The Korea Herald

[Graphic News] Korea’s current account balance

Feb 27, 2014

South Korea posted a current account surplus for 24 consecutive months in January. The Bank of Korea reported on Thursday that the country logged a $3.61 billion current account surplus in January, extending the surplus for the 24th month.The surplus, however, narrowed to an 11-month low, down from $6.41 billion in December, due partly to seasonal factors, the central bank said.The current account balance is the broadest measure of the country’s trade with the rest of the world, including not on
KOSDAQ looks to Kakao as relief pitcher

Feb 27, 2014

In a struggle to revitalize the lackluster over-the-counter KOSDAQ market, the Korea Exchange is eyeing Kakao Corp., the operator of Korea’s top mobile messenger Kakao Talk.The state-run stock market recently launched an exclusive team created to persuade Kakao to list on the KOSDAQ, Korea Exchange officials said Thursday.“We think that Kakao, which specializes in information technology and mobile communication, is better suited for KOSDAQ (than the securities market),” said Ha Jong-won, manager
KEB signs agreement with State Bank of India

Feb 27, 2014

The Korea Exchange Bank signed an agreement with the State Bank of India aimed at expanding investment opportunities and providing financial services in both countries, the Korean bank announced on Thursday.Under the agreement, the two banks will work together to provide financial services to Indian workers here and also to Korean companies operating in India. SBI, the government-owned banking group, is the country’s largest lender by assets with more than 14,500 branches, including 178 foreign
Gangnam rich ditching bonds amid record slide

Feb 27, 2014

Ko Jae-pil advised investors in an upscale area of Seoul to jettison bond funds last year as the Federal Reserve prepared to taper its unprecedented stimulus.Debt funds no longer figure among investments recommended by the team head of Hana Bank’s private banking branch in the Gangnam neighborhood made famous by rapper Psy’s viral music video “Gangnam Style.” Ko now favors local stock funds with strategies that bet on both gains and losses.President Park Geun-hye’s plans to spur Asia’s fourth-la
S. Korea recoups 63.2% of bailout funds

Feb 27, 2014

The government has recouped 63.2 percent of the public funds it spent to bail out troubled financial firms during the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, the financial regulator said Thursday.The government has retrieved 106.7 trillion won ($100.1 billion) of 168.6 trillion won used from the public funds as of the end of December, according to the Financial Services Commission.The recovery rate was up from 62.5 percent recorded at the end of 2012, it added.The South Korean government poured massiv
Jeju, Hyundai Card criticized over eco-tourism project

Feb 26, 2014

Hyundai Card and Jeju Provincial Office seem to have been a bit hasty in pursuing the so-called “Gapado Project,” which involves molding the small southern islet of Gapado into an eco-tourist hot spotThe plan, despite the good intentions of the two parties, has disgruntled the local community, which claim to have been excluded from the discussions about their residence.In December 2013, the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office and Hyundai Card presented the blueprint for their Gapado pr
Yuanta provisionally picked as preferred bidder for Tongyang Securities

Feb 26, 2014

Taiwan-based Yuanta Securities was provisionally selected as the preferred bidder for the brokerage arm of the embattled Tong Yang Group, industry sources said Wednesday.Yuanta Securities, Taiwan's No. 1 brokerage house, had submitted a bid Tuesday for Tongyang Securities Inc., whose parent group has been suffering from a severe liquidity crunch.Tong Yang Group requested a local court to approve preferred bidder status for the Taiwanese brokerage house, according to the sources.The stake up for
U.S. stimulus taper feared to affect housing market: think tank

Feb 26, 2014

The U.S. Federal Reserve's move to taper off its stimulus program could have an impact on South Korea's housing market, a state-run think tank said Wednesday, calling for the government's stepped-up market monitoring."Despite continued rise in home prices in the U.S. and China, concerns are still being raised that the Fed's tapering of quantitative easing could result in contraction of the housing market," the Korea Development Institute said in a quarterly report that analyzed the latest real e
KRX chief recommends delay in taxing derivatives to after market

Feb 26, 2014

The head of South Korea's bourse operator said Wednesday it would be best not to tax derivatives trading, but if it's unavoidable, he would recommend levying capital gains tax rather than transaction tax and wait until the local stock market recovers.The government is considering levying taxes on financial products including derivatives and bring them out of what it calls "taxation dead zone." The finance ministry is in talks with related agencies over which of the two types of taxes to levy."Gi
Park vows to ink more FTAs

Feb 25, 2014

Korea plans to invest W4tr in venture start-ups by 2017
Seoul shares close higher on stimulus move

Feb 25, 2014

South Korean stocks closed higher Tuesday as investors reacted to the government’s stimulus plans and overall positive sentiment in overseas bourses. The Korean won closed higher against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 15.81 points, or 0.81 percent, to 1,964.86. Trading volume was low at 222.4 million shares worth 3.88 trillion won ($3.62 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 482 to 319.Analysts said Seoul shares gathered ground on the back of the economic s
Yuanta sole bidder for Tongyang Securities

Feb 25, 2014

A Taiwanese financial company submitted a bid for Tongyang Securities Inc., a brokerage arm of the embattled Tong Yang Group put up for sale following the group's liquidity crunch, industry sources said Tuesday.According to the sources, Tong Yang closed bidding for its brokerage unit earlier in the day. Taiwan-based Yuanta Securities was the sole bidder.Whether Yuanta will be picked as the preferred bidder would be decided later in the day or by Wednesday, they said.The stake up for sale is some
S. Korean asset managers' Q3 net rises 31%

Feb 25, 2014

Earnings by asset managers in South Korea soared during the third quarter of fiscal 2013 from a year earlier, largely due to a rise in commission income, the financial regulator said Tuesday.A total of 84 asset management companies posted a combined net profit of 129 billion won ($120 million) in the October-December period, rising 30.5 percent from 98.9 billion won three months earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The companies close their books on March 31.The stronger bott
Shaky firms pressed to speed up restructuring

Feb 25, 2014

South Korea's financial watchdog is pressing financially weak conglomerates such as Dongbu Group to speed up their restructuring amid worsening liquidity conditions, industry sources said Tuesday.According to the sources, the Financial Supervisory Service called in executives of Dongbu Group last week and told them to accelerate the conglomerate's self-rescue efforts to dispel market concerns over its financial health. "Although the group does not seem to face a great liquidity risk, we have ur
Korea eyes Asia-Pacific ‘fund FTA’

Feb 24, 2014

4 countries to hold talks on opening money market