South Korea’s producer prices increased at the slowest clip in 17 months in January on a sharp fall in prices of vegetables and fruits, the central bank said Thursday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, gained 3.4 percent in January from one year ago, slowing down from 4.3 percent on-year growth in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Last month’s data, which was released ahead of the BOK’s monetary policy meeting to set the key interest rate

Delinquent borrowers of retirement age are rising in South Korea, data showed Thursday, raising concerns that the trend may accelerate in line with its rapidly aging society.A total of 18,342 people in their fifties or older filed for a debt workout last year, accounting for 24.2 percent of all debt workout applicants, according to the data by the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service.Of the total, those in their fifties accounted for 19.4 percent, while the comparable figure for those in their

A majority of South Korean firms saw their earnings drop or suffered losses in the fourth quarter of 2012, hit by global jitters stemming from the world’s major economies, data showed on Thursday.According to data compiled by a local financial information provider, FnGuide, 140, or 57 percent of the 245 listed firms that disclosed their fourth-quarter earnings, reported red figures or an on-quarter decline in their operating profit.Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., the country‘s second-largest shippe

South Korean mobile carriers’ investment rose 20 percent in 2011 from a year earlier mainly on increased spending to build high-speed long-term evolution networks, the telecommunications watchdog said Thursday.The three mobile carriers including top player SK Telecom Co. spent 7.67 trillion won ($6.86 billion) on investment in 2011, compared with 6.4 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Korea Communications Commission.The watchdog said that local mobile carriers spent more money last ye

BMW will recall 2,231 vehicles sold in South Korea for manufacturing defects that could cause overheating and fire in cooling pumps, the transportation ministry said Thursday.Subject to the recall are Mini Cooper S models manufactured between March 1, 2007 and Jan. 18 of last year in its British plant, according to the ministry.The cars were found to have problems with cooling pumps designed to blow more air into engines for better combustion. The defect could cause overheating and fire, the min

South Korea’s economic growth will likely decelerate in 2012 due to a global slowdown and rising tensions in the Middle East, a think tank said Thursday.Asia‘s fourth-largest economy is expected to grow 3.2 percent this year, slowing from last year’s 3.6-percent expansion, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) under the Federation of Korean Industries, the nation‘s largest business lobby.The latest growth projection is also down from its earlier estimate of a 3.5 percent gain

Prices of imported agricultural, livestock and fishery products grew nearly 10 percent on-year in January, customs data showed Thursday, indicating that expensive farm products are exerting upward pressure on inflation.The import price index for such products stood at 129.8 in January, up 9.5 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to the data offered by the Korea Customs Service. Imported prices of chicken meat surged 24.9 percent over the cited period, while prices of crabs, poll

South Korea’s tax agency will intensify its surveillance of large-sized business groups to head off their tax evasion attempts, a move aimed at establishing fair taxation in the corporate sector, sources said Thursday.The National Tax Service is planning to deploy 100 top-class investigation experts to regional tax offices in order to help them probe any tax evasion attempts by conglomerates, according to the sources. “Large companies with annual sales of 500 billion won ($447.4 million) or more

Lotte Homeshopping Co., a South Korean TV-based retailer, said Thursday that it will start 24-hour sales broadcasting in Vietnam that could expand its presence in the fast emerging Southeast Asian country.The company, which is part of the Lotte Group, said all-day broadcasting will start on Friday and cover 1.5 million households in the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City areas.It said products such as TV sets made by Samsung Electronics, miscellaneous household goods like containers made by Lock & Lock

The Financial Services Commission approved Hana Financial Group’s application to take over Jeil 2 Savings Bank and Ace Mutual Savings Bank.With the regulatory endorsement, the financial group’s secondary banking unit, named Hana Savings Bank, is poised to launch business on Feb. 17.Hana Financial won the bid to acquire the two distressed savings banks last December.Jeil 2 Savings Bank, which is headquartered in Seoul, has assets of 503.7 billion won ($441.8 million). Ace Mutual is based in Inche

The ratio of bank loans to smaller firms slumped to a historic low while that for large-cap companies continued to rise, data showed Wednesday, showing a widening gap between funding circumstances for smaller firms and large businesses.The portion of bank loans to smaller firms reached 78.7 percent as of the end of November, down from 88.8 percent in January 2007, according to data by the Bank of Korea. In contrast, the ratio of loans extended to large-cap firms nearly doubled to 21.3 percent fr

Department store sales drop 4.2 percent in January, the lowest in 37 monthsKorea’s private consumption is declining rapidly, data showed Wednesday, amid sluggish sentiment sparked by the eurozone fiscal debt crisis. Local consumers are tightening their belts to grapple with a slowing economy, which in turn deals a blow to manufacturers and big-ticket item sales. Sales at department stores slowed and imports of goods also dropped. Private consumption fell 0.4 percent in the October-December perio