Seoul shares up 0.93 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.93 percent higher late Thursday morning on the central bank's decision to cut its key interest rate, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 18.13 points to 1,974.58 as of 11:20 a.m.   Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 1.08 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix climbing 1.75 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO added 0.62 percent.   South Korea's central bank delivered the first in

May 9, 2013

Foreign ownership of listed shares drops to 8-month low

The combined foreign ownership of shares listed on South Korea's main bourse fell to an eight-month low as of Tuesday, apparently due to the protracted economic slowdown, data has showed.  Overseas investors held 34.02 percent of the total market value, marking the lowest number since 33.98 percent tallied in September last year, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association data that came out Thursday. Foreigners' presence on blue-chip exporters fell, with their stakes in Samsung Elec

May 9, 2013

Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street on rising hopes for an economic recovery, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 8.05 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,964.50 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 0.81 percent and top steelmaker POSCO moving up 0.16 percent. Leading builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. advanced 0.6

May 9, 2013

Woongjin chief faces probe for unfair trading

The nation’s securities regulator said Wednesday that it had filed a complaint against Woongjin Group chairman Yoon Seok-keum with the prosecution on charges of attracting investment while concealing its poor financial status.Though Woongjin Group had lost its ability to pay back its debt in the aftermath of a credit rating downgrade, Yoon raised funds by issuing commercial paper worth 100 billion won ($91 million) from July to August 2012, said the Securities and Futures Commission.According to

May 8, 2013

S. Korea closely monitoring financial markets for herd behavior

SEJONG (Yonhap News) -- South Korea is closely watching financial market conditions amid worries that market volatility could intensify down the road, the finance ministry said Wednesday.The ministry also worried that there is a possibility that the market could see a repeat of the so-called "herd behavior" similar to what was witnessed late last year."The level of alert has been rising recently against foreign capital flow in and out of bond markets and movements in foreign exchange rates," the

May 8, 2013

KB hosts forum of Asian financial leaders

A two-day annual conference of financial leaders in Asia will be held in Seoul on Thursday on the auspices of KB Financial Group.KB Financial said Wednesday that it invited 116 chief executives and senior regulatory officials for the 2013 Institute of International Finance Asia CEO Summit, slated for May 9-10 at the Westin Chosun Hotel in downtown Seoul.Following the Bangkok meeting a year before, the annual gathering in Seoul will cover three major agenda ― Asia & the World, Asian Financial Sys

May 8, 2013

Loss-making public firms pay chiefs W3b in bonuses

Chiefs of the nation’s loss-generating public agencies raked in performance-based benefits worth about 3 billion won ($2.7 million) in total last year.According to financial info provider Alio, CEOs of 104 state-funded agencies that failed to log a net profit in 2012 received a combined 2.98 billion won in bonuses.The state-run companies that posted net losses or reaped zero net profit included Korea Finance Corp., Korea Deposit Insurance Corp., Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, Korea Electric Power

May 8, 2013

Banks’ household loans rise for 2nd month

South Korean banks’ household loans rose for the second straight month in April on the back of the government’s measures to revitalize the sluggish property market, the central bank said Wednesday.Local banks’ household loans, including home-backed and credit loans, reached 462.5 trillion won ($425.6 billion) as of the end of April, up 924.9 billion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.Banks’ home loans grew by less than 1 trillion won for the second straight month in Apri

May 8, 2013

Seoul shares edge up 0.11 pct amid global stimulus moves

South Korean stocks closed 0.11 percent higher Wednesday on rising hope over the global economic recovery following a series of advanced countries' stimulus moves, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 2.1 points to finish at 1,956.45. Trading volume was moderate at 332.7 million shares worth 4 trillion won (US$3.7 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 493 to 315."Seoul shares gathered ground on the m

May 8, 2013

Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gains

South Korean stocks opened higher on Wednesday, tracking gains on Wall Street in the previous trading session, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 3.85 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,958.20 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with leading chipmaker SK hynix rising 0.87 percent and top steelmaker POSCO climbing 0.31 percent. No. 1 auto parts manufacturer Hyundai Mobis moved up 0.58 percent.U.S. stocks ended higher on

May 8, 2013

IBK Capital penalized for information leaks

The Financial Supervisory Service has punished credit finance lender IBK Capital for leaking private information of its customers, FSS officials said Tuesday. The state financial regulator said it issued a 6 million won ($5,500) fine and individual cautions to two executives and three employees of the capital firm. The five are held responsible for exposing names and contact numbers of some 5,700 customers without consent in 2012, the FSS said. About 700 of these customers had their credit ratin

May 7, 2013

Regulators boost oversight of banks, overly indebted firms

By Park Hyong-kiFinancial regulators plan to toughen oversight of conglomerates that have excessively borrowed from their creditor banks to avert another possible STX or Woongjin-style credit crunch in the industry.The Financial Supervisory Service, the regulatory enforcement agency of the Financial Services Commission, also plans to strengthen its supervision of banks that allowed conglomerates to overleverage their positions without proper evaluation of their balance sheets.This comes after ST

May 7, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.36 pct ahead of BOK meeting

South Korean stocks closed 0.36 percent lower Tuesday as investors took a wait-and-see approach ahead of the central bank's monetary policy meeting slated for Thursday, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 7.13 points to finish at 1,954.35. Trading volume was low at 295 million shares worth 3.5 trillion won (US$3.2 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 437 to 368.   "Seoul shares traded lower as in

May 7, 2013

Nikkei index closes up 3.55% to highest in nearly 5 years

Tokyo stocks soared Tuesday, closing at their highest level in almost five years with the market driven by a weakening yen and after Wall Street hit fresh all-time highs on solid jobs data.The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 3.55 percent, or 486.20 points, to 14,180.24, its best finish since June 2008, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares was up 3.06 percent, or 35.29 points, to 1,188.57.Japan's premier bourse has rocketed since late last year as Tokyo pledged to boost the

May 7, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.36 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.36 percent lower late Tuesday morning on losses in techs and foo producers, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 7.11 points to 1,954.37 as of 11:20 a.m.   Tech blue chips led the decline, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 1.06 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix moving down 1.21 percent. Leading flat panel manufacturer LG Display shed 1.53 percent.  Food companies also traded lower, with leading foodmaker

May 7, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on weak momentum

South Korean stocks opened lower on Tuesday due to weak growth momentum on the local market, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.01 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,957.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares traded bearish, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.92 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix losing 0.69 percent. LG Electronics moved down 0.35 percent.Carmakers also lost ground, with No. 1 industry player Hyundai Motor falling 1.

May 7, 2013

Korean banks eye Asian riches

As the nation’s low interest rate has contracted their profits, Korean banks are targeting rich people in Southeast Asia and China as new income sources.Hana Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea are the frontrunners in the trend.Hana Bank launched its first Indonesian private banking center in Jakarta on May 2, in addition to its private banking centers in China and Hong Kong.The Jakarta center has one Korean manager with 10 years’ experience in private banking at home and is a certified financ

May 6, 2013