Seoul shares expected to continue rise on foreign buying

The South Korean stock market is likely to gather ground this week, helped by overseas investors, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 0.17 percent from the previous week to close at 2,017.17 on Friday, the highest of this year, supported mainly by eased concern over the Chinese economy.South Korean stocks closed almost flat Monday on concerns over the won’s rise against the greenback, which could inflict foreign-exchange losses on exporters.Seoul shares

May 25, 2014

Corporate dividends to foreign investors jump 14% in 2013

South Korean companies’ dividend payouts to foreign investors surged nearly 14 percent from a year earlier in 2013, partly reflecting a growth in foreign investment in the local market, related data showed Sunday. According to the Korea Securities Depository, local firms that settle their annual accounts in December paid a combined total of 4.63 trillion won ($4.51 billion) in dividends to foreigners last year, up 13.9 percent from 2012. The increase was largely attributed to the payouts by Sams

May 25, 2014

National Pension Fund reaps heavy profit from stock investment in Samsung

South Korea's national pension fund made more than 1 trillion won ($975.1 billion) in two weeks from its Samsung Group stocks, an analysis of its latest investment portfolio indicated Sunday.Samsung Group's share prices have jumped across the board after the conglomerate's chief Lee Kun-hee, who commands the country's top cap business empire, was hospitalized earlier this month after a heart attack. The incident raised investor confidence that Samsung would take pro-shareholder steps as it exped

May 25, 2014

Foreign investors' dividends jump nearly 14 percent in 2013

South Korean companies' dividend payouts to foreign investors surged nearly 14 percent from a year earlier in 2013, partly reflecting a growth in foreign investment in the local market, related data showed Sunday.According to the Korea Securities Depository, local firms that settle their annual accounts in December paid a combined total of 4.63 trillion won ($4.51 billion) in dividends to foreigners last year, up 13.9 percent from 2012.The increase was largely attributed to the payouts by Samsun

May 25, 2014

Won set to end three-week rally on intervention

The won was set to stall a three-week rally amid speculation South Korean authorities acted to limit the currency’s appreciation.The Bank of Korea and the Finance Ministry probably bought $1.5 billion on May 14 and around half of that amount on May 20 to intervene in the foreign-exchange market, Cliff Tan, the Hong Kong-based East Asian head of global markets research for Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ wrote in a note yesterday. Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said this week that policy measures sho

May 23, 2014

Seoul shares close flat on profit-taking

South Korean stocks closed almost flat Friday as profit-taking institutional investors offset foreign buying, analysts said. The South Korean won closed lower against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged up 1.58 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,017.17, the highest this year. Trading volume was low at 237.6 million shares worth 3.13 trillion won ($3.06 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 457 to 324.“While foreign investors are purchasing Seoul shares amid flat grow

May 23, 2014

Kyobo Life Insurance carries out restructuring

Kyobo Life Insurance, the nation’s third-largest life insurance provider in terms of assets, is set to start downsizing its organization amid persistent lagging performance to follow in the footsteps of the other two market leaders, Samsung Life Insurance and Hanwha Life.The company announced on Thursday that it would receive voluntary redundancy from employees who have worked there for 15 years or more, starting Friday until June 9.Applicants will be paid a lump-sum retirement allowance equival

May 23, 2014

National pension fund to increase stock investment

South Korea’s national pension fund plans to boost its stock investment in the coming years while cutting exposure to safer assets in order to raise its investment returns, welfare ministry said Friday.The National Pension Service, one of the world’s major pension operators, would raise the portion of stocks to its overall investment portfolio to over 35 percent by 2019 from the 30.1 percent at the end of last year, according to the ministry which has a final say on the management of the country

