Foreign visitors exempt from Greek bank run

The capital controls introduced by the Greek government do not apply to foreign visitors to Greece, the Greek Ministry for Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism said Wednesday.Foreigner visitors are free to make financial transactions, such as ATM withdrawals and credit or debit card payments that are issued outside Greece, the Greek Embassy to Seoul said, citing the Greek Tourism Ministry. There are adequate fuel supplies, products and services throughout the Greek mainland the islands,

July 1, 2015

Korea plans W15tr extra budget

The government and the ruling party reached an agreement to set an extra budget of 15 trillion won ($13.3 billion) at their meeting Wednesday. But the supplementary budget for the second half, pushed by the Finance Ministry, has faced criticism from opposition parties for its reckless use of taxpayers’ money.Ruling Saenuri Party officials said Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan garnered consent from the party for the economic stimulus package.They plan to propose the budget plan to the National As

July 1, 2015

Seoul downplays Greek default fallout

The inability of Greece to pay back money owed to the International Monetary Fund will have a limited impact on the South Korean economy, the government said Wednesday.  The Washington-based lending agency said Greece is currently in "arrears" after missing its payment of 1.5 billion euros ($1.67 billion) that came due on Tuesday.   "Most observers predicted that Athens will miss the repayment deadline," a finance ministry official said. He pointed out that while the country did not pay the IMF

July 1, 2015

Consumer prices growth shy of 1 pct for 7th month in June

South Korea's consumer prices grew less than 1 percent for the seventh month in a row in June, a government report showed Wednesday, a worrisome pace of growth for a country trying to keep deflation at bay.  The country's consumer price index inched up 0.7 percent last month from a year earlier, the report by Statistics Korea showed.   Last month's number represents a modest gain from the 0.5 percent on-year growth tallied for May.  "Consumer inflation numbers are mainly being influenced by weak

July 1, 2015

Seoul shares spike 1.14%, Greek woes snubbed

South Korean stocks rallied 1.14 percent on Wednesday as Greece's failure to pay its debt to the International Monetary Fund was much expected, coming as no surprise to investors, analysts said. The local currency weakened against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 23.69 points to 2,097.89. Trading volume was heavy at 466.7 million shares worth 5.8 trillion won ($5.19 billion), with gainers far beating decliners 605 to 221.   The local stock market remained c

July 1, 2015

Seoul aims to double halal exports by 2017

The government on Tuesday announced a plan to double Korean exports of halal food to $1.5 billion by 2017.Under the plan, the Agriculture Ministry plans to set up a local standardized system for halal by the end of this year, doubling the budget for the plan to 2 billion won ($1.8 million). Halal is food approved by Muslim law as fit for eating.The move aims at relieving Korean halal food exporters from the burden of having to seek halal certificates separately from Indonesia, the United Arab Em

June 30, 2015

S. Korean banks' exposure to Greece not large: watchdog

South Korean banks' exposure to cash-strapped Greece is not so large, the financial watchdog said Tuesday, raising expectations that a default by the struggling European country would have a limited impact on them.  Local banks and non-bank institutions' exposure to Greece stood at $1.18 billion as of end-March, accounting for 1.3 percent of the country's total overseas lending, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.  The watchdog said the exposure is loans to Greek shipping firms throu

June 30, 2015

Stocks, currency lose on Greek woes

South Korean stocks and currency fell sharply Monday in the wake of mounting concern over Greece’s state default.Though the nation’s financial policymakers tried to ease volatile investor sentiment earlier in the day, foreigners dumped local equities on the main bourse Korea Exchange.The benchmark KOSPI dropped 29.77 points, or 1.42 percent, from a trading session earlier to close at 2,060.49. The secondary KOSDAQ fell by 2.33 percent to close at 733.04.Foreign investors net-sold stocks, listed

June 29, 2015

Seoul shares dip 1.4 percent, won hits 3-month low on worsening Greek woes

South Korean stocks sank by the most in one month Monday, with the local currency hitting the lowest against the U.S. dollar in three months, as investors were unnerved by debt-mired Greece nearing a sovereign default, analysts said.  Greece is set to default on 1.6 billion euros ($1.76 billion) of loans if it doesn't make repayments to the International Monetary Fund by the Tuesday deadline (Greek time).  The European Central Bank refused to extend support to Greek banks after bailout talks bet

June 29, 2015

S. Korea moves to ease FX restrictions, create new biz opportunities

South Korea plans to ease foreign exchange transaction rules to reduce inconveniences for companies and individuals as well as create new business opportunities, the government said Monday.     Under the plans, local firms will be allowed to enter money transfer businesses like those operated by MoneyGram and Western Union. In addition, local payment gateway firms will be able to process on-line international transactions, according to the finance ministry.  Companies can also benefit from not b

June 29, 2015

Finance Minister Choi heads to Beijing for AIIB ceremony

Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan departed to Beijing Sunday for an inaugural ceremony of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.   Choi will attend the ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday, sources said.   South Korea and 56 other countries became founding members of the AIIB, which is seen as a potential counterbalance to U.S. and Japan-led multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.   The U.S. and Japan did not join the AIIB,

June 28, 2015