specified in contingency plans the government came up with to prepare for all stages of situations, Vice Finance Minister Shin Je-yoon told a meeting with other policymakers."The government is seeing that the U.N. Security Council's decision to impose sanctions

March 9, 2013

Korea’s effective jobless rate hits 5.8%: report

SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s jobless rate for 2012 could rise to 5.8 percent if “underemployed” people and other at-risk populations were counted, a report showed Friday, showing a large gap with the government’s official figures.According to the report compiled by the Woori Finance Research Institute, the country’s effective jobless rate could rise sharply if counting such people deemed to face almost the same tough working conditions as those technically remaining out of work.The rate

March 8, 2013

Homeplus mulls merger with Homeplus Tesco

Homeplus Co., the South Korean unit of British retail giant Tesco Plc, is considering merging its unit Homeplus Tesco Co. to increase its sales volume, industry sources said Friday. Homeplus, the second largest discount retailer in South Korea, bought a whole stake in Homever, the country’s No. 4 discount chain operator in May 2008 from E-Land Group, a local fashion retailing group which acquired the discount chain from French retailer Carrefour SA in 2006.“After the acquisition, Homeplus has op

March 8, 2013

Female CEOs scarce among listed firms

The ratio of female CEOs at local listed firms reached 0.7 percent, data showed Friday, raising concerns over the severe gender imbalance in the country’s business world.Among the country’s 1,787 companies listed on the main bourse and the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market, only 13 women currently serve as CEOs at 14 firms, according to the data compiled by research firm CEO Score.The number hovers far below 4.2 percent posted by the world’s top 1,000 companies tallied by the U.S. business magazine Fortu

March 8, 2013

Escalating N.K. threats may sway stocks and currency markets

Local financial policymakers said that the stock and foreign exchange markets may be swayed by the recent situation involving the intentional community’s disciplinary measures against North Korea.As the U.N. Security Council decided to impose additional sanctions Thursday on North Korea for its Feb. 12 nuclear test, Korea’s financial regulators and economic policymakers have embarked on closer monitoring of the financial market.Though provocative actions from the North had minimal impact on the

March 8, 2013

Soured mortgage loan ratio reaches six-year high at banks

Commercial banks saw the delinquency rate on loans collateralized by apartments climb to the highest level in more than six years, regulatory data showed Thursday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the delinquent mortgage loan ratio was 0.94 percent in January, compared with 0.74 percent a month earlier and 0.69 percent a year earlier.Rising sharply to 0.94 percent, last recorded in October 2012, it marked the highest rate in 76 months since the sourced loan ratio reached 1.03 perce

March 7, 2013

U.S. fiscal gridlock weighs on global economy: ministry

SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― The gridlock surrounding deficit reduction and other fiscal issues in the United States continues to serve as a downside risk to the global economy, the finance ministry here said Thursday.The U.S. Congress and political leaders have been in a stalemate over how to resolve their deficit reduction problems. A failure to reach a compromise led to the automatic across-the-board budget cuts known in the market as a “sequester.”A failure in passing a budget this month could res

March 7, 2013

Domestic banks have few women at the top

The number of female employees at domestic banks is nearly equal that of their male peers, but only a few reach high-ranking positions, according to banks and news reports. The reports said about 48.8 percent of workers at six major domestic banks were female but only 4.4 percent of bank executives were women.Even at Hana Bank, Korea Exchange Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea ― whose proportion of female employees exceeded 50 percent ― female executives were scarce, fueling concerns that gender

March 7, 2013

Seoul shares dip 0.81 pct on profit-taking

South Korean stocks fell 0.81 percent Thursday as investors took profits from a two-day rally in the previous sessions, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 16.34 points to finish at 2,004.40. Trading volume was moderate at 382.2 million shares worth 3.63 trillion won (US$3.35billion) with decliners far outstripping gainers 511 to 287.   "Foreigners opted to unload their holdings in top-cap Samsun

March 7, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.79 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.79 percent lower late Thursday morning on widening losses in shares of tech companies and shipbuilders, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid15.92 percent to 2,004.82 as of 11:20 a.m. STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, the country's fourth-largest shipyard, slumped more than 3 percent, with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, an affiliate of the world's No. 1 shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries, dipping 1.7 percent. Top-cap Samsung Electronics als

March 7, 2013

S. Korean banks dogged by thick glass ceiling: data

About 50 percent of South Korean banks' employees are women, but female senior bankers account for only some 4 percent out of local banks' total executives, pointing to the sector's still thick glass ceiling, data showed Thursday.Top lender Kookmin Bank and its other five rivals said the number of their combined employees stood at 81,234 as of end-February, out of which 48.8 percent bankers were women.But the number of women at the senior level is marginal in the Korean banking sector. In the ba

March 7, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on large-cap tech losses

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Thursday, erasing a two-day rally in the previous sessions, as blue-chip tech firms lost ground, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell5.61 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,015.13 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics shed nearly 1 percent, with its smaller rival LG Electronics declining 0.4 percent. State-run electricity provider Korea Electric Power also dipped 0.6 percent. The local

March 7, 2013