Foreign investment banks forecast inflation in South Korea to stay low next year amid tepid domestic demand and falling global oil prices, a report showed Tuesday.Nomura projected that inflation would reach 1.3 percent this year and 2 percent next year, both below the inflation target band by the Bank of Korea of 2.5-3.5 percent. The investment bank, however, forecast inflation would reach 3 percent in 2016. “We now expect CPI inflation to remain low for a long time due to lower commodity prices

South Korean brokerage houses saw their net income almost triple in the third quarter from three months earlier on a rise in bond investment derived from low interest rates, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.The combined net profit of 59 local securities firms came to 814.5 billion won ($749 million) in the July-September period, compared with 276.3 billion won the previous quarter, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.For the first nine months of the year, the net income totaled 1.4

Korea Electric Power Corp., South Korea’s state-run power company, said Tuesday its net profit soared 61.1 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier on higher electricity rates and cheaper fuel costs. Net income reached 1.56 trillion won ($1.37 billion) in the July-September period, compared with 973 billion won from a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales rose 4.3 percent to 14.97 trillion won in the period, while operating income jumped 84.9 percent to 2.86 trillion w

Despite growing criticism of Korea’s family-controlled conglomerates, known locally as chaebol, U.S. management consultancy McKinsey found that family businesses are stronger and more vital around the world than ever before. According to McKinsey’s report on founder- and family-owned businesses, about one-third of the Fortune Global 500 companies are founder- or family-controlled, as are 40 percent of the major listed companies in Europe. “Family businesses are especially important in emerging m

Total debts owed by the self-employed in South Korea have snowballed in the past four years, far surpassing the growth pace of corporate and mortgage loans amid an economic slowdown, industry data showed Sunday. The combined loans to the self-employed by Korea’s five largest commercial banks amounted to 134 trillion won ($122.5 billion) as of end-October, adding 40 trillion won from the end of 2010, according to the data from banks. Loan totals were provided by Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori

LG Electronics said Sunday that it would start rolling out Google’s new Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade for its flagship smartphone G3 this week starting in Poland.Other G3 users will be also able to receive the upgrade for the operating system from this month. “LG is absolutely committed to giving our customers the best mobile experiences available, and bringing Android Lollipop to G3 owners as soon as possible is a top priority,” said Park Jong-seok, president of LG Electronics’ mobile communicat

U.S.-based Excelerate Energy has signed an agreement to lead a floating liquefied natural gas, or FLNG, project off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, which includes the key participation of South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries, according to Excelerate’s website.A statement dated Nov. 6 said Excelerate Energy will act as the consortium’s leading contractor in the deal with London-based Ophir Energy to develop gas reserves in the Block R natural gas field west of Bioko Island. The compa

South Korean banks saw their net profit rise 13.7 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier on reduced bad debt losses and increased interest income, the financial watchdog said Sunday.The combined net income of 18 local banks stood at 1.7 trillion won ($1.55 billion) in the July-September period, compared with 1.5 trillion won during the same period last year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.For the first nine months of the year, the banks’ net profit reached a cumulative

Lee Dong-chanLee Dong-chan, honorary chairman of Kolon Group, a major textile manufacturer that pioneered South Korea’s nylon production, has died after a long illness, the company said. He was 92.Born in Yeongil, North Gyeongsang Province, Lee established Kolon in 1957 after graduating from Japan’s Waseda University in 1944. He has since played a key role in the development of South Korea’s textile industry in the 1960s and 1970s.Lee served as head of the Korea Employers Federation in the 1990s

A group of mid-tier South Korean companies underlined the growing need for the separation of ownership and control for a company’s longevity.“Time is nigh for Korean companies to study a model succession plan for their longevity, separating ownership and managerial control,” Kolmar Korea founder and chairman Yoon Dong-han said during a forum to discuss how to nurture South Korea’s model mid-tier champions. The Association of High Potential Enterprises of Korea, a newly created business associati

