South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, mainly on foreign buying. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 8.17 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,019.89 in the first 15 minutes of trading.  Seoul share prices are displayed at the Korea Exchange. (Yonhap)Sentiment was also bolstered by overnight gains on Wall Street, according to analysts. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.27 percent to 18,053.60 points, but the Nasdaq Composite Index ended 0.40 percent lower at 4,940.33

Korean shares closed marginally higher Tuesday as institutional investors opted for bargain hunting, with other Asian stocks mostly higher on Wall Street gains. The local currency sharply rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 0.11 percent, or 2.26 points, to 2,011.36. Trade volume stood at a moderate 397.41 million shares worth 4.39 trillion won ($3.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 511 to 292.Institutions bought a net 139 billion

Ahn Dong-hyun has been named new president of the Korea Capital Market Institute, the economic think tank said Tuesday. Ahn who currently serves an economics professor at Seoul National University, will head the institution for the next three years after taking office on Thursday. He will replace former president Shin In-seok who left his post in March when the Bank of Korea tapped him as a member of monetary policy board. The new president also serves as a member of National Economic Advisory C

KEB Hana Bank will raise fees on its automated banking machine networks from May, the local lender said Tuesday. The country’s fourth-largest bank by assets said it will increase surcharges for customers who transfer money to other banks’ accounts from 800 won (70 cents) to 1,000 won. The new fees will be applied at ATMs nationwide from May 13. Customers using other banks’ ATMs to withdraw money from KEB Hana Bank accounts will also have to pay the increased fee of 1,000 won. “It’s the first rai

Lotte Shopping said Tuesday it will sell its commercial building in Eunpyeong New Town, Seoul, to a real estate trust fund of KEB Hana Bank by the end of this month.Hana’s fund will purchase the property for 430 billion won ($380 million), according to a disclosure filing by Eunpyeong PFV Corp. Lotte Duty Free shop in downtown Seoul (Yonhap)Lotte Shopping’s Lotte Asset Development, a real estate developer of Lotte Group, set up the special purpose company -- Eunpyeong PFV Corp. -- to develop the

Korean advertising group Cheil Worldwide is seeking to tap deeper into the U.K. and U.S. markets with its acquisition of a British marketing agency. Iris, a London-based affiliate of Cheil, said Tuesday it acquired a stake in U.K. agency Founded that works with clients including Uniqlo, Sony, Financial Times, WePay and Zipcar. The companies declined to disclose terms of the deal.The deal highlights Cheil’s willingness to expand its oversea business and diversify the business portfolio from retai

Korea Water Resources Corp. said Tuesday that it has received 119 billion won ($104 million) from the Ministry of Strategy of Finance to repay its debt for the construction and restoration of Korea’s four major rivers.The government agreed last September to provide a total of 340 billion won this year to the state-run K-water for debt repayments.The state-run water resources manager said that the 119 billion won was the first capital support from the Finance Ministry, and the rest of the 340 bil

The Bank of Korea on Tuesday cut its outlook for Korea’s economic growth in 2016 by 0.2 percentage point to 2.8 percent, deviating further from the government’s 3.1 percent forecast and joining private forecasters in lowering growth projections. Inflation will be 1.2 percent this year, also 0.2 percentage point lower than its previous projection of 1.4 percent, BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a news conference that followed the bank’s decision to hold the base rate steady at 1.5 percent.  BOK Gov.

The Bank of Korea on Tuesday left the key interest rate at 1.5 percent, the lowest on record, for the 10th consecutive month. The decision was expected by 86 percent of 200 bond market participants in a survey. The BOK last moved the rate in June last year.  Bank of Korea (Yonhap)Four of the seven members of the bank’s monetary policy board are to be replaced Thursday by figures who, local media say, seem dovish. The central bank now expects the Korean economy to grow 2.8 percent in 2016, not 3

Institutional investors holding equity stakes in Korea’s listed companies will be urged to speak out on key corporate decisions under a draft of new corporate governance guidelines unveiled Monday. The draft, presented by the bourse operator Korea Exchange and its think tank Korea Corporate Governance Service at a forum in Seoul, is envisioned to replace existing standards for publicly traded companies to follow in areas of shareholder rights, board composition and management, and various other

Korean shares ended lower Monday, as institutional investors opted to lock in recent gains and the world's oil-producing countries failed to reach an agreement on output freeze.But foreigners stemmed a sharper loss by staying in a buying position. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 5.61 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,009.10. Trade volume stood at 334.76 million shares worth 4.25 trillion won ($3.7 billion), with losers

Hite Jinro, a listed beer and soju maker, saw oversubscriptions of its bonds issued earlier this month, despite prospects of weaker-than-expected earnings and financial difficulties on high debt.Demand for Hite Jinro’s A-graded bonds exceeded 100 billion won ($87 million) the company had initially sought to raise to finance its operations and repay its debt.Its bonds have been oversubscribed by 25 billion won, with institutional investors such as Dongbu Securities, NH Investment & Securities and