Seoul cites improved external resilience and financial stability for the lapseThe country will not be renewing an expanded currency swap contract with Japan, citing Korea’s improved financial market stability, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. “(The two countries) have decided to let the contract lapse as scheduled after considering Korea’s improved resilience to external risks and the increased stability in domestic and international financial markets,” said Deputy Finance Minister Choi Jon

South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries has won a $3.2 billion order to build a thermal power plant in Saudi Arabia for state-run Saudi Electricity, a report said Tuesday.The world’s top shipbuilder by orders will build the 2.64-gigawatt power-generating plant over the next four years in Jeddah, Dow Jones Newswires said, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.A Hyundai spokesman declined to comment on the report.Hyundai, which builds ships, heavy machinery and plants, had set a target of $2

South Korean telecom giant KT Corp. said Tuesday it has signed an agreement with Japan’s NTT DoCoMo Inc. to step up cooperation on mobile payments through near field communication technology.Under the memorandum of understanding signed on Monday, the two companies will ramp up joint efforts to provide NFC-based financial services and customer benefits to subscribers in South Korea and Japan, KT said in a press release.NFC technology, which allows wireless data exchanges between two devices withi

South Korean stocks closed 0.14 percent lower on Tuesday as global economic concerns continued to drag on investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 2.85 points to 1,979.04. Trading volume was moderate at 501.1 million shares worth 3.56 trillion won ($3.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 420 to 379.“Foreigners were selling and investors were reluctant to snap up shares amid persistent g

Household loans extended by South Korean financial institutions increased for a fifth consecutive month in August, but the growth rate slowed as the property market sagged on falling demand amid the economic downturn, the central bank said Tuesday. Household lending extended by local banks and non-bank institutions totaled 649.8 trillion won ($584.3 billion) as of the end of August, up 4.1 percent from the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea. Such lending grew by 2.3 trillion won on-mo

Overseas plant building orders won by Korean companies slid 33.5 percent to $8.7 billion in the third quarter from a year earlier, mainly due to delayed orders from the Middle East, the world’s largest plant construction market, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said on Tuesday. “The global economic slowdown forced some plant building projects in the Middle East to be delayed,” Joo Hyun-dong, an official from the ministry said.Affected by worsening third-quarter performance, accumulated overseas

Five creditor banks agreed on liquidity support worth 129.7 billion won ($116.7 million) for financially struggling Ssangyong Engineering and Construction on Tuesday, according to banks and the builder.Wooribank, the main creditor, will provide the largest amount of 51.7 billion won, followed by Korea Development Bank with 3.5 billion won, Hana with 1.7 billion won, Shinhan with 1.4 billion won and KB Kookmin with 1.2 billion won. Following earlier funding worth 6.32 billion won by its largest s

Data shows Korean economy heavily reliant on top two groupsEarnings of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors are expected to account for more than half of those reaped by the nation’s 30 major firms this year, a local financial data provider said on TuesdayAccording to FnGuide, the 30 largest enterprises are estimated to post a collective net profit of about 67.5 trillion won ($60.2 billion) this year.Among them, the profits of three ― Samsung, Hyundai and Kia ― are projected to reac

Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Motors forecast sales in China will exceed their targets as South Korea’s two largest carmakers benefit from a wave of anti-Japan protests in the world’s largest vehicle market.The two carmakers will probably sell more vehicles in 2012 than the 1.25 million they had projected, Seoul-based Hyundai Motor said in a statement Sunday. Combined deliveries rose to 127,827 units last month, or 9.5 percent higher than the previous record set a year earlier, it said.Non-Jap