The South Korean stock market has taken third place in terms of investment by global investors trailing behind those in India and Taiwan this year, the Seoul bourse operator said Monday.Stock investors plowed a net $42.4 billion in seven Asian emerging markets as of Nov. 26, while setting aside 18.4 percent, or $7.81 billion, in the South Korean market, the Korea Exchange said. Six others include India, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam.The investors purchased a net $5 billi

Woori Bank chief Lee Soon-woo said Monday he will not serve another term at the state-owned lender which is having trouble finding a private-sector owner.   In an e-mail sent to bank employees, Lee said that he has done his best during his three-year term at the state-controlled financial group that has been undergoing privatization under a government plan.   Lee's remarks come as the government's latest efforts to sell its controlling stake in Woori Bank, the country's third-largest lender, fai

Foreign investors turned to net buyers of South Korean stocks in November, ending their two-month selling streak, as central banks from major economies such as Japan and China stepped up their monetary easing measures, data showed on Monday.Overseas investors bought 1.8 trillion won (US$1.62 billion) worth of local shares last month, a turnaround from the 2 trillion won net sell-off in October and the 600 billion won net selling in September, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange.

South Korea’s financial authorities are considering trying again to sell a controlling stake in state-owned Woori Bank next year following the latest failure to put the lender in private hands, sources said Sunday.An auction to sell Woori Bank fell through Friday due to a lack of bidders, the government’s fourth failure to privatize South Korea’s No. 3 bank.“There is no change in the government’s stance of privatizing Woori Bank at an early date,” said an official at the Financial Services Commi

The South Korean unit of Australia-based asset manager Macquarie Funds Group faces a three-month business suspension and was fined 100 million won ($91,000) for business malpractice linked to bond trading, the country’s financial watchdog said Friday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, Macquarie Investment Management Korea has been involved in the business malpractice of “parking” bonds at brokerages for a certain period, not immediately recording bond purchases on the balance sheets

An auction to sell state-run Woori Bank failed on Friday due to a lack of bidders, the financial regulator said, the fourth such failed attempt by the government to privatize South Korea's No. 3 bank.“After closing the bid for Woori Bank's managerial rights, only China's Anbang Property & Casualty Insurance Co. applied for it,” said the Financial Services Commission.At least two bidders are needed to make the auction valid, according to local laws.Anbang Insurance is a leading Chinese insurer, w

The delinquency rate on loans extended by South Korean banks edged up in October from a month earlier as new debts were added, the financial watchdog said Thursday.  The average delinquency rate for bank loans stood at 0.90 percent at the end of October, up 0.04 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).   The amount of fresh bad loans worth 1.8 trillion won (US$1.62 billion) outweighed the 1.3 trillion won worth of cleared bad debts in October. 

Bank lending rates for new loans in South Korea tumbled to a new low last month, with the pace of the decline quickening from September, central bank data showed Thursday.   The average rate for new loans to households, companies and other organizations reached 4 percent in October, down 0.14 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It is the lowest level since the central bank began compiling the data in 1996.  The monthly fall marks the steepest decline s

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the 32nd straight month in October on a rise in exports and a fall in dividend payments overseas, data showed Thursday.  The current account surplus reached US$9.01 billion last month, compared with a revised $7.41 billion in September, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.   With the October data, the country's accumulated current account surplus during the

The South Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, extending its winning streak to a fourth day as it tracked peers’ moves against the greenback.The won closed at 1,106.50, up 2.60 won from the previous session’s close, after rising to as high as 1,106.20 won at one point.Analysts said the dollar’s recent rally was taking a breather, given mixed data from the U.S. economy.The U.S. economy grew at a faster-than-expected clip in the third quarter while separate data on U.S. consumer c