SEOUL, May 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund said Monday it has logged a cumulative US$14.7 billion in investment profit as of the end of last year following its establishment in 2005. Its overall return on investment reached 10 percent last year, while its annual return on investment in the past five [...]
SEOUL, May 7 (Korea Bizwire) — China became South Korea’s second-largest investment destination last year, relegating the European Union (EU) to the third spot, central bank data showed Thursday. South Korea’s external investment, which includes stocks and bonds, reached US$716.6 billion at the end of last year, up $95.5 billion from the previous year, according to [...]
SEOUL, May 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s monthly current account surplus rose to a four-month high in March, extending its surplus streak to a 37th straight month, data showed Monday. The current account surplus hit US$10.39 billion in March, nearly doubling from a $6.44 billion surplus in the previous month, according to the provisional data [...]
SEOUL, April 28 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s top central bank said Tuesday the country’s economic recovery is gaining momentum despite external risks but stressed that structural reform is necessary for long-term growth. Bank of Korea (BOK) data released last week showed that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.8 percent on-quarter in the first three [...]
“The most important policy task is to keep the recovery momentum. The government must take a more prominent role in solidifying growth. The government is keeping close tabs on economic developments and will come up with policy measures that can best meet the country’s needs.” “Pushing back the retirement age will put more financial burden [...]
SEOUL, Apr. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean companies’ revenues declined at a record annual pace in 2014 as the firmer local currency and weak oil prices worked to lower export prices and reduce overseas sales, central bank data showed Thursday. Combined sales at 1,536 listed firms and 195 non-listed key companies sank 1.5 percent [...]
“The rate cut and the expansion of the loan facility cap (for smaller firms) were based on the judgment that growth and inflation is likely to significantly underperform the expected course. We judged that there is a need to implement additional measures before forecasts are released in order to strengthen growth momentum and ultimately expand [...]
SEOUL, March 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean economy expanded 3.3 percent in 2014 as increased facility investments offset slowing growth in construction investment and exports, the central bank said Wednesday. The revised 2014 reading by the Bank of Korea (BOK) is on par with an earlier estimate of 3.3 percent released in January. It [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Upon the Bank of Korea’s decision to cut its base rate to a record low 1.75 percent on March 12, the Korean property market is expected to be injected with new vigor. Park Hap-Soo, chief of Kookmin Bank’s real estate department, said that the effect of the central bank’s rate cut [...]
SEOUL, March 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s central bank unexpectedly slashed the base rate to a record low of 1.75 percent on Thursday, putting efforts to shore up growth on top of concerns over persistent household debt growth. The rate cut is the first since October, when the Bank of Korea (BOK) brought down the [...]