SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s retail investors are increasingly positioning themselves against rising oil prices and a surging stock market, even as geopolitical tensions and earnings momentum continue to push both higher. Data from the Korea Exchange show that individual investors have poured money this month into inverse exchange-traded notes and funds tied [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Household lending by South Korean banks declined in December for the first time in nearly a year, signaling the early impact of tighter government controls aimed at cooling an overheated housing market in the Seoul metropolitan area. Outstanding household loans at banks totaled 1,173.6 trillion won ($795 billion) at the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – A majority of affluent retail investors in South Korea expect stock markets at home and abroad to extend their gains this year, with artificial intelligence and robotics emerging as the most favored investment themes, according to a new survey by Mirae Asset Securities. In a poll conducted by the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – The Korea Exchange (KRX) has submitted plans to extend stock trading hours to nearly 12 hours from as early as June and is preparing to gather opinions from its members, industry sources said Tuesday. Under the plan submitted to the Financial Service Commission (FSC) on Monday, the KRX seeks [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – The country’s financial regulator said Tuesday that local insurers will have to maintain an enhanced capital ratio requirement starting in 2027, a move to beef up their capital quality. Under the measures unveiled by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the ratio of core capital to required capital will be [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – Around 40 percent of South Korean manufacturers expect economic conditions to deteriorate this year amid increased volatility in the foreign exchange (FX) market, a poll showed Tuesday. According to the poll conducted recently by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on 2,208 manufacturing firms, a total of [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul will roll out a new data-driven platform this week that allows residents, entrepreneurs and policymakers to track the city’s economic pulse in unprecedented detail, city officials said on Monday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will launch an online “Economic Dashboard” on the Seoul Data Hub starting Jan. [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea posted its largest-ever current account surplus for any November, supported by strong exports amid an upcycle in the semiconductor industry, central bank data showed Friday. The country’s current account surplus totaled US$12.24 billion in November, up sharply from $6.81 billion a month earlier, according to the data [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s campaign to boost corporate value is reshaping the stock market, with companies sharply increasing share buybacks, cancellations and dividends, helping narrow the long-standing valuation gap known as the “Korea discount,” the country’s main exchange said on Thursday. The Korea Exchange said that in 2025—the second year of its [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s economy is showing tentative signs of recovery, buoyed by firmer consumer spending and resilient exports, even as deepening weakness in construction continues to weigh on overall growth, a state-run research institute said Thursday. In its latest monthly assessment, the Korea Development Institute said gains in private consumption [...]