The Korea Herald

Baby boomer retirement casts shadow on housing market

Jan 10, 2016

The number of homeowners in Korea stood at 12.65 million at the end of 2014, with about 1.72 million of them possessing more than two houses, according to figures released by the state statistical office last week.Their average age was 53.6, up 0.4 years from the 2013 figure. People in their 40s and 50s accounted for more than half of homeowners, with the proportion amounting to 16.8 percent for those in their 60s, 14.6 percent for 30-somethings and 11 percent for septuagenarians.Notably, the nu
IPOs on secondary bourse hit 15-year high in 2015

Jan 10, 2016

The amount of money raised by newly listed firms on South Korea's secondary bourse reached a 15-year high last year despite an economic downturn at home and abroad, the bourse operator said Sunday.Local companies raised a combined 2.1 trillion won ($1.75 billion) through initial public offerings on the tech-savvy KOSDAQ throughout 2015, soaring 79.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Exchange.It marked the largest amount since 2000, when the figure reached 2.55 trillion won on t
4th hearing on Lone Star case to take place in June

Jan 10, 2016

The fourth hearing of a multi-billion-dollar case the U.S. private equity firm Lone Star filed against South Korea over its asset sell-offs will be held in The Hague in June, the government said Saturday.The third hearing was held in The Hague earlier this week, it said.During the hearing, Lone Star and the South Korean government countered each other at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in the Netherlands over the private equity fund's 2003 purchase of a controlling
Korea lags Japan in attracting tourists

Jan 8, 2016

Travelers are seen at Narita Airport. (Bloomberg)TOKYO – For the first time in almost half a century, more foreign visitors are expected to have entered Japan than Japanese people who visited abroad, local news reports said Thursday.In 2015, more than 19 million foreign tourists visited Japan, according to unrevised data from Japan’s office of tourism. The figure reflects a 40 percent increase from 2014. Transport and Tourism Minister Ishii Keiichi said “policies for easing visa issuances and wi
Japan to double imports of Korean-made dried seaweed

Jan 8, 2016

An elderly woman harvests seaweed on the coast of Jeju Island, South Korea in June, 2015. (Bloomberg)TOKYO – Japan has decided to double the amount of dried and salted seaweed it imports from Korea over the next decade, according to a Korean government agency. Officials from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency in Tokyo confirmed on Friday that by 2025, Japan has agreed to increase the import volume of dried seaweed to 2.7 billion sheets, which is about twice the amount currently being im
Shinhan Bank to cut jobs via early retirement

Jan 8, 2016

Shinhan Bank, South Korea's leading lender, plans to remove jobs via a voluntary retirement program, continuing the wave of downsizing moves that swept through the sector last year, industry sources said Friday. The bank plans to receive applications for voluntary retirement from its workers for about seven days starting next week, becoming the first financial institution this year to announce such a program.The bank's labor and management agreed to adopt a wage peak system starting this year in
Seoul shares, currency take hit from China, North Korea woes

Jan 7, 2016

South Korean shares shed 1.1 percent on Thursday as investor sentiment was dented by China's stock rout and heightened geopolitical risks stemming from North Korea's nuclear test. The local currency sank to a four-month low against the U.S. currency.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 21.1 points to end at a four-month low of 1,904.33. Trade volume was moderate at 388 million shares worth 4.9 trillion won ($4.08 billion), with losers beating winners 607 to 223.Analysts said the
China extends share sale restrictions as market plunges

Jan 7, 2016

China's market regulator Thursday extended restrictions on big shareholders selling stocks, on whom a ban had been due to expire at the end of the week, as trade was suspended in the morning following a seven percent plunge.The ban was first put into force in July as part of the government's extraordinary rescue package to stem a rout that had wiped trillions of dollars from market valuations and jolted investors worldwide.It bars sales by shareholders or senior executives who hold more than fiv
Korea sees limited growth amid falling exports, global woes: KDI

Jan 7, 2016

The South Korean economy is showing a slow and fragile recovery as faltering exports and rising global uncertainties weigh heavily on Asia's fourth-largest economy, despite a modest gain in domestic consumption, a state-run think tank said Thursday."Korea's domestic demand has improved gradually, but sluggish exports and mounting external uncertainties are encumbering the economic recovery," the Korea Development Institute said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions."Expo
Seoul shares open lower on North Korean woes

Jan 7, 2016

South Korean shares opened lower Thursday as investors' sentiment was dented by concerns over North Korea's nuclear test.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 2.9 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,922.53 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares traded lower, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.6 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix losing 0.65 percent. LG Display shed 0.43 percent.North Korea announced Wednesday it had succeeded in conducting a hydrogen bomb test, hours after what
Korea logs $1b trade surplus in cosmetics

Jan 6, 2016

Korea recorded its highest-ever trade surplus in cosmetics at $1.2 billion in 2015, the Korea Customs Service said Wednesday. The growing popularity of Korean beauty products across Asia, especially in China, was the main engine behind the phenomenal success, and the government and more companies are rushing to boost one of the country’s few remaining profitable business sectors. According to customs authorities, Korea exported a total of $2.93 billion of cosmetics goods in 2015 with the trade s
BOK sees fall in growth potential

Jan 6, 2016

President Park Geun-hye said she feels worried whenever she thinks of “what our country will feed on 10 years later” during a New Year meeting with political and business leaders Monday. She made the remark while emphasizing the need to accelerate structural reforms to put the sluggish economy on track for solid long-term growth.Park and other participants at the meeting should have also been reminded that the country’s working-age population is set to begin decreasing next year after peaking at
Korea sees limited impact of NK nuke test on markets, economy

Jan 6, 2016

South Korea expects North Korea's alleged nuclear test to have a limited impact on its financial markets and economy if past experience is any guide, the deputy chief of the country's financial regulator said Wednesday.Jeong Chan-woo, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, also said the government will monitor markets around the clock for the time being to cope with any "abnormal signs."Jeong made the remarks at the start of an emergency meeting of senior financial officials, called
Seoul shares fall, won hits 4-month low on N.K. provocation

Jan 6, 2016

South Korean stocks declined 0.26 percent on Wednesday and the local currency sank to a four-month low against the U.S. dollar as North Korea claimed that it had conducted a hydrogen bomb for the first time, dampening investor sentiment here.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 5.1 points to end at 1,925.43. Trade volume was moderate at 586 million shares worth 5.92 trillion won ($4.94 billion), with losers beating winners 464 to 356.The index started a tad higher, but lost groun
Korean brokerage firms face growing wave of layoffs

Jan 6, 2016

South Korea's securities industry faces an unabated wave of layoffs this year as brokerages strive to bolster their bottom lines and cut costs amid a bearish stock market and growing online stock trading, experts said Wednesday.Over the past several years, local securities companies have been trimming their workforces and downsizing operations as investors increasingly turn to online trading platforms in line with the rapid development of information technology.This year will be no exception as