IMF slightly upgrades S. Korea's growth forecast for this year

  The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that South Korea's economy will shrink 1.9 percent this year as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged exports and consumption. The IMF's latest forecast represented a slight upgrade from its previous prediction of 2.1 percent contraction in June. The IMF also painted a somewhat brighter picture of the global economy as advanced nations reopened their economies, although the pandemic has showed no signs of weakening. The global economy is expect

Oct. 13, 2020

Korean shipbuilders likely to win more orders for LNG ships this year

South Korean shipbuilders are expected to win orders later this year to build liquefied national gas (LNG) ships in Africa, analysts said Tuesday. In the January-September period, local shipbuilders fell far short of achieving their annual order targets as the new coronavirus pandemic continued to affect the shipbuilding industry, according to their order data. Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering received $4.5 billion worth of orders in the first nine months, achieving 29 percent o

Oct. 13, 2020

NTS returns W300b tax to overseas funds after losing lawsuits

South Korea’s tax agency has returned over 300 billion won ($260.89 million) of corporate tax to overseas funds over last five years, after losing lawsuits related to tax returns.　 According to data compiled by the National Tax Service, NTS had a total of 14 administrative litigation cases regarding overseas funds and lost six cases between 2015 and 2019. The tax authority reimbursed a total of 314 billion won of tax receipts over the period, according to the reports submitted to ruling

Oct. 13, 2020

[News Focus] Korea No. 2 in OECD in growth of property taxes

SEJONG -- Compared with other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in recent years South Korea saw its property taxes grow at the second-fastest rate. Taxes levied on property in Korea -- including real estate and other wealth -- came to 3.3 percent of the gross domestic product in 2018, the latest year for which figures are available. By comparison, those taxes amounted to 3.144 percent of the nation’s GDP in 2017. The increase -- 0.156 percentage point

Oct. 13, 2020

Banks' household loan growth still higher in Sept. on home-backed lending

South Korean banks' household loans continued to grow at a fast pace in September largely due to accelerated home-backed lending amid soaring home prices, central bank data showed Tuesday. Outstanding bank loans to local households came to 957.9 trillion won ($832.5 billion) as of end-September, up 9.6 trillion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It slowed from an all-time high of an 11.7 trillion-won gain in August but still marked the second-large

Oct. 13, 2020

FDI pledges to S. Korea up 43.6% in Q3 despite pandemic

Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges to South Korea shot up 43.6 percent in the third quarter of 2020 from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, as the manufacturing segment drew a massive investment commitment. Asia's No. 4 economy received $5.23 billion worth of FDI commitments over the July-September period, compared with $3.61 billion logged the previous year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. But in the first nine months of the year, the FDI pledges edged down 4.4

Oct. 13, 2020

S. Korea seeks balanced regional development under New Deal projects

SEJONG -- South Korea plans to pursue balanced regional development under Korean-version New Deal projects that aim to boost growth of the coronavirus-hit economy, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday. In a policy meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in, Hong said the central government will give local governments more leeway in implementing the projects. In July, South Korea said it will invest 160 trillion won ($137 billion) by 2025 under the bold stimulus package that will create 1.

Oct. 13, 2020

S. Korea vows to maintain exports recovery in Q4: finance minister

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance minister said Monday the government will spare no efforts to maintain momentum of recovery in exports in the fourth quarter of this year. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks at a meeting with senior ministry officials earlier in the day, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. On Monday, South Korea eased social distancing rules as daily infections of the new coronavirus appeared to come under control, following a resurgence in mid-A

Oct. 12, 2020

Foreign investment banks slash growth forecasts for S. Korea

Major foreign investment banks have revised down their economic growth forecasts for South Korea with the resurgence of the coronavirus slowing the country’s economic recovery, data showed Monday. Nine forecast published by foreign investment banks as of end-September offered that Asia’s fourth-largest economy will contract at an average rate of 1.4 percent this year, down from an earlier average of 0.9 percent a month earlier, according to the Korea Center for International Financ

Oct. 12, 2020

Hanssem Q3 operating earnings up 236.4% to 24b won

Hanssem Co. on Monday estimated its third-quarter operating profit at 24 billion won ($20.9 million), up 236.4 percent from a year earlier. Sales increased 25.4 percent to 514.9 billion won. The data for net earnings was not available. The operating profit was 9.1 percent higher than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The company will release its final earnings report later. (Yonhap)

