Most Popular
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Actor Jung Woo-sung admits to being father of model Moon Ga-bi’s child
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Wealthy parents ditch Korean passports to get kids into international school
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Man convicted after binge eating to avoid military service
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First snow to fall in Seoul on Wednesday
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Final push to forge UN treaty on plastic pollution set to begin in Busan
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Korea to hold own memorial for forced labor victims, boycotting Japan’s
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Nvidia CEO signals Samsung’s imminent shipment of AI chips
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Industry experts predicts tough choices as NewJeans' ultimatum nears
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Job creation lowest on record among under-30s
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NK troops disguised as 'indigenous' people in Far East for combat against Ukraine: report
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SME stock market to launch this year: FSC
Korea New Exchange set to offer new direct funding channel to startupsSouth Korea’s financial regulator said Thursday that a new stock market dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises would open by the end of this year, offering greater direct financing opportunities to promising startups. The Financial Services Commission said it will accelerate steps to launch the new market, temporarily named “Korea New Exchange,” by working out listing conditions and public disclosure rules. The domest
April 5, 2012
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‘Campaign pledges to cost 268 trillion won’
Finance Ministry warns campaign promises to expand welfare programs would be unsustainableThe Ministry of Strategy and Finance said on Wednesday that new campaign pledges by political parties, if implemented, would increase state spending by at least 268 trillion won ($238 billion), a burden that will likely undermine the nation’s fiscal base. The findings by a government task force examined all 266 welfare-promotion pledges by the ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition Democratic United Part
April 4, 2012
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KB-Woori merger rumor hits financial market
Government accelerates privatization of Woori, sparking speculation about preferred biddersSouth Korea’s financial market on Wednesday reexamined the longstanding rumors that KB Financial Group might move to take over the state-run Woori Financial. The Korea Exchange asked KB to clarify its position on the market talk in the form of a public disclosure, even though the financial heavyweight had reiterated its neutral stance more than once in recent weeks. The speculation over the merger between
April 4, 2012
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Shares sink 1.5% on receding hopes for U.S. stimulus
South Korean stocks dropped 1.5 percent Wednesday as market hopes for an additional credit easing in the U.S. waned, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index sank 30.67 points to close at 2,018.61. Trading volume was moderate at 607 million shares worth 5.77 trillion won ($5.11 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 693 to 153.U.S. stocks closed in negative terrain on Monday after minutes released from the Federal Reserve’s
April 4, 2012
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34 groups named heavy debtors
The Financial Supervisory Service classified 34 of the country’s business groups as heavily indebted for this year.The groups, including Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Group, will be put under scrutiny by their respective creditor banks.Creditor banks are required to evaluate the financial status of the 34 business groups and seek restructuring if they fail to meet certain requirements, the FSS said in a statement.The five most-indebted business groups are Hyundai Motor, Samsung, SK, LG and Hyu
April 4, 2012
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Foreign net buying of Korean shares cools
Foreign investors were net buyers of South Korean stocks in March, but the amount tumbled from the previous month on massive profit-taking, the financial watchdog said Wednesday.Overseas investors bought a net 939 billion won ($832 million) worth of local stocks last month, compared with net buying of 3.9 trillion won in February, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The March tally raised foreigners’ net buying of local shares to some 11 trillion won during the first three months of t
April 4, 2012
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Hyundai Card may sue Samsung Card
Financial regulator plans to review whether Samsung breached marketing patentsThe dispute between Hyundai Card and Samsung Card over alleged mimicry of marketing concepts has resurfaced at a level requiring arbitration by the regulator. Hyundai is publicly accusing Samsung of copying customer benefits of its popular Hyundai Zero Card with its Samsung Card 4. Samsung Card on Tuesday sent a letter to its rival Hyundai rejecting the argument on five grounds“The letter we sent to Hyundai Card was a
April 4, 2012
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Korean economy dogged by global woes: minister
Lingering global uncertainties such as the eurozone debt crisis are posing risks for the South Korean economy as they threaten to sap its growth momentum, the top economic policymaker said Wednesday.“The Korean economy faces such challenges as eurozone woes, the standoff over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and signs that the U.S. economy could face problems,” Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan told a weekly meeting of economic ministers.“Our economy relies heavily on autos and semiconductors to generate gr
April 4, 2012
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Outlooks mixed for SK Hynix’s Elpida bid
Analysts had mixed reactions to the bid by SK Hynix Inc., the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, to take over the embattled Japanese rival Elpida Memory. The Korean chipmaker entered the M&A battlefield on March 30 by filing an official bid for Elpida, sparking keen interest among investors and analysts. The global memory chip market is now poised to go through a sweeping change as the sale of Elpida is expected to reconfigure the balance among heavyweights such as Samsung Electronics and
April 3, 2012
