Korean shares lag far behind US stocks in performance

South Korea's main index rose 80 percent in the past eight years, but still lags far behind US stocks' performance during the same time, the country's main bourse said Friday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index reached 2,091.06 on Wednesday, jumping from 1,161.56 marked on Dec. 16, 2008, when the US cut its key interest rate to zero, according to data from the Korea Exchange and the Korea Center for International Finance.Korean shares are lagging behind US stocks in performance (Yonh

March 10, 2017

Investment advisory firms shift to losses on less contract

A majority of investment advisory companies in South Korea suffered losses in the third quarter of their fiscal 2016, hit by a decrease in contract amount, data showed Friday.A total of 159 full-time investment advisory firms were registered with the Financial Supervisory Service last year.The logo of the Financial Supervisory Service (Yonhap)They posted a combined loss of 2.1 billion won ($1.8 million) during the September-December period, versus a net profit of 14.6 billion won in the previous

March 10, 2017

FSS monitors Korean banks’ lending to Lotte’s units in China

South Korea’s financial regulator is carefully monitoring local commercial banks’ lending to subsidiaries of Lotte Group in China, amid worries that their business might deteriorate with Beijing’s intensifying retaliation against Seoul over the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system here. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, loans extended by Korean commercial banks to Lotte Group’s subsidiaries in China are estimated to be about 1.2 trillion won ($1.04 billion). Other fo

March 9, 2017

Banks' bad loans fall on risk management

South Korean banks reduced the volume of non-performing loans last year through strict risk management, government data showed Thursday.The ratio of loans classified as "substandard or below" came to 1.42 percent at the end of the year, down 0.38 percentage point from 2015, according to preliminary data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service. This file photo shows a bank worker taking care of a customer. (Yonhap)The amount of such bad loans decreased by 5.4 trillion won to 24.6 trillion w

March 9, 2017

Household loans up 10.3% in February

South Korea's household loans extended by local banks rose 10.3 percent in February from a year earlier due to increased mortgages, central bank data showed Thursday.Outstanding household loans from local lenders came to 710.9 trillion won ($615.6 billion) as of end-February, compared to 644.2 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Various household loans provided by a Korean bank (Yonhap)Compared to January, the amount rose by 2.9 trillion won. Mortgages

March 9, 2017

Korea's money supply up 6.9% in January

The money supply in South Korea jumped 6.9 percent in January from a year earlier, the central bank said Thursday.The nation's "M2" totaled 2,412.6 trillion won ($2.09 trillion) in January, compared with 2,264.6 trillion won a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.Stacks of ten thousand won bills. (Yonhap)Month-on-month, the money supply gained 0.1 percent, the statement said.M2 is a measure of the money supply counting the currency in circulation, including bank debentures and dep

March 9, 2017

Top court upholds fine on former head of Shinhan Financial

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a ruling that fined Shin Sang-hoon, former president of Shinhan Financial Group, 20 million won ($17,300) for embezzlement. Shin Sang-hoon (Yonhap file photo)The 69-year-old Shin was indicted in 2010 on charges of embezzling 1.56 billion won in consultancy fees between 2005 and 2009, inflicting a loss of 43.8 billion won on the company through the provision of illegal loans between 2006 and 2007 and pocketing 860 million won in bribes from three Korean-Japane

March 9, 2017

KDIC opens office in Cambodia

South Korea's state-run deposit insurer said Thursday it has opened a branch office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to help recover local property assets once owned by bankrupt Korean savings banks.Cambodia has 78.5 percent of overseas assets, mostly bad debts, currently managed by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp., which has taken over from defunct savings banks.The sign of the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. in an undated file photo (Yonhap)Several South Korean savings banks made investments in project

March 9, 2017

KEB Hana Bank executive quits over scandal

A senior executive of KEB Hana Bank has quit for allegedly being promoted to his previous post with the backing of President Park Geun-hye's confidante, the lender said Thursday.KEB Hana Bank said it accepted the resignation submitted by Lee Sang-hwa, who was in charge of global sales at the major South Korean lender, on Wednesday.The logo of KEB Hana Bank (Yonhap)Lee had been relieved of his duties as of Tuesday.Lee's departure came just days after special prosecutors said that Park's longtime

March 9, 2017

Seoul stocks almost flat ahead of Fed meeting

South Korean stocks closed almost unchanged Wednesday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of a much-anticipated rate hike in the United States and on a growing spat between South Korea and China over the deployment of a US missile defense system here. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index  moved up 1.36 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 2,095.41. Trade volume was moderate at 375 million shares worth 4.38 trillion won ($3.82 billion), wi

