The Korea Herald

After leaks, Korea opens center for credit data

Jan 6, 2016

Min Sung-ki, the inaugural chief of Korea Credit Information Services (KCIS)Korea Credit Information Services, a pan-industry body tasked with data preservation and protection, was launched in Seoul on Tuesday amid mounting calls for data security after a series of large-scale information leaks. The new entity will act as a centralized data center for personal credit information, taking over data collected and preserved by five different organizations across banking, credit card and insurance.
Korea's foreign exchange reserves shrink in Dec.

Jan 6, 2016

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves dwindled for a second consecutive month in December largely due to a devaluation of non-U.S. dollar assets, the central bank said Wednesday.The country's foreign exchange reserves came to $367.96 billion at the end of last month, down $500 million from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.From a year earlier, the total gained $4.4 billion. Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, as well
China's stock rout may increase financial volatility: finance minister

Jan 5, 2016

China's sudden stock crash could increase financial volatility requiring tougher government monitoring though its impact on the local market would be limited, South Korea's top economic policymaker said Tuesday.In a meeting with leaders from the country's financial sector in Seoul, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan pointed out Monday's crash and mounting geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East are heightening concerns across the board."The market seems to be responding excessively even to r
Stock rout puts nerves on edge over China risk

Jan 5, 2016

Korean stocks rebounded Tuesday after Monday’s rout in Chinese shares that sparked concerns among Seoul policymakers for financial volatility. An investor looks at screens showing stock market movements at a securities company in Beijing on Jan. 5. (AFP-Yonhap)A day after Chinese stocks plunged over 7 percent, Korean market erased early losses to trade positively, while the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed 0.61 percent higher at 1,930.53, although the Shanghai Composite Index c
Seven hedge fund firms to open in Korea

Jan 5, 2016

More than a dozen investment advisory firms have registered to set up hedge funds since the government eased local capital market regulations to foster the finance industry last year, according to authorities Monday. Thirteen investment advisers have registered or will register to establish a hedge fund in less than two months since the revision of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act took effect in November. With the amended law, the country eased the entry barrier of hedge
Demand for bank loans expected to shrink in Q1: poll

Jan 5, 2016

Demand for bank loans by local companies and households is expected to decrease in the first three months of the year, a survey showed Tuesday.The overall index measuring demand for bank loans came to 15 for the January-March period, down from 25 for the previous quarter, according to the survey of 15 local banks conducted by the Bank of Korea.The fall comes as local firms apparently expect worse business conditions down the road, while households expect borrowing rates to go up as well."Demand
Self-employed people struggle with snowballing debts

Jan 5, 2016

Loans taken by self-employed people in South Korea reached a record high in 2015, with some 20 percent of them at risk of becoming insolvent, a report showed Tuesday.According to the report by the Hana Institute of Finance, self-employed South Koreans owed a combined 520 trillion won ($437.5 billion) to local financial institutions as of end-June.Of the total loans, 18.5 percent were mortgages in excess of the government-imposed lending cap, known as the loan-to-value ratio that allows homebuyer
State pension fund logs big profit in first 10 months of 2015: data

Jan 5, 2016

South Korea's state pension fund posted a profit of more than 20 trillion won ($16.8 billion) in the first 10 months of 2015 on increased earnings from bond and stock investments, official data showed Tuesday.The National Pension Service (NPS) said its profit reached 20.8 trillion won in the January-October period, with the rate of return standing at 4.24 percent.The profit doesn't take into account premiums paid by people who will receive pensions after they retire.The bulk of the profit, or 10
KOSPI to be volatile, directionless in 2016

Jan 5, 2016

Korea's benchmark stock index KOSPI plunged more than 2 percent on Jan. 4, the first trading day of 2016, on China market rout. (Yonhap)After moving directionless for much of 2015, Korea’s main stock market is expected to trade sideways again in 2016, but with increased volatility, local analysts predict. Their forecasts have the benchmark index KOSPI moving in a range of some 300 to 400 points, roughly between 1,800 and 2,200, as several external factors and weak earnings outlooks weigh down on
IBK to expand technology-based lending, loans to SMEs

Jan 4, 2016

The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea plans to expand its support for small and medium-sized firms this year that will include more funding for startups that have nothing but technologies, the bank's top executive said Monday."Providing liquidity to small and medium-sized enterprises is what IBK is tasked to do," IBK Chairwoman Kwon Seon-joo said.To this end, the bank will expand its technology-based lending to 8 trillion won ($6.79 billion) this year, compared with 6 trillion won in 2015.Unlik
Delayed bill hampers efforts for financial firms’ restructuring

Jan 3, 2016

Financial companies are finding it difficult to push for restructuring as the National Assembly failed to pass a relevant bill last year.　The 1-year-old law governing restructuring procedures, agreements between firms and creditors and other matters, expired last year, but political parties stopped short of dealing with an alternative bill.　Industrial experts said the old law provided legal grounds for companies to voluntarily seek restructuring with the help of creditors to normalize their busi
FSS head urges careful watch against debt crisis

Jan 3, 2016

The chief of South Korea's financial watchdog vowed Sunday to step up efforts to ensure fiscal soundness of major lenders and financial institutes here Sunday, pointing to a possible crisis stemming from a U.S. rate hike."Risk management will be more important than ever in 2016,"Zhin Woong-seob, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), said in his New Year's message."Should a U.S. rate hike lead to an increase in interest rates here, local companies and households may experience a ve
South Korean firms face possible cash crunch after rating cuts

Jan 3, 2016

South Korean firms may experience a credit crisis this year after a number of them have suffered cuts in their credit ratings, market observers said Sunday.According to Korea Ratings, one of the country's three largest credit appraisers, the number of local firms suffering credit rating downgrades in 2015 came to 61, nearly matching the number of companies suffering credit downgrades in 1998 amid the Asian financial crisis at 63.What is more troubling may be that companies in nearly all industri
Sales of high-grade bonds tumble amid economic slump

Jan 3, 2016

Sales of high-grade corporate bonds in South Korea hit an over three-year low in the third quarter of last year amid growing concerns over earnings by shipbuilders, carmakers and steel producers, data showed Sunday.The net issuance of bonds with a credit rating of AA or higher plunged to 800 billion won (US$679 million) in the July-September period from 3.6 trillion won three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea and the Korea Securities Depository.It was the lowest level si
Retail investors' presence hits 6-year high in 2015

Jan 1, 2016

Retail investors' turnover in South Korea's stock market reached a six-year high in 2015, apparently boosted by low interest rates and efforts to search for high-yield investment tools, data showed Friday. The investors took up 67.6 percent of the daily turnover of 8.88 trillion won ($7.54 billion) on the main bourse and the secondary Kosdaq market last year, the highest since 67.7 percent tallied in 2009, the Korea Exchange data showed. Their portion has been on a constant decline, reaching