Corporate direct financing down in Oct. as bond sales decline

South Korea's corporate direct financing shrank in October from a month earlier due to a reduction in bond sales, data showed Tuesday. Local companies raised a combined 19.15 trillion won ($16.2 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, down 473.6 billion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Direct financing refers to raising funds directly from the stock and bond markets without borrowing from banks and other financial institutions.

Nov. 23, 2021

[ESG Talk] Aftermath of COP26: Do you have a net zero strategy?

For the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference -- or COP26 -- world leaders gathered for two weeks in Glasgow to check the progress of the nationally determined contributions and reaffirm their commitments for climate change transition. Although there are equivocal attitudes to its outcome and some unsatisfied groups, the global leaders in public and private sectors have made leaping progress if we recall how Kyoto Protocol rolled out in the end. The COP26 will be remembered as the most i

Nov. 22, 2021

Samsung Life, Korea Post launch W400b investment fund

Samsung Life Insurance said Monday that it will launch a joint fund with Korea Post to invest 400 billion won ($336 million) in foreign blue chip companies over the next 10 years, expanding cooperation in alternative investments like private equity and real estate. The country’s top insurer and the state-owned postal insurance will make investments under the recommendations of an asset management firm. A Samsung Life Insurance official declined to reveal details about the asset manager.

Nov. 22, 2021

S. Korea's exports predicted to hit record high in 2021

South Korea's exports are expected to touch an all-time high in 2021 on brisk overseas demand for key products amid the global economic recovery, with their growth momentum likely to continue next year, a report said Monday. The country's overseas shipments are projected to swell 24.1 percent from a year earlier to $636.2 billion this year, according to the report from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). Imports by Asia's fourth-largest economy are likely to amount to $605.7 bill

Nov. 22, 2021

More people subject to comprehensive real estate tax on rising home prices

The number of people who are subject to the so-called comprehensive real estate tax rose 42 percent this year from the previous year amid skyrocketing home prices and hikes in the tax rates, the finance ministry said Monday. A total of 947,000 people are subject to the comprehensive real estate taxes this year, compared with the 667,000 people tallied for last year, according to the ministry. The 2021 numbers accounted for 1.8 percent of the country's 52 million population. Such people are fo

Nov. 22, 2021

Exports up 27.6% in first 20 days of Nov.

South Korea's exports grew 27.6 percent on-year in the first 20 days of November on the back of robust demand for chips, ships and petroleum products, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $39.9 billion in the Nov. 1-20 period, compared with $31.2 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports jumped 41.9 percent on-year to $39.8 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $73 million during the cited period, the data showed.

Nov. 22, 2021

S. Korea's whisky imports jump over 70% this year

South Korea's imports of whisky soared more than 70 percent in the first 10 months of the year as more people drank at home amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. The value of whisky imports came to $93.21 million in the January-October period, up 73.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and the local liquor industry. It represents the first on-year increase in the country's whisky imports since 2014. Industry sources attributed the su

Nov. 22, 2021

BOK likely to raise interest rate to 1% amid inflationary pressure

South Korea’s central bank is expected to carry out its second rate hike in the pandemic era this week, and is likely to raise it by 25 basis points to 1 percent, experts said Sunday. The Bank of Korea in August raised its base rate to 0.75 percent from a record-low 0.5 percent, which it had slashed to in May 2020 to cushion the market from COVID-19 woes. It kept the rate anchored at 0.75 percent in the following meeting held in October. In the last monetary policy meeting of the year sc

Nov. 21, 2021

FSS asks banks to determine lending rates based on 'best practice'

A senior official of South Korea's financial regulator on Friday urged major banks to determine their lending rates based on "best practice" and make improvements in relevant procedures if necessary. Lee Chan-woo, first senior deputy governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remark in a meeting with officials of eight banks handling credit affairs in Seoul amid growing worries that the recent steep hike in loan rates could add to the financial burden on households

Nov. 19, 2021

98% of Koreans won’t be affected by higher comprehensive real estate tax: ministry

