China’s passenger-car sales rose 4.5 percent in March, beating analyst estimates, as dealerships increased discounts to attract buyers amid record fuel prices. Deliveries of passenger automobiles, including multipurpose and sport-utility vehicles, climbed to 1.4 million units last month, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said today in a statement. Sales were projected to increase 3.9 percent, according to the average estimate of a Bloomberg News survey of eight analysts. The rebo

President Lee Myung-bak plans to soon appoint a new member of the Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee that decides the nation’s key interest rate.The appointment will fill a panel seat that has been left empty for nearly two years. Under the law governing the central bank, the interest rate-setting panel is composed of seven members. But since April 2010, the committee has been led by six members, inviting criticism that the presidential office has been dragging its feet on filling the vac

Central bank keeps interest rate at 3.25 percent for 10 consecutive monthsThe Bank of Korea hinted Friday that it would neither hike nor slash the benchmark interest rate over the next few months unless there are unexpected factors.Remarks by BOK Gov. Kim Choong-soo seemingly raised the possibility that the central bank could keep the key rate untouched for at least several months.On the day, the BOK’s monetary policy committee kept the rate unchanged at 3.25 percent for the 10th consecutive mon

Election results could also be boon to KDB privatization, secondary banking sectorThe ruling Saenuri Party’s winning of a majority in the National Assembly is expected to accelerate economic policymakers’ project for sale of public funds-injected Woori Financial Group.There had been predictions that the stalled plan for Woori Financial privatization would not be feasible during the incumbent Lee Myung-bak administration.Financial regulators seemingly welcomed the results of the April 11 parliame

A group of former top policymakers in economy-related ministries added seats for the ruling Saenuri Party in the April 11 parliamentary elections, according to results based on the exit polls.They included former Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon, former Vice Finance Minister Ryu Sung-gul and former Vice Land Minister Kim Hee-kuk.Kim in particular is seen as a face-saver for the conservative party, beating veteran politician Chung Dong-young of the opposition Democratic United Party in Seoul’s Gangna

FSS warns Shinhan, Samsung, Hana-SK, Lotte against reckless expansionThe Financial Supervisory Service has issued a warning against four credit card firms over irregular business practices.The financial regulator said Wednesday that it has uncovered reckless credit card issuance to consumers of Shinhan Card, Samsung Card, Hana-SK Card and Lotte Card.“Due to the companies’ negligent screening of consumers’ financial status, they incurred bad loans,” an FSS official said.He said the companies fail

Hyundai Motor will prioritize upgrading its brand image across the globe, shifting from its earlier business focus of expanding market share overseas.On Tuesday, the world’s fifth-largest automaker revealed its ambition to cultivate brand power approaching the level of top global brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz.“Hyundai Motor has been successful in selling many cars. But the performance in brand power is lagging behind in the overseas markets,” company executive director Cho Won-hong said i

Hyundai Motors and its affiliate Kia Motors are stepping up their efforts to support subcontractors’ recruiting.The two companies said Monday that they will hold a series of job fairs to hire jobseekers for subcontractors, including auto parts manufacturers, between April 25 and May 10.The automotive job fairs will start at the COEX in Samseong-dong in southern Seoul on April 25. The event in Seoul will run though April 26.The same events are scheduled for provincial cities such as Gwangju and D

Lenders seek to open ‘smart-banking’ branches and tap overseas marketsMore and more Korean banks are withdrawing from their hot competition to increase their number of branches nationwide.While the number of branches had been a barometer for a commercial bank’s market dominance and competitiveness, they have been increasingly skeptical over tapping as many regional markets as possible. KB Kookmin Bank reduced the number of its branches to 1,165 at the end of 2011 from 1,174 a year earlier. The

Shanghai being mentioned as new Asian production base for GMObservers in the automobile industry are reviving the rumor that GM Korea will relocate its automobile manufacturing base in Incheon to a foreign country.The rumor has resurfaced as the Korean unit of U.S. General Motors has failed to post noteworthy sales performances despite changing the company name from GM Daewoo to GM Korea and introducing the Chevrolet brand in 2011.Following earlier speculation that GM Korea’s core production fac

