South Korea's 10 major conglomerates slashed their investments by 8.2 percent in the first six months of this year, data showed Monday, despite the government's efforts to boost corporate investments.The combined investments by 75 companies affiliated with the country's top 10 business groups reached 36 trillion won (US$32 billion) between January and June, compared with 39.2 trillion from a year ago, according to data compiled by CEOscore, a website that tracks the country's top 10 conglomerate

The level of South Korea's foreign reserves might not be sufficient enough to cope with a possible steep cross-border capital outflow sparked by external market volatility, experts said Monday.According to data provided by the Bank of Korea, the finance ministry and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), South Korea held US$329.7 billion worth of foreign reserves as of end-July.This is about 130 percent of what the IMF recommended for South Korea.The ratio, however, is lower than those of other

Seoul shares are expected to trade almost flat next week as investors are expected to sit on the sidelines amid rising concerns over a cut in the Fed's quantitative easing, analysts said.The country's key stock index, the KOSPI, shed 2.6 percent this week to close at 1,880.71 on Friday.Earlier this week, the local stock market traded almost flat as investors awaited the July minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary meeting, which were released on Thursday, U.S. time.The Fed's reduction of

The daily use of plastic cards in South Korea grew at a slower pace in the first half compared with six months earlier amid sluggish domestic demand, the central bank said Thursday.Spending via plastic including credit and debit cards was valued at a daily average of 1.8 trillion won ($1.59 billion) in the January-June period, up 2.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.The growth slowed compared with the second half of 2012 when the daily card use grew 5.5 percent on-year

South Korean credit card companies saw the default rates of their card holders increase in the first half amid the protracted economic slump, data showed Thursday.Samsung Card Co., one of South Korea’s largest credit card firms, saw its delinquency rate reach 1.82 percent as of end-June this year, up 0.14 percentage point from end-December 2012, industry data showed.The default rate measures overdue credit card bills against the total charge. A higher number indicates more people are failing to

With the sudden suspension of another nuclear reactor, authorities issued a level-two warning on the nation’s electric power supply, for the fourth time this summer.The Korea Power Exchange raised the “attention” warning at 1:37 p.m. on Thursday as the quick-start reserve fell below the 3.5-million-kilowatt level, officials said.This caused tension in the power supply control towers as the alarm came some 20 minutes sooner than expected.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy claimed late las

Sales at South Korea’s major discount outlet chains and department stores declined in July from a year earlier as the prolonged rainy season curbed retail sales, the government said Thursday.According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, combined sales of three major discount outlet chains here fell 4.9 percent in July from a year earlier, a turnaround from a 4.2 percent on-year gain in June. The three discount outlet chains are Lotte Mart, E-Mart and Homeplus.The government said that

Aiming to boost the competitiveness of local shipbuilders, the state-run Korea Trade Insurance Corp., or K-sure, has launched the K-sure Covered Bond Program to provide easier funding for shipowners, officials said Thursday.The idea is to encourage foreign ship owners to place orders with Korean shipbuilders by offering them low-interest bond funds as an alternative to conventional bank loans.“Major ship owners have been faced with financial obstacles over recent years as the European banks, ami

The Hanbit Nuclear Reactor 6, located in Yeonggwang, South Jeolla Province, suddenly halted operations on Wednesday afternoon due to mechanical failure, adding to the concerns on electricity shortage.“The reactor suddenly went out of order and had to be suspended at 2:44 p.m.,” said an official of the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corporation.As a result, the nation’s backup power level dropped from the 4.5 million kilowatt level to 3.7 million kilowatts as of 3 p.m., which triggered the phase 3 a