South Korea’s exports of information-communication technology products dropped from a year earlier last month partly on a decrease in shipments to China, the government said Thursday.Outbound shipments of ICT products came to $14.19 billion in August, down 2.1 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Imports increased 5.9 percent on-year to $6.73 billion, causing the country’s trade surplus in the sector to shrink to $7.46 billion from $8.13

The number of South Korean builders reporting operating losses in the second quarter rose compared to the previous three-month period, raising concerns that the construction industry as a whole may face tough times in 2014, industry-wide data showed Thursday.According to consulting agency Korea Ratings, the earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT, of 21 local builders that had an investment-grade status better than BBB dropped 56 percent vis-a-vis the first quarter. This is in contrast to th

Japanese investors have poured their money into South Korean stocks since April, partly fueled by Japan’s accommodative monetary policy, data showed Thursday. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, Japan-based investors sold more Korean stocks than they bought in the January-March period, but they purchased a net 1.57 trillion won ($1.52 billion) worth of them from April through Thursday. The influx of Japanese funds into the local equity market in the May-August period averaged around

The South Korean financial regulator has concluded that Chinese online payment firm Alipay does not need its approval to do business here, but on the condition that it only services Chinese nationals, financial sources said Thursday.The Financial Services Commission has notified Alipay, a non-bank Internet payment affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, of its conclusion, according to the sources.The Chinese firm has promised to comply with the FSC’s condition, they said.Alipay star

Foreigners continued to invest in Korean stocks in August, extending their buying streak to a fifth consecutive month although the amount of their net purchases slipped from a month earlier, the country’s financial watchdog said Friday. Offshore investors scooped up a net 2.5 trillion won ($2.45 billion) worth of local shares last month, compared with a net purchase of 3.6 trillion won in the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The value of their shareholdings came to

South Korea and Australia have agreed to step up efforts to expedite the domestic process for the early ratification and implementation of a bilateral free trade agreement, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Friday. Seoul and Canberra signed the free trade deal in April, but the legislatures of both countries have yet to ratify it. The agreement came as Lee Kyung-soo, deputy minister for political affairs, held a strategic dialogue with his Australian counterpart, Gillian Bird, in Australia, the mini

Hyundai Motor America, the U.S. sales and marketing arm of Korea’s largest automaker, said Thursday it has made available a new app that can enhance the owner’s experience of the 2015 Sonata in the United States. According to the carmaker, the Hyundai Assurance Car Care in-vehicle app can be used on all models of the seventh-generation Sonata equipped with a navigation system.The app can be downloaded into the multimedia system of the car that started reaching consumers only a few months ago and

Real estate development experts are dissuading bidders in a tight race to buy the property of state-run Korea Power Electric Corp. in Samseong-dong, an affluent district in southern Seoul. KEPCO put its 79,342-square-meter plot of land and headquarters building up for sale last Friday. The competition for the property is escalating, with the nation’s top two conglomerates ― Samsung and Hyundai ― both expressing interest in bidding.“From an investor point of view, the deal is not an attractive on

Earnings by South Korean credit card companies rose 13.5 percent in the first half of 2014 from a year earlier due to gains from asset sales, the financial watchdog said Thursday.The combined net income of eight stand-alone card firms stood at 1.07 trillion won ($1.05 billion) in the January-June period, compared with 946.3 billion won the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The jump in the net income came as their gains in stock sales offset a drop in interest income

Lotte Shopping, the flagship of retail conglomerate Lotte Group, said Thursday it has signed a deal to buy two department stores in Korea and Vietnam from POSCO affiliates, a move that is expected to strengthen its international expansion.Under the deal, Lotte Shopping is set to acquire “Diamond Plaza,” a multipurpose property in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from POSCO Engineering and Construction, the company said in a press release. Lotte Shopping, which recently opened a store in Hanoi, said it

Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan on Thursday criticized the financial sector for its excessive risk-averse culture, saying that such self-protection may be dragging down the overall financial community.“It is quite worrisome that the whole financial industry is shrinking with signs of money flows being almost clogged,” Choi told financial industry leaders in Seoul. “The reason for the contraction is that it is focused too much on protecting itself from risks and engaging in passive business tact

Lotte Group’s long-awaited plan to partially open its 2nd Lotte World retail complex faces another huddle-public inspection. The city government of Seoul said Wednesday that it will allow a panel of citizens to inspect the safety of retail giant Lotte Group’s new skyscraper before giving the final nod to the group’s plan to open the lower part of the building.Lotte had originally sought to open to the public the completed lower floors of the second Lotte World complex, including the 123-story hi

Kia Motors America, the distribution and marketing arm of South Korean carmaker Kia Motors, said Tuesday that it will set up 17 new fast-charging stations across California as it prepares to launch its electric Soul multi-purpose vehicle.The company said it will increase the number of fast-charging stations in the state by nearly 9 percent and provide broad coverage to alleviate range anxiety. Fast “Level 2” 240 volt charging stations can recharge the car from empty to 80 percent full in about 3

Korea is closely watching the foreign exchange market and will take active steps to stabilize the country’s financial market, a senior government official said Wednesday, adding that market stability is important in keeping the economic recovery momentum alive. “We are keeping a close eye on the foreign currency market of late,” Vice Finance Minister Joo Hyung-hwan said in a meeting with other policymakers in Seoul. “We will actively respond in a way that would stave off herd behavior prodded by

South Korean insurance firms’ income from their overseas operations swung to a combined net loss in the first half of this year, due mainly to an increase in insurance payouts, the financial watchdog said Wednesday.The net losses of 23 overseas units and offices of six non-life insurers stood at $500,000 in the January-June period, a turnaround from a net profit of $40.2 million a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The FSS said the weaker bottom line came as the compani

South Korean financial workers staged their first strike in 14 years on Wednesday to protest the government’s pressure on the local finance sector to cut welfare and restructure.Clad in raincoats to weather the occasional drizzle, tens of thousands of workers at banks, bank-owned card companies and public companies sat down at Mokdong Sports Complex in western Seoul for the one-day strike.“We have demanded that the government stop its pressure on financial workers,” said Kim Moon-ho, who heads t

Samsung Group is reviewing a plan to integrate Samsung Medison, a medical device affiliate of Samsung Group, into Samsung Electronics as part of its group-level efforts to streamline businesses. Lee Jun, the chief communications officer of Samsung Group, confirmed the plan in a meeting with a local media outlet on Wednesday. Samsung Medison, a local medical device maker, became a Samsung affiliate in 2011 as part of the group’s bid to nurture its medical device business as a new growth engine. L

The South Korean currency traded near a six-year high against the Japanese yen on Wednesday, raising worries that it could hurt the competitiveness of domestic firms, particularly in the steel, tech and auto sectors.The local currency rose to the highest it‘s been against the yen on Tuesday since 964.23 won on Aug. 25, 2008. The won pared some of the earlier gains to fall to 971.70 won per 100 yen as of 3:08 p.m., down 2.84 won from Tuesday’s close, on concerns about the currency authorities’ in

CJ Group, Korea’s largest food and entertainment conglomerate, said Tuesday it will launch a program to support small and medium-size agricultural enterprises to grow into export-oriented companies. CJ Corp. vice chairman Lee Chae-wook signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Commission for Corporate Partnership.“With partnership with the commission, CJ, which has sought to grow side by side with SMEs, will increase investment to help agricultural SMEs with potential make inroads i

The government on Monday announced a set of measures aimed at stimulating the country’s real estate market that include cutting the minimum age of housing units open to reconstruction by up to 10 years.The government will also move to scrap the special law on the development of residential areas that has led to the development of large new towns over the past 34 years, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The move comes as the country’s property market is apparently ex