[News Focus] Financial regulator, laborers split over incentives

Korea’s top financial regulator and a labor group remain divided over the government’s push to install incentive systems at state-run financial companies.Both sides are adamant in their positions with the Korean Financial Industry Union planning to go on a strike, while the Financial Services Commission reiterated that it will enforce the system as part of reforms. FSC chairman Yim Jong-yong (Yonhap)In a meeting with the heads of state-run financial companies Tuesday, FSC chairman Yim Jong-yong

May 10, 2016

BOK expected to hold rate steady

The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee, slated to meet Friday, is widely expected to leave the base interest rate unchanged at a record-low 1.5 percent for an 11th straight month in May, surveys showed. A Chosun Ilbo poll shows that 12 out of 15 analysts and experts expect no change in the borrowing cost, while the other three see a cut as likely.  BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol (Yonhap)In another poll of 12 securities companies, conducted by Yonhap News, 11 predicted a freeze, while NH Investment

May 10, 2016

[Photo News] Debit card for foreigners

Industrial Bank of Korea’s new debit card product targets foreign clients with benefits including discounts on overseas remittance fees, public transportation fares and convienence store purchases, the bank said Tuesday. (IBK)

May 10, 2016

BOK expected to hold key rate frozen in May: poll

Korea's central bank will likely hold its key rate steady this month, extending its wait-and-see mode amid what many observers have called mild signs of recovery, a poll showed Tuesday.In a poll conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, 16 out of 18 economists surveyed forecast the Bank of Korea (BOK) to again hold its policy rate frozen at its monthly rate-setting meeting scheduled for Friday. Bank of Korea (Yonhap)The key rate currently stands at 1.5 percent. T

May 10, 2016

Seoul shares open slightly higher

(Yonhap)Korean share prices started higher on Tuesday as large caps traded mixed amid a lack of momentum.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.03 points, or 0.05 percent, to 1,968.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Automakers such as Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors recovered the ground they lost in Monday’s session. Major brokerages, including Samsung Securities, also got off to a strong start, but Samsung Electronics opened in the negative, along with tobacco producer KT&G and

May 10, 2016

[Graphic News] Primary sector workers show highest fatalities among cancer insurance policyholders

Primary sector workers such as farmers, fisherman and miners have the highest annual death rate among cancer insurance policyholders in Korea, industry data showed Monday. Among 12 occupational groupings, male workers in the agriculture, fishing, mining, livestock and fishing industries had the highest death rate among cancer insurance policyholders at 0.6 percent in 2014, according to the Korea Insurance Development Institute. Male fatalities in the sector came to 628 during the year among a to

May 9, 2016

Seoul shares down 0.45% on foreign, institutional selling

Korean stocks closed lower Monday as foreigners and institutions unloaded large-cap issues amid renewed worries over the global economy, analysts said. The local currency dropped against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.9 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,967.81. Trade volume came to 338.21 million shares worth 5.18 trillion won ($4.4 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 514 to 291."With uncertainty lingering over the U.S. rate policy, anxiety among i

May 9, 2016

Majority of ISAs nearly empty

More than a million Koreans have opened tax-efficient Individual Savings Accounts in banks in the first month since its launch here, but more than 70 percent of the accounts were found to have a balance of less than 10,000 won ($8.50), industry data showed Monday. Since Korean lenders began introducing their first tax-exempt ISAs, in March, some 1,362,800 accounts have been opened, with 631.1 billion won of subscriptions until April 15. This means that the average subscription for ISAs stands at

May 9, 2016

Kim’s Club sale faces delay on price differences

Talks between the E-Land Group and U.S. private equity giant KKR for the sale of local retail chain Kim’s Club are dragging on due to differences over price, local reports said Monday. E-Land is trying to sell its 37-branch hypermarket franchise to KKR for about 700 billion won, but the buyout firm is refusing to pay more than half of that price, Yonhap News reported, citing unnamed sources. Kim’s Club’s revenue last year was 660 billion won.“Negotiations are going smoothly,” E-Land said, in res

May 9, 2016

Caregen eyes growth in cosmeceuticals

Caregen is not a typical Korean biotechnology company local investors are most familiar with.When it comes to biotech shares trading on the stock market, LG Life Sciences or Medy-Tox would generally come to mind. They are big biotech players, with the market cap of LG Life Sciences reaching over 1 trillion won ($858.8 million) on the benchmark KOSPI. Medy-Tox ranks 6th with nearly 3 trillion won in market cap on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ.Caregen’s booth at the World Congress of Dermatology in Vancou