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Shares rise on recovery hopes
South Korean stocks finished 0.99 percent higher Tuesday on hopes for a recovery of the global economy, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark KOSPI advanced 19.99 points to close at 2,049.28. Trading volume was moderate at 587 million shares worth 5.99 trillion won ($5.6 billion), with gainers outpacing 302 to 518.Positive manufacturing data from the U.S. released Monday added to growing hopes the global economy is on a recovery track. On Monday, the local
April 3, 2012
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Banks to tighten lending to small firms, households in Q2
Local demand for loans are expected to rise to a 42-month high in the second quarter, but borrowers are likely to see more obstacles in getting such loans, data showed Tuesday. The Bank of Korea released a survey of 16 banks, showing the tightening lending situation in the domestic financial market at a time when concerns are growing over household debts. “Given increased credit risks amid the economic slowdown, local lenders are likely to beef up risk management for loans for smaller firms,” th
April 3, 2012
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Life insurance firms suffer huge losses in overseas markets
Life insurance firms’ overseas branches saw their net losses snowball last year due to huge cost in operating businesses in foreign countries.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, eight overseas units of three major life insurance companies ― Samsung, Korea and Kyobo ― reported a combined net loss of $16 million (18.2 billion won) in 2011.Their losses increased by 22 percent compared to the figure of 2010, the FSS said.“Though the profit from collecting insurance premiums increased by
April 3, 2012
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KDB chief hints HSBC unit takeover near
KDB Financial Group has been in last-minute talks with HSBC to acquire the U.K.-based bank’s retail operations in Seoul.While KDB Financial chairman Kang Man-soo hinted that the acquisition is at hand, a group spokesman said the timing of the deal is still uncertain.“There is a low possibility that the talks between the two sides will break down,” he said. “But the timing of an agreement is unpredictable at the present stage.”Downplaying the rumors that the two sides reached a consensus on detai
April 3, 2012
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Korea a ripe market for high-frequency trading: expert
Korea is ripe for high-frequency trading, according to one expert who led a workshop on the subject in Seoul last week. The Speed Traders Workshop took place on Wednesday in Gangnam, covering strategies for high-frequency trading, regulation, the future of the practice and other concepts. High-frequency trading refers to the use of sophisticated technology allowing for the execution of millions of securities trades per second.The workshop was led by Edgar Perez, author of “The Speed Traders: An
April 3, 2012
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Korea’s foreign reserves hit record high in March
South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves soared to a fresh high in March due mainly to increased gains from asset management, the central bank said Tuesday.The country’s foreign reserves reached a record high of $315.95 billion at the end of last month, up $150 million from February, according to the Bank of Korea.The previous record was $315.8 billion set in February this year. Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its foreign reserves surpass the $300 billion mark for the first time in April 2011 a
April 3, 2012
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High-frequency trading has room to grow in Korea: expert
Korea is ripe for high-frequency trading, according to one expert who led a workshop on the subject in Seoul last week. The Speed Traders Workshop took place on Wednesday in Gangnam, covering strategies for high-frequency trading, regulation, the future of the practice and other concepts. High-frequency trading refers to the use of sophisticated technology, allowing for the execution of millions of securities trades per second.The workshop was led by Edgar Perez, author of “The Speed Traders: An
April 3, 2012
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Banks to tighten lending to SMEs, households in Q2
Korean banks are expected to further tighten their grip on loans to small and medium enterprises and households in the second quarter due to their increased credit risks stemming from the eurozone debt crisis and other uncertainties, the central bank said Tuesday.Based on the results of a survey on 16 banks, the Bank of Korea said the index measuring their lending attitude came in at three for the April-June period, compared with seven registered in the previous quarter.The reading marked the lo
April 3, 2012
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Shares rise on upbeat data
South Korean stocks finished 0.76 percent higher on Monday largely due to upbeat economic data from China and an upgrade in South Korea’s rating outlook, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark KOSPI advanced 15.25 point to close at 2,029.29. Trading volume was moderate at 405 million shares worth 4.28 trillion won ($3.95 billion) with gainers outpacing 472 to 330.“China’s economic data eased concerns over a global economic down,” said Kim Byung-yun, an anal
April 2, 2012
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Korea’s CDS premium drops on eased eurozone crisis
The cost of insuring South Korea’s sovereign debt against default has dropped on the back of eased eurozone debt woes and increased hopes of the U.S. economy recovering, data showed Monday.The credit default swap premium on South Korea’s foreign currency bonds with five-year maturities reached 125 basis points on March 30 on the New York market, down 11 basis points from a month ago, according to the data by the Korea Center for International Finance. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.On Ma
April 2, 2012
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Households’ debt burden jumps
The debt service burden of South Korean households rose sharply last year, as their debt payments increased amid high inflation, the country’s central bank said Monday.The so-called household debt service ratio, an estimate of the ratio of debt payments to disposable personal income, stood at 12.9 percent last year, compared with 11.4 percent a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.“The DSR for all households, excluding the ones in the highest income bracket, rose by two or three points l
April 2, 2012