Hyundai Motor’s share price on the Seoul bourse has plunged to its lowest level in four years, raising concerns about the carmaker’s fundamentals amid weak sales and unfavorable exchange rates, analysts said Thursday. “There are many unfavorable conditions that are pushing down the prices of Hyundai Motor stocks right now,” said Song Sun-jae, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities.Share prices of the carmaker nosedived to 149,000 won ($137) during Wednesday’s trading session at the main local bour

Two-way trade between South Korea and Japan has decreased for three years in a row, amid frosty relations and the weakening of the Japanese yen against the Korean won, data showed Wednesday.According to trade figures posted by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, exports to the island nation fell 2.2 percent on-year in 2012, plunged 10.7 percent in the following year and were down 4.6 percent in the first nine months of this year. Imports from Japan were also down in the same period, wit

The Sonata, Hyundai Motor’s midsize sedan, is poised to reclaim the best-selling Korean car title this year, after being outpaced by its smaller stablemate the Avante for the past three years, industry data showed Wednesday.According to figures from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, domestic sales of the Sonata hit 88,485 units in the first 10 months of this year, up 16.8 percent from the year before.With sales amounting to around 8,000 units per month, the total number of Sonatas

The turnover in the Korean stock market hit a two-year high in October amid increased market volatility and a relatively bearish run on the local stock market, data showed Wednesday. The average turnover on the main bourse amounted to 4.46 trillion won ($4.15 billion) last month, the highest since September 2012, when the comparable figure was 5.22 trillion won, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange, the bourse’s operator.When the corresponding figure on the secondary KOSDAQ marke

South Korea‘s currency dipped against the U.S. dollar for the fourth consecutive day, hitting a more than seven-month low on Tuesday as sound U.S. economic data reinforced expectations about rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, while Japan and other major economies are on a course toward further monetary easing.The won finished at 1,076.50 won to the dollar, down 3.9 won from the previous session’s close, marking the lowest level since March 25 when it closed at 1,079.40. The local currency fell t

Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia will pay the U.S. government a $100 million civil penalty to end a two-year investigation into overstated gas mileage figures on window stickers of 13 models.The penalty, announced Monday by the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency, could serve as a precedent for other automakers who violate the Clean Air Act.Also as part of the settlement, Hyundai-Kia must audit test results on current models, and it must set up an independent group to certify

Choi Ha-young (third from right), the Ukrainian branch chief of Daewoo International, poses after signing an agreement to sponsor a school in Ukraine, Tuesday. (Daewoo International)Daewoo International, the trading and project development arm of POSCO, said Tuesday it had started sponsoring a school for physically disabled children in Ladyzhynka, Ukraine, as part of its global corporate social responsibility activities.The village, with a population of about 200 people, has long been isolated f

Former Samsung Group vice chairman Lee Hak-soo, the former right-hand man of group chairman Lee Kun-hee, is ready to return to center stage. But this time, it won’t be for Samsung Group. Lee has maintained a low-key profile since 2008 when he stepped down from the group’s No. 2 post with chairman Lee, taking responsibility for assisting the chairman in running secret slush funds. Last week, Chaebul.com, an online information provider of Korean ultrahigh net worth individuals, predicted that the

Kim Young-hoonIn April 2015, Daegu City and North Gyeongsang Province will cohost the seventh World Water Forum.Daegu has emerged as a venue for energy-related events since it hosted the World Energy Congress in 2013. As water-related issues are interwoven with the energy sector in many aspects, it is not surprising that the World Energy Council, the organizer of WEC, and the World Water Council, the organizer of WWF, have formed a strong relationship and chosen Daegu as the venue for their even

Ha Jung-yun, 37, who enjoys exploring gourmet restaurants, has written more posts about Korean restaurants on her Facebook page over the past year. “It is fun to taste Korean fusion food, served at a newly opened restaurant with a modern look and at a reasonable price,’’ she said.Modern takes on Korean cuisine, better known as hansik, are a new trend in the restaurant scene here. “I like modern hansik because it is lighter and experimental, while using healthy and fresh ingredients,’’ Ha said.“T