36 conglomerates to face debt assessment

The Financial Supervisory Service announced Thursday that 36 conglomerates will be put under a capital structure assessment by their respective commercial lenders in a pre-emptive move to relieve the financial risks of the groups. FSS data showed the 36 enterprise groups were indebted by six banks -- Woori Bank, Korea Development Bank, KEB Hana Bank, Shinhan Bank, Kookmin Bank and NongHyup Bank. Among them, Woori Bank was the creditor of 13 groups, including Samsung Group, LG Group and CJ Group

May 11, 2017

Kospi bounces back to all-time high, momentum revives

South Korea’s stock indices set new all-time highs after bouncing back Thursday from Wednesday’s loss in the afternoon trade on robust institutional buying, raising expectations a return of momentum to the markets. The top-tier Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,296.37, up 26.25 points or 1.16 percent from Wednesday. It reached its intraday high of 2,297.67 at around 2:55 p.m.The Kospi ended its bullish ride Wednesday, when it closed at 2,270.12.This came days after the Ko

May 11, 2017

Prospects mixed for Moon Jae-in’s extra budget

With President Moon Jae-in ordering the establishment of a presidential committee for jobs on his first day of office, the new government is soon to come up with a follow-up fiscal plan to boost employment.During his presidential campaign, Moon vowed to draw up a 10 trillion won ($8.8 billion) supplementary budget, immediately after taking office, as the first step to support 12,000 new jobs in the public sector starting from the second half of the year. The new jobs will mainly fill a shortage

May 11, 2017

Korea imposes levy on financial firms over foreign borrowing

South Korea has imposed a levy on financial firms' non-deposit foreign borrowing to ease volatility in capital flows, the central banks said Thursday.The Bank of Korea said 66 financial companies, including 17 local banks and 34 branches of foreign lenders, are required to pay 0.1 percent of their outstanding non-deposit foreign debt maturing in less than one year. South Korea introduced the macroprudential stability levy in 2011 to reduce capital flow volatility.South Korea has been trying to c

May 11, 2017

Korean shares up in late morning trading

South Korean shares traded higher late Thursday morning as hopes for an economic stimulus by the nation's new administration buoyed market sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index  added 18.79 points, or 0.79 percent, to 2,288.01 as of 11:20 a.m.Large caps mostly traded higher with market kingpin Samsung Electronics adding 0.53 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix up 0.72 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.64 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors traded 1

May 11, 2017

Seoul stocks start higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street amid a rebound in oil prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 5.52 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,275.64 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Most large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 0.22 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.32 percent, and top steelmaker Posco remained flat. The local currency was trading at 1,133.50 won against the US dollar, up 2.3 won from

May 11, 2017

[Moon in Office] Financial authorities face overhaul

President Moon Jae-in is expected to implement a sweeping overhaul of the financial authorities to reassign their roles and enhance oversight. As a presidential candidate, Moon had pledged to divide the authorities‘ roles between policymaking and regulating, and protecting financial consumers. Moon’s team had pointed to the Financial Services Commission that has been serving as a policymaker and regulator, saying the FSC had been monopolizing the roles.Moon’s economic think tan

May 10, 2017

Kospi takes loss after hitting 2,300 in morning trade

The main bourse took a loss Wednesday mainly on foreign selling of futures, after its index hit a height of above 2,300 points in early morning trade Wednesday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,270.12, down 22.64 points, or 0.99 percent, from the previous session Monday. Markets did not open Tuesday for the presidential election, where Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea clinched a landslide victory. Opening at 2,295.25 on Wednesday, the Kospi surged to an intr

May 10, 2017

Korean stocks retreat from pre-election rally

South Korea's main stock index fell on Wednesday as a pre-election rally ran out of steam and investors try to digest the policies of new President Moon Jae-in. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dipped 22.64 points, or 0.99 percent, to close at 2,270.12. Trade volume reached 418 million shares changing hands worth 9.2 trillion won ($8.1 billion). The Kospi index jumped more than 2 percent on Monday to set its highest-ever close

May 10, 2017

Korean shares catch breath in late morning trading

South Korea's main stock index swung between gains and losses late Wednesday morning as investors try to digest the policies of new President Moon Jae-in. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.98 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,295.74 as of 11:20 a.m. It hit a new intra-day record of 2,323.32 points at one point, but backtracked to 2,290.08 at another point. Large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 1.15 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix up

