Seoul shares likely to keep upward march next week

South Korean stocks are expected to continue to build up gains next week as foreign investors hold on to their buying binge of local stocks amid improving global liquidity circumstances, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,146.1 points on Friday, up 1.9 percent from a week earlier, gaining in four out of five trading sessions this week.The key index got off to a strong start as foreign investors scooped up shares amid eased volatility in the

May 23, 2015

Chinese stock connect fuels Korean investors' appetite

A growing number of South Koreans have invested in the Chinese stock market after a bourse link scheme began six months ago, but rising concern over a bubble has made them rethink their next move, market watchers said Friday.   South Korean investors traded 6.87 trillion won ($6.26 billion) worth of Chinese shares for six months after the Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connect was launched on Nov. 17 to allow foreigners to directly invest in mainland Chinese stocks, according to the data compiled by t

May 22, 2015

FSC seeks new sell-off options for Woori Bank

Financial Services Commission chairman Yim Jong-yong said on Thursday that the sell-off method for the state-run Woori Bank should be more diverse.“The sell-off method must be diversified, unlike the old system that merely involves bridging the buyer and Woori for a certain amount of premium ― this is not desirable,” Yim said at a press luncheon in central Seoul. After diversifying the sell-off option on market-based research, the agenda should be put to public discussion, Yim added. The regulat

May 21, 2015

Regulator eyes electronic securities system by 2019

South Korea's top financial regulator said Thursday that it is planning to introduce an electronic securities system by 2019, under which stocks and bonds do not exist as a paper form. The Financial Services Commission said under the new system, issuance, registration and circulation of securities will be performed on an electronic basis without physical certificates.  Nearly all kinds of securities, except commercial papers and investment contract securities, will be subject to the paperless sy

May 21, 2015

Korea’s GDP growth may stay below 3%: KDI

A major state-controlled think tank forecast Wednesday that South Korea’s economic growth may stay below 3 percent this year due to a continued slump in exports.In its predictions on the nation’s economy in 2015 and 2016, the Korea Development Institute cited numerous factors domestically and externally, which could pull down the growth potential, particularly this year.The institute revised its 2015 GDP growth downward to 3 percent from its earlier forecast of 3.5 percent, which is lower than t

May 20, 2015

Top financial regulator urges full disclosure of company info

South Korea's top financial regulator said Tuesday that all companies are responsible for disclosing their information in a full, fair and timely manner in order to create a transparent and investor-friendly financial environment.  "In order to invigorate the financial market, we have to expand the circulation of credible information that can attract rational investment," said Financial Services Commission Chairman Yim Jong-yong.  "It is necessary to make full, fair and timely disclosures of mat

May 19, 2015

FSC to ease restrictions on opening bank accounts

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Monday that it will allow customers to open bank accounts without physically visiting brick-and-mortar offices from later this year as part of efforts to ease regulations on the financial industry and boost financial technology, or fintech.Under the current financial laws, local financial institutions must identify the name of an individual who opens a bank account by checking their identification cards and signatures in person.The Financial Services Co

May 18, 2015

Ex-head of S. Korean financial watchdog to testify in Lone Star suit

A former head of South Korea's financial watchdog is expected to testify before an international tribunal this week in a multibillion-dollar case the U.S. private equity firm Lone Star filed against South Korea over disputes surrounding its asset sell-offs in Korea.Jun Kwang-woo, who served as head of the Financial Services Commission in 2008-2009, has been in Washington to testify before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes that began hearing the case Friday."I can't s

May 18, 2015

Brokerages' earnings hit 6-year high in Q1

South Korean securities firms' earnings hit a six-year high in the first quarter on increased gains from equity investment amid low interest rates and a bullish stock market, the financial watchdog said Monday.The combined net profit of 58 securities companies stood at 976 billion won ($898.9 million) in the January-March period, the highest quarterly figure since it reached 1.1 trillion won in the first quarter of 2009, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.Their bottom line more than

May 18, 2015

Samsung's market share in mobile phones down in Q1

South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. saw its global market share in the mobile phone sector drop slightly during the first quarter of this year but its shares in the DRAM, TV and display areas improved, a report showed Sunday.According to the report by Samsung Electronics detailing its business performance for the first quarter, its share in the global mobile phone sector stood at 22.2 percent during the January-March period, down from the previous year's 22.4 percent.The figure incl

May 17, 2015

First hearing opens over Lone Star asset sell-offs in Korea

An international tribunal began hearing a multi-billion dollar case Friday that the U.S. private equity firm Lone Star filed against South Korea's government over tax and other disputes surrounding its asset sell-offs in Korea.   The case is the latest -- and the biggest -- of a series of legal battles involving Lone Star's investments in South Korea, including the 2003 purchase of a controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), and its sell-off of those assets for large margins.   Lone Star i

May 15, 2015

Revised income tax law causes confusion

The revised income tax law is confusing taxpayers, stirring them up. The National Tax Service said Friday that the income tax revision, which passed the National Assembly three days ago requires the readjustment of last year’s year-end tax return for about 15 million taxpayers. This accounts for more than half of the country’s entire economically active population.On the same day, the Korea Taxpayers Association, the country’s largest nongovernment organization on tax studies, said in a press re

May 15, 2015

Korea’s growth outlook mixed

The International Monetary Fund and several foreign investment banks including Citigroup have expressed skepticism over South Korea’s economic outlook, citing growing uncertainties that might pull down the nation’s growth in the coming months.In contrast, data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development was more positive.The split projections from the two major global organizations ― the IMF and OECD ― are drawing closer attention to local policymakers’ decisions in the coming

May 14, 2015

Korea-Lone Star duel to start in Washington

The legal battle over a multibillion-dollar investment compensation case between U.S. private equity firm Lone Star and the Korean government will start with its first hearing in Washington D.C. on Friday.This will be the first investor-state dispute case hearing faced by the Korean government, as well as the biggest of the years-long legal conflicts regarding Lone Star’s takeover and sell-off of Korea Exchange Bank.The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, an international

May 14, 2015