S. Korea's exports hit fresh monthly high in Nov. on robust global demand for chips

South Korea's exports spiked 32.1 percent on-year to reach an all-time monthly high in November on the back of strong global demand for chips and petro products, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments came to $60.44 billion, compared with $45.75 billion from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It marked the highest monthly figure since the country began compiling the data in 1956, and it is the first time that the monthly tally surpa

Dec. 1, 2021

Foreign IBs cuts next year's Kospi targets amid rising volatility

Two major foreign investment banks (IBs) have revised down their targets of South Korea's key stock index for 2022 amid rising market volatility following the discovery of the omicron coronavirus variant, industry sources said Wednesday. In a recent report on South Korea, Goldman Sachs has cut its 2022 target of the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) to 3,350 from an earlier estimate of 3,700. Goldman Sachs said its downgrade reflects the characteristic of the South Korean sto

Dec. 1, 2021

Sovereign fund head touts ESG, impact investment

ESG and impact investment will offer a new way for investors to make financial returns while leaving a positive, social and environmental impact, and South Korea hopes to spread the practice of “responsible investment,” Korea Investment Corporation CEO Jin Seoung-ho said Tuesday. The chief of the country’s sovereign wealth fund said ESG investment, which looks at environmental, social and governance factors, and impact investment, which aims to make money and measureable socia

Nov. 30, 2021

Household debt poses limited risks to S. Korean economy: finance minister

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Tuesday the country's snowballing household debt is posing limited risks to the economy, given borrowers' capability to repay debt and banks' financial health. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks during his meeting with the delegation of S&P Global Ratings, led by Kim Eng Tan, senior director of Asia-Pacific sovereign ratings at the global credit appraiser. The delegation kicked off its annual consultations with the Korean government Mo

Nov. 30, 2021

Industrial output posts highest negative growth in 18 months

SEJONG -- South Korea’s industrial output and facilities investment declined on-month, though the two sectors also recorded positive growth on-year, reflecting economic uncertainty under constant pressure of the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The industrial output decreased by 1.9 percent in October from a month earlier, which marked the highest negative growth since it posted minus 2 percent in April 2020. Production in the manufacturing segment, including automobiles and metals, decrea

Nov. 30, 2021

[Interactive] S. Korea top Asian country in global innovation rankings

South Korea has clinched the top spot in Asia in a United Nations agency’s global innovation rankings, coming in fifth globally. In the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index 2021, Korea was ahead of Singapore, Japan and China. It was behind Switzerland, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom. Korea, Asia’s fourth-biggest economy, was in 10th place last year. (Yonhap) By Nam Kyung-don

Nov. 30, 2021

Overseas card spending down 14.8% in Q3 on weak won

South Koreans' overseas card spending declined 14.8 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier as the government tightened rules on withdrawals of money from automatic teller machines and the won depreciated against the dollar, central bank data showed Tuesday. According to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, came to $2.88 billion in the July-September period, down from $3.37 billion

Nov. 30, 2021

Industrial output falls by most in 18 months in Oct.

South Korea's industrial output fell by the most in 18 months in October as production in the manufacturing sector lost steam amid global supply chain bottlenecks, data showed Tuesday. Industrial output declined 1.9 percent in October from the previous month, a turnaround from a 1.1 percent on-month gain in September, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest on-month fall since April 2020, when industrial output fell 2 percent. From a year earlier, industrial

Nov. 30, 2021

Banks' nonperforming loan rate down to record-low in September

The nonperforming loan rate of banks in South Korea fell to a record low in September due to the expanded provision of credit and debt rollovers for small businesses and merchants, the financial watchdog said Tuesday. The rate of bank loans more than three months overdue in interest or principle payment had stood at 0.51 percent as of end-September, down 0.03 percentage point from three months earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the rate

Nov. 30, 2021

S. Korea to closely monitor omicron woes on financial market

South Korea’s vice finance minister said Monday that the government plans to keep close tabs on the financial market for possible volatilities and woes caused by the emergence of the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. “There is a possibility that the volatilities in the global financial market could be expanded by the emergence of the omicron variant,” First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-won said at a macroeconomic meeting of government officials and the private sector.

