Korean stocks ended 1.37 percent higher on Tuesday as institutional investors scooped up carmakers and financial shares, overshadowing concerns over the eurzone debt crisis, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 28.09 points to 2,076.83, the second straight session of gains.Trading volume was light at 207 million shar

Korea posted a record current account surplus with China in 2010 as exports to the world’s fastest-growing economy hit an all-time high, the central bank said Tuesday.Korea’s current account surplus with China reached $52.8 billion last year, compared with a $37.9 billion surplus in 2009, according to the Bank of Korea.It marked the largest surplus since 1998 when the BOK began to compile related

 

Korea plans to beef up efforts to curb the growth of household debt and mend the practice of extending home loans in a bid to prevent household indebtedness from increasing market instability, the financial watchdog said Tuesday. Korea’s household debt stood at 801.4 trillion won ($738.2 billion) as of the end of March, accounting for 86 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. The number

Korea is stepping up efforts to ferret out people and businesses engaged in offshore tax evasion schemes by directly investigating foreign financial accounts, the tax office said Monday.The National Tax Service said it will carry out the investigations in cooperation with tax authorities in foreign countries that have been cited for becoming tax havens for Korean nationals and companies. Individua

Korea needs to boost market competition further in order to fight high inflation, the biggest headache for the economy, the top economic policymaker said Monday.The remarks by Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan come as South Korea is struggling with high inflation. The country’s consumer prices surged 4.1 percent on-year in May, hovering above the 4 percent level for five months running and well above

Hyundai Motor Co., Korea’s top automaker, has become a full member of an industry lobby of European carmakers, a move which company officials said would help boost Hyundai’s image and sales in the region.Hyundai announced Friday that the company became the 17th member of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, better known as the ACEA. A sales employee (left) explains car specification

Standard & Poor’s revised its rating outlook for Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp. and Hyundai Mobis Co. to positive from stable, the ratings company said in a statement Tuesday.“The positive outlooks reflect our view that the four companies will continue to enhance their financial profiles, through stronger market positions and improved profitability.” The outlook revision came as Hyundai and K

The head of Groupon Inc. said Tuesday that the operator of the world’s largest daily discount website is seeking to enter overseas markets to further grow its business outside the United States.Groupon has expanded its business into 46 countries less than three years after its launch as the business model of linking local merchants with customers through half-priced deals turned out to be popular.

Korea’s exports of information technology products gained 4.7 percent on-year in May on steady global demand for mobile phones and rechargeable batteries, the government said Tuesday.The country shipped $13.38 billion worth of IT products abroad last month, despite stiff foreign competition and a general drop in demand caused by fewer people buying electronic products in springtime, the Ministry o

Korean stocks closed 0.65 percent lower on Tuesday as oil refiners and auto companies tumbled on economic slowdown fears and concerns over oil price falls, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI skidded 13.76 points to 2,099.71, extending its losing run to a fourth straight session. Trading volume was light at 243.8 million shares, worth 6.1 trill

Korea’s central bank may leave the key rate unchanged for the third straight month for June in the face of lingering economic uncertainty, including the eurozone debt woes, a poll showed Tuesday.Nine out of 15 economists forecast that the Bank of Korea will freeze the benchmark seven-day repo rate at 3 percent on Friday, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap N

Korean stocks are expected to continue their upward trend this week on a series of events that may keep market sentiments afloat, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed this week at 2,113.47, up 0.63 percent from a week earlier.The KOSPI lost ground at the beginning of last week, dipping to 2,093.79 on program and foreign sell-offs. The index rebounded to the 2,100 le

Korea’s food and agricultural exports surged 34.3 percent on-year in the first five months of 2011 mainly due to a rise in demand from Japan and other Asian countries, the government said Monday.The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said outbound shipments reached $2.82 billion in the cited period, fueled by solid overseas demand for such goods as ginseng, processed food and v

Korea’s smaller-sized budget carriers may start flight operations to Vietnam under a new arrangement reached between Seoul and Hanoi, the government said Monday.The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said that under the new pact, both countries will abolish restrictions imposed on how many carriers can offer flight services.The two countries signed a so-called open skies accord in 20

Local food product costs rose twice as fast as national consumer prices in May, fueling inflationary concerns that could exert a negative influence on economic growth, a government report showed Monday.The joint report by the Bank of Korea and Statistics Korea showed prices of 38 staples such as pork fat back cuts, various traditional stews and noodles shot up by more 8 percent last month compared

The emergence of BRICS economies in recent years poses both opportunities and risks for the global economy, which needs to be carefully monitored, a government report said Monday.The report by the finance ministry said the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China as well as South Africa, which joined the ranks of the other large, rapidly growing countries this year, have contributed to a surge

A European Union delegation focusing on construction, building technologies, environment and energy-related technologies is in town until June 10.The Gateway Program is comprised of 51 specially selected European small- and medium-sized enterprises.“Participating European companies possess outstanding technologies and products in their field and receive comprehensive support aimed at developing bu

YEOSU, South Jeolla Province ― Facilities and social overhead capital investments made for the Yeosu Expo will form the basis for south coast development, chairman of Organizing Committee for Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea Kang Dong-suk said.“The social overhead capital investments are not solely for the Expo, they were timed to coincide with the event to increase accessibility to the southern coast,” Kang

U.S. investment banking giant Goldman Sachs said Thursday that Korea’s household debt figures are exaggerated, and a liquidity crunch among indebted households is unlikely to occur, thanks to the country’s foreign exchange system.“We think that widely quoted household debt figures are overstated in Korea. ... The numbers, widely quoted by the press, overstate the extent of household indebtedness s