Ukraine war, supply snarls feared to dent investment, exports: govt.

The war between Russia and Ukraine, and extended global supply disruptions are feared to sap South Korea's corporate investment and exports, and add upward pressure on inflation, the finance ministry said Friday. The South Korean economy faces heightened external uncertainty, as global economic downside risks have heightened amid major central banks' monetary tightening and China's COVID-19 lockdowns of major cities, the ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report, called the Green

May 13, 2022

Seoul shares open higher after 8-day losing streak

Seoul shares opened higher Friday as technology stocks rebounded amid concerns over the Federal Reserve's further monetary tightening to tackle high inflation. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 21.67 points, or 0.85 percent, to 2,571.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI rebounded following an eight-day losing streak as the Fed is likely to raise interest rates by a half-percentage point at each of its next two meetings. Most large-cap stocks advanced across the board

May 13, 2022

KRX prepares to launch carbon credit futures

The Korea Exchange is preparing to launch a carbon credit futures contract to help bring price signals to what it says would be the new derivatives market, officials said Thursday. “The spot trading in carbon dioxide quotas has surged, but a lack of liquidity is a cause for price volatility,” an official at the bourse operator said. The new market could also help solidify the government’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the official added. The bourse operat

May 12, 2022

Korean-made cryptocurrencies’ collapse shakes up global market

The global cryptocurrency market has been shaken up by the freefalling prices of Korean-made cryptocurrency terraUSD, also known as UST, and its sister token luna, raising concerns that it may lead to the crypto market’s version of the Lehman Brothers collapse. According to crypto market analysis website CoinMarketCap, the prices of terraUSD and luna recorded 857 won ($0.66) and 443 won as of 2 p.m. on Thursday, down 14 percent and 96 percent from 24 hours ago, respectively. Terraform

May 12, 2022

Another employee theft puts Woori’s reputation at stake

An employee at Woori Bank embezzled 490 million won ($380,000) earlier this year, reports said Thursday, dampening the lender’s struggle to rebuild its reputation after a separate 60 billion won employee theft was uncovered last month. The employee, whose identity was withheld, stole the money by withdrawing from automatic teller machines from mid-January to early February. Woori recently found out about the theft through internal auditing. The bank detected irregular activities in relat

May 12, 2022

Citibank Korea unveils strategic shift toward corporate banking

Citigroup’s Korean unit Citibank Korea unveiled its strategy to focus on corporate banking at a town hall meeting held last week in Seoul, the bank said Thursday. According to the bank, the new strategy aims to enhance corporate banking capabilities, increase synergy among its core businesses, and protect customers during the wind-down process of its retail banking divisions. The bank said last October that it will shut down its consumer banking units and focus more on its corporate custo

May 12, 2022

Seoul shares open lower amid inflation woes

Seoul shares opened lower Thursday, taking a cue from overnight falls on Wall Street amid renewed worries over the Federal Reserve's tougher monetary tightening. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 27.51 points, or 1.06 percent, to 2,564.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI had lost ground for the seven straight sessions until Wednesday as investors worried the Fed will deliver a series of big-step rate hikes in the months to come to tame high-flying inflation. Overnig

May 12, 2022

Listed firms' operating profit forecast to gain 9.6% this year

Non-financial listed companies in South Korea will likely see their total operating income expand nearly 10 percent this year on rising sales, a local brokerage house said Wednesday. In its latest report, Hanwha Investment & Securities Co. forecast the combined operating income of those firms listed on the main stock market to grow 9.6 percent on-year to 208 trillion won ($163 billion) this year. Hanwha Investment & Securities based its rosy outlook on major companies' strong performance

May 11, 2022

Seoul shares open tad lower on recession woes

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Wednesday as concerns over high inflation and a global economic downturn continued to weigh down the market. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 3.61 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,592.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The market had fallen for six days in a row until Tuesday, hitting a 17-month low. Overnight, US shares ended mixed on fears over an economic slowdown and the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening to curb infl

May 11, 2022

Kospi dips below 2,600 amid stagflation fears

The benchmark Kospi hit a 17-month low on Tuesday on persistent market concerns over runaway inflation and sluggish growth despite President Yoon Suk-yeol’s optimistic economic outlook at his inauguration. The Kospi closed at 2596.56, the lowest level since Nov. 30, 2020, when it reached 2,591.34. Global efforts to tighten monetary policy, which the US kicked off last week with its biggest rate hike in 22 years to set the range between 0.75 percent and 1 percent, unsettled investors. A f

