State pension fund buys up stakes in Hyundai Heavy spinoff companies

Korea's state-run pension fund has increased its holdings in three spinoff companies of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., data provided by a local market research showed Sunday.   According to FnGuide Inc., the National Pension Service held a stake of more than 5 percent in 277 companies as of late last week.   Of companies that the pension fund has large stakes in, 17 were added in the second quarter of this year, with an emphasis placed on Hyundai Heavy affiliates.   

July 9, 2017

Korean companies vexed as THAAD issue unresolved

South Korean companies’ high hopes were struck down following President Moon Jae-in’s Thursday meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the two countries failed to strike an accord to cease China’s unofficial economic retaliation against South Korean companies regarding the controversial deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense.  　Korea’s relationship with China has hit its lowest point in years due to political and economic tension over the install

July 7, 2017

[Monitor] Aging population threatens to undermine growth

South Korea’s rapidly aging population could become a hurdle to economic growth in the near future, according to economists at the Bank of Korea.According to central bank’s data, the number of South Koreans over 65 accounted for 12.8 percent of the population in 2015 and that figure is projected to grow to 28.7 percent by 2035 and 42.5 percent by 2065.As the economically active population falls, the growth rate could reach zero percent after 2035, Ahn Byung-kwun, a BOK economist, sai

July 7, 2017

Korea's 2017 growth outlook raised by Nomura to 2.7%

Japanese bank Nomura Holdings joined several global investment banks on Friday in raising South Korea's economic growth forecast for this year. Kwon Young-sun, a chief economist at Nomura, upgraded South Korea's economic growth rate for this year to 2.7 percent from its previous forecast of 2.4 percent, citing improving exports and construction investment. However, South Korea's economy is likely to show signs of mild growth in the second half of this year.  Kwon noted that South Korea's ec

July 7, 2017

BOK expected to hold policy rate steady in July: Moody's Analytics

South Korea's central bank is expected to hold its key rates steady this month as it could move to "normalize" interest in early 2018, Moody's Analytics said Friday.The Bank of Korea is set to hold its rate-review session next Thursday to decide whether to keep or adjust the all-time low rate of 1.25 percent. "The central bank is in no hurry to raise rates with core inflation only gradually creeping higher amid expectations of improving domestic demand," Moody's Analytics sai

July 7, 2017

Citibank starts shutting down branches in Korea

Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup, began shutting down five physical branches in the country Friday, as part of its plan to reorganize its operations, according to an industry source. Citibank has said it will drastically cut the number of its physical branches to 25 from 126 but claimed that it will not lay off employees.  Five branches of Citibank in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province were being shut down Friday and 30 more branches will be closed by the end of this month.An uns

July 7, 2017

Bananas become top-selling fruit

Bananas were the most sold fruit in the first half of the year, according to leading retail giant E-mart on Friday, replacing the longtime favorite apples.E-Mart said it sold 37.6 billion won ($32.48 million) worth of bananas in the January-June period, up 8.7 percent from the same period last year. The amount tops numbers for apples that stood at 33.1 billion won, down 16.2 percent from last year. The retail company said the latest tally marks the first time that bananas were the top-selling fr

July 7, 2017

Frozen food sales up amid more one-person households: data

Sales of frozen foods have risen sharply in recent months, industry data showed Thursday, amid an increase in one-person households in South Korea, industry data showed Thursday.GS25, South Korea's second-largest convenience store chain, said its frozen food sales grew 31.5 percent during the first six months of this year from a year earlier. The numbers reflect preferences for such food among singles, who are attracted to convenience of preparation.The comparable growth rates were 11 to 14 perc

July 6, 2017

[News Analysis] Trade experts debunk Trump’s ‘unfair’ FTA claims

Amid drawn-out speculation over the future of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, the two countries have been voicing differing views regarding the mutual benefits of the bilateral trade deal, which has now reached its fifth year.  　US President Donald Trump is arguing that the current stipulations are unfair and is the reason for the country’s worsening trade deficit. Trump has referred to the KORUS-FTA as “unacceptable” and a “horrible deal,” suggesting the de

