S. Korea’s stock market retreats amid China’s Evergrande crisis

South Korea’s stock market retreated Thursday, hit by the growing debt crisis faced by Evergrande Group, one of China’s biggest property developers, as financial authorities vowed to closely monitor the situation’s impact on the market. The benchmark Kospi lost 12.93 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 3,127.58 points. The secondary tech-heavy Kosdaq shed 9.86 points or 0.94 percent to close at 1,036.26. Trading volume was moderate at about 612 million shares worth some 13.

Sept. 23, 2021

S. Korea wary of market volatility from Evergrande woes, Fed's tapering: official

South Korea plans to closely monitor financial markets as China Evergrande Group's debt problems and uncertainty about the Federal Reserve's tapering issue could increase market volatility, a senior government official said Thursday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said the government will also pump up efforts to slow the growth of household debt in a bid to ease financial imbalances. Global financial markets were rattled this week ahead of the Fed's policy meeting and due to concerns

Sept. 23, 2021

Exports rise 23% in first 20 days of Sept.

South Korea's exports rose 22.9 percent on-year in the first 20 days of September on the back of robust demand for chips, petroleum products and autos, customs data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $36.1 billion in the Sept. 1-20 period, compared with $29.4 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports increased 38.8 percent on-year to $35 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $1.12 billion during the cited period, the data s

Sept. 23, 2021

Listed firms' Q3 operating profit forecast to jump 49%

South Korea's listed companies are likely to see their earnings spike nearly 50 percent in the third quarter on brisk exports, a market tracker said Thursday. The combined operating income of 246 listed firms is expected to reach 59.6 trillion won ($50.6 billion) for the July-September period, up about 49 percent from a year earlier, according to FnGuide. The operating profit outlook still remains high though it is much lower than forecasts of 118 percent and 91 percent for the first and secon

Sept. 23, 2021

Major firms' dependence on overseas sales rises in H1 amid pandemic

Major South Korean companies' dependence on overseas markets for sales increased in the first half of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Thursday. Combined overseas sales of the country's top 100 firms by revenue climbed 13.2 percent on-year to 397.3 trillion won ($337 billion) in the January-June period, according to the data from the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). The amount accounted for 54.9 percent of their total top line for the first half, up 2.8 percentage poin

Sept. 23, 2021

Insurers' risk-based capital ratio gains in Q2

Insurance firms in South Korea saw their risk-based capital ratio rise in the second quarter of this year as they strengthened capital, data showed Thursday. The risk-based capital (RBC) ratio of local insurance firms stood at 260.9 percent at end-June, up 5 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The rise in the RBC ratio came as insurers boosted capital and reported modest profits, according to the FSS. A key yardstick

Sept. 23, 2021

ADB maintains S. Korea’s growth outlook at 4%, trims projection for Asia

The Asian Development Bank on Wednesday maintained its previous 4 percent growth outlook for the South Korean economy this year, on the back of robust exports and mild recovery in private consumption. The ADB kept its earlier growth scenario for Korea, which was released in July. It also left its 2022 growth outlook unchanged at 3.1 percent, according to the bank’s report titled “Asian Development Outlook Update.” However, it forecast that Korea’s inflation rate will

Sept. 22, 2021

S. Korea has larger classes, lower employment rates among college graduates than OECD averages: education ministry

South Korea has larger class sizes and lower employment rates among the highly educated than Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) averages, the education ministry said Friday. According to the latest edition of the OECD's "Education at a Glance," released by the Ministry of Education, elementary and middle school classes had an average of 23 and 26.1 students, respectively, in 2019. The figures were lower than 23.1 and 26.7 from 2018 but still higher than the OE

Sept. 17, 2021

Uncertainty lingers over private spending recovery: ministry

The South Korean economy is facing continued uncertainty about the recovery of domestic demand as the latest resurgence in COVID-19 cases is denting person-to-person service sectors, the finance ministry said Friday. In its monthly economic assessment report, the ministry said the country's exports have extended solid growth momentum and the job market has improved despite the fourth wave of the pandemic. "But uncertainty over domestic demand has continued, centering on face-to-face service

Sept. 17, 2021

S. Korea considering extending tariffs on PET film from Taiwan, Thailand, UAE

South Korea's trade watchdog said Thursday it has decided to recommend the government extend anti-dumping duties on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film imported from Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, citing substantial damage to the local industry. The Korea Trade Commission said it has advised the finance ministry to set duties of 3.19 percent to 60.95 percent on PET film coming from the countries for the next five years. The country already had been applying tariffs of around

