후강통에 대한 기대감이 높아지면서, 전문가들은 시행이 될 경우 한국 증시에는 큰 악재로 다가올 것이라고 예견하고 있다. 　전병서 China MBA 경희대 교수는 코리아헤럴드와의 인터뷰에서 “단기적으로 저금리와 주식시장 침체로 마땅한 투자처를 찾지 못하는 국내 투자자들의 자금이 중국으로 대거 이탈할 것”이라고 전망하면서 앞으로 다가올 위기에 대응할 수 있는 전략이 필요하다고 말했다. 전병서 China MBA 경희대 교수.　후강통은 상해거래소와 홍콩거래소의 교차거래를 가능하게 하는 제도로 외국인 개인투자자도 별로 자격제한 없이 상하이증시에 투자할 수 있다. 당초 10월 27일에 시행이 유력했으나 출범이 다소 지연된 상태다. 　그는 이어 “중장기적으로 중국이 모건스탠리캐피털인터내셔널 (MSCI) 이머징마켓 지수에 편입될 가능성이 높아지면서, 국내 증시에 투자한 외국인 자금도 유출될 것”이라고 전망했다. 　현재 MSCI 이머징마켓 지수 내에서 한국 시장이 차지하는 비중이 15.9 퍼센트로

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance issued a statement on Wednesday to refute claims that expansionary economic policies promoted by Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan to boost the economy are confusing the market. The statement came after the Wall Street Journal published an article titled “South Korea’s Confused Growth Plan” on Monday. The U.S. business daily said Choi Kyung-hwan’s road map for growth, dubbed “Choinomics,” is as disappointing as Japan’s “Abenomics” has proven to be.The article

World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim was adamant that the multilateral organization could not support North Korea unless the country opened up its economy and joined the global community.Citing the case of Myanmar, he requested the communist country ― albeit indirectly ― to open up and enjoy the full benefits. “When Myanmar opened its economy, we were able to move very quickly in providing support for everything, from improving telecom and health sectors, reforming its government structure, and opening

The South Korean government said Friday that it would open a won-yuan direct trading market in December. The Finance Ministry said it plans to raise the portion of yuan as a trade settlement currency with China from the current 1.2 percent to 20 percent over the long term. Currently, over 95 percent of the both nations’ trade is done in U.S. dollars. To boost won-yuan direct trading, the government will adopt a market maker system considering the nascent stage of the market. Market makers, which

Corporate PR Awards/Silver PrizeKB Financial GroupI would like to begin with a word of gratitude for having received The Korea Herald Advertising Awards 2014.KB Financial Group is the nation’s leading financial company with over 30 million clients at its banking, credit card, securities, insurance, capital and savings divisions. For the past many years, the company has continued to see its productivity and efficiency improve, largely because the management has been faithful to the basics. As a r

A local company has unveiled the world’s first smartphone-connected lockers at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2014, which kicked off in Busan Oct. 20. Smart Box said on Wednesday it has set up 1,500 of its digital lockers at the venue for the convenience of the conference participants. The smart lockers, which come with wireless communications modules, allow users to set the passwords via their smartphones. The company said its system has appealed to the participants whose main agenda happen

The state-run Korea Development Institute on Tuesday called for a reduction in the number of free economic zones in Korea to focus on improving areas of core competitiveness. “In order to attract more foreign companies, the government should shut down some of the economic zones, those that have been underperforming,” said Song Young-kwan, a senior KDI researcher. “Instead, we should focus on those that are doing well, allowing them more deregulation and the means for more efficiently managing fo

Shinhan Bank has been expanding its microcredit financing business for low-income customers, with the service reaching 1 trillion won ($900 million) in the first half of this year, the company said Tuesday. “We are stepping up our efforts to make society better through the company’s finance business for low-income earners,” said Suh Jin-won, president of Shinhan Bank. Shinhan Bank has been making progress in its financial support programs for borrowers with low credit scores.  Shinhan Bank emplo

Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan (right) discusses key economic issues with his deputy during an audit on the ministry’s fiscal policies at the National Assembly in Seoul on Monday. (Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald)The government is seeking to reduce expenditure as its tax revenue shortfall is expected to surpass 10 trillion won ($95 billion) this year, according to a report published by the National Assembly Budget Office last week. The shortfall is forecast at 10.7 trillion won, as this year’s tax r