May 10, 2017

Seoul stocks start higher after presidential election

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday as political uncertainties eased with liberal former human rights lawyer Moon Jae-in beginning his five-year term as president. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 16.71 points, or 0.73 percent, to set a new intra-day high of 2,309.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Most large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 1.36 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor remained flat, and top steelmaker Posco rose 1.86

May 10, 2017

Korean stocks seen extending rally after presidential election

If history is any guide, South Korea's stock market is likely to extend its rally after voters cast their ballots to choose the country's next president. Based on market data on the bourse's performance during the first year of office of the last six presidents, market watchers expect solid gains for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index going forward.On average local stock prices gained 23.18 percent after a new chief executive was sworn into office, although in some instances the mar

May 9, 2017

[News Focus] Speculative buying of politician-related stocks mirrors presidential race

A week ahead of Tuesday’s Election Day on May 2, conservative Hong Joon-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party climbed to the No. 2 spot in a poll for the first time ever.His spike in popularity did not go over well for the long-time first runner-up Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party in terms of his winning chances, and the stocks were fast to react. The poll was conducted by news channel YTN and was one of the last polls to be released.The so-called “Ahn-themed” stocks, or stoc

May 9, 2017

‘Kospi to set record highs under new president’

South Korea’s major stock index is likely to continue setting record highs under the new president, due to strong anticipation toward the new government, robust local corporate earnings and the improving global economy, analysts said Tuesday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shot up to a historic high of 2,292.76 on Monday, a day before the Tuesday presidential election, mainly buttressed by the strong buying of foreign investors.Analysts expect a further rise, saying Kospi i

May 9, 2017

Private equity deals in Korea dip 30.4% last year

Transactions by South Korea's private equity firms slipped 30.4 percent on year in 2016 amid a lack of mega buyout deals, government data showed Tuesday. Local private equity groups invested a total of 8.9 trillion won ($7.8 billion) last year, compared with deals worth 12.8 trillion won in 2016, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.  In a statement, the financial regulator attributed the sharp decline to a lack of big merger deals last year. In 2015, local private equ

May 9, 2017

Kospi extends winning streak

South Korea‘s main bourse-based index reached another all-time high Monday, following abated global uncertainties after French centrist Emmanuel Macron was elected president, as well as rising expectations of the presidential transition in South Korea. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,292.76, up 2.3 percent, or 51.52 points, Monday, breaking the record high set in the previous trading day of Thursday at 2,241.24. The Kospi hovered around 2,254 points from late mo

May 8, 2017

[Monitor] Proportion of direct taxes surpasses 55%

Revenue from direct taxes accounted for a record 55.3 percent of all dues collected last year, the Finance Ministry said Sunday.Upon the government’s reform of its tax credit rules on income and transfer taxes, the percentage of direct taxes to overall revenue earnings continued to rise for the past three years.The ministry said the tax earnings reached 230 trillion won ($202.3 billion), excluding taxes on education and rural development.

May 8, 2017

Korean shares extend rally ahead of presidential election

South Korean shares extended a rally late Monday morning amid hopes for economic stimulus a day before voters go to the polls to choose their president. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 13.85 points, or 0.62 percent, to a record intra-day high of 2,255.09 as of 11:20 a.m.The Kospi index touched its highest-ever close of 2,241.24 points last week, helped by foreign buying and healthy corporate earnings. Large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics remainin

May 8, 2017

Credit card delinquencies rise 4.7% in Q1

Delinquencies at South Korea's five credit card companies rose 4.7 percent on-quarter in the first three months of this year as low interest rates pushed them to make more card loans, industry data showed Monday. Overall card loans overdue by more than 30 days rose to 955.2 billion won ($842.1 million) at the end of March, up 42.5 billion won from the end of last year.  The five credit card companies are Shinhan, KB, Woori, Hana and Samsung. Excluding Shinhan, the other four companies saw t

May 8, 2017

US direct investment in Korea falls for 1st time in 8 years

US direct investment in South Korea fell last year for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, central bank data showed Monday.The US direct investment in South Korea totaled $33.9 billion last year, down 1 percent from $34.2 billion a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea. It marked the first time that the US direct investment here decreased since 2008, when it plunged 8.1 percent.In comparison, outstanding foreign investments in Asia's fourth-biggest economy cam

May 8, 2017