Ko Jae-pil advised investors in an upscale area of Seoul to jettison bond funds last year as the Federal Reserve prepared to taper its unprecedented stimulus.Debt funds no longer figure among investments recommended by the team head of Hana Bank’s private banking branch in the Gangnam neighborhood made famous by rapper Psy’s viral music video “Gangnam Style.” Ko now favors local stock funds with strategies that bet on both gains and losses.President Park Geun-hye’s plans to spur Asia’s fourth-la

Feb. 27, 2014

The government has recouped 63.2 percent of the public funds it spent to bail out troubled financial firms during the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, the financial regulator said Thursday.The government has retrieved 106.7 trillion won ($100.1 billion) of 168.6 trillion won used from the public funds as of the end of December, according to the Financial Services Commission.The recovery rate was up from 62.5 percent recorded at the end of 2012, it added.The South Korean government poured massiv

Feb. 27, 2014

Taiwan-based Yuanta Securities was provisionally selected as the preferred bidder for the brokerage arm of the embattled Tong Yang Group, industry sources said Wednesday.Yuanta Securities, Taiwan's No. 1 brokerage house, had submitted a bid Tuesday for Tongyang Securities Inc., whose parent group has been suffering from a severe liquidity crunch.Tong Yang Group requested a local court to approve preferred bidder status for the Taiwanese brokerage house, according to the sources.The stake up for

Feb. 26, 2014

The U.S. Federal Reserve's move to taper off its stimulus program could have an impact on South Korea's housing market, a state-run think tank said Wednesday, calling for the government's stepped-up market monitoring."Despite continued rise in home prices in the U.S. and China, concerns are still being raised that the Fed's tapering of quantitative easing could result in contraction of the housing market," the Korea Development Institute said in a quarterly report that analyzed the latest real e

Feb. 26, 2014

The head of South Korea's bourse operator said Wednesday it would be best not to tax derivatives trading, but if it's unavoidable, he would recommend levying capital gains tax rather than transaction tax and wait until the local stock market recovers.The government is considering levying taxes on financial products including derivatives and bring them out of what it calls "taxation dead zone." The finance ministry is in talks with related agencies over which of the two types of taxes to levy."Gi

Feb. 26, 2014

South Korean stocks closed higher Tuesday as investors reacted to the government’s stimulus plans and overall positive sentiment in overseas bourses. The Korean won closed higher against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 15.81 points, or 0.81 percent, to 1,964.86. Trading volume was low at 222.4 million shares worth 3.88 trillion won ($3.62 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 482 to 319.Analysts said Seoul shares gathered ground on the back of the economic s

Feb. 25, 2014

A Taiwanese financial company submitted a bid for Tongyang Securities Inc., a brokerage arm of the embattled Tong Yang Group put up for sale following the group's liquidity crunch, industry sources said Tuesday.According to the sources, Tong Yang closed bidding for its brokerage unit earlier in the day. Taiwan-based Yuanta Securities was the sole bidder.Whether Yuanta will be picked as the preferred bidder would be decided later in the day or by Wednesday, they said.The stake up for sale is some

Feb. 25, 2014

Earnings by asset managers in South Korea soared during the third quarter of fiscal 2013 from a year earlier, largely due to a rise in commission income, the financial regulator said Tuesday.A total of 84 asset management companies posted a combined net profit of 129 billion won ($120 million) in the October-December period, rising 30.5 percent from 98.9 billion won three months earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The companies close their books on March 31.The stronger bott

Feb. 25, 2014

South Korea's financial watchdog is pressing financially weak conglomerates such as Dongbu Group to speed up their restructuring amid worsening liquidity conditions, industry sources said Tuesday.According to the sources, the Financial Supervisory Service called in executives of Dongbu Group last week and told them to accelerate the conglomerate's self-rescue efforts to dispel market concerns over its financial health.  "Although the group does not seem to face a great liquidity risk, we have ur

Feb. 25, 2014

Financial authorities pledged to reach a consensus with countries in the Asia-Pacific region on the introduction of an “Asia Region Funds Passport” when they reported their 2014 policy direction to the president on Monday.Korea has been in talks with Australia, New Zealand and Singapore for an agreement on opening the money market. The pact will allow asset management firms to sell products in member countries without regulatory approval.“A fund product designed by a Korean asset management firm

Feb. 24, 2014

The number of counterfeit South Korean banknotes declined 58.4 percent in 2013 from a year earlier due to increased public awareness and crackdown efforts by authorities, the central bank said Monday.The number of counterfeit bills reported to the central bank reached 3,585 last year, compared with 8,627 the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).Currently, the 50,000 won ($45) note, first issued in June 2009, is the country‘s highest denomination, followed by 10,000 won, 5,000 won

Feb. 24, 2014

Foreign investors have bought a large amount of shares traded on the country's tech-laden KOSDAQ market this year, sending the market's index 5.14 percent higher, data showed Monday.Offshore investors have scooped up a net 540 billion won ($539 million) on the secondary market so far this year, extending their buying spree to a third consecutive month, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange.In contrast, retail investors have offloaded a net 458 billion so far this year, the data sh

Feb. 24, 2014

Finance chiefs from the 20 largest economies agreed Sunday to implement policies that will boost world GDP by more than $2 trillion over the coming five years.Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey, who hosted the Group of 20 meeting in Sydney, said the commitment from the G20 finance ministers and central bankers was "unprecedented.''The world economy has sputtered since the 2008 financial crisis and global recession that followed. Progress in returning economic growth to pre-crisis levels has been ha

Feb. 23, 2014

Hong Kong’s first bitcoin counter will open on Feb. 28 in a money exchange shop, allowing people to buy the virtual currency without going online. ANX, the operator of an online bitcoin-trading platform, is setting up the counter at a Connaught Road West shop, about 2 kilometers from the city’s central business district. It would only take minutes to exchange Hong Kong dollars there for the virtual currency, said ANX Chief Executive Ken Lo. “People came up to our office asking to deposit cash fo

Feb. 23, 2014

Earnings by credit card companies in South Korea shrank 21 percent last year from a year earlier, as households tightened their purse strings amid an economic downturn and lowered merchant fees, industry data showed Sunday.The combined net income of seven stand-alone card firms came to1.73 trillion won ($1.61 billion) last year, compared with 2.2 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data.The weak bottom line came as households cut spending last year amid economic uncertainties. Also, a

Feb. 23, 2014