South Korea said Wednesday that it will ease regulations on the use of areas freed from "green belt" development restrictions, a move intended to bolster regional economies through brisk investment.The government also designated dozens of regional development blocks and said it will provide support for business projects led by regional governments so that they can boost their growth engines.The moves were decided at a trade-investment promotion committee chaired by President Park Geun-hye to spu

South Korea and Vietnam will hold a fresh round of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement this week, the South Korean government said Tuesday.The fourth round of FTA negotiations between the two countries will be held in Ho Chi Minh City from Wednesday to Friday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.“At the upcoming fourth round of negotiations, the two countries plan to hold in-depth discussions on various areas, such as products, service, investment, country of or

Household loans extended by South Korean financial institutions declined for the first time in 11 months in January as mortgage and credit loans fell, the central bank said Tuesday.Outstanding household lending by local banks and non-bank institutions totaled 685.2 trillion won ($643.6 billion) as of end-January, down 2 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.Such lending declined for the first time since February last year when household loans fell by 1.8 trillion w

South Korea’s exports of information communication technology products grew in February from a year earlier, together with its trade surplus in the sector, the government said Monday.Outbound shipments of ICT products rose 8.4 percent on-year to $12.84 billion last month, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The figure, however, marks a slight drop from $13.13 billion posted in the previous month.“Exports marked a strong growth in February as shipments to advanced countries ro

The South Korean stock market may gain ground this week as investor sentiment is relieved on eased concerns over a military clash between Ukraine and Russia, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 1,974.68, up 0.1 percent from a week earlier, trading in a narrow range throughout the week from political unrest in Ukraine and North Korea’s firing of short-range missiles. Analysts said that the KOSPI is likely to try to move up next week as crisis in Ukra

The latest round of negotiations for a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with China and Japan ended without a major breakthrough, officials said Friday, with the talks mostly limited to setting the boundary of their discussions.   "At this round of talks, the countries held discussions on the modality (negotiation guidelines) for products and the scope of their negotiations," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a press release.   The fourth round of the trilateral FTA negotiat

South Korea will spend 4 trillion won ($3.8 billion) over the next three years to boost venture start-ups and encourage entrepreneurship, the finance minister said Friday."We will improve systems for each stage from business launch to growth, recoupment of invested money and retrying (after a failure), and spend 4 trillion won by the end of 2017 to regain vitality in business start-ups and unrelenting spirit," Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok told a public-private joint meeting on realizing the "cr

The local economy remains on a “moderate” recovery path as domestic demand picks up and overall financial market conditions become stable, a state-run think tank said Thursday. “The Korean economy is seen to continue at a moderate recovery pace, mainly on domestic demand,” the Korea Development Institute said in a monthly economic assessment report. The report is based on the latest indicators for exports, consumption, investment, production and job creation. The KDI said that consumption-relate

South Korea’s leading companies plan to invest 132.9 trillion ($124 billion) won in research and development and facility upgrades in 2014, a poll showed Thursday.The total represents a 6.1 percent increase from 125.3 trillion won in 2013, said the Federation of Korean Industries, an association for big businesses. The survey was conducted on the 600 largest companies in terms of sales as of late 2012, with 450 companies responding. The FKI said that of those that replied, 225 said they planned

Credit card spending grew at the fastest pace in 14 months in January, data showed on Tuesday, amid signs that the local economy is on a recovery track. Purchases made with credit cards reached 46.9 trillion won ($43.8 billion) in January, growing 9 percent from a year earlier, the largest gain since November 2012, according to data compiled by the Credit Finance Association.The data includes transactions on credit, debit and prepaid cards. Cash advances, overseas spending and card loans were no