LG Electronics said Sunday that it would set up a 6 billion won ($5.6 million) fund with its affiliate LG Chem to invest in social enterprises over the next three years.The South Korean tech giant said the LG Social Fund would financially support companies such as social venture firms and village enterprises seeking to improve the country’s socioeconomic conditions by creating innovative solutions.The LG companies said they hoped LG-backed social enterprises would not only increase productivity

IBK Securities’ chief on Thursday outlined the ambitious goal of becoming one of the industry’s top 10 brokerages during his term, even though it has yet to reach the top 20 among the 41 in the nation.“We expect to see 10 billion won ($9.5 million) in net income this year and also will aim to enter the industry’s top 10 in terms of return on equity,” IBK Securities’ chief Shin Seong-ho told reporters at his first press meeting in Seoul on Thursday.  IBK Securities’ chief Shin Seong-ho. (IBK Secu

As Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan marks his first 100 days in office on Thursday, questions are being raised about his economic vision ― dubbed “Choinomics” ― as the nation continues to grapple with rising household debt and the economy showing lackluster performance amid lowered growth forecasts. Since Choi took office in July, he proposed diverse measures to boost the sluggish economy. They included a 41 trillion won ($40 billion) stimulus package, relaxed mortgage regulations for stimulatin

Global forest experts on Tuesday discussed the negative impact of forest fires, including the loss of biological diversity, during a sideline event of the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity hosted by the Korea Forest Service. “In recent years, we have frequently witnessed large-scale forest fires all over the globe, mostly on account of climate change. This has caused damage to plants, wild animals and insects, leading to a loss in biodiversit

South Korea’s Agriculture Ministry said Monday that it had partnered up with PortugalFoods, a Portuguese food association, at SIAL Paris 2014, an international food exhibition being held in Paris from Oct. 19-23. PortugalFoods is a Portuguese agro-food association, which was set up in 2009 to promote the nation’s food industry and to build networks with compatriot and foreign firms. The South Korean government said the partnership was a follow-up measure to the discussion the presidents of the t

Hite Jinro’s persistent efforts to globalize appear to be paying off as the leading South Korean distiller is successfully shipping to a growing number of regions across the world. Until now, Hite Jinro was mainly focused on the Asian and U.S. markets, but recently began to expand significantly and added a number of new continents to its clientele.Early this year, the distiller partnered with Dominican Republic’s leading tourist company, Barcelo Group, to target Latin American consumers. It also

Yamaico Navarro of Samsung LionsThe Samsung Lions clinched their fourth consecutive pennant in the top South Korean baseball league with a narrow victory on Wednesday.The Lions defeated the LG Twins 5-3 at their home in Daegu, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to secure first place in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season this year with one game remaining. Second baseman Yamaico Navarro hit a tie-breaking solo shot in the two-run eighth inning, as the Lions improved to 78-4

South Korea’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 2 percent from 2.25 percent on Wednesday on the grounds of a sluggish global and domestic economy. The Bank of Korea last lowered the rate from 2.5 percent to 2.25 percent in August. “Despite the signs of a global economic recovery, the world economy is faced with several uncertainties including further changes in the Fed’s monetary policy, a prolonged euro-area slowdown, weak growth in the emerging markets and lingeri

The BBC's website was blocked in China Wednesday, hours after a video of Hong Kong police beating and kicking a pro-democracy protester began circulating online.The move appears to be the first time the British broadcaster's English-language website has been completely blocked in China since December 2010, when it was inaccessible for days before the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony for Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.The BBC's Chinese-language website has been blocked in China since it was launche

South Korea's Coast Guard said Wednesday that it has sought warrants for two Chinese fishermen on charges of illegally fishing in South Korean waters and violently resisting a crackdown by the Coast Guard that resulted in the death of a Chinese skipper.Dozens of Chinese fishermen resisted violently with knives and beer bottles during the crackdown in waters 144 kilometers off South Korea's western coast on Friday, according to the South Korean Coast Guard.A South Korean Coast Guard officer fired

MILAN -- President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday urged businessmen and authorities from South Korea and Italy to expand bilateral cooperation, so that the two countries could together attain new global business opportunities through strengthening partnership.Highlighting Italy‘s role in leading industrial innovation and also Korea’s advanced IT technology and manufacturing capability, Park said the two nations could produce outstanding business outcomes if they work together.“If the two nations cou