South Korean shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. said Monday it has clinched a $900 million order to provide offshore platforms and other facilities off the coast of Africa.Under the deal with an oil major, Hyundai Heavy will build two offshore gas platforms and other facilities by the end of 2014, the company said.Hyundai Heavy gave no further specifics on the buyer or other details, but added the platforms will be built in the seas off Nigeria.With the contract, Hyundai Heavy has w

Exports of Korea’s four major refiners have already reached an all-time high this year on the back of soaring global demand for their lighter, cleaner petrol products, industry figures showed Monday.Combined exports of SK Innovation, GS Caltex, S-Oil and Hyundai Oilbank topped 76.1 trillion won ($64.5 billion) during the first ten months of the year, up more than 20 percent from 63.1 trillion won for the whole of 2010. That also reflects a sharp increase compared with the previous high of 68.1 t

The number of South Korean corporate bankruptcies jumped to a seven-month high in November, the central bank said Monday, raising concerns at signs of an economic slowdown.The number of companies that went belly-up totaled 130 last month, up from 118 in October, according to the Bank of Korea.The figure is the highest since 134 bankruptcies registered in April. The BOK added that the number of newly set-up firms reached 5,432 in November, growing 358 from the previous month.The default rate of c

South Korea plans to actively use its tariff quota system to cope with supply-side instability that can fuel inflationary pressure in 2012, the finance minister said Monday.In a meeting with economic policymakers, Bahk Jae-wan said Seoul plans to use the flexible tariffs to stabilize prices of products that may experience supply shortfalls.“There may be supply problems with products such as rice, dried chili peppers, garlic and pork in the coming months that can affect consumer prices,” he said.

South Korea is seeking to create an Asian financial safety next year as part of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization regime to better insulate the regional economies from a worldwide financial meltdown, the country’s senior economic policymaker said Monday.Speaking at the G20 global economic cooperation conference hosted by the Korea Development Institute, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said that there is support and sympathy for setting up a regional precautionary credit line. The plan

South Korea’s real interest rate remained in negative territory for the 25th straight month in November, data showed Monday, raising concerns the trend will continue into next year amid a possible global economic downturn.The real interest rate, or the benchmark interest rate minus the consumer inflation rate, stood at minus 1 percent in November, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea.The November figure extended the minus real interest rate period to its longest streak since the B

By Yang Sung-jinSouth Korea’s stock market has demonstrated the most volatility of any market worldwide this year, data showed on Monday.Even aside from the turbulence sparked by the news of Kim Jong-il’s death, the financial industry’s data suggests that Korean investors rode a roller coaster ride this year, thanks to greater external uncertainties.The eurozone sovereign debt crisis, the growing local derivatives market and heavy reliance of the Korean economy on trades added to volatility, bro

By Cynthia J. KimThe death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il sparked immediate concern in the market, pushing the won to a two-month low against the dollar and dropping Seoul stocks to a three-week low.The benchmark KOSPI lost 3.43 percent and closed at 1,776.93 after sliding as much as to 1,750.60 at around noon when North Korea announced that the communist leader died on Dec. 17. The local currency lost 1.4 percent to 1,174 won against the greenback after dipping as low as 1,179.95. The junio

Factories running as usual in Gaeseong industrial park despite news of Kim’s deathNews of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death had no immediate impact on the joint industrial park just north of the inter-Korean border Monday, but observers are wary of temporary setbacks in production during the official mourning period.Once Kim’s Swiss-educated heir Jong-un firms up his control over the government, however, inter-Korean trade and economic collaboration are expected to expand in the long term.

Global rating firms predicted Monday that the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il would not lead to a downgrade of South Korea’s credit rating.Moody’s Investors Service said that the economic fundamentals of Seoul would not change with Kim’s death.“We will continue to rate South Korea on the basis of its economic, institutional and government financial fundamentals,” a senior vice president at Moody’s in Singapore was quoted by a Chinese news provider as saying.He said these would not chang

SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's finance minister said Monday the government is keeping close tabs on developments and will take all necessary steps to determine the economic impact of the North Korean leader's death."Seoul is checking all changes, carefully analyzing their implications and