SEJONG, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s latest euro-denominated foreign exchange stabilization bond (FESB) offering in London has garnered record-breaking demand, signaling strong global investor confidence in the country’s fiscal and economic outlook under its newly inaugurated administration. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the €1.4 billion issuance on June 26 attracted [...]
SEOUL, July 3 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s National Assembly on Thursday passed a revised Commercial Act aimed at strengthening minority shareholder rights, a move welcomed by financial markets as a potential catalyst for resolving the longstanding “Korea Discount” that has weighed on domestic stock valuations. The legislation, which had previously been vetoed under the [...]
SEOUL, July 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stocks rose for a second straight session Tuesday as investors welcomed signs of progress in trade talks over the United States’ tariff scheme and were keen on a potential revision of a shareholders-friendly law. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock [...]
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Financially troubled MG Non-Life Insurance Co. may be put back on the selling block after the country’s financial regulator and the company’s labor union tentatively agreed on the matter, industry sources said Monday. In May this year, the Financial Services Commission said it has decided to liquidate MG Non-Life [...]
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean central bank on Monday lifted restrictions on local institutions investing in foreign currency-denominated bonds issued for domestic use, known as kimchi bonds, in an effort to improve foreign exchange liquidity, officials said. Under the new measure, foreign exchange institutions, including foreign exchange banks, securities firms and [...]
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — As smartphones and online platforms become the dominant gateway to financial services, a new academic study has found that digital transaction literacy is the most crucial skill for sound personal financial management—outweighing traditional financial knowledge or attitudes. According to research by Professor Yang Se-jung’s team at Sangmyung University, published [...]
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The Bank of Korea (BOK) has put the second phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot program on hold, signaling mounting pressure from commercial banks and a shifting digital finance landscape increasingly shaped by stablecoin developments. The abrupt pause, disclosed in a virtual meeting with participating banks [...]
SEOUL, June 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stocks fell for the second-straight session Friday as investors continued to cash in recent gains. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 23.62 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 3,055.94. Trade volume was moderate at 377.4 [...]
SEOUL, June 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The financial authorities’ latest measures to restrict ballooning household debt are expected to help cool down the overheated housing market in Seoul’s sought-out areas, experts said Friday. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced earlier in the day that all local lenders will be forced to sharply lower their household [...]
SEOUL, June 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s central bank said Thursday it will sell up to 7.2 trillion won (US$5.31 billion) worth of monetary stabilization bonds (MSBs) in July. The planned issuance represents a 600 billion-won increase from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). As policy tools devised to absorb [...]