March 8, 2017

Mirae Asset fined W2b for Hanoi tower-related securities sale

Mirae Asset Daewoo Co., a leading brokerage firm in South Korea, was fined 2 billion won ($1.7 million) on Wednesday for skipping the reporting of its securities sale based on the Landmark 72 tower in Hanoi, Vietnam's tallest building.The Financial Services Commission made the final decision to punish Mirae, saying it failed to submit a report on the sale of asset-backed securities worth 300 billion won last year.The headqarters of Mirae Asset Daewoo in Seoul in a file photo. (Yonhap)There were

March 8, 2017

Govt.-civilian team launched for new int‘l accounting rule on insurers

South Korea began full-fledged preparations Wednesday for a new global accounting regulation on insurers to take effect in the early 2020s.The International Accounting Standards Board is scheduled to introduce the rule, called IFRS17, on the accounting of insurance products in 2021 with detailed guidelines to be issued in May.A composite photo on insurance services provided by Yonhap News TV (Yonhap)Under the rule, insurers' liabilities will be assessed on the basis of market value, instead of b

March 8, 2017

Dollar-won exchange volatility eases in Feb.

The won's erratic movement against the dollar eased considerably in February from a month earlier as overall volatility in global foreign-exchange markets eased, central bank data showed Wednesday.The South Korean currency posted 6.8 won in daily value changes against the dollar in February, down from 7.7 won a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. The won finished February trade at 1,130.7 against the greenback compared to 1,162.1 won at the end of January.Stacks of dollar bills

March 8, 2017

Private equity funds lead growth at asset management firms

The volume of private equity funds in the South Korean capital market surged about 25 percent last year, pushing up the total funds at asset management companies to a record high level, a report by the nation’s financial regulator showed.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the total volume of funds at 165 asset management firms amounted to 907 trillion won ($788 billion) as of the end of 2016, up 11 percent from a year earlier. It was the first time that the number exceeded the 900 t

March 8, 2017

KEB Hana Bank executive relieved from post over scandal

KEB Hana Bank, a major South Korean lender, said Wednesday it has relieved a senior executive of his duties for allegedly being promoted to his previous post with the backing of President Park Geun-hye's confidante.The bank said Lee Sang-hwa had been relieved of his duties as of Tuesday, adding it plans to hold a disciplinary committee to further punish him.The building of KEB Hana Bank (Yonhap)The move came a day after special prosecutors said that Park's longtime friend Choi Soon-sil helped to

March 8, 2017

Doosan Infracore advances on earnings hope

Stocks of Doosan Infracore Co. traded at an almost yearly high on Wednesday as the country's leading construction equipment maker's business performance is expected to improve down the line, analysts said.  Doosan Infracore closed at 9,530 won ($8.30) on the Seoul bourse, down 0.83 percent from the previous session's close. On Tuesday, the company advanced 4.68 percent.Doosan Infracore is the country's leading construction equipment maker. (Yonhap)Analysts said stronger than expected sales of ex

March 8, 2017

Foreign stock ownership hits record high in February

Foreign investors continued a buying spree on shares of South Korea’s listed companies in February for the third consecutive month, pushing up their holdings of local stocks to a record high, the country’s financial watchdog said Tuesday. Foreign investors bought a net 658 billion won ($573 million) in shares on the local stock market in the month. Their holdings of local stocks of listed companies reached a record high of 503.4 trillion won at the end of February, accounting for 31.8 percent of

March 7, 2017

Regulator to toughen rules on corporate accounting

South Korea's top financial regulator said Tuesday the authorities will take tougher measures against accounting-related wrongdoings as part of its effort to enhance the transparency of the nation's corporate finance system.Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, described accounting as the "mirror of the economy and a core infrastructure."Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, speaks at a public hearing on accounting practices held at the National Asse

March 7, 2017

Some W1.4tr still in dormant accounts

South Koreans have yet to claim 1.4 trillion won ($1.21 billion) in dormant financial assets despite the government's campaign to help them withdraw the money, the nation's watchdog said Tuesday.Since the Financial Supervisory Service announced a set of relevant measures in June 2015, a total of 6.42 million people have recovered 1.24 trillion won from such accounts through the end of January, according to the agency.Stacks of 50 thousand won bills (Yonhap)By the type of asset, insurance claims

March 7, 2017

Korean banks' capital adequacy ratio mildly rises in 2016

South Korean banks' capital adequacy ratio edged up last year, helped by the government's new rule on the key measure of their financial soundness, the nation's watchdog said Tuesday.The average capital adequacy ratio of 17 major commercial and policy lenders in South Korea came to 14.92 percent at the end of 2016, up 1.01 percentage points from the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.Nation's major bank holding firms (Yonhap)Especially, the ratio rose 0.11 percentage p

March 7, 2017