Over 40 foreign currencies available for online exchange from October

Banks will expand their online foreign currency exchange services to more than 40 different currencies, starting from October. According to the Financial Supervisory Service on Wednesday, the financial wachdog will work together with the lenders to increase the variety of foreign currencies available for online exchange and pick-up at the Incheon International Airport. Currencies that are considered rare to get here, including the Vietnamese dong, Indonesian rupiah, Malaysian ringgit and Russian

Aug. 24, 2016

Korea Eximbank holds EDCF camp for students

The Export-Import Bank of Korea, or Korea Eximbank, held a three-day camp starting Wednesday for college students providing them an opportunity to share ideas and visions about international development and cooperation. According to the bank on Wednesday, about 50 local university students took part in the camp dubbed “Economic Development Cooperation Fund Camp,” being held for the 13th year at the bank’s headquarters in Yeouido and employee training center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.  Korea E

Aug. 24, 2016

Insurers' financial status improves in Q2

The financial health of South Korean insurance firms improved in the second quarter of this year thanks to increased net profits and the higher bond prices they possess, data showed Wednesday.The risk-based capital, the minimum required liquid reserves for a financial institution, of 56 life and non-life insurers averaged 288 percent at the end of June, up 14.1 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The average RBC of 25 life insurers rose to

Aug. 24, 2016

Korea to hold annual meeting with Fitch on credit assessment

The South Korean government will have an annual consultation with Fitch Ratings Inc. this week on the country's credit valuation, the finance ministry said Wednesday.Led by Thomas Rookmaaker, head of Asia-Pacific sovereigns at Fitch, the delegation will visit South Korea for meetings with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance from Wednesday to Friday.Fitch will look into South Korea's macroeconomic policies, including its mid- and long-term plans, and financial issues like household debt and corp

Aug. 24, 2016

[Herald Interview] Activist-turned-lawmaker takes aim at chaebol

Expectations are high that South Korea’s family-run conglomerates, or chaebol, will face increasing pressure to reform their corporate governance, especially with more liberals than ruling conservatives in the current Parliament.One individual in favor of such pressure is Chae Yi-bai, a 41-year-old rookie lawmaker from the minor opposition People’s Party. “The chaebol model is fundamentally flawed and it is crippling the mechanism of Korea’s capital market,” the activist-turned-lawmaker said las

Aug. 23, 2016

Stock rally likely to continue until end of 2016: analysts

The recent buoyancy of the Korean stock market is forecast to persist until the end of the year, according to numerous market analysts. The pessimism that ran deep in the local financial market, as the country’s main benchmark Kospi remained at around 1,900 points until early this year, has faded away with the index replacing its previous records for the year’s new highs in the past week. The benchmark Kospi closed at 2,049.93, gaining 7.77 points from the previous trading session.Analysts are b

Aug. 23, 2016

Central bank, regulator at odds over household debt

Contrary to the International Monetary Fund’s assessment that South Korea’s household debt is manageable in part due to increased regulations, the central bank sees the rapid growth of borrowings as a serious problem that could further undermine Korea’s economic structure.In direct conflict with the Financial Services Commission, which has provided industry guidelines to curb borrowings, the Bank of Korea suggested that the country would need additional measures as the government’s regulatory gu

Aug. 22, 2016

[NEWSMAKER] Mixed views on Samsung Electronics stock

After a two-day record-breaking rally, Samsung Electronics shares on Monday took a breather, closing 0.6 percent lower than the previous session. As soon as the Seoul market opened, Samsung Electronics shot to another intraday high of 1,692,000 won, but lost all of its gains on heavy foreign profit-taking. After choppy trading, it settled at 1,665,000 won at close. Local stock analysts seem mixed on the future direction of the market bellwether stock, which alone accounts for nearly 20 percent o

