Forum in Busan to discuss how to supervise accounting firmsGlobal audit regulators are likely to map out new standards in oversight of accounting firms during their scheduled gathering in Korea this month.The 11th plenary meeting of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators is slated for April 16-18 in the nation’s second-largest city of Busan.For the local industry, the Financial Supervisory Service of Korea stressed the significance of the meeting in terms of advanced countries’

April 8, 2012

KDB Financial Group said Friday that it will conduct due diligence on HSBC Korea for about a month, starting next week, to take over their 11 retail branches.Under an agreement between the two sides, any either have the right to nullify the provisional deal according to the inspection results, state-run KDB officials said.“The two sides will make public the provisional agreement possibly early next week. But either side is entitled to scrap the deal as the agreement will be nonbinding,” a KDB sp

April 6, 2012

Monthly sales of import automobiles hit an all-time high of 10,648 units in March, while Korean carmakers such as Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors suffered lackluster sales at home.According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, foreign carmakers saw their combined sales grow by 3.5 percent from a year earlier and 15.8 percent from a month before.The former monthly record was 10,290 units, posted in March 2011.For the first quarter of 2012, their sales increased by 13.9 perce

Mobility April 4, 2012

The Financial Supervisory Service classified 34 of the country’s business groups as heavily indebted for this year.The groups, including Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Group, will be put under scrutiny by their respective creditor banks.Creditor banks are required to evaluate the financial status of the 34 business groups and seek restructuring if they fail to meet certain requirements, the FSS said in a statement.The five most-indebted business groups are Hyundai Motor, Samsung, SK, LG and Hyu

April 4, 2012

Life insurance firms’ overseas branches saw their net losses snowball last year due to huge cost in operating businesses in foreign countries.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, eight overseas units of three major life insurance companies ― Samsung, Korea and Kyobo ― reported a combined net loss of $16 million (18.2 billion won) in 2011.Their losses increased by 22 percent compared to the figure of 2010, the FSS said.“Though the profit from collecting insurance premiums increased by

April 3, 2012

Four out of the five major automakers suffered a year-on-year drop in sales in the local market in the first quarter of 2012 amid sluggish private consumption.Hyundai Motor saw its sales at home post 154,855 units in the first quarter, down 7.1 percent from 166,749 units over the same period in 2011.For March sales, the nation’s largest automaker reported a 9.5 percent drop with 56,022 units at home, compared with 61,932 units a year earlier.By contrast, its exports, including production at over

Mobility April 2, 2012

GDP growth records 3.6 percent in 2011, thriving exports offset lackluster consumptionKorea’s per capita gross national income is estimated to have surpassed $30,000 (34.2 million won) for the first time in history last year when the actual purchasing power of the population is reflected.The Bank of Korea said Friday that the per capita GNI posted $22,489 in 2011, inching up 1.5 percent from a year earlier.But per capita GNI adjusted for purchasing power parity, or the average buying power, is e

March 30, 2012

Export-Import Bank of Korea will extend loans for several development projects pushed by the Vietnamese government.The loans totaling $58 million will be offered to Vietnam via the Economic Development Cooperation Fund, set up by the Korean government in 1987, according to the state-run bank.Korea Eximbank chairman and president Kim Yong-hwan signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnamese Finance Minister Vuong Dinh Hue on the development funds in Seoul on Thursday.“The projects include pr

March 29, 2012

Financial firms seek to diversify profit amid control of banks’ loansThe nation’s four major financial groups are revitalizing their competition to expand non-banking businesses to overcome the saturated banking industry.Though chiefs of the groups ― KB, Woori, Shinhan and Hana ― had vowed to enhance the non-banking sector, the ratio of their dependency upon the banking business is still high.The ratio of banking business accounts for more than 80 percent of the total, far surpassing the three m

March 29, 2012