  Most taxpayers will not be subject to the comprehensive real estate holding tax, which was earlier raised to prevent speculative property purchases, the government said Friday in a bid to ease growing public concerns as this year’s payment period approaches.  “Criticism has risen that a large number of ordinary people will be charged with higher rate taxes. As for such exaggerated concerns, I would say bills of comprehensive real estate holding taxes will not be delivere

Nov. 19, 2021

S. Korea calls for swift negotiations to revise Trump-era steel tariffs

South Korea's top trade official called on the United States on Friday to launch negotiations swiftly to revise the Section 232 tariff rules on Seoul's steel exports. South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo made the request to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai during in a joint committee meeting of the bilateral free trade agreement. It is the first time in 10 years that a US top trade official has visited South Korea. She arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a four-day visit that includes a m

Nov. 19, 2021

FSC chief voices concerns over global debt, calls for cooperation to stem crisis

The head of South Korea's financial regulator has called for more vigilance on growing global debt, warning excessive accumulation of debt could spark a global financial crisis, his office said Friday. Koh Seung-beom, chief of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), made the remark on Thursday as he joined a virtual plenary meeting of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), an organization made up of regulators from the Group of 20 countries to discuss cooperation. "There has always been ex

Nov. 19, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on bargain hunting

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, as investors sought to buy oversold stocks after the key index's three straight days of losses. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.44 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,959.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech, auto and bio stocks led the market advance. Top cap Samsung Electronics added 0.28 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix increased 1.36 percent, and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics climbed 2.26 percent. Leadi

Nov. 19, 2021

Producer prices up for 12th month in October amid high energy prices

South Korea's producer prices grew for the 12th straight month in October as a rise in oil and energy prices drove up the costs of factory products, central bank data showed Friday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, stood at 112.21 in October, up 0.8 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the 12th consecutive month of a rise. Compared with a year earlier, it also jumped 8.9 percent, the

Nov. 19, 2021

Financial regulator to hold emergency meeting with major banks amid steep rate hikes

South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday that it will convene an emergency meeting this week with officials of major banks to look into how they determine interest rates on lending amid worries over recent steep hikes in borrowing costs. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will hold the meeting on Friday with officials handling credit affairs at eight banks, including Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori and Hana, according to the regulator. A top FSS official will preside over the meeting. The

Nov. 18, 2021

Gov't to launch 'early warning system' on key raw materials amid supply shortage woes

The government said Thursday it will launch a system to monitor some 20 key raw materials, such as magnesium and tungsten, to ensure stable supplies and prevent the recurrence of a crisis similar to the urea solution supply crunch. The "early warning system" for the designated raw materials is aimed at prioritizing the supply management of materials highly dependent on imports so as to prevent shortages. The system intends to expedite the process in which the government takes necessa

Nov. 18, 2021

Household income grows at fastest pace in Q3 on relief funds

South Korean household income grew at its fastest pace in the third quarter thanks to the economic recovery and the government's emergency relief funds, data showed Thursday. The average household earned 4.73 million won ($4,000) per month in the July-September period, up 8 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the fastest on-year growth since 2006, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. Household income rose in the last quart

Nov. 18, 2021

Auto exports dip 18% in October amid extended chip shortage

South Korea's exports of automobiles fell for the second consecutive month in October due mainly to an extended global supply shortage of automotive chips, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments of automobiles reached 159,520 units last month, down 18.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports also decreased 4.7 percent from a year earlier to $3.83 billion, the data showed. It is the second month in

Nov. 18, 2021

S. Korea to focus on stabilizing housing market: minister

South Korea plans to pump up its efforts to stabilize the housing market as surging home prices and speculative demand have showed signs of easing, the country's top economic policymaker said Wednesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the growth of housing prices and demand for home buying have slowed since September in the latest sign that people's expectations for further price gains might have changed. "As market anxiety that has driven housing price gains appears to significantly ch

Nov. 17, 2021

Large firms' capital spending gains over 7% despite pandemic

South Korea's large companies increased their investments by more than 7 percent in the first nine months of this year as part of efforts to find future growth engines despite the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. Combined capital spending by 336 out of the country's top 500 businesses came to 124.4 trillion won ($105 billion) in the January-September period, up 7.3 percent from a year earlier, according to CEO Score. Firms in information and technology, electric and el

Nov. 17, 2021