SEOUL, July 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid soaring prices, Koreans are buying lunchboxes at convenience stores or making their own lunches to save money as a so-called ‘lunchflation’ phenomenon takes hold. “I can save 3,000 to 5,000 won (US$2.31-3.85) each time I make a lunchbox,” said a 28-year-old office worker surnamed Shin. “I’m worried that [...]
SEOUL, June 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s overseas direct investment more than doubled on-year in the first quarter of this year amid an economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the finance ministry said Friday. The value of investments made overseas by South Korean companies reached US$25.4 billion in the January-March period, up from $11.34 [...]
SEOUL, June 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea had the highest household debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio among 36 major economies in the first quarter, a global finance report said Monday. The country’s household debt-to-GDP ratio came to 104.3 percent in the January-March period, followed by Lebanon with 97.8 percent, Hong Kong with 95.3 percent, [...]
SEOUL, May 25 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s overseas financial assets soared to an all-time high in the first quarter of this year on the back of the growth in foreign direct investment, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country’s external financial assets came to $2.19 trillion as of end-March, up $10.9 billion from three [...]
SEOUL, May 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s central bank is likely to deliver a back-to-back key interest rate rise in May as part of its efforts to rein in inflation, a major local brokerage house said Friday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its policy rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.5 percent [...]
SEOUL, May 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s central bank is expected to hike its key interest rate four more times by year’s end considering its hawkish stance shown in the minutes of its latest rate-setting meeting, global investment bank JP Morgan said Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Bank of Korea (BOK) disclosed the minutes of [...]
SEOUL, April 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s plan to lift almost all COVID-19 social distancing rules is expected to help spur private spending, but its recovery may not be robust as growing inflationary pressure could undercut domestic demand, experts said Sunday. Starting Monday, the country will remove all virus restrictions, except the mask mandate, [...]
SEOUL, April 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges to South Korea jumped 14.9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier to reach the highest first-quarter figure ever, data showed Thursday. The country received US$5.45 billion worth of FDI commitments in the January-March period, compared with $4.74 billion logged a year [...]
SEOUL, March 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s overseas direct investment hit a record high last year as the global economy recovered from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The value of investments made by South Korean companies reached US$75.87 billion last year, up 32.8 percent from a year earlier, according to [...]
SEOUL, March 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Trade volume of goods between South Korea and the United States grew nearly 70 percent, and bilateral investment more than doubled over the past decade since their free trade agreement, Seoul’s industry ministry said Friday. The Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) marked its 10th anniversary this month, as [...]