South Korean stocks closed 0.57 percent lower Monday, as policy uncertainties on monetary easing by the United States and Japan dented investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency rose slightly against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 11.48 points to finish at 1,989.57. Trading volume was light at 322.9 million shares worth 3.62 trillion won (US$3.20 billion) with decliners far outnumbering gainers 578 to 262.  "A credible voice from p

June 3, 2013

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Monday, dented by poor U.S. consumer spending data reflecting a slow economic recovery, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 1.15 points, or 0.06 percent, to 1,999.90 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Shipping lines and financial firms drove down the shares.Leading player Hanjin Shipping fell more than 2 percent, with No. 1 brokerage house Samsung Securities slipping 1.2 percent. U.S. consumer spending posted the

June 3, 2013

Woori Bank has reportedly notified and gained approval from financial regulators and other creditors of STX Corp. to unload and sell-off its equities of STX and ForceTec Woori received as collateral for loans extended to ForceTec.The conglomerate’s chairman Kang Duk-soo, whose key subsidiaries such as shipping and shipbuilding are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy due to the debt overhang, had put up his equity ownerships of about 11 percent in STX and its de facto IT and logistics parent Forc

June 2, 2013

Japanese stocks, bonds and exchange rate have lost momentum over the past weeks, a sign that the effect of its monetary and fiscal stimulus, or part of the so-called “Abenomics,” may be letting up.Japan’s Nikkei225 falling more than 7 percent on May 23 was a wake up call to investors and financial policymakers as the benchmark continued its decline toward 13,700 from 15,000 over the last six trading days.Yields on Japan’s state bonds touched 1 percent, while their value has dropped, increasing t

June 2, 2013

The nation’s top financial regulator decided to issue an institutional warning against Woori Bank for its failure to properly monitor a withdrawal of a large amount of money from the bank, sources said on Sunday.The Financial Services Commission will punish the bank and its executive as the lender failed to follow a regulation calling for a mandatory report to financial authorities about a withdrawal of 300 million won or more, the sources said.Former Mirae Savings Bank chairman Kim Chan-kyung,

June 2, 2013

South Korea’s trade surplus surged to a nearly three-year high in May, as an economic recovery of its two largest exporting partners fueled brisk outbound shipments, the government said Saturday. South Korea chalked up a trade surplus of $6.03 billion last month, compared with a surplus of $2.39 billion a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Exports gained 3.2 percent on-year to $48.37 billion, while imports fell 4.8 percent to $42.34 billion over the cited peri

June 2, 2013

South Korean stocks are expected to continue rangebound trading this week, as investors will likely keep a close watch over global markets amid a possible tapering of U.S. monetary easing, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,001.05 on Friday, up 1.3 percent from 1,973.45 the previous week. The main bourse got off to a strong start in the beginning of the week, breaching the psychologically important 2,000 mark on Wednesday, as the yen’s weakness stabilized

June 2, 2013

South Korea’s listed companies saw their earnings shrink nearly 10 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, as major exporters suffered a setback from the Japanese yen’s prolonged weakness amid the economic slowdown, the bourse operator said Sunday. The combined net profit of 625 firms listed on the main bourse came to 14.4 trillion won ($12.7 billion) on a consolidated basis in the January-March period, down 9.71 percent from 16.1 trillion won the previous year, according to the data b

June 2, 2013

Financial Services Commission chairman Shin Je-yoon has reaffirmed that the government will find a new owner for Woori Financial Group by 2014.The FSC chief picked the much-disputed privatization of Woori Financial Group as his do-or-resign financial agenda. “Our plan at this point is to fix the new owner by the end of 2014, although we may need more time for the rest of the legal paperwork,” Shin told reporters on Saturday.He stressed that the sale of Woori Financial was currently “headed towar

June 2, 2013

South Korea's finance minister held an investor relations meeting in London on Friday to explain the latest economic conditions of the country and the government's policy direction to foreign investors.The overseas IR meeting at Andaz Hotel drew keen interest from investors as it marked the first of its kind led by a minister-level policymaker in four years. It also represented the first such meeting since President Park Geun-hye took office in February. About 100 investors attended the gatherin

May 31, 2013

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyon Oh-seok said the government would seek to reduce yearly work hours to around 1,900 hours.Hyun revealed the plan during a meeting with OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria over Korea’s new employment policy aimed at achieving a 70 percent employment rate in Paris on Thursday. Commenting that Germany and the Netherlands achieved the 70 percent target in a short time through various employment categories, Hyun said the government will create various pa

May 31, 2013

The Finance Ministry on Friday announced a state-led fundraising plan between June 2013 and February 2018 to carry out the Park Geun-hye administration’s 140 major policies.The state fundraising plan is set at 134.8 trillion won ($122.5 billion) over the next five years, which will be poured into four major sectors ― vitalization of the economy, people’s happiness, cultural prosperity and readiness for Korean reunification.According to the ministry, policymakers aim to achieve the state financin

May 31, 2013

South Korean stocks closed almost flat on Friday, amid expectations that the U.S. may hold off squeezing the size of monetary expansion, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 0.95 points, or 0.05 percent, to finish at 2,001.05. Trading volume was moderate of 390.1 million shares worth 5.27 trillion won ($4.68 billion) but decliners outnumbered gainers 504 to 327. "Hopes that the Fed will delay winding down i

May 31, 2013

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Friday, buoyed by expectations that the U.S. will hold off withdrawing its quantitative easing (QE) due to dim economic data, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 12.91 points, or 0.65 percent to 2,013.01 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Blue-chip tech shares drove up the main index, with top-cap Samsung Electronics gaining 0.8 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor moving up 0.9 percent. U.S. markets ga

May 31, 2013

Tax authorities on Thursday raided the headquarters of Hanwha Life Insurance to look into whether the company played a crucial role in the alleged tax dodging of Hanwha Group as its flagship financial unit.The National Tax Service secured a variety of documents and computer hard disks by dispatching some 100 inspectors to Hanwha Life headquarters at the 63 Building in Yeouido, Seoul.Its investigative action comes days after a group of independent journalists revealed names of high-profile busine

May 30, 2013