[HERALD INTERVIEW] 'US Fed should be more patient on rate hike'

Amid anticipation building on the US Federal Reserve raising its funds rate in December, an economist from the US suggested the world’s most influential central bank should be more patient, as strong parts of the US economy have started to show signs of weakening.　In the last couple of years, the labor market, housing market and corporate profitability have been strong, buttressing the US economy. But the weakening strength of the three factors could further slow economic growth and this would m

Oct. 21, 2016

Brazil-focused funds samba their way to stellar returns

South Korean funds investing in Brazilian stocks and resources have posted stellar returns this year on higher raw materials prices and a recovery in the Brazilian economy, a fund evaluation firm said Friday.According to Zeroin, this year's cumulative return of local Brazil-related investment funds with net assets of 1 billion won ($890,000) or more stood at a whopping 60.5 percent as of Wednesday, far outshining other overseas funds.Overseas equity funds came next with a cumulative yield of 36.

Oct. 21, 2016

Money market funds draw huge money amid US rate woes

Investors in South Korea are pouring their money into short-term financial instruments as they turn increasingly risk-averse amid expectations of a US rate hike in December, a market tracker said Friday.According to fund rater Zeroin, local money market funds registered a net capital inflow of 12.2 trillion won ($10.9 billion) in the first 18 days of October, a turnaround from a net outflow of 13.8 trillion won the previous month and 4.8 trillion won in August.MMFs are short-term debt securities

Oct. 21, 2016

[FUTURE OF FINANCE] Poultry firm discovers promising young artists with new financial program

The newly built headquarters of Harim Group towers over the main entryway of Garosu-gil -- one of the most trendy streets in Seoul -- with thousands of light-emitting diode bulbs. On the second floor of the 16-story building in Sinsa-dong, the works of young Korean artists are being exhibited at the Eco Rock Gallery run by Eco Capital, a financial unit of Harim.Harim Group’s new headquarters in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, and inside the Eco Rock Gallery (Eco Capital)“We selected about 200 pieces

Oct. 20, 2016

[Feature] Tough rules curb adoption of robo advisers

When 36-year-old office worker Kim wanted to switch her 5 million won ($4,400) bank savings to a better yielding investment vehicle, the first thing that came to mind was a low-cost robo-adviser that could manage her money with an automated asset allocating algorithm.For the tech-savvy and busy Seoulite, an automated financial adviser, or “robo-adviser,” sounded appealing in that the advice cuts out human emotions in unexpected events, requires just a minimum account of 5 million won and costs o

Oct. 20, 2016

Gov't urges financial firms' boards to act on pay reform

South Korea's top financial regulator on Thursday stressed the role of boards of directors at financial services firms in spreading the performance-linked pay system for employees."A board of directors representing shareholders should demand a change (in the pay mechanism), wisely judging what's important in the growth and development of their companies," Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said. Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, speaks at a

Oct. 20, 2016

FSC to finance more mortgages for low earners

The Financial Services Commission announced Wednesday it would provide an additional 2 trillion won ($1.78 billion) for issuances of mortgages for stable supply of the loans for the working class by the end of the year. Conforming mortgages, or “Jeokgyeok Loans,” here issued by the state-run Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF), have already surpassed the initial supply limit of 16 trillion won, the FSC confirmed. The announcement came amid mounting public confusion after HF unilaterally annou

Oct. 19, 2016

Korea’s inbound M&A activities plunge in value

The value of merger and acquisition deals in South Korea plunged 57.5 percent as of the third quarter of this year compared to a year earlier, said a report by Mergermarket on Wednesday. There were a total of 247 M&A deals in the Korean market for the first nine months of the year. The aggregate value of the deals stood at $32.2 billion, down from $75.8 billion from the same period in 2015. Despite the drop in numbers, this was still the country’s third-highest first quarter to third quarter val

Oct. 19, 2016

[HERALD INTERVIEW] BNP Paribas Korea 'cautiously optimistic'

Philippe Noirot, head of BNP Paribas South Korea, is “cautiously optimistic” about the growth of South Korea next year. Despite gloomy outlooks for global trade due to slower-than-expected recoveries of major economies, the Belgian veteran on finance and economy said Korea can benefit from its major trading partner China whose economy is still growing. Philippe Noirot at BNP Paribas’ Seoul office (BNP Paribas)“If the major partner is growing by around 6 percent, chances are high you are going to