Nov. 29, 2021

Smaller firms' biz confidence edges up for Dec.: poll

The business outlook of South Korea's smaller firms inched up for December on eased social distancing measures and hopes of higher year-end domestic demand, a poll showed Monday. The survey of 3,150 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) showed that the small business health index amounted to 83.5 for the coming month, up 2 points from November. It marks a turnaround from November's decrease that came after the second straight month of increase, but the reading remains below par. A reading

Nov. 29, 2021

S. Korea to closely monitor financial markets amid worries over omicron-sparked volatility

South Korea will closely monitor global and local financial markets for any impact from the emergence of the omicron variant of the coronavirus and take action in a preemptive and active manner, if necessary, to reduce market volatility, a senior finance ministry official said Monday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon made the remark at a meeting to discuss macroeconomic issues amid concerns that financial market volatility could intensify due to the spread of the potentially more transm

Nov. 29, 2021

S. Korea holds annual consultation meeting with S&P

South Korea kicked off annual consultation meetings with global rating appraiser Standard & Poor's Global Ratings (S&P) on Monday to discuss the country's credit valuation and economic outlook, the finance ministry said. The delegation, led by Kim Eng Tan, senior director of Asia-Pacific sovereign ratings at S&P, visited South Korea for four days of consultations through Thursday, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It will be the first face-to-face meetings between th

Nov. 29, 2021

Nearly half of hospitality firms marginal in 2020 amid pandemic: report

Nearly half of South Korean hospitality companies were unable to service their debts with earnings in 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a report showed Monday. The report from the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the lobby for South Korea's family-controlled conglomerates, showed 45.4 percent of firms in the local hospitality industry had an interest coverage ratio below 1 last year. The figure is up 11.3 percentage points from 2018, indicating those companies have been hit h

Nov. 29, 2021

National pension is a mess no one wants to fix

Lee Hyeong-seok, 75, remembers when the national pension scheme was first introduced back in late 1980s as a state-backed insurance plan for post-retirement life. He and his friends, then in their early 40s, were initially unconvinced. At that time, bank savings carried interest rates of well over 10 percent. What’s the point in chipping in a handsome amount of one’s monthly salary to the fledgling pension fund? But persistent persuasion by a National Pension Service official led

Nov. 28, 2021

Brokerages' Q3 net up 10.5% on increased investment gains

South Korean brokerage firms saw their combined net profits rise 10.5 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier, due to increased income from their proprietary trading, data showed Sunday. The combined net profit of 58 brokerages stood at 2.52 trillion won ($2.1 billion) in the July-September period, compared with 2.28 trillion won three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The gain was mainly driven by profits from proprietary trading, tra

Nov. 28, 2021

S. Korea's exports of farm, fishery products top $10b this year

South Korea's exports of agricultural and fishery goods exceeded the $10 billion mark for the first time this year, led by the popularity of "hallyu," the Korean wave of pop culture, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments of foodstuffs came to $10.13 billion in the Jan. 1-Nov. 25 period, up 16.1 percent from the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It marked the first time that exports of agricultural and fishery goods

Nov. 28, 2021

BOK’s next rate hike could come as early as January: analysts

A day after South Korea’s central bank chief strongly hinted at another rate hike within the first quarter of 2022 following its decision to raise its base rate by 25 basis point to 1 percent, analysts on Friday projected the expected move to come as early as January. The BOK’s monetary policy board on Thursday carried out its second pandemic-era rate hike amid growing inflationary pressure and snowballing household debt. BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol in a press briefing explained that the

Nov. 26, 2021

Foreign ownership of land rises 1.3%

The total amount of land foreigners held as of June this year rose 1.3 percent, compared to December last year, to 256.7 square kilometers. That is equivalent to 0.2 percent of South Korea’s entire land area, according to the Land Ministry on Friday. The total value was 31.6 trillion won ($26.5 billion). Foreign ownership spiked in 2014 and 2015, jumping 6 percent and 9.6 percent on-year respectively, but the annual increase has remained between 1 and 3 percent since then. US nationals

Nov. 26, 2021

Export-Import Bank offers financial support to state oil firm

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Friday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea National Oil to offer the state-run oil company financial support worth about 1.1 trillion won ($1 billion). KNOC, established in 1979 after the energy crisis in the 1970s to oversee oil storage businesses for the country, will use the fund to invest in overseas oil exploration and production, while working to find new energy sources like wind power, the company said. “We expect to cre

Nov. 26, 2021