SEOUL, July 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s economy is widely expected to suffer its first annual contraction in over a decade this year but may expand, depending on how swiftly and effectively the government implements its budget spending and how quickly the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control, a think tank said Sunday. “Considering [...]
SEOUL, July 2 (Korea Bizwire) — SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., the largest initial public offering (IPO) of the year so far, made a strong market debut Thursday, finishing at more than two times the IPO price. The unit of South Korean conglomerate SK Group closed at 127,000 won (US$105), rising by a daily permissible limit [...]
SEOUL, July 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Major banks in South Korea saw their time deposits decline from a month earlier in June, while their money market deposits jumped sharply, apparently suggesting more people were hoping to invest their money amid record low interest rates but were unable to do so amid a coronavirus-caused slump, data [...]
SEOUL, June 29 (Korea Bizwire) — The new coronavirus pandemic will likely have a lasting effect on various ways of life, such as where and how people shop, possibly leading to permanent changes in the global economy and trade, a central bank report suggested Monday. Some of the changes may be for the better for [...]
SEOUL, June 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Investment funds in South Korea are suffering from a large outflow of cash in a sharp contrast to rising direct investment by individuals, financial industry data showed Sunday. Some 1,863 investment funds had 86.5 trillion won (US$71.8 billion) in assets under management as of Thursday, down 12.97 trillion won [...]
SEOUL, June 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Newly listed stocks enjoyed substantial gains in the first half this year, fueling an investor rush amid volatile market trends, data showed Sunday. A total of 12 companies made debuts on the main KOSPI and the tech-laden KOSDAQ markets, nine of which far exceeded their IPO prices, according to [...]
SEOUL, June 21 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s household debt to the gross domestic product grew at the fastest pace among 43 countries in the world last year, leading the country’s overall private-sector debt to also expand at one of the biggest rates, data showed Sunday. The ratio of the country’s household debt to GDP [...]
SEOUL, June 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The Bank of Korea (BOK) on Monday launched a legal advisory group for central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC) to help review legal issues related to its possible issuance of such a currency in the future. The six-member panel consists of law professors and legal practitioners, including lawyers, who will [...]
SEOUL, June 14 (Korea Bizwire) — U.S. dollar-denominated deposits at South Korean banks have risen nearly 30 percent since February as investors have chased after safer assets amid the new coronavirus outbreak, industry data showed Sunday. Outstanding dollar deposits at five local banks reached US$47 billion as of Thursday, up 28 percent from $36.6 billion [...]
SEOUL, June 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Dividend payouts by listed firms in South Korea dropped in March from a year ago amid coronavirus uncertainties, with the upcoming June interim payouts also expected to decline, data showed Sunday. A total of 18 listed companies paid a combined 2.68 trillion won (US$2.23 billion) to their shareholders for [...]