South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Friday following overnight losses on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 7.42 points, or 0.37 percent, to 1,993.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Seoul share prices are displayed at the Korea Exchange. (Yonhap)The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.17 percent overnight as sentiment was down after Japan‘s unexpected decision to maintain its monetary stimulus measures. A major drag on the Dow Jones were tech stocks inclu

South Korea’s telecom giant KT Corp. said Friday that its first-quarter net profit dropped 23.3 percent from a year earlier on increased costs and a slowdown in the fixed-line telephony business.  KT Corp. headquarters in downtown Seoul. (Yonhap)Net profit stood at 215.14 billion won ($189.2 million) in the January-March period on a consolidated basis, down from the previous year’s 280.59 billion won, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit, however, rose 22.8 percent on-year t

South Korea’s Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho has called for rapid and aggressive restructuring of companies under heavy debts to ensure that this does not negatively affect the capital market and household consumption.In an economic-related ministerial meeting on Thursday, the finance minister also urged other officials to draw up countermeasures and support mechanisms against the expected massive layoffs from companies that are about to go through creditor-led debt reduction. He urged agencies to i

Korean stocks closed lower on Thursday as investors digested mixed economic news, including the Federal Reserve's interest rate freeze and the Bank of Japan's additional stimulus hold-off in a rather surprising move. The Korean won rose sharply against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 14.48 points, or 0.72 percent, to 2,000,92. Trade volume was slim at 336.03 million shares worth 5.24 trillion won ($4.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 427

Korea’s bourse operator is keenly awaiting the enactment of the revised Capital Market Act in order to realize its plan to go public and become a financial holding company as part of its efforts to bolster global competitiveness.“If the related law doesn’t obtain parliamentary approval, the restructuring will be delayed by two to three years, resulting in weakening of competitiveness over other global bourse operators,” said an official at the Korea Exchange. The KRX had planned to launch its in

Bank lending rates on new household loans climbed from a month earlier in March while interest paid on fresh bank deposits dipped to a six-month low, central bank data showed Thursday.The average interest rate on new household loans extended by local banks came to 3.24 percent in March, up 0.03 percentage point from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Apartment complex in Seoul (Yonhap)The on-month rise marked a turnaround from a drop of 0.07 percentag

Local analysts are under fire for failing to foresee a plunge in the share prices of Hanjin Shipping. On Monday, Hanjin shares plummeted by the daily limit of 29.94 percent after company applied for a creditor-led debt restructuring. Two days later, share prices closed at 1,900 won, down to just over half of their value on Jan. 4, when they were trading at 3,540 won.  Hanjin Shipping (Bloomberg)Individual investors claim that the brokerages failed in their jobs, as none of the brokerage reports

Hyundai Card, known for its original marketing ideas, appears to be undaunted by the threat posed by the savvy new payment technologies of local IT giants. “We are fully prepared to face the challenges with new services that are synchronized with the needs of our customers” said Kim Jong-yoon, the director of Hyundai Card’s digital business department, in an interview with The Korea Herald on Monday.  Kim Jong-yoon, director at Hyundai Card’s digital business department. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea

Korean share prices opened higher Thursday on a rally in securities shares.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 6.46 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,021.86 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Traders monitor Seoul share prices at a local bank. (Yonhap)Analysts said investors were calmed after seeing the U.S. central bank leave the interest rate unchanged in its policy meeting on Wednesday. Tech shares such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix were trading lower in mid-morning tradin

A group of Korea-based private equity funds has failed to roll over the maturing loans they took out to acquire a stake in the Chinese unit of construction equipment maker Doosan Infracore, market sources said Wednesday.In 2011, private equity funds run by firms such as Mirae Asset, IMM and Hana Financial Investment borrowed around 130 billion won ($112.9 million) from local banks to finance their purchase of a 20 percent stake in Doosan Infracore China.According to the sources, they failed to r

Korea Development Bank plans to open binding bids for the sale of 99.9 percent of KDB Capital, an equipment leasing and venture capital firm, around the end of this month, the state-run lender said Wednesday. “We have sent out a tender invitation to three qualified bidders,” the bank said in a statement. In the running are U.S. private-equity giant Carlyle, a private equity fund set up by Seoul-based SK Securities and a local lodging company. The stake sale comes as Korea’s policymakers and poli

LEASE FEE DISCOUNT -- Two women walk past a building in Gangnam, southern Seoul, which is publicizing a 20 percent discount on the rental fees of offices, on Wednesday. The government said the average vacant ratio of office buildings in Seoul soared to 10.1 percent in the first quarter of this year due to the increased supply of offices and the protracted, sluggish real estate market. (Yonhap)

Nature Republic’s plan for an initial public offering faces another delay, after the firm’s trouble-making CEO made headlines for allegedly assaulting his lawyer while in jail. “The IPO schedule has been postponed,” an official at Nature Republic said. “We are still in the preparation process to pick the optimal time for launch.”Jeong Un-ho, the leading low-cost cosmetics brand’s founder and chief executive, who has been imprisoned on charges of gambling overseas, now faces violence charges as h

As a wave of corporate restructuring looms, Korea is moving to shore up capital at policy banks, with a Korean-style “quantitative easing” considered as one option of doing so. Starting next week, a task force comprising officials from the Finance Ministry, financial authorities, central bank and policy lenders Korea Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of Korea will begin work on the bank recapitalization plan, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. President Park Geun-hye (Yonhap)“It will lea

Korean stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors responded to mixed earnings reports, eyeing upcoming rate decisions in major economies. The local currency weakened against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 4.23 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,015.4. Trade volume was moderate at 407.86 million shares worth 5.31 trillion won ($4.62 billion), with losers far beating gainers 490 to 305.Investors stayed cautious while Federal Reserve officials gathered in