Today   Money

Foreign banks report 11.8% rise in assets

The South Korean branches of foreign banks held a combined 305.2 trillion won ($250.9 billion) in assets last year, 11.8 percent increase from the previous year, mainly due to derivative products and securities, latest data showed Thursday. The increase was mainly attributable to their derivative product assets which rose by 14.3 trillion won, according to the Financial Supervisory Service in its report on 36 foreign banks here. Their securities and cash and deposits also increased by 7.7 trill

Today   Markets

Businesses brace for liquidity crisis by selling assets

Facing a looming liquidity crunch due to the coronavirus crisis, South Korean companies have sold off their assets, including real estate and equities, to keep enough cash in their vaults, according to the Korea Exchange on Thursday. From January to April 7, 29 companies sold a combined 1.5 trillion won ($1.23 billion) worth of tangible assets, compared to 481.6 billion won worth assets sold by 18 companies during the same period last year, the bourse operator said. Most of the asset sales we

Today   Economy

BOK freezes rates at record low, projects bleak economic outlook

South Korea has more room for monetary policy, says central bank chief

Today   Markets

Seoul stocks hike 1.6% on eased coronavirus woes

South Korean stocks rose more than 1 percent on Thursday on hopes that coronavirus infections around the globe are nearing a peak. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 29.07 points, or 1.61 percent, to 1,836.21. The main index tracked overnight gains on Wall Street. US stocks soared amid the possibility that the coronavirus death toll and infections in the United States could peak this week, Huh Jae-hwan, a strategist at Eugen

Today   Economy

Commercial paper sales jump 34% in March

Sales of commercial papers (CP) in South Korea surged more than 34 percent on-month in March as brokerages rushed to secure cash to brace for the fallout from the novel coronavirus outbreak, data showed Thursday. The country's CP issuance came to 21.2 trillion won ($17.4 billion) last month, up 34.2 percent from the previous month's 15.8 trillion won, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. Securities companies led the sharp increase in March sales of CP, a short-term debt

Today   Money

Togo Comm. to hire new employees through online interviews

Togo Communication, a local PR agency based in Seoul, will hire new employees by conducting video interviews online as part of efforts to participate in nationwide campaign to contain COVID-19 virus, the company said Thursday. The agency will continue so-called “untact” job interviews with applicants for internships and accountant executive posts, until the government declares an end of the pandemic. “Even though we face the danger of COVID-19, we decided to conduct untact j

Today   Economy

Tourism sector reels from new coronavirus outbreak in February: data

South Korea's tourism industry took a big hit from the novel coronavirus in February due to a reduction in both inbound and outbound tourism, industry data showed Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy registered a tourism deficit of $365.2 million in February, down from $927.6 million the previous month, according to the data from the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute. February's deficit, however, is the lowest in 10 months as the range of decrease in spending by outbound travelers was bi

Today   Economy

BOK stands pat at record low after emergency rate cut to battle coronavirus

The Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday kept its policy rate frozen at an all-time low of 0.75 percent, citing the need to see the effect of steps already taken, but painted a grim growth outlook, forecasting "considerably" slower growth than earlier expected. "Gross domestic product growth is projected to fall considerably below the February forecast of 2.1 percent, and uncertainties around the future path of GDP growth are also judged to be very high," the BOK said in its mon

Today   Markets

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid optimism that coronavirus infections around the globe are nearing a peak. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 29.59 points, or 1.64 percent, to 1,836.73 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The main index tracked overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 3.4 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 2.6 percent. US stocks soared amid the

Today   Economy

S. Korea may suffer job losses amid pandemic: finance minister

South Korea's job creation may suffer a decline, as the coronavirus pandemic has strained the country's economy and business activities, the nation's chief economic policymaker said Thursday. "There is a possibility that unemployment may increase among part-time workers or small business owners," Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said during a meeting with economy-related ministers. "The number of applicants for unemployment allowances is estimated to have increased in March from a

Today   Economy

South Korea’s best method of tracking COVID-19 spread: credit card transactions

Major payment methods here likely to ignite concerns over state’s intervention into private records versus public safety

Apr 8, 2020   Markets

Brokerages on alert as overseas real estate investments suffer losses

South Korean brokerages are on high alert as funds related to foreign real estate -- and their direct investment in property ownership abroad -- are likely to suffer losses in the novel coronavirus pandemic situation, according to industry sources on Wednesday. As the current crisis sends property values tumbling with market chaos in major countries, the S&P Global REIT index plummeted 31.87 percent from the beginning of the year to Monday, while the S&P 500 plunged 17.55 percent in th

Apr 8, 2020   Economy

S. Korea unveils another massive stimulus package against coronavirus

South Korea has unveiled an additional economic relief package worth 53.7 trillion won ($44 billion) in its continued struggle to boost the domestic market and export industries amid the fallout of COVID-19. Of the newly added amount, 36 trillion won will be allocated to trade finance, expanding the insurance and guarantee caps, while 17.7 trillion won will be used to stimulate local consumption. “The global economy is sinking into a severe recession and our export-dependent economy

Apr 8, 2020   Markets

Individual investors bet on oil price recovery

With oil prices sinking, individual investors in South Korea are increasingly opting for investments linked to oil prices, according to the Korea Exchange on Wednesday. The stock market operator noted that the combined value of 10 oil-linked exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded notes that individuals bought last month jumped more than ninefold from the previous month to reach 1.42 trillion won ($1.16 billion). Kodex WTI Crude Oil Futures ETFs, in particular, attracted 421.4 billion wo