July 6, 2017

Department stores see sales drop amid rising online shopping

South Korean department stores saw their sales fall in May as more consumers opted for online shopping, government data showed Thursday. The department stores' sales index dropped 4.6 percent in May compared to the same period last year, according to the data from Statistics Korea.  Since the beginning of this year, the index has been on a downturn, recording 1.5 percent, 5.6 percent and 3.5 percent drops in January, February and March, respectively, the data showed. The rate of decrease dr

July 6, 2017

Indebted households spending more income to repay loans

Households with loans use about a third of their disposable income on debt repayment, statistics showed Thursday, undermining efforts to spur consumption through spending.The National Assembly Budget Office analyzed figures provided by Statistics Korea and found that a household with loans on average had 46.35 million won ($40,147) in disposable income last year, of which 15.48 million won, or 33.4 percent, was used to pay back principal on loans. It was the first time that the ratio surpassed 3

July 6, 2017

Deregulation, industrial policy out of focus

In a meeting with business leaders accompanying him on a trip to the US last week, President Moon Jae-in asked them to “trust in the new government’s economic policy, invest more and create jobs.”Describing himself as both pro-labor and pro-business, Moon said the core of his policy was to forge a fair and transparent environment for competition, which he said would be good for doing business and boost the country’s growth potential.The gathering in Washington marked the

July 5, 2017

Foreign investors bought up Asian stocks amid US rate hikes: data

Foreign investors bought shares traded on the South Korean and Asian stock markets in the first half of this year despite concerns over capital flight as the US marked up its interest rates, industry data showed Wednesday.Foreign investors purchased $29.1 billion worth of stocks more than they sold in Asian countries, up compared to $27.6 billion for all of last year, according to statistics by the Korea Center for International Finance.Foreigners sold $4.1 billion of stocks in the Asian ma

July 5, 2017

Vegetable prices rise due to downpour, drought

Prices of vegetables jumped sharply in recent weeks due to heavy downpours that followed a long drought, industry sources said Wednesday.The price of napa cabbage soared 26.2 percent to 1,416 won ($1.2) per kilogram Tuesday from a month earlier, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation. The price of spinach jumped 12.7 percent to 4,568 won per kilogram from 4,053 won, while that of lettuce gained 4.4 percent to 662 won from 634 won per 100 grams.The price of cucumbers w

July 5, 2017

Korea's national debt exceeds W950t

South Korea's national debt as measured in outstanding state bonds issued exceeded 950 trillion won ($826.2 billion) last month, mainly due to the government's expansionary fiscal policy to cope with an economic slowdown, data showed Wednesday. The conservative administrations of ex-Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye had favored the issuance of Treasury bills and various types of bonds to finance the fiscal expansion, rather than raising taxes. The nation's debt, which covers the central

July 5, 2017

Biz sentiment at over 2-yr high but still under par

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment reached the highest in over two years, but pessimism still outweighed optimism overall, a survey showed Wednesday.A survey of some 2,200 manufacturing firms put the business sentiment index at 94 in the third quarter, up five points from the second quarter but under the threshold of 100, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.  The reading marks the highest since the first quarter of 2015, when the comparable figure was 97. The last ti

July 5, 2017

Korea's FX reserves hit record high in June

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves hit a record high in June due to a hike in the value of non-dollar currencies when converted into the U.S. greenback, central bank data showed Wednesday.As of the end of June, the country's foreign exchange reserves came to $380.57 billion, up $2.11 billion from the previous month, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, as well as International Monetary Fund re

July 5, 2017

Korea tightens monitoring of financial market

The South Korean finance ministry said Tuesday that it tightened its monitoring of the local financial market following the latest missile launch by North Korea.After launching a ballistic missile earlier in the day, Pyongyang claimed in an official announcement that it has successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile directly challenging calls by the international community to halt weapons of mass destruction development. The benchmark KOSPI lost 0.58 percent to finish at 2,380

July 4, 2017