Aug. 22, 2016

Seoul to sell 30% stake in Woori Bank to multiple buyers

After four failed attempts, the Korean financial regulator came up with a revised measure to privatize state-owned Woori Bank on Monday, in a bid to make the sale successful this time. In the fifth attempt, the Financial Services Commission and its Public Fund Management Committee decided to sell a total of 30 percent out of a 48.09 percent stake held by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. to multiple investors, splitting the shares into 4 to 8 percent chunks. The committee expects a minimum of fo

Aug. 22, 2016

[Kosdaq Star] Explosive growth of Hugel attracts foreign funds

Hugel, a runner-up in the Botulinum toxin market, was in the spotlight last week, as it attracted the largest funds from foreign investors on the Kosdaq this year. According to a report by the Korea Exchange, the pharmaceutical firm received a total of 202.2 billion won ($181 million) in foreign investments as of Aug. 10, marking its rise as a new Kosdaq star. The company’s share price jumped from 180,100 won in late 2015 to 439,900 won as of Friday. Its stocks were flying high Friday as investo

Aug. 22, 2016

Korean won top performer among major currencies: data

South Korean tax authorities can't track down about 27 percent of self-employed people's income, data showed Monday, as they evade taxation through a range of expedient means.According to the National Tax Office and the Bank of Korea, self-employed South Koreans filed tax returns for only 72.8 percent of their total income estimated at 120.4 trillion won ($107 billion) in 2014.This means that local tax authorities couldn't keep tabs on the self-employed's remaining income and collect taxes from

Aug. 22, 2016

Korea resumes Woori Bank sale process

South Korea announced another attempt Monday to privatize Woori Bank, a leading lender in the country, saying the possibility of a successful sale is "higher than any other time."The government has agreed to sell off 30 percent of its stake in the bank to several different buyers by the end of this year, according to the Financial Services Commission."It's judged that potential demand for investment has been confirmed on a level (enough) to push for the sale," FSC Chairman Yim Jong-yong said at

Aug. 22, 2016

[Graphic News] Monthly household spending stays flat in Q2

South Korea’s monthly household real income and spending stayed flat in the second quarter compared to last year amid a protracted economic slowdown, a government report showed Friday.According to Statistics Korea, household disposable income showed a 1 percent increase year-on-year in the second quarter of the year, however its real income had no change during the same period.Consumer spending remained unchanged over the same period, pushing down the proportion of disposable income to consumpti

Aug. 21, 2016

FSC to announce Woori Bank privatization plan Monday

The South Korean financial regulator will announce a set of confirmed measures to privatize Woori Bank, the single state-owned commercial bank, on Monday. It is the fifth attempt by the Financial Services Commission and its Public Fund Management Committee to sell a controlling stake in the bank, currently held by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp.  (Yonhap)The KDIC holds a 51 percent stake in Woori Bank. The Korean government established Woori Bank by merging five struggling banks with a total o

Aug. 21, 2016

Total market cap of top 10 conglomerates surges

The total market capitalization of South Korea’s 10 biggest business groups surged nearly 30 trillion won ($27 billion) in August alone, according to data provider FnGuide Sunday. According to the online financial information provider, the total market cap of the top 10 groups listed on the Kospi as of Friday stood at 690.2 trillion won, up 29.8 trillion won or 4.5 percent from late July. Samsung Group`s head office in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul (Samsung Group)The market cap of Samsung Electron

Aug. 21, 2016

[Monitor] Producer prices fall

South Korea’s producer prices in July dropped slightly from the previous year on a large cut in prices of coal and petroleum products, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea on Friday.

Aug. 19, 2016

Stock rally underscores hopes for Samsung's earnings recovery

Powered by better-than-expected market responses for the new Galaxy Note phablet, expectations for a continued recovery of earnings have propelled shares of Samsung Electronics Co. to an all-time high, after surging more than 30 percent this year. Shares of Samsung, the world's largest maker of smartphones, jumped 4.7 percent on Thursday to close at 1,640,000 won ($1,480), a record closing high, and traded at a new intraday record of 1,643,000 won per share in early Friday trade. The stock rally

Aug. 19, 2016