The South Korean stock market nosedived on the first trading session after the Lunar New Year holiday Thursday, battered by concerns over the gloomy global economy and geopolitical risks stemmed from North Korea’s long-range rocket launch. An electronic board behind the statues of a bear and bull, the symbols of the fall and rise of stocks, installed inside Korea Exchange in Seoul, shows a plunge in the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indexes Thursday, as they were affected by a sharp fall in global stock mark

Feb. 11, 2016

South Korea ranked top among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries in terms of research and development spending as a proportion of gross domestic product, a report showed Thursday.According to the OECD report on the global state of science, technology and industry, Korea has superseded Israel as the world’s most R&D intensive country, spending 4.29 percent of GDP for this purpose in 2014. OECD countries spent an average of 2.37 percent of their GDP, the same level

Feb. 11, 2016

The government’s 21 trillion won ($17.4 billion) fiscal stimulus for the first quarter of the year will be insufficient to offset the growing downside pressure on the economy, analysts said Thursday.  Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho speaks at a meeting with economy-related ministers in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)Following a spate of disappointing economic data, the government unveiled Wednesday a new stimulus package which includes an extra 6 trillion won in public spending on top of the original 13

Feb. 4, 2016

Consumer confidence has slipped in January to a six-month low as households fretted about the economic outlook on the back of China’s slowdown and stock market tumble.The composite consumer sentiment index for January came to 100, compared with 102 the previous month, according to the data released by the Bank of Korea on Wednesday.(Yonhap)“Consumers view on their financial situation got worsened as recent oil price drop and China’s sluggish economy weighed on their outlook for the country’s eco

Jan. 27, 2016

The fourth-quarter reporting season kicked off Tuesday amid low expectations as Korea’s listed firms continue to suffer from sluggish exports and a global slowdown.This week, some 32 companies listed on the main KOSPI bourse are planning to report their results for the October-December period in 2015.Analysts have been constantly revising down their outlook amid a series of weak quarterly performance reports by major Korean companies despite their efforts to restructure operations throughout las

Jan. 26, 2016

The Korea Herald  publishes a series of articles looking at the performance of various sectors on Korea’s main bourse KOSPI. The following is the first installment. -- Ed.The Korean cosmetics industry will continue to be a bright spot for investors as companies continue to expand overseas beyond the Asian market with strong sales of skin care products at duty-free shops abroad expected to underpin strong growth, analysts said. Customers cram a duty-free store located at Lotte World Tower in Jams

Jan. 18, 2016

India’s largest lender started operations of its first branch in Korea on Wednesday, as trade between the two Asian economies flourishes.B. Sriram, managing director of State Bank of India, speaks during a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday.“SBI Seoul branch will supplement existing channels of financial intermediation between India and Korea, partnering growth in bilateral trade between the two countries and also the flow of investments from one to the other,” B. Sriram, managing director o

Jan. 13, 2016

South Korea’s private sector debt reached a record high in proportion to its gross domestic product at nearly double the national economic output in the third quarter this year, data from the Bank of Korea showed Monday. Loans extended to households and private companies stood at a record 182.6 percent of the country’s GDP at the end of September, hitting the highest level in the country’s history, the data noted. The country’s private debt-to-GDP ratio remained under 180 percent through the fir

Dec. 28, 2015