South Korea and India will hold trade ministerial talks in March to expand the level of their market liberalization under a bilateral free trade agreement already in effect, South Korea's trade minister said Monday.The talks will be a follow-up to a verbal agreement between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during Park's trip to India last week. South Korea has repeatedly asked for an upgrade to the bilateral trade pact, known as the comprehensive

South Korea's major companies forecast their business conditions to remain gloomy in February due to a drop in profitability and persistent economic uncertainties, a poll showed Monday.The business survey index came to 88.7 for next month, down from 93.4 for January, according to the poll of the top 600 companies by sales conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries.A BSI reading below the benchmark 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.The index has been below 100 for the fourth straight

Cargo processed at South Korea's seaports grew slightly in 2013 from a year earlier on a rise in import-export cargo, the government said Monday.The amount of cargo handled at the country's seaports reached about 1.35 billion tons last year, up 0.8 percent from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.Import-export cargo edged up 0.9 percent on-year to some 1.12 billion tons while domestic cargo gained 0.3 percent to about 230 million tons.In 2013, the country's overa

The weak Japanese yen is clearly hurting South Korean exports to the island nation, a poll conducted by the country’s international trade organization showed Sunday.According to the survey on companies that ship goods to Japan, 95 percent claimed the unfavorable exchange rate is directly affecting their business operations, resulting in lower profits and a reduced market share, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said.Of the 301 companies that responded to the poll, 48.8 percent sai

The weak Japanese yen is clearly hurting South Korean exports to the island nation, a poll conducted by the country's international trade organization showed Sunday.According to the survey on companies that ship goods to Japan, 95 percent claimed the unfavorable exchange rate is directly affecting their business operations, resulting in lower profits and a reduced market share, the Korea International Trade Association said.Of the 301 companies that responded to the poll, 48.8 percent said they

South Korea’s terms of trade improved to a four-month high in December as import prices fell at a faster pace than export costs, the central bank said Thursday.The country’s net terms-of-trade index for goods ― a gauge of trade terms ― came in at 89.9 in December, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. It marked the highest since 90.4, tallied for August last year. The index is calculated by dividing the export price index by the import price index. The base year is

South Korea’s financial regulator said Thursday it would announce next month comprehensive measures aimed at protecting personal data handled by financial firms, as the latest data breach has fueled concerns over their poor management of client information.On Wednesday, the Financial Services Commission vowed stern punishments over any data leak at financial firms, warning of heavy penalty and suspension or dismissals of top executives. “The measures unveiled yesterday are a kind of guideline, a

South Korea's economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter from three months earlier but logged the fastest expansion in two years in 2013 on exports, the central bank said Thursday.Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, grew 0.9 percent in the October-December period from three months earlier, compared with a 1.1 percent on-quarter gain in the third quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The fourth-quarter growth was the slowest since a 0.8 pe

A state-run think tank called on the government Wednesday to step up efforts to stimulate job creation for younger people and boost their entrepreneurship through early education and training.The report by the Korea Development Institute addressed worsening labor market conditions for the younger generation.Government data showed that the employment rate among people aged 15-29 hit a record low of 39.7 percent last year.“The difficulty facing younger people in landing jobs is one of the major an

South Korea’s exports are expected to grow in the first quarter of this year as the global economic recovery gains momentum, a survey of foreign buyers and assessment of trade data showed Monday.According to the leading export index compiled by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, the country’s outbound shipments should expand compared with the fourth quarter of last year.The prediction is noteworthy because last year’s export tally of $560 billion was the largest in the country’s histor

Asian stocks fell, led by Nintendo Co., after China’s economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter as gains in factory output and investment spending eased.Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s biggest lender by market value, dropped 1.4 percent in Hong Kong. Nintendo tumbled 8.2 percent in Tokyo, the biggest decline on the regional benchmark index, after the maker of Wii video-game consoles forecast a surprise full-year loss. Ssangyong Motor Co. rose 3 percent after controlli

South Korea’s producer prices declined for the 15th straight month in December as the local currency’s ascent to the U.S. dollar cut import prices, the central bank said Monday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, slid 0.4 percent in December from a year earlier, compared with a 0.9 percent on-year decline in November, according to the Bank of Korea.On an on-year growth basis, the producer prices have fallen every month since October 2012, when they fell 0.5 percen