SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will extend trading hours of its foreign exchange market as part of its efforts to make Asia’s No. 4 economy a more attractive investment destination, the finance minister said Thursday. Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said the South Korean government will consider extending its foreign-exchange trading hours to [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Foreign investors turned net sellers of South Korean securities for the first time in three months in December amid high U.S. interest rates, central bank data showed Thursday. Their combined investment funds in local securities — stocks and bonds — came to a net outflow of US$2.42 billion last [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Household loans extended by banks in South Korea declined for the first time in 18 years last year, due mainly to higher borrowing costs, the central bank’s data showed Thursday. Banks’ outstanding household loans decreased by 2.6 trillion won (US$2.09 billion) to 1,058.1 trillion won, according to the data [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — The value of shares held by South Korea’s 33 major business group chiefs tumbled nearly 30 percent in 2022 amid a bearish stock market, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The business tycoons held stocks worth a combined 45.9 trillion won (US$35.9 billion) as of the end of December 2022, [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Banks’ rates charged on new household loans in November hit the highest level in over a decade, affected by the central bank’s aggressive rate increases to tame inflation, data showed Friday. Banks’ household lending rate applied to new loans last month stood at 5.57 percent per annum on average, [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stocks ended the year 2022 sharply down, marking the first annual loss in four years on global monetary tightening and economic recession woes. On Thursday, the last trading session of this year, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,236.40 points, down 1.93 percent [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of newcomers on the country’s tech-laden KOSDAQ market this year reached the highest ever since 2002, the bourse operator said Wednesday. A total of 129 firms made their debuts on the KOSDAQ market this year, the highest since 2002, when 153 companies were newly listed, according to [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean securities firms were found to be borrowing at low interest rates but issuing loans to customers at significantly higher rates, the country’s financial regulator said Tuesday. Brokerage firms had borrowed funds at an interest rate of 3.02 percent as of Sept. 29, but the interest rates for [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Five major South Korean banks have offered a voluntary retirement program to their 2,400 employees this year despite record profits amid higher interest rates, industry sources said Sunday. The voluntary retirement plans at the five lenders — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, and NH Nonghyup – are accelerating as [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreign investors remained net buyers of South Korean stocks for the second straight month in November amid expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will slow the pace of rate increases and China could ease strict coronavirus restrictions, central bank data showed Friday. Foreigners’ stock investment funds logged a net inflow [...]