Regulator to begin inspection of securities firms aspiring to become IBs

The financial regulator will conduct inspections this week of five leading securities firms that want to start investment banking business, focusing on how well they can manage their electronic system for issuing promissory notes, officials said Sunday.The Financial Supervisory Service will look into the business plan, personnel structure and IT management of Mirae Asset Daewoo, NH Investment & Securities Co., KB Securities Co., Samsung Securities Co. and Korea Investment & Securities Co

Aug. 27, 2017

Moody's Analytics expects BOK to hold policy rate steady in August

South Korea's central bank is likely to hold its key rates steady this month as soft economic growth and subdued inflation will allow it to sit on the sidelines, a leading provider of economic analysis said Sunday.The Bank of Korea is set to hold its rate-review session Thursday to decide whether to keep or adjust the all-time low rate of 1.25 percent."Further interest rate cuts are firmly off the cards despite below-potential growth," Moody's Analytics said in an economic preview, not

Aug. 27, 2017

Employment rate of 30-something women hits record high in H1

The employment rate of South Korean women in their 30s hit a record high in the first half of this year, data showed Saturday, as the government has taken a series of measures to bring stay-at-home moms back to work.Statistics Korea said the employment rate of women in their 30s stood at 59.2 percent, the highest half-year figure since 1999 when the statistics office began compiling relevant data. The employment rate of women in their 30s has been on the rise in recent years as women delay marri

Aug. 27, 2017

Consumer sentiment falls in August on N. Korea's nuclear crisis

South Korea's key consumer sentiment index fell slightly in August from a month earlier due mainly to heightened tensions between North Korea and the United States, a central bank survey showed Friday.The composite consumer sentiment index for August came to 109.9, down from 111.2 a month earlier, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.Tensions have spiked on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea and the United States exchanged bellic

Aug. 25, 2017

Anti-smoking campaign lacking results despite big budget spending

The government's anti-smoking campaign, funded partly by increased revenue from a cigarette price hike, has not been effective, officials said Friday.Monthly cigarette sales in January 2015, when the price of cigarettes was raised 80 percent from 2,500 won ($2.21) to 4,500 won, were 295 million packs. Currently, monthly sales are close to300 million packs, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Assembly Budget Office.Part of the revenue from the hike cigarette price was

Aug. 25, 2017

Moon names head of new SME and Startups ministry

Cheong Wa Dae announced on Thursday that President Moon Jae-in has named Park Seong-jin as the head of the new Ministry of SME and Startups. 　Park is a professor of engineering from Pohang University of Science and Technology and also serves as the CEO of Postech Holdings. 　　The new minster nominee is scheduled to attend a confirmation hearing led by a parliamentary committee before his appointment becomes official. Parliamentary approval is not required for Park’s appointment. 　The new Mi

Aug. 24, 2017

Parliamentary speaker calls KORUS FTA ‘bedrock’ of Korea-US ties

Amid ambiguity hovering over future negotiations on the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, Speaker of the Korean National Assembly Chung Sye-Kyun on Thursday defended the agreement as a win-win bedrock of Korea-US relations that must be negotiated wisely so as not to disrupt more than six decades of strong bilateral ties. During a general membership meeting with the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, or AmCham, at Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Chung stressed the importance of continuing the strong polit

Aug. 24, 2017

Outbound traveler numbers to be twice that of inbound visitors amid THAAD row

The number of South Koreans expected to travel abroad is set to be twice that of foreigners visiting the country this year amid a sharp drop in the arrival of Chinese nationals, a state-run tourism agency said Thursday.The January-July tally showed that some 7.76 million foreigners came to South Korea, down 20.9 percent from the same period last year, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. The number of outbound South Koreans stood at over 15 million during the same months. The last time t

Aug. 24, 2017

Poland's Lodzkie Region calls for Korean investment

The governor of Poland's Lodzkie Region on Thursday called on South Korean electronics and automobile companies to invest in the province which is rich in skilled workers and is a major transportation hub in Europe. Gov. Witold Stepien is visiting Seoul along with business executives from nine Polish companies to promote the investment opportunities for the central region,  which includes the country's third-largest city of Lodz. "The Lodzkie Region is located at the very center of Pol

Aug. 24, 2017

Chinese firm asks Korean court to halt delisting procedure

China Ocean Resources Co., a Hong Kong-based deep-sea fisheries company listed on the local stock market, said Thursday it filed a court petition to halt the delisting procedures being undertaken by Korea Exchange.China Ocean Resources, which listed its stocks in South Korea in 2009, is on the verge of being kicked out of the Korean bourse as it has been accused of posting false public disclosures and using opaque accounting practices. In a regulatory filing, China Ocean Resources said the petit

