ADB cuts Korea’s forecast; IMF, BOK likely to follow suit

South Korea's central bank is expected to lower its 2014 forecast of the country's economic growth this week amid growing signs of the world economy's slowdown, experts said Sunday.After a monthly rate-setting meeting on Thursday, the Bank of Korea (BOK) could cut next year's growth prospect for South Korea to between 3.8 percent and 3.9 percent, citing a possible move by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to slash its growth forecast for the world economy in 2014, they said.In July, the BOK

South Korea's central bank said Friday it plans to aggressively pursue measures to stabilize the financial market, if speculation over U.S. monetary stimulus reduction increases market jitters.Uncertainty over the timing of the Federal Reserve's stimulus cut has grown as the U.S. central bank surprised the market last month by deciding to delay tapering its US$85 billion monthly bond-buying stimulus program.The Bank of Korea (BOK) said in its monetary policy report that if necessary, it will car

The amount of individual credit card spending in South Korea rose to the highest level in more than 10 years in July, reflecting improving consumer sentiment, data showed Friday.The figure stood at 38.85 trillion won (US$36.28 billion) at the end of July, up 9.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK).It marks the highest monthly amount since the 39.30 trillion won tallied as of end-January in 2003, the BOK said, adding that the data include transactions mad

South Korea's foreign-exchange reserves climbed by the largest amount in almost two years in September, aided by a weaker U.S. dollar and sales of currency stabilization bonds, the central bank said Friday.The country's foreign reserves totaled a record high of $336.92 billion as of end-September, up $5.83 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The September gain marked the largest monthly growth since October 2011 when the FX reserves rose by $7.59 billion.The for

President Park Geun-hye is expected to disclose her government’s position on joining the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed multilateral free trade agreement by some Asia-Pacific countries, next week.Ju Chul-ki, Park’s senior secretary for foreign affairs, said Thursday that the president could mention the issue at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum next week in Bali, Indonesia.“The government has been studying the possibility (of joining the trade talks),” Ju said. “Since m

South Korean retailers predicted that their business conditions will be bullish in the fourth quarter of the year thanks to hopes that restoring consumer sentiment may lead to year-end shopping sprees, a poll showed Wednesday.According to the survey of 943 retailers by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the retail business survey index fell to 101, down four points from 105 for the third quarter, remaining above the benchmark level. The index rose above the benchmark level in the third

South Korea is seeking to regain the status of a country free of foot-and-mouth disease with vaccination, the government said Wednesday, a move partly aimed at boosting the country’s exports of pork and beef products.The country plans to file a request with the Organization for Animal Health on Friday to regain its status as an FMD-free country with vaccination, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.The animal health organization, better known by its French name Office

South Korea revealed a set of measures to develop the country’s agriculture industry and rural areas that are also designed to boost its farm exports and self-sufficiency of food.The five-year plan was reviewed and approved at a Cabinet meeting, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.Through its development plan, the government will seek to boost the country’s agricultural output to 50 trillion won ($46.55 billion) in 2017 from 46.4 trillion won in 2012, also raising th

Samsung Group, the country’s largest business group, said Wednesday that it is considering modifying its recruitment system for recent college graduates, as a larger than expected number of people have applied for the group’s new positions. More than 100,000 college students submitted their applications last week to the group. Samsung plans to hire some 5,500 new college graduates for the second half of the year.“We cannot help but review our recruitment system, as a large number of college stud

The richest households in South Korea earned about 10 times more than those in the poorest income brackets last year, data showed Wednesday, pointing to a still-wide gap between the haves and have-nots.According to the data provided by Statistics Korea and the finance ministry, the average monthly income of the richest 10 percent of households stood at 9.21 million won ($8,580) last year. The amount compared with 903,000 won for the poorest 10 percent of households, the data showed. This means t

South Korea's trade surplus widened from a year earlier last month despite a slight drop in exports as its imports shrank at a faster rate, the government said Tuesday.In September, the country's exports dropped 1.5 percent from the same month last year to $44.74 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Its imports dropped 3.6 percent on-year to about $41.03 billion with its trade surplus coming to $3.71 billion.The trade surplus for September compares with a surplus of $

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the slowest pace in 14 years in September, affected by falls in costs of farming products, a government report showed Tuesday.The country's consumer price index rose 0.8 percent on-year in September, decelerating from a 1.3 percent gain tallied in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea.The September figure marked the slowest on-year consumer price growth since September 1999 when it also rose 0.8 percent.The core inflation, which exc