Forum in Busan to discuss how to supervise accounting firmsGlobal audit regulators are likely to map out new standards in oversight of accounting firms during their scheduled gathering in Korea this month.The 11th plenary meeting of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators is slated for April 16-18 in the nation’s second-largest city of Busan.For the local industry, the Financial Supervisory Service of Korea stressed the significance of the meeting in terms of advanced countries’

KDB Financial Group said Friday that it will conduct due diligence on HSBC Korea for about a month, starting next week, to take over their 11 retail branches.Under an agreement between the two sides, any either have the right to nullify the provisional deal according to the inspection results, state-run KDB officials said.“The two sides will make public the provisional agreement possibly early next week. But either side is entitled to scrap the deal as the agreement will be nonbinding,” a KDB sp

Bank plans to tap India, Philippines on strength of affiliate KEBHana Bank chief executive Kim Jong-jun unveiled on Thursday the lender’s overseas strategy to tap more emerging markets in Asia.During his first press conference as the bank chief in Seoul, Kim picked India and the Philippines as the commercial bank’s new business targets.“We have advanced to China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam,” he said. “As an expansion policy in Asia, we are considering making inroads into India a

Hyundai Motor revealed the third-generation Santa Fe during the 2012 New York International Auto Show on Wednesday.The all-new 2013 Santa Fe, a crossover utility vehicle, is designed for drivers and passengers with high expectations for functionality and comfort, Hyundai said in a statement.There are two models for the third-generation Santa Fe ― the two-row, five-passenger “Santa Fe Sport” and the long wheelbase three-row, seven-seater “Santa Fe.”  A company spokesman said the new Santa Fe show

Monthly sales of import automobiles hit an all-time high of 10,648 units in March, while Korean carmakers such as Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors suffered lackluster sales at home.According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, foreign carmakers saw their combined sales grow by 3.5 percent from a year earlier and 15.8 percent from a month before.The former monthly record was 10,290 units, posted in March 2011.For the first quarter of 2012, their sales increased by 13.9 perce

The Financial Supervisory Service classified 34 of the country’s business groups as heavily indebted for this year.The groups, including Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Group, will be put under scrutiny by their respective creditor banks.Creditor banks are required to evaluate the financial status of the 34 business groups and seek restructuring if they fail to meet certain requirements, the FSS said in a statement.The five most-indebted business groups are Hyundai Motor, Samsung, SK, LG and Hyu

Life insurance firms’ overseas branches saw their net losses snowball last year due to huge cost in operating businesses in foreign countries.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, eight overseas units of three major life insurance companies ― Samsung, Korea and Kyobo ― reported a combined net loss of $16 million (18.2 billion won) in 2011.Their losses increased by 22 percent compared to the figure of 2010, the FSS said.“Though the profit from collecting insurance premiums increased by

KDB Financial Group has been in last-minute talks with HSBC to acquire the U.K.-based bank’s retail operations in Seoul.While KDB Financial chairman Kang Man-soo hinted that the acquisition is at hand, a group spokesman said the timing of the deal is still uncertain.“There is a low possibility that the talks between the two sides will break down,” he said. “But the timing of an agreement is unpredictable at the present stage.”Downplaying the rumors that the two sides reached a consensus on detai

Four out of the five major automakers suffered a year-on-year drop in sales in the local market in the first quarter of 2012 amid sluggish private consumption.Hyundai Motor saw its sales at home post 154,855 units in the first quarter, down 7.1 percent from 166,749 units over the same period in 2011.For March sales, the nation’s largest automaker reported a 9.5 percent drop with 56,022 units at home, compared with 61,932 units a year earlier.By contrast, its exports, including production at over

Ahn Kyung-tae, chairman and territory senior partner of Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, will serve as the chief of the accounting firm for five more years.The nation’s largest accounting firm’s panel, composed of 13 executives, endorsed Ahn’s consecutive terms at a board member meeting last Friday.Ahn was initially appointed to top post of the Korean network firm of U.S.-based PwC in 2003, following the retirement of Suh Tae-sik, who founded Samil Accounting Corp. in 1971. Ahn, a certified public