Eximbank raises 40b yen via bond issuance

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said Friday it has raised 40 billion Japanese yen ($484 million) by selling bonds in Japan to provide trade finance.The so-called “Uridashi” bonds mature in four years and carry a fixed interest rate of 1.05 percent, the bank said in a statement.Uridashi bonds are debts denominated in a non-Japanese foreign currency sold directly to Japanese retail investo

Jan. 28, 2011

Overseas money transfer reaches almost $10b in 2010

Money remittances to foreign countries, including foreign workers’ income transfers, jumped last year to nearly $10 billion (11.2 trillion won) amid the economic recovery, central bank data showed Friday.Total money flowing to foreign countries reached $9.97 billion last year, up 31 percent from the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea.Among total remittances, payment of income to foreign

Jan. 28, 2011

Woori, Shinhan in search of new chairmen

Two of the nation’s three major financial groups are to choose their next chairmen in about a month.Woori Financial Group’s incumbent chairman Lee Pal-seung will see his term end in March and Shinhan Financial Group currently maintains an interim chairman system due to the recent internal feud among executives.Woori Financial launched a committee Friday, which will recommend the list of several ca

Jan. 28, 2011

Seoul shares end 0.34 pct lower on Japan rating cut

  South Korean stocks closed 0.34 percent lower on Friday as investor sentiment was dampened by the downgrade of Japan's credit rating by Standard & Poor's, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 7.14 points to 2,107.87, snapping a four-day run of gains.Trading volume was moderate at 347.8 million shares wo

Jan. 28, 2011

S. Korea posts 4th-largest current account surplus in 2010

   South Korea's current account surplus widened in December from the previous month on robust exports, with the country posting its fourth-largest ever surplus last year, the central bank said Thursday.   The current account surplus reached $2.11 billion in December, up from $1.93 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cros

Jan. 27, 2011

Woori, Shinhan, Hana bid for ailing savings bank

Three banking groups, including top financial firm Woori Finance Holdings Co., expressed their intention to buy an ailing savings bank Tuesday, a state insurance agency that arranges the deal and sources said.On Jan. 14, the financial regulator suspended mid-sized Samhwa Mutual Savings Bank for six months as it failed to meet regulatory capital requirements. State-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp.

Jan. 26, 2011

Koreans agonize over spiraling cost of rent

Hong Jun-ho is busy preparing to move out of the home his family has lived in for the past two years in southern Seoul. With the lease on his riverside apartment about to expire, the 34-year-old English teacher feels quite lucky to have found a new home in northern Seoul. It is affordable, located near his new school and also near his in-laws’ house.But without such luck, he could have been in ser

Jan. 26, 2011

Three banking groups likely to bid for Samhwa

   Three banking groups, including top financial firm Woori Finance Holdings Co., have expressed their intention to buy an ailing savings bank, a state insurance agency that arranges the deal and sources said Tuesday.     On Jan. 14, the financial regulator suspended mid-sized SamhwaMutual Savings Bank for six months as it failed to meet regulatorycapital requirements. State-run Korea Deposit Insu

Jan. 25, 2011

FSS tougher on banks’ overseas branches

The Financial Supervisory Service plans to tighten oversight of local banks’ overseas operations, diverting from its earlier position of eased regulations to encourage their making inroads into foreign markets.The watchdog unveiled this year’s key regulatory policies during its meeting with financial market leaders at the Bankers’ Club in downtown Seoul on Tuesday.Major banks, including the nation

Jan. 25, 2011

Seoul shares up on institutional buying

Korean stocks closed 0.59 percent higher on Monday as institutional investors hunted for bargains, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 12.24 points to 2,082.16. Trading volume was moderate at 335.1 million shares worth 6.01 trillion won ($5.37 billion), but losers outnumbered gainers 412 to 396.“Institutional

Jan. 24, 2011

Watchdog launches sweeping probe on firms

40 large firms and suppliers face investigation over price collusion, unfair trade, abuse of market powerThe Fair Trade Commission is conducting an extensive investigation into about 40 large firms and its suppliers to root out business malpractices including price collusion and abuse of market power, officials said Monday. The antitrust regulator launched the largest-ever probe into their pricing

Jan. 24, 2011

BOK may upgrade its 2011 growth outlook

 South Korea's central bank said Monday that the local economy is likely to surpass its long-term growth trend this year, raising speculation that the bank may upgrade its growth outlook.   The Bank of Korea (BOK) earlier forecast Asia's fourth-largest economy to grow 4.5 percent this year while the government is seeking to target a 5 percent expansion.   "The economic expansion will likely hover

Jan. 24, 2011

Seoul's corporate watchdog expands probe into business malpractice

 South Korea's anti-trust watchdog is investigating dozens of local companies for their possible involvement in business malpractice that could result in unusual price hikes in the market, government officials said Monday.   The investigation comes on the heels of a separate probe launched by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) on Jan. 10 into price rigging and other inflation-causing activities in th

Jan. 24, 2011

Bank loan default rate hits 12-month low in Dec.

South Korean banks saw their loan default rates fall to the lowest level in 12 months in December following their enhanced efforts to clear soured loans ahead of year-end book closings, the financial regulator said Monday.   Loans overdue by one day or more reached 0.91 percent, or 9 trillion won ($8 billion), of the total lending held by 18 local banks as of the end of December, sharply down from

Jan. 24, 2011

Will IMF lift prediction on Korea’s 2011 growth?

The Bank of Korea is focusing on the coming revised outlook of the International Monetary Fund for the 2011 global economy as the U.S. economy is showing positive signs of recovery.An issue is whether the IMF will revise its forecast on Korea’s GDP growth upward for this year, from its projection of 4.5 percent in October. The figure was identical to the outlook issued by the BOK.While BOK Governo

Jan. 23, 2011

IMF approves first financial safety loan

The International Monetary Fund approved a two-year contingent credit line to the Republic of Macedonia in the first use of newly launched insurance program guided by the Group of 20 last year. The former Yugoslavian republic became the IMF’s first recipient of the Precautionary Credit Line, securing 476 million euros ($642 million) for this year and next.The measure is part of the international l

Jan. 21, 2011