The Korea Herald

Post-election outlook for finance bills murky

Apr 15, 2012

Regulators rush to get lawmakers to work on crucial bills on consumers, savings banks, capital marketFollowing the surprising general election, eyes are now trained on long-delayed financial bills that could have a huge impact on South Korea’s financial sector. Three finance-related bills, among others, attract particularly keen attention: the Financial Consumer Protection Act, the Capital Market Act and the Depositor Protection Act.The bills, if passed, are expected to reshape the country’s fi
Lexus sedan to battle BMW 520d, Benz E300

TransportApr 15, 2012

Toyota-Lexus may overtake Volkswagen, Audi to become Korea’s third-largest car importerLexus, the premium brand of Toyota Motor, has launched all-out efforts to regain its once-high share in Korea’s import automobile market.Though Lexus was vying for the No. 1 spot in the import car industry with BMW seven or eight years ago, it yielded its position to other competitors in the wake of the record recall incident in the U.S.The Japanese brand recently slashed the price of the New GS350 sedan by ab
China car sales beat estimates, easing demand concerns

TransportApr 15, 2012

China’s passenger-car sales rose 4.5 percent in March, beating analyst estimates, as dealerships increased discounts to attract buyers amid record fuel prices. Deliveries of passenger automobiles, including multipurpose and sport-utility vehicles, climbed to 1.4 million units last month, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said today in a statement. Sales were projected to increase 3.9 percent, according to the average estimate of a Bloomberg News survey of eight analysts. The rebo
Renault set to build cars in China

TransportApr 15, 2012

PARIS (AFP) ― French automaker Renault has signed a preliminary agreement to produce cars in China with domestic partner Dongfeng, a source close to the matter told AFP on Friday.The deal marks “the end of an initial step ahead of an agreement,” the source said, and would provide Renault with its first factory in the world’s biggest car market.Renault, which declined to comment on the information, said last year that it would begin to build cars in China after 2014.The French group has already e
KLM signs footballer as PR ambassador

Apr 15, 2012

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has signed a contract with soccer player to be the new celebrity promoter of the Netherlands’ flag carrier, according to a press release.Lee, who was part of Korea’s national team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, is currently playing for the English Premier League side Bolton Wanderers.KLM said that Lee is a frequent user of its airline, which has Korean crew and serves Korean meals when directly connecting between the Netherlands’ main hub Amsterdam Airport S
Korea imported no oil, gas from its overseas fields: inspection board

IndustryApr 14, 2012

South Korea has imported no oil or natural gas from any of the overseas fields it controls, despite having poured a total of 16 trillion won ($14.1 billion) to secure these assets, the country's audit and inspection agency said Saturday.The Board of Audit and Inspection announced, after reviewing the status of 17 overseas crude and gas production operations up till July 2011, that the country imp
BOK rate-setting committee seat to be filled after 2-year vacancy

Apr 13, 2012

President Lee Myung-bak plans to soon appoint a new member of the Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee that decides the nation’s key interest rate.The appointment will fill a panel seat that has been left empty for nearly two years. Under the law governing the central bank, the interest rate-setting panel is composed of seven members. But since April 2010, the committee has been led by six members, inviting criticism that the presidential office has been dragging its feet on filling the vac
‘Korean economy forecast to grow 3.4% this year’

Apr 13, 2012

South Korea’s economic growth is expected to slow to 3.4 percent in 2012 due to a sluggish global economy that may hurt investment and domestic demand, the Asian Development Bank said Friday.The growth forecast for Asia’s fourth-largest economy is lower than Seoul’s official growth projection of 3.7 percent expansion for this year and last year’s 3.6 percent expansion, according to an ADB report.The report analyzed economic conditions of 45 Asian countries.The summary of the report was distribut
Korea pledges nuclear industry overhaul

IndustryApr 13, 2012

Korea on Friday proposed a sweeping overhaul of its nuclear industry to shore up its global competitiveness and restore public confidence in one of its biggest sources of electricity. The plan, sketched out by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, focuses on notching up safety of the country’s 23 reactors and rooting out recurrent breakdowns that stoked jitters in light of the Fukushima meltdown in 2011. The measures were also designed to facilitate the government’s ambition to boost atomic power t
Hanwha opens solar energy think tank in U.S.

IndustryApr 13, 2012

Hanwha Group has launched a research institute on solar power in the U.S. to develop related technologies and boost its charge into the fledgling industry, the Korean corporation said Friday.Hanwha Solar America in Silicon Valley in California will carry out research programs on photovoltaic cells and other next-generation technologies, the group said. The conglomerate runs two similar institutes in Korea and China. “Our ongoing investment in solar energy depicts the group’s firm belief and conf
Seoul shares inch up despite North Korea’s rocket launch

Apr 13, 2012

The Seoul economy was unharmed on Friday despite the failed rocket launch by North Korea in the morning, with the country’s benchmark bourse regaining the 2,000-point level after four days. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,009.91, up 22.28 points, or 1.12 percent, from the previous day.The local currency finished at 1,134.8 won to the U.S. dollar, down 5.8 won from Thursday’s close. Senior financial policymakers here had already predicted that North Korea’s provocation would hav
Rate-freezing may continue for more months

Apr 13, 2012

Central bank keeps interest rate at 3.25 percent for 10 consecutive monthsThe Bank of Korea hinted Friday that it would neither hike nor slash the benchmark interest rate over the next few months unless there are unexpected factors.Remarks by BOK Gov. Kim Choong-soo seemingly raised the possibility that the central bank could keep the key rate untouched for at least several months.On the day, the BOK’s monetary policy committee kept the rate unchanged at 3.25 percent for the 10th consecutive mon
Unmanned vessel could soon be working for US Navy

TechnologyApr 13, 2012

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Technology that sent unmanned aircraft over Iraq and Afghanistan soon could be steering unstaffed naval boats for such dangerous tasks as minesweeping, submarine detection, intelligence gathering and approaching hostile vessels.Defense contractor Textron Inc. demonstrated what it calls its Common Unmanned Surface Vessel technology Thursday at its Textron Marine & Land Systems s
BOK freezes key rate for 10th month in April

Apr 13, 2012

South Korea's central bank on Friday left the key interest rate unchanged for the 10th straight month in April, as lingering inflationary concerns and weak pace of economic recovery challenge policymakers. Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his fellow policymakers froze the benchmark 7-day repo rate at 3.25 percent for this month, as widely expected. All 20 analysts polled by Yonhap Infom
Business sector follows election results

Apr 12, 2012

South Korea’s business community breathed a sigh of relief as the general elections ended with a victory for the ruling Saenuri Party. The result led to expectations that there won’t be any drastic change in key economic polices. But local business organizations expressed concerns about intensifying political clashes ahead of the presidential election, a host of “populist” welfare pledges and bipartisan moves in favor of more regulations for conglomerates. The Korea Employers Federation, an orga