Woori Financial’s Q2 profit tumbles

Woori Financial Group on Friday posted another earning shock in its second quarterly report this year, marked by disastrous contraction in net profit.Woori Financial earned 148 billion won ($130 million) in net profit in the second quarter, down about 30 percent from last year. Its second-quarter earnings fell 51.4 percent to 358.3 billion won. The damage comes more lucid when combined with the state-controlled financial group’s first quarterly report. In the first half, the company’s net profit

Aug. 2, 2013

Student borrowing from loan sharks halves

Student loans from high-interest lenders almost halved over the past year on the back of government efforts to encourage students to borrow from less expensive lenders, the state regulator said on FridayThe Financial Supervisory Service said, as of June, total student loans fell to 34.2 billion won ($30.3 million), down 47.5 percent, from a year ago. The FSS data showed that a college student on average borrows about 2.1 million won a year. But the delinquency rate slightly increased to 16.9 per

Aug. 2, 2013

More than 23 million credit cards unused

The number of unused credit cards in South Korea has reached 23.1 million as of last month, seldom showing signs of a drop as card firms are reluctant to clear them for marketing purposes, the financial regulator said Friday.The number of dormant credit cards has been falling at a slow clip since the beginning of this year, standing at 23.4 million at the end of April and 23.5 million in January, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.That roughly means every working Korean h

Aug. 2, 2013

Woori Finance Q2 net dips 51.4 pct on decreased margin

Woori Finance Holdings Co., South Korea's top banking group, said Friday that its second-quarter earnings declined 51.4 percent from a year ago on a one-off factor and falling profit margin.Net profit amounted to 148.2 billion won (US$131.7 million) in the April-June period, compared with 305 billion won the previous year, the group said in a regulatory filing. From three months earlier, net income declined 29.5 percent.In the first half, the group's earnings fell 63 percent on-year to 358.3 bil

Aug. 2, 2013

Seoul shares up 0.14 pct on U.S. data

South Korean stocks closed 0.14 percent higher Friday on better-than-expected economic data from the United States, analysts said. The local currency ended lower against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 2.64 points to close at 1,923.38. Trading volume was low at 293.6 million shares worth 3.98 trillion won (US$3.54 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 460 to 321."The better-than-expected manufacturing data from the U.S. and China added to investor

Aug. 2, 2013

Seoul shares open higher on U.S. data

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday due mainly to investor sentiment being boosted by better-than-expected economic data from the United States, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 15.09 points, or 0.79 percent, to 1,935.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with Samsung Electronics adding 1.02 percent and leading carmaker Hyundai Motor climbing 2.16 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO moved up 0.76 percent.The U.S.

Aug. 2, 2013

ITC ruling on Samsung-Apple patent row delayed until Aug. 9

A U.S. federal agency on Thursday postponed a final ruling on Apple's patent infringement complaint against Samsung until Aug. 9, apparently reflecting the sensitivity and complicity of the issue.The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced that it has decided to extend its deadline to determine whether some smartphones and tablet PCs made by Samsung Electronics Co. infringe on Apple Inc's patents.It gave no specific reason for the delay.In a preliminary ruling in October, the ITC fou

Aug. 2, 2013

Ministry seeks to cut taxes for SMEs

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said that the government would focus on boosting private investment and productivity in the services industry by helping them ease future business uncertainties.The incumbent administration focused on devising policies and refining regulations in the first half of this year to promote fair market competition, or economic democratization.During his two-day trip to provincial areas, Hyun told reporters that it was time to concentrate on “elim

Aug. 1, 2013

Public undertaxed by 1.85 trillion won: NTS

Tax officials undertaxed taxpayers to the tune of 1.85 trillion won ($1.64 billion) over the past five years, according to a tax authority report.In the report submitted by the National Tax Service to Rep. Ahn Min-seok of the main opposition Democratic Party on Thursday, the public was revealed to have been overtaxed by 353.8 billion won in the same period. Amid growing criticism, the NTS noted that it had punished or issued warnings to about 17,000 officials involved in tax miscalculation.Howev

