South Korean stocks closed 0.23 percent lower Thursday due to lackluster U.S. corporate earnings, eurozone concerns and North Korea’s threat, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI fell 4.67 points to close at 1,999.86. Trading volume was moderate at 405 million shares worth 4.02 trillion won ($3.52 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 534 to 299.“U.S. economic data is improving, but the slow pace of recovery, as seen by weak tech companies earnings

April 19, 2012

The number of South Korean corporate bankruptcies fell to a record low in March as more manufacturers and service-related companies stayed afloat than the month before, the central bank said Thursday. The number of companies that went insolvent after defaulting on promissory notes declined to 90 last month from 94 in February, the Bank of Korea said. “The change is so small, there is no distinct reason for the dip last month, although the country’s economy being able to pull off steady gains ami

April 19, 2012

Regulators to punish lenders for irregular loan issuance in MayCommercial banks will soon face a strict regulatory crackdown for possibly irregular practices in sales of “bancassurance” products, officials said.The Financial Supervisory Service plans to dispatch a group of inspectors to the headquarters of major banks such as Kookmin, Woori and Hana, starting in the coming weeks.In the same vein, several insurance companies, including Samsung Life and Korea Life, could be the target of close mon

April 19, 2012

South Korean stocks closed 0.97 percent higher Wednesday on strong U.S. corporate earnings and easing of Spain’s debt concerns, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 19.23 points to close at 2,004.53. Trading volume was light at 376 million shares worth 4.56 trillion won ($4.01 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 456 to 362.“Good U.S. corporate earning figures for the first quarter and signs that the housing mark

April 18, 2012

South Korean banks’ daily foreign exchange volume rose to the highest level in four years in the first quarter as banks handled more deals to cope with robust trade, the central bank said Wednesday.The daily foreign exchange trading volume among banks averaged $22.45 billion in the January-March period, up 7.8 percent from the preceding quarter, according to the Bank of Korea. It marked the largest daily turnover since the first quarter of 2008 when the trading volume hit $23.37 billion.“The tra

April 18, 2012

South Korean banks’ short-term overseas borrowing rose at a modest pace in March as lenders moved to secure foreign currency liquidity amid lingering global economic concerns, the financial watchdog said Wednesday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the spread on short-term foreign borrowing by local lenders stood at 15.3 basis points, a gain from 8.8 basis points in February. A basis point is 0.01 percentage points.The spread on mid- and long-term foreign borrowing that matures in f

April 18, 2012

Brokerage expects an upgrade to draw in foreign funds worth $12 billionIf South Korea is included in the MSCI advanced market index, as much as $12 billion worth of foreign investment could flow into the local stock market, a brokerage said on Wednesday.Daishin Securities said the chance for the inclusion of Korea in the prestigious index is higher than ever this year as the country’s bourse operator Korea Exchange worked out the KOSPI 200 index data rights with MSCI Inc. Korean shares account f

April 18, 2012

The International Monetary Fund raised its growth outlook for the world economy to 3.5 percent this year, reflecting the improving economic data for the United States and the softened concerns about the eurozone fiscal debt crisis. In the latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF said the sense of crisis has been eased to some extent. But it warned that the pace of the economic growth in emerging markets is slower than expected and worries over the eurozone problem continue, placing downside risks

April 17, 2012

Emerging economies of the world should shift to more domestic demand-driven growth in order to push the global recovery forward, South Korea’s central bank governor said.In a speech made at Goethe University in Germany on Monday, Kim Choong-soo stressed that in order for the world to pull off sustainable growth and maintain financial stability, there is a need to forge closer international economic cooperation between emerging and advanced market economies.He added that for the world to move ahe

April 17, 2012

South Korean stocks closed 0.37 percent lower on Tuesday on mixed economic data from the United States and lingering eurozone concerns, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, which started trading in positive territory, surrendered 7.33 points to close at 1,985.30. Trading volume was moderate at 439 million shares worth 3.92 trillion won ($3.44 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 416 to 390.The slight drop marks the sec

April 17, 2012

South Korean companies are bearish on increasing investments this year mainly because they see few viable growth opportunities, a poll conducted by the country’s largest economic organization showed Monday.The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry survey carried out on 1,026 local companies showed the investment sentiment index standing at 35.8 in the first half and reaching 49.2 in the July-December period.The two readings are below the break-even 50 mark for the index. A reading above 50 and

April 16, 2012

South Korean stocks closed 0.81 percent lower Monday on persistent eurozone concerns and China’s economic slowdown, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI lost 16.28 points to close at 1,992.63. Trading volume was moderate at 445 million shares worth 3.84 trillion won ($3.37 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 470 to 343.The drop came after the bellwether stock market index regained the psychologically important 2,000-point mark on Friday.“Eurozone

April 16, 2012

South Korea’s import prices rose at their slowest clip in two years last month mainly due to a low base of comparison, the central bank said Monday.In local currency terms, import prices gained 3.5 percent on-year in March, slowing from a 5.2 percent on-year gain in February, according to the Bank of Korea.Last month’s figure marks the lowest on-year gain since March 2010, when import prices contracted 4.3 percent from a year earlier, the central bank said.The slowdown in the growth of import pr

April 16, 2012

China’s expansion of the trading band for the yuan will likely generate positive effects such as greater investment of Korean firms in the Chinese market, analysts said on Monday. China began to allow the currency to move up and down by as much as 1 percent on a daily basis, up from 0.5 percent, from Monday. The move attracted keen attention as the country has long been under pressure to loosen its tight grip on the yuan. “As a result of the expansion of the trading band, the Chinese currency wi

April 16, 2012

The Korea Exchange, the country’s bourse operator, suspended trading of Himart shares on Monday over alleged embezzlement and corporate malpractice by the head of the home appliance retailer. According to the KRX, Himart chairman Sun Jong-koo engaged in embezzlement and other irregularities amounting to about 259 billion won ($227 million), or 18.1 percent of the company’s total paid-in capital. Citing the stock market regulations, the KRX halted the trading of Himart shares at 1:59 p.m.As the s

April 16, 2012