Sept. 16, 2021

Banks' loan delinquency rate rises in July

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans rose in July due to an increase in overdue corporate loans, the financial regulator said Thursday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.27 percent at the end of July, up from 0.25 percent the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the rate was down 0.09 percentage point in July. The delinquency rate for corporate loans rose 0.03 percentage poi

Sept. 16, 2021

Korea's public account turns to deficit in 2020 on COVID-19 spending

South Korea's public account surplus turned to deficit in 2020 as the government increased fiscal spending to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. In 2020, the country's public account deficit came to 50.6 trillion won ($43.3 billion), according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The deficit compared with a 14.7 trillion won surplus in 2019, when the country's public account balance continued to stay in the black for the fifth consecut

Sept. 16, 2021

Fishery good exports up 18% through Aug.

South Korea's exports of fishery products rose nearly 18 percent on-year in the first eight months of 2021 amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments of fishery products reached $1.74 billion over the January-August period, compared to $1.48 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The ministry attributed the growth to more people visiting restaurants around the globe compared to the previous year, which boosted the demand for seafood

Sept. 16, 2021

Trade between Seoul, London remains bullish on bilateral FTA

South Korea's trade ministry said Thursday it has been maintaining robust trade with Britain on the back of their free trade agreement (FTA), which was revamped earlier this year, despite London's divorce with the European Union. South Korea and Britain held their first meeting of the trade committee of goods virtually to discuss a wide array of commerce issues and follow up on the bilateral FTA, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries implemented the pact i

Sept. 16, 2021

State funds to rollover debts owed by pandemic-hit merchants, small firms

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday that state-backed funds will extend loan maturity and rollover interest payments again for smaller firms and merchants hit hard by the pandemic. State-run agencies and funds set up to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro business owners will extend the measures by another six months until March next year, Hong said. The move follows similar measures taken by local banks as part of efforts to support smaller companies and merchant

Sept. 16, 2021

Consumer financing firms' profit soars in H1 on stock rally

Consumer financing firms in South Korea saw their combined net profit jump 50 percent on-year in the first half, supported by strong gains from stock rallies and a modest gain in interest income, data showed Thursday. The combined net profit of 114 credit-specialized financial firms stood at 1.99 trillion won ($1.69 billion) in the first half, compared with a profit of 1.33 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their interest income ro

Sept. 16, 2021

S. Korea’s tax chief seeks cooperation with Denmark, Hungary

South Korea‘s tax chief met his counterparts in Denmark and Hungary to strengthen cooperation with the European agencies, and discuss future of electronic tax administration system in the post-pandemic era, officials said Wednesday. National Tax Service Commissioner Kim Dae-ji held a bilateral meeting with Merete Agergaard, chief of Danish tax agency in Copenhagen and a separate meeting in Budapest with his Hungarian counterpart Vagujhelyi Ferenc during his trip earlier this month. Meet

Sept. 15, 2021

Corporate sales improve, profit margin grows in Q2 amid pandemic

South Korean companies saw their profitability grow in the second quarter, with their sales improving despite the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The ratio of operating profit to sales of firms in the country reached 7.4 percent in the second quarter, up from 5.2 percent tallied a year ago, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). At the same time, the pretax net profit margin of South Korean companies rose on-year to 8.2 percent from 4.6 percent.

Sept. 15, 2021

Most S. Korean exporters eye rising freight rates: poll

A majority of South Korean exporting companies expect international freight rates to continue their uptrend till the first half of 2022, a poll showed Wednesday. The survey of 1,000 exporters, taken by the Federation of Korean Industries, showed 7 out of 10 firms forecasting freight rates to keep rising at least until June next year. The companies also expect freight rates to surge 23.8 percent on-year in the second half of this year following a 30.9 percent on-year jump in the first half. Some

Sept. 15, 2021

[Defector’s eye 2] Defector-turned-startup CEO tries his hand at developing social media platform

This is the second installment in a series of articles on North Korean defectors in transition, and the challenges and opportunities they encounter in the face of South Korea’s financial market and its rapid digitalization. -- Ed. For someone who came from an isolated and repressive state like North Korea, starting a business of his or her own in a free but competitive market is a mere dream. No matter how great their ideas are, a lack of business network, insufficient funds and im

Sept. 14, 2021