Senior tax officials banned from dining, golfing with conglomerate executives

The National Tax Service announced Thursday that it would bar its senior officials from playing golf or dining out with executives of large businesses, starting later this year.Following a series of corruption scandals, tax authorities issued the ban on high-profile NTS officials on privately meeting with CEOs, executives and tax advisers of the nation’s 100 major conglomerates.The senior tax investigators that will be subject to the prohibition include officials holding positions of director ge

Aug. 29, 2013

BNP Paribas, DBS, ANZ fined over collusion

The nation’s financial regulator on Thursday reprimanded Korean operations of three foreign banks for engaging in a cartel practice over prices of a currency swap.The Financial Supervisory Service said the Seoul branches of French-based BNP Paribas S.A., Singapore-based DBS Bank Ltd., and Australia/New Zealand-based Australia New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. colluded.To lower rates for a Korean company’s $10 million currency swap of foreign currency bonds.All three ended up with 4.18 percent swap

Aug. 29, 2013

Transactions among affiliates of biz groups decline

Transactions among affiliates of business groups in South Korea declined for the first time in 2012 amid the government’s drive to establish fair market principles that stimulate competition, data showed Thursday.The “intra-group” business deals made last year by the country’s 49 conglomerates were valued at 185.3 trillion won ($166.5 billion), down 1 trillion won from what was tallied a year earlier, according to the data offered by the Fair Trade Commission. This is the first time that the val

Aug. 29, 2013

Korea to develop six new marina yacht harbors

Korea on Thursday unveiled a plan to build six new marina yacht harbors as part of efforts to promote leisure and tourism.The move comes as the number of yachts and boats for personal pleasure jumped more than 42 times from 205 in 2006 to 8,560 at the end of 2012, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said.However, there are only 20 marina harbors in the country with a total capacity for 1,542 ships, which covers just about 18 percent of the nation’s personal yachts.“In addition, most of the mari

Aug. 29, 2013

Banks’ lending rates log first rise in six months in July

South Korean banks’ lending rates rose for the first time in six months in July, rebounding from a record low in the previous month, on an expiry of one-off tax breaks on home buying, the central bank said Thursday. The banks’ average rates for new loans to households and firms stood at 4.6 percent in July, up 0.08 percentage points from a month earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea .The lending rates rose for the first time since January when they climbed by 0.16 percenta

Aug. 29, 2013

Korea’s risk premium falls despite Asian market woes

South Korea’s credit default risks remained flat amid the economic downturn in emerging markets in Asia, data showed Thursday, apparently due to improved economic indicators for the country. According to SuperDerivatives, a provider of real-time market data and analytics, the credit default swap premium for South Korean state bonds reached 85.96 basis points Tuesday, compared to 121.16 basis points tallied in June.The spread on CDS reflects the cost of hedging credit risks on corporate or sovere

Aug. 29, 2013

Seoul shares rally 1.22 pct amid easing Syria woes

South Korean stocks closed 1.22 percent higher Thursday, fueled by strong foreign buying in a sign of receding market jitters over geopolitical tension in Syria, analysts said. The Korean won gathered ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 23.02 points to finish at 1,907.54. Trading volume was light at 296.2 million shares worth 4.72 trillion won (US$4.24 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 559 to 246. Analysts cited growing perc

Aug. 29, 2013

Foreign banks slapped with fines for swap rate-rigging: regulator

The financial regulator said Thursday it fined three foreign banks operating in South Korea for fixing the rate of a currency swap. The Financial Supervisory Service imposed a fine of 50 million won ($44,988) each on the Seoul-based branches of BNP Paribas S.A., DBS Bank Ltd. and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Corp. (ANZ), the regulator said in a statement. They were found to have colluded on the asking price for a $100 million currency swap deal in April 2011, which enabled them to poc

Aug. 29, 2013

Seoul shares up 1.21 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 1.21 percent higher late Thursday morning, as large-cap stocks widened gains amid strong foreign buying, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 22.85 points to 1,907.37 as of 11:20 a.m.Financial shares drove up the main index. No. 3 lender Hana Financial Group jumped 2.5 percent, with Woori Finance Holdings advancing nearly 3 percent. But telecom shares lost ground, with top mobile carrier SK Telecom falling 0.7 percent and smalle

Aug. 29, 2013

S. Korea logs current account surplus for 18th month in July

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the 18th straight month in July on export growth, the central bank said Thursday, providing buffers against potential capital outflows.The current account surplus reached US$6.77 billion in July, down from $7.24 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.The smaller surplus in July mainly came as spending on overseas travel increased during the summer vacation

Aug. 29, 2013

Ministry to expand public housing supply

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Wednesday that it plans to increase the supply of public housing to tame the rising prices of jeonse apartments, and expand tax deductions on monthly rent payments.The government also plans to further cut taxes and provide equity financing for apartment purchases as a means to revitalize the sluggish housing market.Public real estate assets owned by the state-run Korea Land & Housing Corp. will be further expanded to build and offer jeonse apartments, wh

Aug. 28, 2013

Seoul shares almost flat amid Syria risks

South Korean stocks closed almost flat Wednesday, shrugging off geopolitical risks in Syria as firm foreign demand for local equities offset external worries, analysts said. The local currency rose slightly against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 1.32 points to finish at 1,884.52. Trading volume was moderate at 371.3 million shares worth 3.35 trillion won (US$2.99 billion) with decliners outpacing gainers 531 to 241.The KOSPI started off tumbling so

Aug. 28, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.56 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.56 percent lower late Wednesday morning, as shares of financial companies continued to drive down the index, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 10.52 points to 1,875.32 as of 11:20 a.m.Shinhan Financial Group, the country's No. 4 banking firm sank more than 2 percent, with top player Samsung Life Insurance dipping nearly 1 percent. But autos moved upward. Hyundai Motor shot up 1 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors cl

Aug. 28, 2013

Seoul shares open sharply lower on Syria woes

South Korean stocks sank nearly 1 percent at the opening bell on Wednesday as a possible U.S.-led military strike on Syria jolted the global financial market, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 18.63 points, or 0.99 percent to 1,867.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most shares lost ground across the board, with large-cap tech and financial companies leading the decline. Samsung Electronics dipped 0.8 percent and banking giant Shinhan Financial Gr

Aug. 28, 2013

KDB Financial to re-absorb KoFC in 2014

Financial authorities on Tuesday unveiled the vision to strengthen the state-policy financing by merging the state-controlled KDB Financial Group and the Korea Finance Corp. by July 2014.The separate functions of KDB Financial and the KoFC are scheduled to be re-integrated five years after the latter spun off from the financial group in 2009, according to the Financial Services Commission.The merge, in which KDB is to re-absorb the KoFC, should go through lawmakers’ approval procedures during th

Aug. 27, 2013

FSS reports rise in illegal foreign exchange deals

The Financial Supervisory Service unearthed a total of 150 cases of illegal foreign exchange transactions in the first half of this year, officials said Tuesday. The number is an increase of 26 percent from the same period last year, when 119 cases were detected, the FSS said in a statement. These crimes were mostly caused by failing to report certain foreign currency-related financial transactions to the banks, as designated in the regulatory act, according to FSS officials.About 65 percent of

Aug. 27, 2013