Chaebol’s market dominance at record high in manufacturing

The 10 largest conglomerates pocketed a massive 41 percent of the total revenue of the manufacturing industry in the past five years, the largest portion ever, showing the ever growing dominance of a handful of chaebols against Seoul’s pursuit for shared growth. More than half of listed manufacturin

Aug. 17, 2011

MBK sole preliminary bidder for Woori Finance stake

Government may launch fresh round of bidding process to find investorMBK Partners submitted a preliminary bid for a stake in Woori Financial Group on Wednesday, becoming the sole bidder among the three potential private equity funds.The other two contenders ― Vogo Fund and T-Stone ― dropped out of t

Aug. 17, 2011

Regulators express unease over financial groups’ dividends

Korea’s four major financial groups have been paying high dividends to shareholders compared to those paid by other listed companies, financial industry data showed Thursday.As foreigners account for a great portion of their shareholding structure, there has been anxiety over a capital flight in the

Aug. 17, 2011

Financial market recovering: Bahk

Seoul shares extend run of gainsFinance Minister Bahk Jae-wan Wednesday vowed to closely monitor the market as it stabilizes on improved prospects.“Financial markets at home and abroad are stabilizing ... but concerns over possibly drawn-out fiscal woes in Europe and an economic slowdown in the U.S.

Aug. 17, 2011

Seoul to widen supply of Chuseok food items

Seoul plans to widen the supply of fruit, fish and fresh harvest products in the two weeks prior to Chuseok to control prices rising fast due to the long rainy spell, the Agriculture Ministry said. It will select 15 staple food items and allocate them evenly at major retailers and wholesale market p

Aug. 16, 2011

Analysts forecast quick stock recovery

A group of analysts have predicted that the stock market, hit by the fiscal woes in Europe and the United States, will stabilize in the near future.They shared the opinion that the possibility of the U.S. economy falling into a double-dip recession is not so high.“Though the U.S. will experience a s

Aug. 16, 2011

Korea logs trade surplus for 18th month

South Korea posted a trade surplus for the 18th straight month in July, fueled by strong exports of petroleum products, ships and automobiles, the customs office said Tuesday.The trade surplus came to $6.3 billion last month, up from $2.8 billion reported a month earlier, according to data by the Ko

Aug. 16, 2011

Europe accounts for half of foreign selling in Korea

Fitch, S&P to visit Seoul for yearly assessmentForeign investors pulled investments worth about 5 trillion won ($4.6 billion) out of Korea’s stock market over the past two weeks amid the fiscal woes in Europe and the United States.Funds from Europe accounted for more than 50 percent of the capital o

Aug. 15, 2011

Woori privatization hits further snag

The process of privatizing Woori Financial Group may once again be stalled with Vogo Fund hinting that it will not take part in the preliminary bids for the financial group.The Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. currently holds 56.97 percent of Woori Financial Group. The state-run firm plans to sell more

Aug. 15, 2011

Debt crisis may rekindle ‘currency war’

Skepticism over G20 pledge to refrain from manipulation is growingThe latest fiscal woes in Europe and the U.S. are expected to invite wider skepticism on the efficacy of the Group of 20 meetings despite pledges from the G20 members for coordinating their efforts to weather global economic difficult

Aug. 15, 2011

Korea frets over economic woes in Western markets

Global financial woes may undermine Korea’s industrial growth and private consumptionThe growing global financial woes in the wake of the European debt crisis and the downgrade of the U.S. sovereign rating may deal a blow to Korea’s economy, amplifying the uncertainties and fluctuations of the natio

Aug. 14, 2011

Korea considers options to stem stock volatility

South Korea’s financial authorities said Friday they were weighing options to stem stock market volatility in response to growing concerns over foreign “hot money” that allegedly exaggerates the market’s moves. The local regulators’ latest gesture to stabilize the local stock market came after they

Aug. 12, 2011

Seoul shares drop 1.33% on foreign selling

South Korean stocks closed 1.33 percent lower Friday on continued foreign selling as rosy U.S. jobs data failed to boost weak investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency gained ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slumped 24.13 points to 1,

Aug. 12, 2011

No further monetary tightening by S. Korea expected this year: Moody's

South Korea is expected to hold off on further monetary tightening for some time, probably for the rest of this year, amid growing confidence of bringing inflation under control, Moody's Analytics said Thursday."Monetary tightening has likely ended for this year," said Alaistair Chan, an economist a

Aug. 12, 2011

Gunman opens fire in Estonian ministry

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A gunman opened fire inside Estonia's Defense Ministry and tried to take hostages on Thursday, but he apparently was shot and killed by police who stormed the building, an official said.The attacker entered the ministry in downtown Tallinn at midday, threw a smoke bomb,

Aug. 11, 2011

U.S. stocks rise on small but positive economic signs

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street's wildest week since 2008 continued with another 300-point move for the Dow on Thursday. This time, stocks shot up after investors saw small signs that the economy isn't headed into another recession.Fewer Americans joined the unemployment line last week and a techn

Aug. 11, 2011