May 10, 2022

Seoul shares extend losing streak to 6th session on recession woes; Korean won hits over 2-yr low

The South Korean stock market fell for the sixth consecutive day Tuesday to hit a 17-month low, as investors fretted about high inflation and a global economic slowdown amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and China's lockdown of major cities over COVID-19. The local currency hit its lowest point against the US dollar in more than two years. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 14.25 points, or 0.55 percent, to close at 2,596.56, extending losses to the sixth session in a row. It is

May 10, 2022

Stolen W61b paid back by government to Iran’s Dayyani

South Korea’s financial authorities recently returned over 61.4 billion won ($48.84 million) owed to Iran’s Dayyani Group, the amount that was stolen in an embezzlement scheme here between late 2012 and 2018, sources said Tuesday. The policymaking Financial Services Commission has returned most of the total 73 billion won owed to Dayyani’s consumer electronics arm, Entekhab, as compensation over the Iranian business’ failed takeover of Daewoo Electronics back in 2010.

May 10, 2022

S. Korea's bond issuance drops in April on US tapering

Bond issuance in South Korea decreased in April from the previous month due to concerns about the US-led tapering, industry data showed Tuesday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 69.8 trillion won ($54.6 billion) in April, down 900 billion won from a month ago, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The KOFIA attributed the issuance fall to the US Federal Reserve's hawkish signal to raise the policy interest rates to rein in the high

May 10, 2022

Seoul shares open sharply lower on inflation, recession woes

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Tuesday, tracking an overnight crash on Wall Street, on concerns over high inflation and a global economic downturn. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 46.77 points, or 1.79 percent, to 2,564.04 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares tumbled as investors remained worried about inflation and the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening, which would slow the economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 1.99 percent

May 10, 2022

Seoul shares open lower on recession woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday on concerns over a global economic downturn amid high inflation and the prolonged shutdown of major Chinese cities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 5.32 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,639.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday, US shares fell as investors were worried about the Federal Reserve's belt-tightening to curb inflation and the subsequent impact on the economic growth. The Dow Jones Industri

May 9, 2022

Shinhan chief, UK minister discuss climate efforts in financial sector

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byeong met with the UK Environment Minister Zac Goldsmith and British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks to discuss the role of the finance sector in combating climate change and biodiversity loss, the firm said Sunday. In the meeting held Friday, Goldsmith was briefed on Shinhan’s Zero-Carbon Drive, which includes the banking group’s goal to reduce carbon emissions by 46 percent in 2030 and 88 percent in 2040 in line with the landmark 2016 P

May 8, 2022

Seoul shares open sharply lower after Fed's rate hike

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Friday, as investors fret over an economic downturn after the US Federal Reserve raised the interest rate to tame high inflation. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 34.89 points, or 1.3 percent, to 2,642.68 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Fed hiked the short-term rate by the widely expected 0.5 percentage point in its policy meeting Wednesday (US time). Shares in Seoul declined across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electro

May 6, 2022

Number of teens holding Samsung Electronics shares hits record high

The number of South Koreans who are 19 and below and hold shares in Samsung Electronics reached 358,257 in December last year, a record high, according to the Korea Securities Depository. That number accounts for 7.07 percent of all shareholders and 0.25 percent of the total shares the tech giant has issued. The shares the teenagers held at the time amounted to 1.1 trillion won ($891 million), which is equal to 971 billion at Tuesday’s closing share price. The rise in the number of teen

May 4, 2022

Fractional investment in K-pop, art trending among young S. Koreans

Low borrowing cost during the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed millennials and Generation Z in South Korea to invest in stocks and cryptocurrencies. It was then that fractional investment platforms began to catch the eyes of the young investors, luring them with trendy items and the idea they could profit off of their pocket money. Musicow, the nation’s first music copyright trading platform that has amassed more than 1 million users as of February has become a major fractional investment pl

May 4, 2022

Foreign reserves down in April for 2nd month on strong dollar

South Korea's foreign reserves shrank for the second straight month in April as the strong dollar resulted in a fall in converted value of non-dollar holdings and the government unloaded the greenback to defend the local currency, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's foreign reserves stood at $449.3 billion as of end-April, down $8.51 billion from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the second straight month of on-month declines

May 4, 2022