May 23, 2014

FSC approves Yuanta’s buy of Tong Yang Securities

The Financial Services Commission on Wednesday authorized Taiwan-based Yuanta Securities’ stock acquisition of Tong Yang Group’s troubled brokerage house.Yuanta’s shares will represent about 53.6 percent of Tong Yang Security’s outstanding shares, replacing Tong Yang International and Tong Yang Leisure as the largest stakeholder. “We’re hoping that the merger can help (Tong Yang Securities) introduce investment products that target both the domestic and overseas market,” an official from the Sou

May 22, 2014

Stock turnover rising on bullish run

Stock turnover on the Seoul bourse is showing signs of improvement as the local bourse continues its upward march, boosted by a series of positive expectations such as Samsung Group’s business overhaul, data showed Thursday.The daily trading volume on the main bourse stayed at 213 million shares in April, the lowest since January 2007 when the comparable figure was 192 million. Also, the daily turnover fell to 3.57 trillion won ($3.48 billion) last month, the lowest since December 2013, accordin

May 22, 2014

Seoul shares close higher on optimism

South Korean stocks rebounded on Thursday as upbeat economic reports from the United States and China encouraged investors to bet on riskier assets, analysts said.The local currency gained ground against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.36 percent, or 7.26 points, to 2015.59, coming back from a 3 point fall in the previous session. Trading volume was thin at 225 million shares worth 3.57 trillion won ($3.49 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 457 to 337

May 22, 2014

Seoul shares close lower on dull Chinese market

South Korean stocks closed lower Wednesday as the Chinese bourse remained sluggish, analysts said. The South Korean won traded lower against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved down 2.93 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,008.33. Trading volume was low at 218.1 million shares worth 3.22 trillion won ($3.14 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 465 to 319.“The sluggish performance of the Chinese stock market continued to weigh down on Seoul shares,” said Bae Sung-yo

May 21, 2014

Seoul shares close lower ahead of FOMC minutes release

South Korean stocks closed lower Tuesday as investors sat on the sidelines ahead of the release of the U.S. central bank’s minutes for April, analysts said. The South Korean won ended down against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 3.88 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,011.26. Trading volume was low at 240 million shares worth 3.66 trillion won ($3.57 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 478 to 320.Analysts said Seoul shares closed lower mainly as investors took

May 20, 2014

Banks to provide loans for Sewol victims

Leading domestic banks said Tuesday they would provide financial services to help the victims of the deadly sinking of the Sewol ferry on April 16.A number of local banks, including KB Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank, pledged to support the victims’ families and survivors with emergency funding.Support measures include offering up to 20 million won ($19,600) in loans without collateral and also extending the maturity of existing loans made to them, the banks said.The

May 20, 2014

Korea’s fiscal deficit widens in Q1 on budget frontloading

South Korea’s fiscal deficit widened during the first quarter from a year earlier as the government frontloaded its spending to help boost the economic recovery, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.The consolidated fiscal account, which reflects the central government’s total income and expenditures, including social security funds, came to a cumulative 17.5 trillion won ($17.1 billion) during the January-March period, compared with 14.8 trillion won a year earlier, according to the ministry.“Expe

May 20, 2014

Finance Minister Hyun under fire for fiscal response

The government, hit by a mounting public backlash in the aftermath of the deadly sinking of the ferry Sewol last month, will mobilize budgets scattered among ministries and agencies to better cope with disasters, the finance minister said Monday. “The government will use not just the money but also other diverse budgets assigned for each ministry and agency, and if the amount is not enough, it could redirect other budget spending and tap into reserve funds in order (to provide) ... fiscal suppor

May 19, 2014

KB Financial, Lotte, 3 others tender offers to buy LIG Insurance

Major banking group KB Financial Group Inc., retail giant Lotte Group, and three others offered their bids to buy LIG Insurance Co., a local non-life insurer which has been on the selling block since late last year, industry sources said Monday.LIG Group, a mid-sized conglomerate, has put up some 21 percent in the country's No. 5 non-life insurer to secure cash to compensate retail investors for losses incurred from its 2011 financial fraud scandal.The price tag for LIG Insurance ranges from 400

May 19, 2014