South Korean stocks finished up 0.4 percent Friday as investors scooped up large-cap shares on signs of progress in the U.S. fiscal cliff negotiations, analysts said. The local currency gained ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 7.83 points to 1,957.45. Trading volume was moderate at 405.9 million shares worth 4.26 trillion won ($3.94 billion) with gainers outnumbering losers 409 to 391.“The U.S. policy makers showed somewhat strong determination

Dec. 7, 2012

Korea Exchange Bank said Thursday it opened a “Euro Trade Finance and Remittance Center,” or “Euro Center” for short, in Frankfurt.It is the first such center to be established by a Korean bank, according to KEB.KEB’s German arm which runs the Euro Center is a regular member of Europe’s integrated remittance system and wires money on a real-time basis to about 57,000 other member banks.Korean officials at the Euro Center can confirm the receipt of remittance on the day Korean customers wire the

Dec. 6, 2012

South Korean stocks crawled 0.13 percent up Thursday as investors sat on the sidelines to watch progress in U.S. fiscal cliff negotiations, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 2.58 points to 1,949.62. Trading volume was light at 335 million shares worth 4.6 trillion won (US$4.3 billion) with decliners outpacing advancers 427 to 385.“The U.S. fiscal cliff widely dominates the market, while there are no other

Dec. 6, 2012

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s top smartphone maker, said Wednesday it plans to roll out a smartphone that runs on the fourth-generation long-term evolution for the first time in the Russian market.The Galaxy S3 LTE is scheduled to go on sale starting on Dec. 10 in 17 major cities via MegaFon, Russia’s second-largest mobile carrier, Samsung said in a press release.MegaFon, which first introduced a commercial LTE service in Russia in May, has been moving to set up a network for the fastest

Dec. 5, 2012

South Korean stocks closed 0.61 percent higher Wednesday, boosted by foreign buying, despite persistent U.S. budget woes, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished up 11.86 points to 1,947.04. Trading volume was moderate at 481.5 million shares worth 4.03 trillion won ($3.73 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 442 to 363. “The main index recently showed a modest relief rally after an urgent Greek bailout issue was

Dec. 5, 2012

KB Financial Group was set to decide on Wednesday whether to take over ING Life’s Korean arm from the Dutch insurance giant after some three months of deliberation.KB Financial, chosen in September as the preferred bidder for a controlling stake in ING Life Korea, was scheduled to make the decision at a meeting of top executives and a board of directors’ meeting Wednesday afternoon.But the takeover had not been tabled at the board directors’ meeting because some directors disagreed with the prop

Dec. 5, 2012

South Korean stocks closed 0.61 percent higher Wednesday, boosted by foreign buying, despite persistent U.S. budget woes, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished up 11.86 points to 1,947.04. Trading volume was moderate at 481.5 million shares worth 4.03 trillion won ($3.73 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 442 to 363. "The main index recently showed a modest relief rally after an urgent Greek bailout i

Dec. 5, 2012

South Korean home appliance giant LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday it has signed an agreement with U.S. home appliance retailer Lowe’s as part of efforts to expand its reach into the world’s largest market.Under the agreement, LG will supply its home appliance products, including refrigerators and washers, to Lowe’s nationwide chains and online store starting next year, according to LG Electronics.“More U.S. consumers will be able to experience LG’s high-efficient home appliance products,” said

Dec. 4, 2012

The Galaxy S3, Samsung Electronics Co.’s flagship smartphone, is sweeping year-end awards given to the “smartphone of the year” by overseas IT media, market watchers said Tuesday.The Samsung smartphone recently grabbed the “best mobile phone of the year” award from British tech media site Pocket-lint. It also received the “product of the year” prize in British IT media V3’s annual technology awards.The South Korean tech giant’s Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 10.1 were also touted as the best busine

Dec. 4, 2012

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Tuesday that it has taken 29 companies off the list that limits mutual investments and loan guarantees.The Fair Trade Commission said the number of corporate affiliates on the list stood at 1,802 of 62 business groups, down from 1,831 tallied in the previous month.The decline comes mostly from the exclusion of Eugene from the business groups subject to the restraints as the assets of its affiliates fell to 2.45 trillion won ($2.26 billion) following the sale

Dec. 4, 2012

South Korean stocks finished 0.25 percent lower on Tuesday as weak U.S. manufacturing data added onto investor concerns over budget issues in the world’s largest economy, analysts said. The local currency slipped against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 4.84 points to 1,935.18. Trading volume was light at 280.7 million shares worth 2.8 trillion won ($2.6 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 429 to 366.“Investors were disappointed with the weaker-than-

Dec. 4, 2012

South Korea’s central bank said Tuesday it has agreed with its Chinese counterpart to use the existing bilateral currency swap line in boosting trade settlement in the two countries’ currencies.In October of last year, South Korea and China agreed to double their won-yuan swap line to 360 billion yuan ($57.8 billion) in a bid to secure foreign exchange liquidity.The Bank of Korea said it will lend money to commercial banks by tapping the currency swap and local firms will be able to use the fund

Dec. 4, 2012

South Korean stocks closed 0.37 percent higher on Monday as foreigners snapped up local shares amid easing eurozone fears and positive economic data, analysts said.The local currency slipped against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 7.12 points to 1,940.02. Trading volume was moderate at 304.6 million shares worth 3.3 trillion won ($3 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 484 to 318. “We saw some positive economic data in China and South Korea as wel

Dec. 3, 2012

Foreign financial firms here saw sharp declines in both profit and market share this year, with some packing up to leave the country blaming double regulation and bias in addition to domestic banks’ dominance.Third-quarter net profits of Standard Chartered Bank Korea and Citibank plummeted 64 percent to 40.8 billion won ($37.7 million) and 73.3 percent to 37.1 billion won, respectively, compared to last year.Goldman Sachs Asset Management decided last month to shut down its Seoul office five yea

Dec. 3, 2012