HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Korea’s KB Asset Management Co. said Monday it has obtained approval from Chinese authorities to invest up to $100 million in local securities, gaining greater access to one of the world’s most rapidly growing stock markets.The approval, granted by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) last week, will allow KB Asset Management to launch a collective inve

Korea reported an additional case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the central part of the country Monday, in the midst of nationwide vaccination and quarantine efforts.The farm ministry said some cattle at a farm in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, about 220 kilometers southeast of Seoul, tested positive for the highly contagious animal disease after animals started showing symptoms over t

Korean stocks closed 0.59 percent higher on Monday as institutional investors hunted for bargains, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 12.24 points to 2,082.16. Trading volume was moderate at 335.1 million shares worth 6.01 trillion won ($5.37 billion), but losers outnumbered gainers 412 to 396.“Institutional

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Only about half of Korean companies operating in China have turned out to be successful, despite their rush into the world’s second-largest economy, a poll showed Sunday.According to the survey on 212 Korean firms, taken by the Korea International Trade Association’s (KITA) Shanghai office, 55.7 percent of the firms assessed their business in China as “successful.” Among

Korean banks raised more funds last year than 2009 as risk-averse investors piled into lenders’ savings deposits, the financial regulator said Monday.Eighteen local banks’ fund raising through deposits and debt issuance expanded by a net 35.5 trillion won ($31.7 billion) last year, bringing their outstanding funds to 1,161.4 trillion won as of the end of December, the Financial Supervisory Service

WAGENINGEN, Netherlands (AFP) ― Dutch student Walinka van Tol inspects the worm protruding from a half-eaten chocolate praline she is holding, steels herself with a shrug, then pops it into her mouth.“Tasty ... kind of nutty!” the 20-year-old assures her companions clutching an array of creepy crawly pastries at a seminar, which forecast that larvae and locusts will invade Western menus as the pri

40 large firms and suppliers face investigation over price collusion, unfair trade, abuse of market powerThe Fair Trade Commission is conducting an extensive investigation into about 40 large firms and its suppliers to root out business malpractices including price collusion and abuse of market power, officials said Monday. The antitrust regulator launched the largest-ever probe into their pricing