Aug. 1, 2013

Seoul shares up 0.35 pct on China, U.S. data

South Korean stocks closed 0.35 percent higher Thursday as investors' sentiment was boosted by better-than-expected economic data from China and the United States, analysts said. The local currency ended flat against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 6.71 points to close at 1,920.74. Trading volume was moderate at 330.3 million shares worth 3.56 trillion won ($3.17 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 420 to 371.Analysts said Seoul shares gathered

Aug. 1, 2013

Seoul shares up 0.46 pct in late morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.46 percent higher late Thursday morning, led by gains in techs and financial firms.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 8.82 points to 1,922.85 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares gathered ground, with Samsung Electronics rising 0.39 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix adding 0.55 percent. Flat panel maker LG Display gained 0.36 percent.Financial firms also traded higher, with Shinhan Financial moving up 1.46 percent and KB Financial adding 1.83 perce

Aug. 1, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on policy uncertainties

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as the United States Federal Reserve remained silent over when the central bank will scale back its quantitative easing moves, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.28 points, or 0.28 percent, to 1,908.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech shares traded lower, with top chipmaker SK hynix falling 0.18 percent and handset maker LG Electronics losing 0.41 percent. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics remained unch

Aug. 1, 2013

Creditors to offer fresh liquidity to STX Group's shipbuilding unit

Creditors of troubled STX Offshore & Shipbuilding have agreed to provide fresh liquidity to the shipbuilder in a bid to help resolve its cash crunch, industry sources said Wednesday.The creditors have submitted a written consent for the liquidity supply worth about 2.15 trillion won ($1.92 billion) to the company's main creditor Korea Development Bank, according to the sources.The supply of fresh liquidity includes 1.85 trillion won in emergency funds, leading the total volume of liquidity injec

July 31, 2013

State brokerage merger may hurt SMEs

A government plan to merge a state-controlled bank and financial corporation is expected to reduce state lending capacity, backfiring on cash-short small and medium enterprises, experts said on Wednesday.The move came as state authorities are set to integrate the Korea Development Bank and the Korea Financial Corp. in the course of reorganizing state-controlled brokerages. The KDB and the KoFC were established in 1954 and 2009, respectively, largely to boost the national economy by providing cre

July 31, 2013

KONEX posts sluggish growth since launch: data

South Korea’s new venture-driven stock market has posted stagnant growth since its launch earlier this month, data showed Wednesday, as its low trading volume has dented investors’ sentiment.The Korea New Exchange market saw its market capitalization reach 497.3 billion won ($446.6 million) Tuesday, a tad higher than 468.8 billion won tallied on July 1, the Korea Exchange data showed.The KONEX market was officially launched earlier this month to foster the growth of young venture firms and lend

July 31, 2013

Korea’s tourism deficit widens further in H1

South Korea suffered a widened deficit in tourism in the first six months of the year as outbound travelers outnumbered inbound visitors, industry data showed Wednesday. The country’s tourism deficit reached $1.79 billion in the January-June period, compared with the $279 million shortfall a year earlier, according to the data.The deficit came as the number of South Korea’s outbound travelers exceeded that of foreigners visiting the country, and they spent big on purchases overseas.The number of

July 31, 2013

Korea to boost tax fairness

The government is seeking to rewrite the tax code to ease the burden on low-income groups and increase wealth distribution, according to government officials.The incumbent administration’s economic officials are in last-minute coordination with political circles in reshaping the taxation system to be both “fair and efficient,” they said. The ruling camp plans to finalize the changes in August.The government is also reportedly in talks with religious leaders, such as priests and Buddhist monks, t

July 31, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.16 pct on U.S. policy woes

South Korean stocks closed 0.16 percent lower Wednesday as market uncertainties grew before the release of minutes from this week's Federal Reserve policy meeting, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 3.02 points to close at 1,914.03. Trading volume was moderate at 379.3 million shares worth 4.02 trillion won ($3.58 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 468 to 343.Analysts said Seoul shares traded lower as investors continued to take a wait-and-see approac

July 31, 2013

Regulator to impose new capital rules on bank holding firms

Bank holding companies in South Korea will be required to comply with revised global capital rules from December as part of efforts to beef up their financial health in line with international standards, the financial regulator said Wednesday.The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country's top financial regulator, will impose the Basel III capital requirements on local bank holding firms as of Dec. 1, according to the watchdog. The Basel III refers to a set of the latest regulatory rules

July 31, 2013