The Korea Herald

Trade dependency on China reaches all-time high

Nov 3, 2015

Korea is more dependent on trade with China than ever, which could aggravate concerns over the prolonged slowdown in its exports as China’s economic growth slows. According to Statistics Korea, trade volume with China accounted for 23.2 percent of South Korea’s total trade for the first nine months of the year, up 1.8 percentage points over the same period last year.Statistics Korea headquartersKorea’s trade with the world’s largest economy by purchasing power came to $168.8 billion during the J
Gov't to roll back excise tax base on imported luxury goods

Nov 3, 2015

The government will rescind its earlier decision to adjust excise taxes on certain imported luxury goods after it has found no actual price benefits reaching consumers, the finance ministry said Tuesday. In late August, the finance ministry raised the minimum tax base for seven luxury items as of Aug. 27 in a bid to get companies and importers to lower prices that can spur consumer spending. The seven are jewelry, furs, handbags, watches, furniture, carpets and cameras. The government raised t
Korea's dependence on China trade deepens: data

Nov 3, 2015

South Korea is becoming more reliant on its trade with China, data showed Tuesday, a worrisome development as the world's No. 2 economy is expected to grow at a slower pace in the future. Figures released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Statistics Korea, showed Asia's fourth-largest economy becoming more dependent on its neighbor for its exports. In the nine months of this year, South Korea shipped US$102.1 billion worth of goods to China, accounting for 25.7 percent of all o
APEC summit unlikely to discuss expanding TPP membership: U.S. official

Nov 3, 2015

The upcoming summit of Asia-Pacific economies is unlikely to talk about expanding membership of the recently concluded Trans Pacific Partnership free trade agreement, a senior U.S. official said Monday. Matt Matthews, deputy assistant secretary of state in charge of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, made the remark during a Foreign Press Center briefing previewing the Nov. 18-19 summit of APEC leaders in the Philippines, stressing that the current focus is on getting ratification for
Seoul shares nearly flat in late-morning trade

Nov 2, 2015

South Korean stocks traded a tad higher late Monday morning as investors took to the sidelines amid rising speculation over a U.S. interest rate hike, while foreigners snapped up recently battered stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched up 1.3 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,030.78 as of 11:20 a.m. Samsung Life Insurance, a unit of top conglomerate Samsung Group, rose 3.67 percent after it announced a share buyback program worth 700 billion won ($613.1 million) on Friday,
Korea's current account surplus soars on falling imports in Sept.

Nov 2, 2015

South Korea's current account surplus widened from a month earlier in September but mostly because imports dropped at a faster clip than exports, central bank data showed Monday. The current account surplus came to $10.61 billion last month, compared with a revised $8.4 billion surplus in the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. September marks the 43rd consecutive month of surplus, the longest streak of surplus in the country's history. The September figur
Korea's subcontract environment improving as gov't clamps down on violations

Nov 1, 2015

South Korea's subcontract environment is improving steadily as the government clamps down on unfair practices, a poll carried out by local businesses showed Sunday.The poll carried out by the Fair Trade Commission on some 100,000 businesses this year showed both contractors and subcontractors saying violations have declined compared with 2014.The antitrust watchdog checked 24 categories of subcontract law violations covering such areas as delayed payment, failure to issue formal paper contracts
Chinese premier stresses no need to be worried about world's No. 2 economy

Nov 1, 2015

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told South Korean businessmen Sunday there is no need to be overly concerned about the state of the world's No. 2 economy, and that China will continue to grow at a good pace.In a gathering with South Korea's top business leaders in Seoul, the top policymaker said that while there may be some worries about the state of certain Chinese economic indicators, Beijing is confident that there will be no serious jolt."In regards to minor jolts and bumps there really is no rea
Seoul shares to stay rangebound on U.S. rate woes next week

Oct 31, 2015

South Korean shares are expected to trade in a tight range next week as investors remain concerned over a possible U.S. rate increase, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,029.47 points on Friday, down 0.54 percent from last week.Earlier this week, the South Korean stock market gained ground on the back of upbeat data from China, the country's top trading partner.The market, however, later edged down as investors took a wait-and-see approach
BNP forecasts Korea’s rate cut in 2016

Oct 30, 2015

Despite the bounce-back in the third-quarter gross domestic product, some global investment banks’ outlook on the Korean economy still remains “pessimistic.”In addition, there are projections that the Bank of Korea could choose to conduct an interest rate cut once more early next year due to weak improvements in a variety of indexes.BNP Paribas economist Mark Walton said in a report -- released Friday -- that questions remain over the sustainability of the third-quarter growth.“Weak external dem
Korea, Japan, China agree to speed up FTA, RCEP talks

Oct 30, 2015

South Korea, Japan and China agreed Friday to accelerate talks aimed at establishing a three-way free trade agreement and a new mega trading bloc encompassing Asia and Oceania, the government said.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said policymakers at the Trilateral Economic and Trade Ministers' Meeting in Seoul exchanged views on ways to expand trade and investment between the Northeast Asian neighbors."All sides agreed to work more closely on the FTA and the Regional Comprehensive Eco
Google chief stresses importance of deregulation

Oct 30, 2015

Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet Inc., the holding company of Google Inc., said Friday that flexible regulations will help South Korea amid the protracted economic slowdown. "I know that your country is seeing an economic slowdown. My recommendation would be to adopt more flexible regulations to unleash the creativity of (South) Korean citizens," Schmidt said during a visit to Seoul.It is his first visit since Google changed to a holding company structure in August 2015. He previousl
Korea's passenger cars exports down 5.7 pct in Q3

Oct 30, 2015

South Korea's passenger car exports fell in the third quarter mainly due to a drop in demand from China, customs data showed Friday.The total value of exported vehicles came to $8.76 billion in the July-September period, down 5.7 percent from the $9.23 billion a year earlier, the Korea Customs Service said.Carmakers shipped out 639,000 cars in the three-month period, a 2.3 percent decline from the 653,000 in the third quarter of 2014."Exports to China nosedived 66 percent on-year to $160 million
Korea's industrial output jumps 1.9% in Sept.

Oct 30, 2015

South Korea's industrial output rose at the fastest pace in three months in September on strong demand for semiconductors and autos, a government report showed Friday, fueling expectations that the economic recovery is gaining steam.According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries jumped 1.9 percent on-month in September, accelerating from a 0.2 percent on-month gain in August. The increase marks the second month in a row that o
Korean manufacturers' sentiment remains weak for Nov.

Oct 30, 2015

A majority of South Korean manufacturers remain pessimistic about their business conditions in November even though more firms expect conditions for their exports to improve, a poll showed Friday.The business survey index of manufacturing companies came to 70 for November, unchanged from the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea.A reading below the benchmark 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.The index of non-manufacturing firms also remained unchanged from a month e