Oct. 19, 2016

Won-dollar volatility eases in Q3

The volatility in the won-dollar exchange rates eased in the third quarter from a quarter earlier as a possible US rate hike and other uncertainties have already been factored in the markets, central bank data showed Wednesday.The average gap between the daily high and low of the won-dollar exchange rates came to 7.2 won in the July-September period, smaller than the 7.7 won fluctuation a quarter earlier, the Bank of Korea said.  A Seoul bank's foreign exchange dealing room (Yonhap file photo)Th

Oct. 19, 2016

Stricter mortgage rules spark controversy

The stricter qualifications required to secure a mortgage have sparked debate over the South Korean government’s move to address the country’s runaway household debt issue, with critics claiming the measure would only hurt the working-class people. According to the state-run Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF) on Tuesday, qualifications for its flagship mortgage programs called “Bogeumjari Loan” will be tightened for the rest of the year, starting Wednesday, and it is considering similar meas

Oct. 18, 2016

Speculation forces gov't to consider restrictions despite need for stimulus

The South Korean government is moving to restrict real estate transactions in some areas despite an apparent slump in the overall property market that many say still is the only economic sector keeping the local economy moving forward.The move comes amid what government officials have called clear signs of speculation driving up prices to "abnormal levels" in certain areas."We are witnessing signs of abnormal superheating, such as skyrocketing home prices and unusually high numbers of bids for n

Oct. 18, 2016

[HERALD INTERVIEW] Strategist advises investors to lower expectations further

It is time for investors to further reduce their return expectations for the coming years, as the trend of low growth and low inflation is forecast to last longer than expected, said an expert on bond investment.William Adams, the chief investment officer in charge of a $75 billion fixed income team at MFS Investment Management based in Massachusetts, the US, sat with The Korea Herald on Friday to talk about the economic conditions that would affect their investment yields next year. William Ada

Oct. 17, 2016

[Kosdaq Star] TES gets boost from 3-D NAND, OLED

In the aftermath of the disbandment of Galaxy Note 7 by Samsung Electronics and alleged insider trading by Hanmi Pharmaceutical, many investors here suffered losses last week as most IT and drug-related shares plunged. With the tech-heavy Kosdaq going downhill again on Monday, the market still looked bearish overall, but some investors that have been chasing TES, a provider of semiconductor equipment for major chipmakers, hurrahed. TES’ Challenger HT Series (TES)According to analysts’ forecasts

Oct. 17, 2016

Savings-type pensions short of minimum necessary cash for retirement: gov't data

South Koreans with savings-type pension schemes received a monthly average of only 280,000 won ($245) in pension last year, far less than the minimum cash needed for a post-work life, government data showed Monday.They paid a total of 16 trillion won for savings-type pension programs here in 2015 alone, with monthly payments amounting to 2.42 million won on average, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). They received a total of 1.36 trillion won in pension last year. An elderly m

Oct. 17, 2016

Foreign currency deposits down in September

Foreign currency deposits held by banks in South Korea dropped from a month earlier in September due mainly to a decline in US dollar deposits by exporters, central bank data showed Monday.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local residents came to $66.5 billion as of end-September, down $840 million from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Foreign deposits include those held by foreigners who have stayed in South Korea for more than six months, as well as

Oct. 17, 2016

Pension funds snap up Samsung after stock rout

South Korea's pension funds have loaded up on shares of Samsung Electronics Co. amid the tech behemoth's stock rout in the wake of its smartphone fiasco, industry sources said Monday.Samsung, the top cap and darling of the South Korean stock market, decided last week to suspend production of the Galaxy Note 7 and pull the flagship smartphone out of the market after failing to resolve the battery-fire problem, sending its shares into a freefall.According to the sources, pension funds, one of the

Oct. 17, 2016

Market cap of 10 conglomerates up 5.4% this year

The market cap of South Korea's top 10 business groups listed on the main bourse has risen 5.4 percent from the end of last year, data showed Monday.The 10 conglomerates' market cap reached 714.3 trillion won ($628 billion) as of last Wednesday, up 36.4 trillion won, according to data compiled by Korea Exchange, South Korea's stock market operator.By business group, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group took the first spot with its market cap standing at 13.1 trillion won last week, up 57.3 percent fro

Oct. 17, 2016

Gov't opens mobile service on financial information

South Korea's state financial watchdog said Monday it has launched a mobile service to offer information on the nation's financial transaction system.The Financial Supervisory Service opened the Financial Information Network, http://fine.fss.or.kr, in early September. It features "integrated services" to provide finance consumers with "complete information" on financial transactions here, especially via major search engines, such as Naver and Daum, according to the FSS.The new portal, it added,

Oct. 17, 2016