In continued efforts to combat the prolonged coronavirus outbreak, the Bank of Korea will reportedly operate its own video conferencing platform in mid-September and hold its monetary policy board meetings online if the current anti-virus steps are raised to the highest Level 3, officials said Monday.  “The BOK has decided to implement its own video conferencing system in all regional headquarters as early as in the middle of this month after completing system optimization process

Market Sept. 7, 2020

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday it has assigned a budget of 170 billion won ($142.8 million) for 2021 to develop a homegrown vaccine against the novel coronavirus. Designed to support local companies’ research and development of the COVID-19 vaccine, the government will inject 31.9 billion won into clinical trials of candidate materials for the drug and 7.4 billion won for non-human clinical trials, the ministry said.  Also,131.4 billion won will be spent on a seri

Economy Sept. 4, 2020

South Korea on Friday said it will implement a second round of state emergency relief funds targeted at small business operators and beleaguered families most affected by an explosive surge in COVID-19 cases. “Discussions are underway to identify the most damaged small business sectors. (The government) plans to announce a comprehensive plan for the second round of emergency relief grants as early as next week,” Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said Friday in an interview with

Economy Sept. 4, 2020

Citibank Korea said Thursday it has conducted diverse social contribution programs to help the community cushion the impact of the prolonged coronavirus outbreak. The bank held a series of job mentoring sessions dubbed “Over the Lan Job Talk” last month, whereby its employees gave lectures on job positions at the company as well as required skills through a video conferencing platform. The programs are designed to encourage young job seekers hit hard by sluggish job market, the ba

Market Sept. 3, 2020

South Korea’s major banks saw their credit loan balance rise by more than 4 trillion won ($3.37 billion) on-month in August, data showed Wednesday, due to persisting ultra-low interest rates, as well as side effects from new loan regulations.  Outstanding personal loans extended to individuals by the nation’s five major lenders -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana and NH NongHyup -- stood at nearly 124.27 trillion won last month, up 4.76 trillion won from a month earlier. This

Market Sept. 2, 2020

President Moon Jae-in will meet with top executives of Korea’s five major banking giants on Thursday to discuss measures to promote the government’s social infrastructure investment scheme, dubbed the “New Deal fund,” industry sources said Tuesday. Set up to support the Korean version of the “New Deal” initiative unveiled in July, the envisioned fund will mainly finance digitalization of national infrastructure and provide at least a 3 percent rate of retur

Market Sept. 1, 2020

JB Financial Group said Monday it has launched a brokerage unit through its newly acquired Morgan Stanley Gateway Securities, a midsized brokerage firm headquartered in Hanoi, Vietnam. It has changed the company name to JB Securities Vietnam as part of a move to officially start operations, the group added.  Earlier in April, the banking group paid for its 100 percent stake in MSGS -- previously owned by global investment bank Morgan Stanley -- and recently received final approval from

Market Aug. 31, 2020

Strengthened rules on social distancing imposed in an utmost effort to curb the resurgence of COVID-19 may drag down South Korea’s real economy, including private consumption, industrial output and employment, experts said Sunday.  As cluster infections are tied to enclosed areas such as coffeehouses, restaurants and indoor fitness centers, the government has decided to extend the current Level 2 social distancing for one more week until Sept. 6 in Seoul and the surrounding area, w

Economy Aug. 30, 2020

Riding the rapid digital transformation trend in the financial sector triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, Citibank Korea said Sunday it will ramp up contactless wealth management services. The bank will hold a series of online seminars, titled “Citi Webinar On-Air,” in the second half of this year -- categorized into three sections. One of the programs, “Open Seminars” invites all clients every other week to its YouTube channel, where it will share its outlook on g

Market Aug. 23, 2020

In response to a deepening economic slump due to the recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases, South Korea on Thursday said it will keep providing financial lifelines for coronavirus-hit small business owners. “Due to a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, a growing number of small business owners are likely to be in need of cash despite the government’s initial support programs,” Kim Yong-beom, first vice minister of finance, said in a meeting with related officials held at

Economy Aug. 21, 2020

South Korea will share its 20-year economic development history of overcoming the middle-income trap, government officials said Thursday. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the World Bank Korea office and state-run Korea Development Institute will publish a collaborative research paper titled “Korea: Connecting Innovation and Technology to Development” early next year.  The move came as the World Bank Group has requested the Korean government to share its hist

Economy Aug. 20, 2020

South Korea’s major banks are expected to extend due dates on interest payments and loan installments worth more than 39 trillion won ($32.8 billion won) combined, in line with the government’s efforts to reduce the financial burden affecting coronavirus-battered citizens and businesses. According to data compiled by the country’s five key lenders -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup -- the combined amount of deferred interest and installments from early Febru

Market Aug. 18, 2020

Korean banks’ personal credit loans extended to individuals have continued to soar in August, as the government tightened mortgage loan regulations to stabilize the overheated housing market, data showed Monday. Outstanding balance of personal credit loans at five major lenders here -- KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, Woori Bank and NH Bank -- came to nearly 121 trillion won ($102 billion won) as of Thursday, up 1.28 trillion won from the previous month. Following the largest-

Market Aug. 17, 2020

Kakao founder Kim Beom-su snagged the No. 2 spot on the list of South Korea’s wealthiest businesspeople, with his stock assets rising by some 5 trillion won ($4.2 billion), industry data showed Monday. This puts him ahead of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, and second only to Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Kim, who currently holds a 14.51 percent stake in Kakao, saw the value of his stock assets surpass 9 trillion won as of Friday, up 136.16 percent from 3.84 trillio

Market Aug. 17, 2020

The combined net profit of South Korean banks for the first half of this year dipped 17.5 percent on-year due to increased loan-loss provisions amid the coronavirus pandemic, data released by the Financial Supervisory Service showed Thursday.  According to the financial watchdog, the combined net profit of local banks for the January-June period preliminarily came to 6.9 trillion won ($ 5.82 billion), down 1.5 trillion won from the same period last year. The decline in net income came a

Market Aug. 13, 2020