Korea has one of the world’s most advanced capital markets both in quantitative and qualitative terms. It is the world’s 10th largest and has been classified by the Financial Times Stock Exchange as a developed market.The financial investment industry and the Financial Supervisory Service are working together to take the market further to the next level, especially since the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act took effect in 2009. Their efforts include building a more innovativ

The rise in loans extended to South Korea's local companies quickened its pace from three months earlier in the first quarter, central bank data showed Tuesday.However, the increase in corporate loans for facilities slowed over the cited period, apparently reflecting sluggish investment by local firms.Loans extended to local companies by banks and non-bank financial institutions here came to 959 trillion won ($806.2 billion) as of end-March, up 15.7 trillion won or 1.7 percent from the previous

Bondholders of Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. will gather to decide whether to approve a debt recast offer by the financially shaky shipper amid growing pressure from its creditors to join a move to salvage the country's No. 2 shipping line, industry sources said Tuesday.During a two-day meeting that runs through Wednesday, Hyundai Merchant will propose a plan to bondholders that more than half of their debt, totaling some 800 billion won ($672 million), will be swapped for the shipper's stocks and

An appeals court ordered Samsung C&T Corp., the fashion and trading arm of South Korea's top conglomerate, to increase the stock purchase price proposed to shareholders who were opposed to the company's merger last year, court records showed Tuesday.Last year, Samsung C&T was formed out of a merger between then Samsung C&T and then-Cheil Industries to become the group's de facto holding firm. The merger was part of the group's efforts to streamline its structure through big shakeups of its affil

  

South Korean stocks closed lower on Monday as investors took to the sidelines over the growing possibility of a rate hike in the United States in the near future.The Korean won dropped against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 2.04 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 1,967.13. Trade volume was moderate at 541 million shares worth 4.53 trillion won ($3.89 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 489 to 315. The local stock market got off to a weak start after U.S

The South Korean antitrust watchdog on Monday said it will lift the price ceiling on promotional giveaways, offered by companies to attract more customers, as part of its deregulation drive.Under the current Fair Trade Commission guidelines, a business is not allowed to provide free gifts worth 20 million won ($16,780) or more to those who buy their goods. The price restriction was adopted in 1982 in order to keep customers from overspending.Leading tire maker Hankook Tire Co. was ordered to can

The Export-Import Bank of Korea saw its financial health worsen in the first quarter this year because of its heavy exposure to troubled shipbuilders, the financial watchdog said Monday. The capital adequacy ratio of the state-run export agency stood at 9.89 percent as of end-March, dropping below 10 percent-level again in six months.  Eximbank headquarters in Seoul (Yonhap)“As the debt restructuring of shipbuilding and shipping industries began in earnest, Korea Eximbank set aside capital and t

The second possible inclusion of U.S.-listed Chinese blue chips, including Alibaba and Baidu, into the Morgan Stanley Capital International’s Emerging Markets index on May 31 is expected to trigger capital outflows from Korea’s stock market, analysts warned.With increasing exposure to Chinese tech and consumer heavyweights on the $3.5 trillion global index, institutional investors such as pension funds are bound to realign their equity portfolios to growth stocks such as those from China, the wo

Heavily indebted shipper Hyundai Merchant Marine has made meaningful progress in its last-ditch negotiations with international ship owners to cut the leasing rates for its chartered ships, its leading creditor said Monday.“Hyundai Merchant Marine has made remarkable progress in its negotiations with overseas ship owners over charter fee readjustment negotiations,” its main creditor Korea Development Bank said in a statement.“They are expected to reach an agreement in the next few days,” it said

Established in 2005, NongHyup Bank’s agriculture financial consulting service has provided assistance to farmers nationwide in analyzing their financial statements to help them effectively manage their income and cash flow.The consulting unit of NH Bank offers 3,226 comprehensive financial services, and has handled more than 3,650 cases involving asset management and consulting. NH Bank’s consultant provides financial consulting to a farmer. (NH Bank)This year, it has set a target of 3,500 compr

Bank lending rates on new household loans dropped from a month earlier in April, while interest paid on new deposits remained unchanged, central bank data showed Monday.The average interest rate on fresh household loans extended by local banks came to 3.17 percent last month, down 0.07 percentage points from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The drop followed two consecutive months of increase and came ahead of what many believe to be an imminent U.S. rate hike in June that coul

President Park Geun-hye’s administration has put top priority on increasing employment. In June 2013, it unveiled a roadmap to boost the country’s employment rate gradually to 70 percent by 2017.Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho, who also serves as deputy prime minister for economic affairs, last week acknowledged the goal might be unachievable.“To be candid, (I) think it may be a little difficult to accomplish the employment rate of 70 percent,” said Yoo during a lecture to a group of regional busines

Korea’s mid-tier business group E-Land Group’s negotiations to sell retail chain Kim’s Club to U.S. private equity giant KKR are still ongoing, the company’s spokesman said Monday.Hwang Woo-il, spokesperson of E-Land Group, denied a Yonhap News Agency report that said the group’s chief Park Sung-soo at a boardroom meeting ordered company officials to thoroughly reconsider the sales of Kim’s Club and listing of its operator E-Land Retail.“The news report is completely groundless. The deal is stil

The exchange traded fund assets held by Mirae Asset Global Investments have doubled over the past five years thanks to its diversified product portfolio, the company said Monday. “ETFs are typically designed to track stock and bond indices, but Mirae Asset Global Investments has boosted the portion of actively managed products for investors seeking higher returns,” the company’s official said. As of end-April, the company’s global ETF assets under management came to $11.1 billion, up 148 percent