KOSDAQ firms' investment edges up in 2013

Despite economic uncertainties, local firms listed on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market appeared to have increased their investment in 2013, according to government data on Wednesday.A total of 241 KOSDAQ-listed firms spent a combined 3.87 trillion won ($3.59 billion) last year, compared with 3.76 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the KOSDAQ-Listed Companies Association.The tallied firms spent a combined 2.17 trillion won buying stakes in other firms last year, up 17.1 pe

March 26, 2014

KRX aims to complete IT system for Uzbek bourse by 2015

Korea Exchange, the country's bourse operator said Wednesday that it had signed a deal to complete an information technology system for Uzbekistan’s stock market by 2015.In 2011, the Korea Exchange inked a deal with the State Property Committee of Uzbekistan to provide and assist the Uzbek stock market with an operating system that covers trading, payment and brokering. The process was initially scheduled to be completed by 2013 but was delayed due to procedural matters and differences over the

March 26, 2014

Korea takes aim at ‘reckless’ tax benefits

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a blueprint from top economic policymakers to screen the targets for tax exemptions or relief as the nation struggles with snowballing government debt.According to the 2014 tax expenditure plan unveiled by the Finance Ministry, the government will review the validity of tax exemptions and other related benefits that exceed 10 billion won ($9 million) per annum.“After mapping out the details, the idea of more tightly screening the targets of tax benefits ― as propo

March 25, 2014

Seoul shares close lower on weak U.S., Chinese data

South Korean stocks closed lower Tuesday as investors sat on the sidelines amid the weaker-than-expected industry data from the United States and China, analysts said. The South Korean won closed lower against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved down 4.3 points, or 0.22 percent, to 1,941.25. Trading volume was low at 222 million shares worth 3.72 trillion won ($3.45 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 425 to 376.Analysts said Seoul shares closed lower due to w

March 25, 2014

S. Korea to toughen standards for tax expenditure

South Korea said Tuesday that it will toughen its criteria used to determine whether to provide tax exemptions and other benefits as part of efforts to reduce excessive tax expenditure.Under the 2014 tax expenditure plan, which was approved by a Cabinet meeting, the finance ministry said that it will not approve any new tax exemption or cut whose value exceeds about 10 billion won ($9.29 million) if it fails to pass a feasibility test. The exact threshold will be decided later.The ministry will

March 25, 2014

Credit card spending growth slows in Feb.

South Korea's credit card spending grew at a slower pace in February than a month earlier due to a one-time effect, data showed on Tuesday.Purchases made with credit cards reached 41.48 trillion won ($38.52 billion) in February, growing 2.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association. The February figure is compared with 46.9 trillion won worth of credit card spending a month earlier and also marks a slowdown from a 9-percent on-year gain in Janu

March 25, 2014

Arrest warrant sought for bizman over stock rigging

State prosecutors sought an arrest warrant Tuesday for the head of a local mine developer on charges of reaping massive profits from a stock price manipulation scheme linked to a diamond mining project in Cameroon.CNK International President Oh Deok-gyun allegedly pocketed about 90 billion won ($83.24 million) by exaggerating the volume of diamond reserves in a Cameroon mine through a press release that inflated the KOSDAQ-listed company's stock prices.Oh was apprehended at Incheon International

March 25, 2014

Heavy debtors’ liabilities edge up in 2013

The average liabilities held by South Korea’s heavy debtors edged up on-year in 2013, data showed Sunday, casting further clouds over the country’s economy amid mounting household debts.South Koreans who have borrowed money from more than three financial firms saw their average debt reach 96.2 million ($89,000) at end-2013, gradually expanding every year since the 88.3 million won posted in 2010, data compiled by the Bank of Korea showed.Despite the number of such heavy debtors falling 30,000 to

March 23, 2014

Korea to launch gold trading platform next week

South Korea’s bourse operator, the Korea Exchange, said Friday that it will launch a gold trading platform early next week as scheduled, after a three-week trial period.Last year, the country’s financial authorities unveiled a plan to set up a gold trading platform in line with the government’s efforts to bring the underground economy into the open and squeeze taxes out of the market, where tax evasion is rampant and dominated by illegal transactions.According to the exchange, 1 gram units of bu

March 21, 2014

Lotte Group recruits from investigative agencies

Lotte Group successfully recruited a group of former government officials, many of whom worked for the nation’s major investigative agencies, as outside directors through a vote at the annual shareholders meeting on Friday.Most of the appointees included officials from the prosecution, the tax authority and the presidential office. Shareholders of Lotte affiliates approved the proposition.Lotte Shopping named a former commissioner of a regional tax office and renamed a former senior prosecutor a

March 21, 2014

S. Korea to launch gold trading platform next week

South Korea's bourse operator, the Korea Exchange, said Friday that it will launch a gold trading platform early next week as scheduled, after a three-week trial period.Last year, the country's financial authorities unveiled a plan to set up a gold trading platform in line with the government's efforts to bring the underground economy into the open and squeeze taxes out of the market where tax evasion is rampant and dominated by illegal transactions.According to the exchange, 1 gram units of bul

March 21, 2014

Seoul shares fall on Fed chair’s interest rate hike comment

South Korean stocks fell sharply Thursday following U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s comments on future interest rate hikes that pushed foreign investors and institutions to offload shares. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index skidded with the start of trading and lost more ground to end the day at 1,919.52, a drop of 0.94 percent, or 18.16 points, from Wednesday’s close.The loss comes on the heels of the main bourse dipping in

March 20, 2014

Two former Kookmin Bank employees to stand trial for illegal lending

Two former employees of Kookmin Bank’s unit in Tokyo have been indicted on charges of extending illegal loans worth nearly 150 billion won ($140 million) to South Korean companies operating in Japan, prosecutors said Thursday.The Tokyo branch of South Korea’s leading bank has been investigated by Seoul prosecutors over suspicions that it lent more than permitted to Japan-based firms to secure returns, some of which were later used to amass slush funds here.The suspects, including a 56-year-old f

March 20, 2014