SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea said Thursday it will soon introduce a new early warning system for potential risks from the nation’s massive household debt, especially as interest rates here may soon start an upward trend. Household debt totaled 1,295.8 trillion won (US$1.1 trillion) as of the end of September, up 3 [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean shares of cosmetics and entertainment companies closed lower on Monday amid concerns over Chinese state-sanctioned retaliatory measures against Korea’s deployment of an American THAAD battery. Big-name K-pop producers, including SM (-8.16 percent), YG (-6.9), and JYP Entertainment (-2.79); film distributors and producers such as Showbox (-14.57) and [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – The Bank of Korea base rate dropped in June to a record low 1.25 percent. Commercial institutions followed suit, adjusting their interest rates. And as of September, no banks offered time deposit accounts with 2 percent or higher interest rates. Saving in Korea is no longer a lucrative business. [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean shares plunged Wednesday as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won the White House. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 45.00 points, or 2.25 percent, to 1,958.38. The index fell to an intraday low of 1.931.07 during the [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea said Friday it will strengthen partnerships with Silicon Valley on financial technology, called fintech. The Fintech Center of Korea signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with two high-profile organizations — 500 Startups and Silicon Valley Forum — for the initiative on the sidelines of a South Korean Fintech [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — The National Pension Fund (NPF), South Korea’s largest institutional investor, is expected to inject some 1 trillion won (US$870.5 million) into the stock market this month, financial sources said Thursday, a welcome booster to the market in need of positive energy. According to the sources, the pension operator is [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Growing household debt and a looming U.S. rate hike are two major systemic risks facing South Korea’s financial system, a survey showed Thursday. The household debt issue topped the list of key systemic risks cited by market watchers at 70 percent, compared with 54 percent in April, according to [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung BioLogics, a biopharmaceutical unit of Samsung Group, and Doosan Bobcat Co., an affiliate of power equipment conglomerate Doosan Group, are set to make their market debuts this month, which some analysts say may help the local stock market recover from a recent market turmoil. Last week, Samsung BioLogics, [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – The latest report from the Korea Capital Market Institute (KCMI) revealed that the Q2 2016 balance of overseas stock investment by domestic residents was $159.3 billion, an almost four-fold increase since Q1 2009, shortly after the 2008 financial crisis. According to the institute, the trend was largely driven by [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of employees in the financial sector has declined in 16 consecutive months, mainly driven by the fast expanding usage of FinTech, lowering demand for conventional employees such as bank tellers. According to a recent report from the Ministry of Employment & Labor, the number of employees in [...]