Korean credit card companies saw their net profits nearly double in the first quarter from three months earlier, as more people favored cards for their transaction convenience and benefits, data showed Tuesday.The combined net profits of seven credit card firms reached 921 billion won ($804 million) in the January-March period, compared with 481 billion won in the previous quarter, according to industry data. No. 2 player Samsung Card Co. logged a profit of 509 billion, followed by industry lead

Last week’s surprise interest rate cut by South Korea’s central bank will unlikely erode local lenders’ interest income significantly and will instead help improve their asset quality, a report said Tuesday.Beating market expectations, the Bank of Korea unexpectedly lowered the July level of the benchmark 7-day repo rate by a quarter point to 3 percent on Thursday, marking the first rate cut since February 2009.According to the report by Switzerland-based brokerage Credit Suisse, the rate reduct

Korean Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan ruled out additional fiscal stimulus for now, saying it could do more harm than good because the global economy is too weak to make it meaningful. “You don’t plant a tree in winter,” Bahk said in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday. While Asia’s fourth-largest economy retains room to boost growth both through monetary and fiscal measures, 3 percent growth “is not bad, given the global economy,” he said. Gross domestic product rose 2.8 percent in the first q

Foreign stock ownership of Samsung Electronics Co., Korea’s biggest market cap, dropped to the lowest level in two years, data showed Tuesday, raising views the market bellwether is losing its charm with overseas investors.The portion of Samsung Electronics shares held by foreigner investors came to 49 percent on Monday, dropping to the lowest level since 48.96 percent in July 2010, according to the data by the Korea Exchange, the local bourse operator.The latest ownership by foreign investors m

Nearly four in 10 South Korean construction companies were unable to meet interest payments with operating profit last year as a sluggish domestic market hurt their earnings, a report showed Tuesday.According to the report by the Construction Association of Korea, 36 percent of local builders could not cover interest payments with their operating profit in 2011. The report was based on an analysis of financial statements of 10,275 construction companies in the country.Of the companies checked, 1

Korean stocks closed 0.23 percent higher on Tuesday as hopes for further stimulus measures outweighed concerns over slowing growth in major economies, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.After opening lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 4.17 points to 1,821.96. Trading volume was moderate at 406.5 million shares worth 4.7 trillion won ($4.1 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 439 to 356.“Despite the International Monetary Fund’s g

The parliamentary speaker called Tuesday for an end to a group of privileges granted to lawmakers, saying the National Assembly should win back public trust after last week's widely condemned rejection of an arrest motion for a fellow lawmaker."Now the National Assembly should indeed lay down their outdated privileges," parliamentary speaker Kang Chang-hee said in a speech in the National Assembly

A group of lawmakers are moving to force the government to immediately ban any beef imports from countries with a confirmed mad cow disease case, which the government said Tuesday might contradict with international regulations and the country's trade agreements.The move was proposed on May 30 by Rep. Kim Yung-rok of the main opposition Democratic United Party in a revision to the law on animal di

Domestic sales of steel products in South Korea declined 4.7 percent on-year in the first five months of the year due to prolonged economic uncertainties and weak demand, a trade association said Tuesday.According to the Korea Iron and Steel Association (KOSA), domestic shipments of steel products amounted to 23.13 million tons in the January-May period.Experts said a drop in demand from shipbuild

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Tuesday as concerns over global growth and weak U.S. economic data strained investor sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 14.1 points, or 0.78 percent, to 1,803.69 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Monday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised down its 2013 forecast for global growth and

The International Monetary Fund lowered its revised 2013 world economy outlook by 0.2 percent to 3.9 percent, according to a report on Monday.The updated World Economic Outlook released by the Finance Ministry showed that the world economy growth projection for this year remains almost unchanged, compared with 3.5 percent forecast in April.Despite the recent economic slowdown, first quarter growth was better than expected so only a little change occurred in the yearly outlook, said the report. I