May 9, 2016

Korea’s ship trio face W2.2tr wall of debt next year

Korea’s three major shipbuilders face a 2.2 trillion won ($1.9 billion) wall of debt due next year, with second-ranked Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering deepest in debt, data showed Monday. DSME has 980 billion won of debt maturing this year and next, including 40 billion won in commercial paper due in September. That is nearly 70 percent of its total liability of 1.3 trillion won. (Yonhap)Cash flow has been tight at DSME after it logged a record operating loss of 5.5 trillion won in 2015

May 9, 2016

Financial firms slashed nearly 1,800 jobs in 2015

Financial companies in South Korea cut nearly 1,800 jobs last year amid an industry slump, market data showed Monday.As of the end of 2015, the number of people employed by financial firms, such as banks and securities companies, came to 373,609, compared to 375,402 a year earlier, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service. (Yonhap)The largest job reduction came in commercial banks, which cut 1,930 jobs. Next were insurers which slashed 799 payrolls, while the number of workers at

May 9, 2016

Overseas stock buying jumps in March on tax benefits

Korean investors bought 6.7 trillion won ($5.7 billion) worth of overseas stocks in March, the biggest monthly buying since November 2007, backed by tax benefits, the central bank said Monday.In March, overseas stock buying by domestic individual and institutional investors more than doubled from $2.75 billion a year earlier. They bought foreign shares worth $6.55 billion in November 2007, showed data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) and the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA).   Bank of

May 9, 2016

HMM shares trade lower as trading resumes

Hyundai Merchant Marine lost ground on Korea’s main bourse Monday, as trading in shares of the ailing container carrier resumed after a sharp capital decrease. HMM stocks closed at 13,900 won ($11.92) per share, 3.8 percent lower than the opening price of 14,450 won, against the benchmark KOSPI index‘s 0.45 decline. Trading had been halted since April 20 as the company undertook share consolidation in a ratio of 7:1, merging every seven shares into one new share. The measure subsequently reduced

May 9, 2016

Experts against corporate tax hike: KCCI

South Korea should not rush to raise corporate tax rates amid a gloomy outlook for its economy, a local business lobby group said Monday, citing a survey of local experts.The corporate tax issue is expected to emerge as a hot topic in the 20th National Assembly to open at the end of this month. The National Tax Service headquarters (Yonhap)The liberal main opposition Minjoo Party will hold 123 seats in the unicameral parliament, while the number of lawmakers with the conservative ruling Saenuri

May 9, 2016

Seoul shares open lower on large cap losses

Korean stocks started weaker Monday as large cap issues lost ground. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 3.48 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1,973.23 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Traders monitor share prices at a local bank. (Yonhap)Analysts said investor sentiment might be affected by weaker-than-expected trade data announced by China over the weekend. Auto shares such as Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors started lower. Steelmaking giant POSCO also lost 1.6 percent. The Korean m

May 9, 2016

Ministry, BOK divided on how to recapitalize banks

Korea’s government and central bank, after an open spat, agreed last week to recapitalize policy banks to finance corporate restructuring, but the devil really is in the detail. The Finance Ministry and the Bank of Korea agree on the need for “a policy mix” to boost the capital bases of two state-run lenders Korea Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of Korea. But they still appear divided on what that mix should comprise.Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol made this clear when he said Thursday th

May 8, 2016

No foul play in Codes Combine rally: KRX

Korea Exchange has found no evidence of foul play in the rally of Codes Combine on the Kosdaq exchange in March, the sudden and erratic nature of which led the bourse operator to take measures against stocks with similarly small free floats. “The Market Oversight Committee could not find any reason to believe that manipulative forces were behind the stock’s gains,” a source at the KRX said Sunday. The committee, which monitors irregularities in stock trading, had probed transactions related to t

May 8, 2016

Korea Exchange asks 175 firms to disclose information in English

South Korea's main bourse said on Sunday it has asked 175 of listed companies to disclose key management decisions and other information in English starting this week, a move meant to boost foreign shareholders' value.The 175 firms, or about 23 percent, of all 769 companies listed on the main stock exchange are also asked to release earnings results, forecasts and investment decisions in English from Monday in its own KIND regulatory filing system, the Korea Exchange said in a statement."There h

May 8, 2016