Household loans extended by non-bank financial institutions in South Korea have surged in the past few years as low-credit borrowers scurried to seek loans from such lenders that do less tight credit evaluations, data showed Monday.The outstanding amount of household loans extended by non-banking firms reached 192.4 trillion won ($173.3 billion) at the end of January, up 74 percent from 110.4 trillion won tallied in 2007, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. The tally is in stark contrast

South Korean stocks closed 0.92 percent lower on Monday as investors sat on the sidelines due to economic risks from the eurozone and the United States, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 18.32 points to 1968.18. Trading volume was low at 265.2 million shares worth 3.83 trillion won ($3.44 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 565 to 258.“The decline came as the financial crisis of Cyprus weighed down on inv

The nation’s top steelmaker POSCO has reorganized its merger and acquisition department in an apparent move to further push ahead with its aggressive M&A vision.POSCO recently integrated its strategic business department into the corporate strategy department 1, officials confirmed Monday.The former, initiated back in 2009 by chairman Chung Joon-yang, has been spearheading the company’s aggressive M&A projects over the years.The corporate strategy department 1 is one of POSCO’s key divisions, su

The Japanese yen’s continued depreciation will likely hit South Korea’s automobile, steel and textile industries hard by weakening their competitiveness against Japanese products in the global market, a report said Monday.The Japanese currency traded at 95.25 yen per dollar on Friday, down 21.5 percent from 78.38 yen quoted on Sept. 19, with its value against the Korean won tumbling 23.5 percent as of end-February from early June last year.“South Korea needs to step up efforts to diversify its k

South Korean stocks closed 0.92 percent lower on Monday as investors sat on the sidelines due to economic risks from the eurozone and the United States, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed18.32 points to 1968.18. Trading volume was low at 265.2 million shares worth 3.83 trillion won (US$3.44 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 565 to 258."The decline came as the financial crisis of Cyprus weighed do

South Korea's top 10 conglomerates plan to fill one-third of their new auditor positions with former bureaucrats and law enforcement officials, data showed Monday, a move that critics claim is meant to take advantage of their personal connections for corporate benefits.A total of 66 companies affiliated with the country's family-controlled conglomerates, known as chaebol, have either selected or plan to select 81 new finance managers through an annual general meeting of shareholders, according t

South Korean stocks traded 0.44 percent lower late Monday morning due to losses in techs and logistics, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped8.76 points to 1,977.74 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech blue chips led the decline, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 2.43 percent and top flat panel manufacturer LG Display losing 0.16 percent. Leading plasma display panel maker Samsung SDI shed 0.71 percent.Logistics shares also traded lower, with Hyundai Glovis

South Korea's producer prices grew at a faster pace in February than the previous month as oil prices picked up and the local currency depreciated to the dollar, the central bank said Monday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, grew 0.7 percent in February from the previous month, after rising 0.2 percent on-month in January, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The data marked the fastest gain since a 0.7 percent on-month gain in February 2012.Last month, prices o

South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. sold 52,000 vehicles in the United States in February, up 2 percent from a year ago, industry data showed Monday. The data showed that Hyundai's market share in the U.S. remained unchanged at 4.4 percent.Hyundai's smaller sister company, Kia Motors Corp., sold 41,500 units in the U.S., down 8 percent from a year ago. Its market share stood at 3.5 percent last month, down 0.44 percentage points from a year earlier.Hyundai and Kia ranked seventh in ter

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Monday, tracking losses on Wall Street in the previous trading session, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell12.17 points, or 0.61 percent, to 1974.33 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 2.3 percent and top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis moving down 0.82 percent. Leading steelmaker POSCO decreased 0.15 percent.U.S. stocks ended l

The South Korean stock market may trade in a narrow range this week, affected by a U.S. rate decision and overseas economic data, but it is not likely to face steep falls on global recovery hopes, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 1,986.50 last week, down 0.97 percent from a week earlier.The KOSPI was weighed down this week by heightened geopolitical risks from North Korea’s nuclear threats and the yen’s weakness, decoupling from the bullish gain in the U.

The nominee to lead South Korea’s financial regulator has said that a merger and acquisition of state-owned Woori Finance Holdings Co. is an option to privatize the country’s top banking group by assets.Shin Je-yoon, President Park Geun-hye’s choice to lead the Financial Services Commission, said all investors should be allowed to place bids for Woori Finance and it would be better to quickly privatize financial firms that received public funds, according to a written answer to lawmakers as part