CEO Ryu says brokerage will lead market on its strength in wealth management, risk controlKorea Investment & Securities is enhancing its private equity operations as the nation’s major brokerage seeks to get ahead in the burgeoning domestic hedge fund industry.Chief executive officer Ryu Sang-ho said the company will launch a hedge fund-style investment vehicle this month to bet local stocks and f

Leading processed food companies and franchises have upped their prices in the past week, adding to the already-high inflationary pressure.The industry-wide increase arrived following an almost 10 percent price hike by sugar manufacturers in December. The industry’s No. 4 DongA One said it will raise wholesale prices of flour by 8.6 percent starting Tuesday.Haiti Confectionary & Foods increased wh

More low-income class pushed to live in rented homes as ‘jeonse’ fees riseA growing number of homeowners are shifting from the uniquely Korean way of leasing property based on lump-sum deposits, called jeonse, in favor of a monthly rental system. Research showed on Monday the portion of tenants living on monthly rent doubled over the past 16 years, driven by low interest rates, falling home prices

French carmaker Citroen aims to sell up to 2,500 cars a year in Korea when it resumes imports of vehicles after a nine-year hiatus, Eric Dumondelle, chief of the company’s Asia Pacific division said Thursday. Introducing a series of models including DS3 models it will launch in the Korean market at the Seoul Motor Show 2011, Dumondelle said Citroen hopes to benefit from the Korea-EU Free Trade Agr

 President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that Warren Buffett's continued donations have inspired many Korean firms to rethink their social responsibility.   "(Your activity) has become a good example for companies in Korea and has aroused a lot of discussions on corporations' social responsibility," Lee said in a 45-minute meeting with the well-known American investor at the presidential office Cheong

State-run Korea National Oil Corp. has purchased a 23.67 percent stake in a U.S. oil field from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. for US$1.55 billion, the government said Monday.   The shale oil field in the Maverick Basin region in Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border is estimated to hold 491 million barrels of oil equivalent, said the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, adding that KNOC will secure 116 million B

Financial authorities foresee limited impact on stocks and foreign exchangesThe worst earthquake in Japanese history has increased fears of a dip in the South Korean market, which is already fragile because of Middle Eastern unrest and price volatility.A 9.0-magnitude quake slammed the country’s northeast coast on Friday, killing more than 10,000 people, sending tsunami fears across the Pacific, a

The Fair Trade Commission ruled on Thursday Hana Financial Group’s takeover of Korea Exchange Bank does not violate competition rules, bringing the nation’s fourth largest banking group a step closer to winning regulatory approval due next Wednesday.The watchdog notified the Financial Supervisory Commission that the planned purchase does not necessarily reduce competition in the industry as the nu

Korea’s biggest investor the National Pension Service said Thursday that it would stop placing stock and derivative orders with the Korean branch of Deutsche Bank AG for six months following the regulator’s six-month suspension of the local unit. The pension fund will not trade through the German brokerage “to limit exposure to institutions that received regulatory penalties, in order to reduce th

The Group of 20 major economies are likely to come up with different numerical current account targets for each member nation in April to correct global trade imbalances, said Sohn Byung-doo, director general of the newly established G20 bureau at the Finance Ministry.Updating on the G20 agenda, Sohn said the G20 is on its way to delivering optimum trade surplus and deficit targets that cater for

FTC to help Korean companies act within tighter U.S., EU regulationsThe Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday cautioned local companies over increasingly tougher anti-trust regulations and surveillance in Europe and the U.S. after Korean companies were slapped with billions of dollars in fines for collusion overseas. The regulator said it will step up efforts to help Korean companies to trade within th

China’s new drive for sustainable growth raised expectations of bigger opportunities for Korean exporters, with some advising more aggressive investment to target mainland consumers.Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on Saturday pledged to make the country’s growth more sustainable over the next five years with a lower GDP target of 7 percent, a sign Beijing intends to fight inflation and strengthe

Tax, customs and financial authorities plan to set up a joint task force to better crack down on offshore tax evasion, sources said Monday.The new body will be established within this year with officials from the National Tax Service, Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, they said.The government is seeking to strengthen its fight against tax offenders as a way of in

Major companies are devising plans to support their suppliers in line with a government-led campaign for “shared growth” between large and small firms.A range of companies are coming up with plans to help their smaller partners with financing, research and materials procurement despite a recent feud with the government over the profit sharing scheme. The push on big businesses to extend their prof

New regulations mean major stakeholders face fines if banks take too many lending risksThe financial regulator plans to add new clauses to regulations on savings banks to enhance supervision and punish large shareholders for risky behavior, sources said Sunday.The Financial Supervisory Commission is rewriting rules governing the country’s embattled savings banks suffering the result of their inves

BMW Korea, the South Korean unit of German automaker BMW Group, introduced a new BMW Mini in South Korea on Thursday, also bringing to Korea BMW Mini's first sport activity vehicle (SAV). BMW Korea introduces a new BMW Mini on Thursday. (Yonhap News)   The new BMW Mini Countryman series come in three trims thatinclude the first four-door, all-wheel drive Mini, the Cooper S All4.   All three versio

The Obama administration will soon present the pending free trade deal with South Korea to Congress for ratification, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday.   "I hope that that agreement will be submitted soon and acted on soon by the Congress," Clinton told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "I think it is very much in America's strategic and economic interests."President Barack Ob

A ratification motion for the free trade agreement between South Korea and the European Union will be presented to a parliamentary committee on Thursday for approval, lawmakers said.   The ruling Grand National Party aims to pass the Korea-EU FTA motion through the National Assembly Committee on Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification next Wednesday after two days of intensive discussion at its leg

Chasing their first Olympic medal on tracks, South Korean cyclists have recruited help of a former world champion French cyclist.   The Korea Cycling Federation announced Thursday that Frederic Magne will visit South Korea next Wednesday to discuss training regimens with local officials. Magne will also give a lecture in Seoul on the state of today's world cycling.  "Magne will provide strong supp

South Korea's industrial output grew for the 19th straight month in January, a strong indication that the national economy is continuing to expand, a government report showed Thursday.   According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining and manufacturing industries rose 13.7 percent last month from the same month a year earlier. The output has increased since July 2009.   Outpu