Oct. 12, 2020

Daewoo Shipbuilding wins 2tr won worth of orders for 6 ships

South Korea's No. 2 shipbuilder, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., said Monday that it has signed deals worth 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) to build six liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for two European companies. Under the two separate deals, Daewoo Shipbuilding will deliver the vessels to the European companies by July and December 2023, respectively, the shipbuilder said in regulatory filings, without providing the names of the clients. With the deals, Daewoo Shipbuildin

Oct. 12, 2020

FSC chief hints at tightening loan measures

The nation’s top financial regulator hinted Monday at the possibility of tightening loan regulations to curb snowballing household debts induced by the pandemic.  The country’s household debts surged to a record 1.63 quadrillion won in the second quarter.  “The government’s financial stimulus programs targeting small merchants as well as loan repayment moratoriums to counter the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak partly drove up household debts,”

Oct. 12, 2020

Lotte Group chief meets Japanese PM in Tokyo: reports

The chief of South Korea's retail giant Lotte Group met Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in Tokyo over the weekend, Japanese reports said Monday, in what was the new Japanese leader's first meeting with a South Korean tycoon. Suga held a lunch meeting with Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and other chiefs of major Japanese companies at a hotel in Tokyo on Sunday, according to Japan's Nikkei. Details about their meeting are not known, but industry watchers estimated that Shin and Sug

Oct. 12, 2020

Foreigners extend stock sell-off to 2nd month in Sept.

Foreign investors became net sellers of South Korean stocks in September, extending their selling spree to a second month, data showed Monday. Offshore investors sold a net 2.54 trillion won ($2.2 billion) of local stocks last month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. Investors from Singapore posted the largest amount of net selling with 4.3 trillion won, followed by those from Switzerland with 300 billion won worth of stocks. In contrast, investors from Luxembourg bought a net 6

Oct. 12, 2020

Tax revenue tallied at 37.4tr won in August

SEJONG -- South Korea collected 37.4 trillion won ($32.3 billion) in taxes in August, up 4.8 trillion won from a year earlier, the finance ministry said Monday. Income tax revenue amounted to 9.5 trillion won in August, up 3.2 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Dues collected from companies, on the other hand, reached 11 trillion won in the month, down 900 billion won from a year earlier due to the lackluster earnings of local firms. Taxes col

Oct. 12, 2020

Economy remains subdued as virus resurgence hits demand: KDI

South Korea's economy remained subdued as a recent resurgence of new coronavirus infections hit domestic demand, a state-run think tank said Monday. "The Korean economy remains subdued led by domestic demand due to a resurgence of COVID-19," the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in its English-language Monthly Economic Trends publication. However, the report said the nation's economy is showing signs of its exports and output declining at a slower pace. Externally, worries ov

Oct. 12, 2020

Banks tipped to tighten grip on loans in Q4 amid pandemic: poll

Banks in South Korea are expected to tighten their lending to households and companies in the fourth quarter of the year as credit risks will remain high amid the pandemic-caused economic uncertainty, a central bank poll showed Monday. The Bank of Korea's index measuring the banks' attitude toward fresh loans came to minus 5 for the October-December period, after hitting zero three months earlier. It marks the first time that the index fell into negative terrain since the fourth quarter of las

Oct. 12, 2020

BOK tipped to freeze key rate at record low this week: poll

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is widely expected to keep its policy rate steady at a record low of 0.5 percent this week, as it will likely gauge the impact of the protracted pandemic on the economy, a poll showed Monday. In a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, all 17 analysts polled predicted the BOK will freeze the base rate at its rate-setting meeting, slated for Wednesday. They also forecast the BOK to stand pat on the rate during the remainder of the year an

Oct. 12, 2020

7 companies to recall nearly 50,000 vehicles

Hyundai Motor Co., BMW, Mercedes-Benz and four other companies will voluntarily recall nearly 50,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Monday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers operating in South Korea and vehicle importers due to problems with vehicle components. The four other companies are Kia Motors Corp., Audi-Volkswagen Korea, Jaguar Land Rover Korea and Daijeon Machinery Co., which imports Kawasaki motorcycles, the Ministry of Land, Infr

Oct. 12, 2020

S. Korea's parliament runs hydrogen shuttle bus

South Korea's parliament said Monday it has adopted a hydrogen fuel-cell electric bus as it pushes to promote hydrogen-powered vehicles. The National Assembly became the country's first state organization to adopt a hydrogen bus, and it will use the zero-emission bus to help transport people within the parliament and from neighboring subway stations, the parliament said in a statement. "We will initially operate the hydrogen bus two to four times a day as a shuttle bus for those who visit

Oct. 12, 2020