The Korea Herald

Ex-Citibank chief highest paid banker in Korea　

Nov 16, 2014

Ha Yung-ku, former president of Citibank Korea.Former Citibank president Ha Yung-ku will again be the highest paid bank president in Korea this year.Though he stepped down from his post in October to make his bid to become KB Financial Group chairman, his total pay as of the third quarter was already more than double that of the runner-up.Citibank Korea announced last Friday that it paid a total of 2.5 billion won ($2.3 million) to Ha in January-September this year, for his dual role as chairman
Seoul shares likely to trade lower on weak yen

Nov 15, 2014

The South Korean stock market is likely to trade lower next week on persistent uncertainties from the stronger Japanese yen, analysts said Saturday.Seoul shares traded higher earlier in the week on news of a bilateral free trade agreement with China, a boon for South Korea's export-oriented economy. China is the country's biggest trading partner.The market lost its shine later in the week as investors changed to a wait-and-see approach on the trade deal, forecasting that there will be a delay in
S. Korean IPOs forecast to hit 3-year high this year

Nov 14, 2014

South Korea's initial public offering market is expected to reach its highest level in three years this year, as key affiliates of Samsung Group are set to go public, industry data showed Friday. So far this year, 31 newcomers on the main bourse and the tech-laden Kosdaq have raised a total of 1.08 trillion won ($981 million), according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange. The expected increase will come on the back of several big-cap IPOs and ample liquidity in the local stock market
Q4 earnings outlook dim on weaker yen, global slowdown

Nov 14, 2014

The earnings outlook for South Korea's listed firms remains cloudy for the fourth quarter as Samsung Electronics Co., the country's top market cap, and other market heavyweights are unlikely to break out of their business slump on the weaker Japanese yen and a global slowdown, the latest data showed Friday. The combined operating profit estimate for 168 listed companies was reduced by 1.4 percent for the October-December period to 27.68 trillion won ($25.24 billion) as of Thursday from an esti
‘Sin tax’ revenue surpasses 55tr won

Nov 13, 2014

South Korea’s tax revenue from sales of goods such as alcohol and cigarettes reached more than 55 trillion won ($50 billion) in 2012, the Korea Tax Association said Thursday.State revenue from taxes levied on the so-called “sin products” accounted for 27 percent of the total, and was almost the same amount as value-added taxes, the country’s main source of income, collected during the same period. Its revenue from value-added taxes, or consumption taxes, stood at 55.7 trillion won. This has rais
Korean M&As reach W11.2tr in H1

Nov 13, 2014

The value of mergers and acquisitions in South Korea amounted to 11.2 trillion won ($10.5 billion) in the first six months of this year on the back of mega deals like Daum Kakao Corp., the financial watchdog said Thursday.There were 82 mergers, spinoffs and business sales in the January-June period, compared with 133 cases worth 11.11 trillion won in the second half of 2013, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.Over the cited period, M&As in the global market soared 72.8 percent on-yea
BOK holds rate at 2%

Nov 13, 2014

In a widely expected move, South Korea’s central bank stood pat on its 2 percent base rate Thursday as it gauges the policy impact of two rate cuts earlier this year.The rate freeze came after the Bank of Korea lowered the policy rate by a quarter percentage point in August and October as part of efforts to bolster growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.Slowing growth momentum has been a major headache for policymakers as domestic demand has lagged and property transactions have failed to reviv
KB Financial Group in emergency mode until normalization

Nov 13, 2014

KB Financial Group, under the leadership of new chairman nominee Yoon Jong-kyoo, will maintain its emergency management system until it recovers completely from the aftermath of several months-long feuds.“My top priority is to stabilize our organization,” said Yoon, upon being named the sole candidate for the group’s chairmanship on Oct. 22.He launched a special task force to restructure the management and pledged to act as KB Kookmin Bank president during the interim period.The former chief fin
Full text of BOK's statement on monetary policy decision for Nov.

Nov 13, 2014

Following is a translation of the full text of the Bank of Korea's statement Thursday on its monetary policy decision for November. The central bank's monetary policy committee voted to keep the base rate on hold, a month after it cut the base rate to a record-low of 2 percent.The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Korea decided today to leave the Base Rate unchanged at 2.00% for the intermeeting period.Based on currently available information the Committee considers that, although the tre
BOK holds rate at 2 pct for Nov.

Nov 13, 2014

In a widely expected move, South Korea's central bank stood pat on its 2 percent base rate Thursday as it gauges the policy impact of two rate cuts earlier this year."Given that the committee should monitor the impact of two rate cuts and take heed of financial risks stemming from a rise in household debt, (the committee) judged it is desirable to keep the base rate at the current level," BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol told reporters in a news conference.All policy board members voted for a rate freeze, h
Korean Treasury yields forecast to hit record lows next year

Nov 13, 2014

South Korean Treasury yields are likely to continue to fall and hit rock-bottom levels during the second quarter of next year on expectations of additional rate cuts by the country's central bank, a report said on Thursday.The Bank of Korea (BOK) will cut its base rate to a fresh record low of 1.75 percent in the April-June period of 2015, as China is likely to trim reserve-ratio requirements during the first quarter of next year, according to the report by Hana Daetoo Securities Co., one of lea
Woori Bank offers mobile loan service

Nov 12, 2014

Woori Bank said Wednesday that its customers would be able to access housing mortgage loans via its Smart Apartment Loan smartphone application, scheduled for launch early next year.With the app, customers will be able to attain loans by entering their personal information on their smartphone, officials said. Once customers agree with the finalized amount of loans, interest rate and payback conditions, they receive a mobile version of the loan and mortgage contracts.To promote the new service, t
Banks’ household lending growth hits 6-year high in October

Nov 12, 2014

Household loans extended by South Korean lenders expanded at the fastest pace last month in six years as the local housing market gained traction amid eased mortgage rules and low interest rates, data showed Wednesday.Outstanding household loans by local lenders reached 547.4 trillion won ($497.4 billion) as of end-October, up 6.9 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The on-month gain marks the sharpest monthly growth since the BOK began compiling the data in 200
Oriental Brewery unveils premium all-malt beer

Nov 11, 2014

Oriental Brewery, the nation’s largest beer manufacturer, launched a new premium all-malt beer in a move to increase its stake in the fast-growing premium beer market.At a news conference on Tuesday, it unveiled The Premier OB, a thick all-malt beer made of German noble hops and premium yeast.“The Premier OB is the combined result of OB’s 80-year brewing history and its devotion to creating better taste,” said OB CEO Chang In-soo. Oriental Brewery CEO Chang In-soo presents The Premier OB, the co
Seoul shares up 0.24%

Nov 11, 2014

South Korean stocks ended slightly higher Tuesday after trading flat earlier as investors were mixed over the impact of the free trade agreement to be signed by Seoul and Beijing, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 4.77 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,963.00. Trading volume was moderate at 293.74 million shares worth 4.38 trillion won ($4.04 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers, 508 to 307.Analysts said Seoul s