Investment by Korea's 30 major business groups grew about 18 percent on-year in 2015, led mostly by Samsung and the other two top conglomerates, industry data showed Wednesday.According to the data by CEO Score, a market research company, a total of 261 subsidiaries of the country's 30 largest business groups invested a combined 76.03 trillion won ($65.8 billion) in 2015, up 17.9 percent from the previous year's 64.48 trillion won.The figures did not include spending on research and development.

Korean retail investors have sharply increased their borrowings to buy stocks amid a recent relief rally in the local bourse, market data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association, the so-called margin debt for local stocks stood at 6.88 trillion won ($5.95 billion) as of Monday, up 10 percent from the yearly low of 6.27 trillion won recorded on Feb. 29. A lending section of a commercial bank branch in Seoul (Yonhap)The amount of margin loans t

Korean stocks started higher on Wednesday, led by gains in tech firms and automakers, bucking overnight falls in Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.04 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,969.78 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market heavyweights traded mixed, with top player Samsung Electronics rising 2.14 percent.Hyundai Motor, the nation's leading automaker, rose 0.69 percent. State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. suffered 0.62 percent fall, and top steelmak

Lackluster consumer spending has been a headache for policymakers striving to reinvigorate the sluggish economy, but recent data show that Koreans are spending more than ever before overseas. According to Bank of Korea data, Korean households’ total expenditure abroad grew 13.7 percent on-year in 2015 to a record high of 26.27 trillion won ($22.7 billion). Overseas spending has risen for four consecutive years, with the pace of growth far exceeding that of domestic expenditure. Last year, househ

The National Pension Service, Korea’s largest institutional investor, said it had purchased shares of Korean companies in various sectors.In multiple regulatory filings on Tuesday, the NPS said it had purchased a 5.02 percent stake in cable TV services provider CJ Hellovision, a 5.15 percent of trading company Hyundai Corp., a 9.71 percent of computer software-maker DuZonBIzon, a 5.01 percent of airliner Korean Air, a 5.06 percent of automobile tire maker Hankook Tire Worldwide, a 5.03 percent i

Korean stocks dropped 0.82 percent on Tuesday as foreign investors locked in profits by selling large cap shares following a slide in oil prices, analysts said. The local currency sharply fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 16.23 points to close at 1,962.74. Trade volume was moderate at 360 million shares worth 3.99 trillion won ($3.45 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 423 to 380.The market opened lower following a fall in global oil

Given that concerns are falling over the possibility of the Korea Aerospace Industries share price further declining following massive block equity sales from its major shareholders, analysts said fundamentals of the aircraft maker and parts developer will now be reflected in the market.KAI's Surion utility helicopter (KAI)Shares of KAI, which develops FA-50 fighter jets and T-50 trainers, have been facing some headwinds as a result of stake sales by its shareholders, which include Hyundai Motor

Tong Yang Moolsan, Korea’s third-largest farming machinery and equipment maker, said Tuesday that it has been chosen as preferred bidder for the takeover of smaller rival Kukju Machinery. “Tong Yang Moolsan has been named preferred bidder for the takeover of Kukju Machinery,” the KOSPI-listed firm said in a filing in Seoul. A tractor model of Kukju MachineryIn a separate filing, the seller, Dongkuk Steel Mill, also confirmed its choice of Tong Yang Moolsan among bidders. Up for sale is the entir

U.S.-based private equity fund Carlyle has reportedly failed to sell Korea’s garment original equipment manufacturer Yakjin Trading, and will move to take the company public instead, a local news report said.“Caryle is considering other various options including initial public offering,” as all potential buyers withdrew from due diligence on Yakjin and walked away from the deal, Yonhap said, quoting an unidentified source.The Carlyle Group’s associate vice president Tammy Li, reached by phone, d

South Korea posted a fiscal deficit of 38 trillion won last year on the back of increased bond issuances to finance its extra spending on boosting the economy, welfare and job creation following the Middle East respiratory syndrome epidemic, according to the Finance Ministry on Tuesday.The deficit recorded in the government’s fiscal account, excluding balances of social security funds – a key indicator of public financial soundness – is the biggest in six years. In 2009, Korea had a fiscal defic

Demand for fresh bank loans by local companies and households is expected to dwindle in the second quarter, a survey showed Tuesday.The overall index measuring demand for fresh bank loans came to 3 for the April-June period, down from 4 for the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). A lending section of a commercial bank branch in Seoul (Yonhap)A reading above zero means demand is expected to grow from three months earlier while a reading below the benchmark means demand will li

Samsung C&T on Tuesday denied a local report that it was seeking to split off its loss-making plant construction business and merge it with affiliate Samsung Engineering. Samsung C&T's headquarter buliding in Seoul (Yonhap)“We’re not considering any split-off or merger as suggested by the report,” the Seoul-based firm said in a regulatory filing. Chosun Ilbo, a daily newspaper, reported Monday that Samsung Group was pushing for the split and merger as part of its on-going efforts to realign its

Pacific Life Re, a U.S.-based reinsurance firm, has received approval from Korea’s top financial regulator to open a branch here. “Following the approval, Pacific Life Re Korea may start its business in Korea immediately,” an official at the Financial Services Commission said. Pacific Life Re, which has offices in Europe, Asia and North America, provides various reinsurance products and services. It specializes in the reinsurance of life, critical illness, income protection, hospital cash, under

CJ CGV shares started off strong Tuesday morning after the company said it has decided to acquire Turkey’s largest cinema chain Mars Entertainment Group.The company’s share price rose as much as 4.1 percent to hit 101,000 won ($87.30) during Tuesday morning trading.The nation’s largest multiscreen operator said Monday it will takeover the Turkish company for 605 million euros ($688 million) in a consortium with other financial investors.“CJ CGV will hold a 38.12 percent stake and other financial

Korea's national debt rose by 53.5 trillion won ($46.7 billion) in 2015 from a year earlier as the government managed an expansionary fiscal policy to pump-prime the sluggish economy, the finance ministry said Tuesday.The national debt that covers the central government's general and special accounts and funds reached 556.5 trillion won last year, up from 503 trillion won a year earlier, according to the 2015 settlement of accounts endorsed by the Cabinet.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance sai