Policymakers in the government and the Bank of Korea see the environment getting complicated for easing fiscal and monetary policies to help facilitate corporate restructuring.Recent signs of prices picking up are heightening expectations that the country’s economy may be getting out of the deflationary pressure. But caution is also being raised against the possibility of measures taken to finance corporate restructuring in this circumstance leading to a steep price increase. Bank of Korea (Yonh

Korean stocks started slightly higher Monday, taking a cue from overnight gains in Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.66 points, or 0.14 percent, to 1,950.33 in the first 15 minutes of trading. (Yonhap)Top market cap Samsung Electronics rose 0.32 percent, and leading carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 1.52 percent.State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. fell 0.83 percent.In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 65.54 points, or 0.38 percent, to 17,500

Korea’s three major shipyards, which once swept 70 percent of global orders, are to take wide-scale restructuring and downsizing steps, the impact of which may alter their global market standing amid a worldwide industry shakeup. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries, the second and third largest of the three, are considering selling “floating docks,” which in boom times allowed them to increase production capacity beyond the physical limit of onshore facility, lo

Korea’s National Pension Service, which manages the world’s third-largest public pension fund after Japan and Norway, said it has shortlisted four companies as candidate operators of hedge fund of funds (FoHF).The four are BlackRock Alternative Advisors, Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, Grosvenor Capital Management and UBS Hedge Fund Solutions, the NPS said in a statement.The NPS will narrow them down to two finalists by September and assign them $1 billion investment in FoHF, it said.Th

South Korean stocks will likely remain range-bound next week and in the lead up to the U.S. Fed's rate-setting meeting, but may suffer additional setbacks on appreciation of the U.S. dollar, local analysts said Saturday.   On Friday, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,947.67, down nearly 1 percent from a week earlier. It also marked the fourth straight month of decline.   A heightened possibility of a U.S. rate hike following better-than-anticipated U.S. indicato

The shipbuilder will push for spin-off of its profitable marine defense-related business to raise funds

The debt-ridden shipbuilder will push for a spin-off of its profitable marine defense-related business unit and its stock listing to raise funds

Korean shares closed almost unchanged Friday, while foreign investors continued to offload local shares ahead of what many believe is an imminent U.S. rate hike. The local currency slightly gained ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.89 point, or 0.05 percent, to 1,947.67. Trading volume was slim at 383 million shares worth about 4.4 trillion won ($3.69 billion). Gainers outpaced decliners 467 to 340.The index showed range-bound movements

Hyundai Merchant may get extra time for negotiations with shipowners

Korea's institutional investors have sold a net 3.558 trillion won ($2.986 billion) worth of local stocks since April on profit taking, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said Friday.From April 1 to May 19, domestic institutions largely offloaded exporter stocks such as Samsung Electronics, LG Chem, Samsung C&T and POSCO. As a result, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price index (KOSPI) fell 1.4 percent to 1,946.78 from 1,973.57 during the cited period, KRX data showed.Instead, they bought defensive st

Overseas card spending by Koreans shrank in the first quarter despite a large increase in the number of people going overseas, the central bank said Friday.In the January-March period, overseas card spending amounted to $3.3 billion, down 3.8 percent from the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, the Q1 tally marked a 2.7 percent increase. (Bloomberg)Overseas card spending includes purchases made with debit and direct payment cards, in addition to credit ca

Korean shares opened higher Friday partly on advances by tech shares.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.17 percent, or 3.28 points, to 1,950.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Large caps traded mixed.Tech giant Samsung Electronics gained 0.24 percent, while top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis added 0.62 percent. (Yonhap)Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor shed 0.37 percent, while its smaller affiliate Kia Motors advanced 0.32 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,

South Korean retail giant Lotte Group's hotel unit said Thursday it will go public on the KOSPI market on June 29, which is expected to fetch over 5 trillion won ($4.19 billion) to mark as the nation's largest-ever initial public offering.Hotel Lotte Co. said in a regulatory filing that it will offer 47.85 million shares at a range between 97,000 won to 120,000 won per share. Hotel Lotte (Yonhap)The offering is estimated to be around 4.6 trillion to 5.7 trillion won, and its medium range of pric

Bondholders of Hanjin Shipping, Korea’s biggest container carrier, agreed to extend the maturity of debts for four months, in a major step to help the company avoid bankruptcy. Hanjin Shipping's container ship (Yonhap)During a meeting on Thursday, bondholders gave the nod to the firm’s proposal to roll over 35.8 billion won ($30 million) in bonds due next week. On May 5, creditors of the Cash-strapped Hanjin Shipping agreed to offer financial assistance to the company and initiate a corporate re

Management consultancy advises merger of state-run oil and gas companies to restructure overseas oil development business