Six South Korean banks made the global top 100 banks list, a Britain-based financial industry tracker said Sunday, although none of them were included in the top 50 bracket.In Asia's fourth-largest economy, KDB Financial Group, KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, Woori Financial Group and Nonghyup Financial Group placed in the top 100, the data compiled by The Banker showed.KDB Financial outpaced other South Korean rivals at 62nd, up 16 notches from a year earlier.

South Korea's cigarette tax revenue jumped in the first six months of 2015 from a year earlier on the back of the country's new tax policy that began as of January, data showed Sunday.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said it has raked in 4.3 trillion won ($3.8 billion) from cigarette sales, up 36 percent from the 3.16 trillion won posted a year earlier.The increase is significant as the sales of cigarettes in contrast fell 28.3 percent over the cited period to 1.46 billion packets. The gover

South Korean stocks closed 0.17 percent up as eased Greek and Chinese fears encouraged investors to buy oversold shares, analysts said. The local currency gained ground against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 3.36 points to close at 2,031.17. Trading volume was moderate at 369.5 million shares worth 6.52 trillion won (US$5.77 billion), with winners beating decliners 484 to 318.   "The (South Korean) market has experienced wide fluctuations in pric

South Korean shares started slightly higher as Greece offered a new bailout proposal and China's stock market rebounded, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained1.19 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,029 in the first 15 minutes of trading.   The Greece government has submitted a plan for pension reform and tax hikes in return for additional bailout programs, while Chinese financial authorities have released a set of market-stabilizing measures to end the rout o

Import prices in South Korea declined in June, extending their on-year fall to 34 straight months, due mainly to weaker global oil prices, data showed Friday.   In local currency terms, import prices dropped 14 percent in June from the previous year, slightly slowing from a 14.6 percent on-year drop in May, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.   The data showed that import prices of coal and oil products plunged 33.4 percent on-year in June, compared with a 31.7 percent fall

The International Monetary Fund lowered its global growth forecast for 2015 to 3.3 percentThursday, citing weaker than expected economic gains in the United States and North America.The latest estimate is down from 3.5 percent growth predicted by the Washington-based fund in April. It is also below the 3.4 percent growth reached last year, a sign of challenges weighingdown the worldwide economy.The World Economic Outlook Update report showed consumer prices among advanced economies standing at z

The government plans to inject about 110 trillion won ($97 billion) into export-oriented sectors in cooperation with conglomerates in a joint bid to boost the economy by revitalizing the troubled exports sector.The state-led support scheme was unveiled during the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s policy briefing on how to bolster exporters’ competitiveness to President Park Geun-hye at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday.While the funding plan reflected the undermined corporate sentiment in the wak

President Park Geun-hye told officials on Thursday to mobilize all policy tools available to try to encourage South Korean business leaders to boost investment.She said policy tools include an 11.8 trillion won ($10.49 billion) extra budget bill, which is part of a 22 trillion won stimulus package designed to revive the faltering economy.The National Assembly has yet to approve the bill.She said increased investment and restoration of consumer confidence is the key to getting out of the tough ec

South Korea's central bank on Thursday lowered its growth forecast for this year, the second downgrade in three months, citing the fallout from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak and sagging exports.The Bank of Korea cut its 2015 growth estimate to 2.8 percent from 3.1 percent in its latest economic update released every three months. In April, the BOK lowered the outlook to 3.1 percent from 3.4 percent.The central bank estimated the first-half growth at 2.4 percent, with private spen

The government announced a package of measures Thursday to boost investment amid concerns domestic demand could slip into the doldrums due to slumping exports and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak.The measures, which aim to spur more than 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion) of investments in tourism, venture and construction sectors, come after the government recently cut this year's growth target to 3.1 percent from 3.8 percent in the face of tough domestic and external challenges. "The g

South Korea's central bank left the key interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1.5 percent Thursday in an apparent bid to prevent the fallout from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak from hurting the economy.The July decision is in line with a poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, in which all 17 analysts and economists projected the BOK would freeze the key rate to monitor the impact of previous rate cuts and ease household debt risks.Last month, th

President Park Geun-hye vowed Wednesday to press ahead with efforts to reform South Korea's rigid labor market and other sectors.She has been struggling to overhaul such issues as labor market duality -- the difference in pay and job security between regular and non-regular workers.Some companies shun recruitment and instead rely on non-regular workers that they can fire more easily as the economy remains sluggish, a development that pushed up the jobless rate for young people.The unemployment r

Household loans extended by South Korean lenders increased at a faster pace in June compared with the previous month amid low lending rates, central bank data showed Wednesday.Outstanding household loans extended by local banks totaled 594.5 trillion won ($524.5 billion) as of the end of last month, adding 8.1 trillion won from May, according to the Bank of Korea.The monthly gain was smaller than the record 8.5 trillion-won gain in April but still bigger than the 7.3 trillion-won increase posted

The head of Samsung C&T Co., a construction and trading arm of Samsung Group, said Wednesday he believes the National Pension Service, the firm's single largest shareholder, will vote for the merger with a group affiliate at next week's shareholder meeting.Samsung C&T shareholders are scheduled to meet on July 17 to cast ballots on Cheil Industries Inc.'s proposal to take over the builder in an all-stock deal worth 8.9 trillion won ($7.93 billion). Cheil Industries is the de facto holding firm o

South Korea's M2 money supply expanded at the fastest clip in almost five years in May, due mainly to increased liquidity of households, central bank data showed Wednesday.The M2 surged 9.3 percent on-year to 2,170.5 trillion won ($1.9 trillion) in May, quickening from a 9 percent increase in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The on-year growth marks the fastest increase since July 2010 when the M2 expanded 9.3 percent.From a month earlier, the country's M2 rose 1 percent on a s