Aug. 24, 2017

Religious tax brawl disrupts Moon’s fiscal blueprint

President Moon Jae-in’s vision of improving economic equity may suffer some setbacks due to a group of Christian lawmakers’ resistance to an incoming taxation bill on religious leaders.While the administration and the parliamentary cluster remained at odds over the issue, a public poll showed a majority of the public consider religious taxation necessary.Civic groups, led by the Korea Taxpayers’ Association, on Thursday held a press conference in front of the National Assembly,

Aug. 24, 2017

[Monitor] Koreans’ overseas card spending hits record high

South Koreans’ use of cards overseas hit a record high in the second quarter of this year amounting to $4.18 billion, up 20.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea on Thursday. It marked a 4 percent increase from the preceding quarter.Some 6.11 million South Koreans traveled abroad in the second quarter, according to government data, down from 6.51 million from January through March. In comparison, card spending by foreign visitors here reached $1.87 billion in the sa

Aug. 24, 2017

Corporate loans rise slightly in Q2

Loans extended to local businesses rose slightly in the April-June period from a quarter earlier on increased operating expenses and facility investments, central bank data showed Thursday.Outstanding corporate loans came to 1,016 trillion won ($900 billion) in the second quarter, up 1.4 percent from the preceding three months, according to data from the Bank of Korea.Compared with a year earlier, the second quarter figure marked a 4.7 percent gain. In terms of where the money was spent, loans e

Aug. 24, 2017

Q2 ratio of short-term debt to foreign reserves hits highest in more than a year

The ratio of South Korea's short-term foreign debt to its foreign reserves hit the highest level in more than a year in the second quarter, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's short-term external debt -- with a maturity of one year or less -- totaled $117.3 billion as of the end of June, up $1.9 billion from three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. The end-June figure accounted for 28.8 percent of the country's total external debt, the highest percentage sinc

Aug. 24, 2017

Korea to increase job-creating budget by 12% next year

South Korea's finance chief said Thursday that the government will increase spending on job creation by more than 10 percent in 2018 as part of its efforts to help raise income levels of ordinary people."The government will set aside some 12 percent more money to boost employment in next year's budget and increase the minimum wage to guarantee people proper income," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a minister-level policy meeting in Seoul. "The move is aimed at cementing hou

Aug. 24, 2017

Govt. to expand health insurance benefits for pregnant women

The South Korean government will expand health insurance benefits for pregnant women, the government said Thursday, in an effort to better tackle the country's chronic low birthrate.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said those who had given birth in the past 60 days will be able to benefit from changes to the national health insurance policy starting next month. So far, only pregnant women have been covered.Also, the ministry and the National Health Insurance Corporation will provide an additio

Aug. 24, 2017

Koreans' overseas card spending hits record high in Q2

Overseas card spending by South Koreans hit a record high in the second quarter despite a decline in the number of people going overseas, the central bank said Thursday.In the April-June period, overseas card spending amounted to $4.18 billion, up 20.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. From a quarter earlier, the Q2 tally marked a 4-percent increase.Overseas card spending includes purchases made with debit and direct payment cards, in addition to credit cards. The hike

Aug. 24, 2017

Deregulations can offset side effects of corporate tax hike: finance minister

South Korea's finance chief said Wednesday that the government will examine steps to ease regulations to help offset the negative side effects of a looming corporate tax hike.Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon made the comments during a session of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts in parliament when asked about the possible fallout from more taxes on employment and growth.Still, Kim did not elaborate on deregulations. South Korea has been pushing to lift or ease unnecessary business restr

Aug. 24, 2017

Rising costs drive companies offshore

Concerns are growing that local businesses may be compelled to move production abroad, as policies pursued by President Moon Jae-in’s government add significantly to their cost burdens.Measures taken or considered by the new administration since Moon took office in May are expected to make companies shoulder up to 40 trillion won ($35.4 billion) in additional costs next year alone, analysts say.Many businesses will find it hard to absorb increasing labor costs as minimum wages continue to

Aug. 23, 2017

Trump committed to big changes to FTA: USTR

　The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced Wednesday that the Trump administration remains committed to amending terms of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, following a joint committee session with Seoul and Washington on Tuesday where the two parties were unable to reach a consensus. 　“Ambassador Lighthizer remains focused on improving implementation of KORUS and amending or modifying the agreement to benefit American workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses,”

Aug. 23, 2017