South Korean stocks plunged 2.24 percent on Thursday as investors were not cheered by the central bank’s rate cut and foreigners dumped local stocks upon a futures and option expiry, analysts said. The local currency tumbled against the U.S. dollar.After starting 0.08 percent higher, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index dived 41 points to finish at 1,785.39, falling below the 1,800 level for the first time in more than a month.Trading volume was light at 314.5 million shares worth 4.24 trillion

July 12, 2012

Korean banks’ long-term overseas borrowing costs fell sharply in June on the back of eased market conditions over the debt-mired eurozone, the financial watchdog said Thursday. The spread on mid- and long-term foreign borrowing by local lenders that mature in one year stood at 93 basis points at the end of last month, sliding from 112 basis points in May, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. The spread on short-term overseas borrowing, however,

July 12, 2012

Korean banks’ household loans grew at a slower pace in June than the previous month due mainly to an absence of a one-off seasonal factor, the central bank said Wednesday.Local banks’ household loans, including home-backed and credit loans, amounted to 457.1 trillion won ($399.1 billion) as of the end of June, up 1.3 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The June growth eased from a 2.2 trillion won expansion in May when people took more loans to cover spending for

July 11, 2012

South Korean stocks edged down 0.17 percent on Wednesday as investors remained jittery over a global economic slowdown, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 3.06 points to finish at 1,826.39. Trading volume was light at 329.9 million shares worth 3.24 trillion won ($2.84 billion), with losers just outpacing gainers 393 to 388.“The latest decisions made by European political leaders failed to stimulate the market,” said analys

July 11, 2012

The government registered more than 20 trillion won ($17.5 billion) in cumulative losses last year from operating its foreign currency stabilization fund, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. The government runs the fund, aimed at helping protect the local financial market from external shocks, by issuing state bonds and overseeing the raised money partly by investing in safe assets such as U.S. Treasuries. According to the ministry, the fund’s cumulative losses stood at 22.19 trillion won as of

July 11, 2012

Korea’s money supply grew at the 5-percent range for the fourth straight month in May, the central bank said Wednesday, underscoring concerns about inflation risks.South Korea’s M2, a narrow measure of the money supply, amounted to 1,784.2 trillion won ($1.6 trillion) in May, up 5.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. In April, the M2 grew an identical 5.5 percent from the year before and the growth of the M2 stayed within the 5-percent range for the fourth straight mont

July 11, 2012

South Korean workers’ wages surged in the first four months of this year, sparking concerns that inflation expectations could build down the road, data showed Tuesday.South Korean workers’ real wage grew an average of 3.83 percent in the January-April period from a year earlier, larger than an average 2.9 percent growth in consumer prices, according to calculation based data from the labor ministry and the state-run statistics agency.Last year, the country’s real wage declined 2.74 percent on-ye

July 10, 2012

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday won a design patent suit in the United Kingdom against Apple Inc., scoring a legal victory in the midst of a spate of ongoing patent lawsuits with its global rival, industry sources said. The British High Court of Justice ruled in favor of the South Korean tech giant, saying the Galaxy Tab, its tablet PC, does not infringe Apple’s registered design and that consumers are not likely to be confused, according to the sources. The ruling came after Samsung filed a s

July 10, 2012

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Korea’s central bank is facing mounting pressure to ease its monetary policy as the global economy continues to struggle, several investment banks said Tuesday.“A potential downward revision to growth forecasts by the Bank of Korea would strengthen the case for monetary easing,” said Ronald Man, economist at HSBC. To sustain the country’s growth, Seoul policymakers must do more to support domestic demand, since international trade, which has traditionally fueled the eco

July 10, 2012

Korean securities firms saw losses at their foreign operations widen in fiscal 2011 from a year earlier, due mainly to increased deficits in their Hong Kong businesses amid worsening offshore market conditions, the financial regulator said Tuesday. The 93 foreign units of 19 local brokerages saw their combined net loss reach $93.8 million during the year that ends on March 31 2012, compared with a loss of $62.6 million a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The firms clo

July 10, 2012

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― The South Korean stock market has received neither a boost nor a drag from last week’s rate cuts in China and Europe as it is more affected by their macroeconomic data, Goldman Sachs said Monday.Last Thursday, the People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, and the European Central Bank concurrently announced rate cuts in an apparent attempt to boost their weakening economies.The rate cuts did not affect the South Korean market directly, but China’s macroeconomic data

July 9, 2012

Korean companies’ bond sales rose 9.4 percent in the first half from a year earlier, led by state-run firms, as borrowing costs have been on the decline amid economic uncertainty, the securities depository agency said Monday.Bond issuances by financial and non-financial firms amounted to 154.2 trillion won ($135 billion) in the January-June period, compared with 141 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Korea Securities Depository.State-run companies sold bonds worth 45.4 trillion won in

July 9, 2012

A credit card designed exclusively for Korea’s 2.5 million self-employed workers will be available next month. The Consumers’ Association to Save Small Businesses announced Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Samsung Card and Shinhan Card last week to develop a credit card that offers benefits to those who are self-employed and run small neighborhood stores. The card will include tax benefits and legal services as well as various offers that can be useful to the self-employe

July 9, 2012

More and more local enterprises are actively liquidating their assets to secure cash as much as possible, as economic uncertainties drag on from the eurozone debt crisis.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the amount of assets Korean firms sold during the first half nearly doubled from the previous year.The regulatory data showed that local firms sold a total of 780.7 billion won ($690 million) worth of tangible assets in the six-month period, compared with 404.8 billion won over the

July 8, 2012

Religious leaders prefer voluntary payment to binding income taxesThe Ministry of Strategy and Finance is poised to propose a bill on the taxation of religious groups as part of the 2012 Tax Law amendment to be made on Aug. 8. Aimed at ensuring the equal application of income taxes, the bill would impose income tax on Korean religious societies that have been exempt since the nation’s foundation. According to ministry officials, the bill will be included either in this year’s revision of the Tax

July 8, 2012

The North Korean economy is believed to have marginally grown last year after contracting for two straight years on increased agricultural production, South Korea’s central bank said Sunday.The Bank of Korea estimated that the communist country’s economy grew 0.8 percent on-year in 2011, compared with a 0.5 percent contraction a year earlier. The 2011 data contrasted with a 3.6 percent expansion of the South Korean economy.The South Korean central bank had earlier estimated that the North’s econ

July 8, 2012

South Korean stocks will be influenced by the upcoming Bank of Korea meeting that sets the country’s key interest rate, and other domestic and overseas economic developments, local analysts said Saturday.The country’s key stock index, the KOSPI, closed at 1,858.2 on Friday, a gain of 0.8 percent from the week before.The modest gain came about after leaders at the European Union summit agreed on a plan to alleviate financial market jitters, and both the United States and China announced new stimu

July 8, 2012

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings will send its officials to South Korea this week for an annual meeting with the nation’s key economic and financial policymakers, the finance ministry said Sunday.The delegation led by Andrew Colquhoun, head of its Asia-Pacific sovereign team, is scheduled to start the three-day talks on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.During the visit, the delegation will have talks with officials from the finance ministry, the Bank of Korea, the

July 8, 2012