The Korea Herald

[Graphic News] Overseas spending hits record in Q3

Dec 9, 2013

Korea’s overseas spending reached a record high in the third quarter of this year at some 6.5 trillion won ($6.2 billion), a 4.7 percent increase from the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea. The increase rate outpaced that of domestic spending. From January to September, domestic spending rose 2.6 percent while overseas spending rose 4.3 percent from the same period last year.Financial analysts said the rise in overseas spending mainly came from the increase in overseas card paymen
NTS claims success in taxing black market

Dec 9, 2013

Korea secures 73% of taxation target from underground economy
Card firms face sanctions for illicit insurance sales

Dec 9, 2013

The nation’s financial regulator has detected hundreds of instances of illicit insurance underwriting by card companies and is weighing penalty options, sources said Monday.The Financial Supervisory Service recently investigated allegations against card companies that customers were insufficiently informed about the insurance plans before applying over the phone. The problematic underwriting of insurance plans sold via card firms centers upon the telemarketers involved calling up the card users
Shinhan chief tells recruits to seek financial insight

Dec 9, 2013

Shinhan Financial Group chairman Han Dong-woo has urged its entry-level employees to arm themselves with insight into financial markets.The chairman also underscored the significance of community spirit and mutual understanding among Shinhan subsidiaries during his special lecture at a group training session last week for new workers at Shinhan subsidiaries in Giheung, Gyeonggi Province. About 240 newly hired employees from nine Shinhan subsidiaries, including Shinhan Bank, Shinhan Investment, S
Won continues rise against U.S. dollar

Dec 9, 2013

Foreign exchange authorities are expected to conduct another round of intervention in the currency market in the coming days, as the U.S. dollar further lost ground to the Korean won on Monday.The dollar closed at 1,053.0 won, down 5.0 won from the previous trading session. The figure was the lowest closing price in 28 months since it posted 1,050.8 won on Aug. 2, 2011.Dealers are focusing on the coming sessions later this week as to whether the dollar will drop below the 1,050-won mark. Analyst
Seoul shares close 1.01 pct higher on U.S. data

Dec 9, 2013

South Korean stocks closed 1.01 percent higher Monday, curbing earlier concerns that improved U.S. jobs data may weigh on investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency soared against the U.S. dollar to reach a year-high level.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 19.97 points to 2,000.38. Trading volume was low at 220.8 million shares worth 2.88 trillion won (US$2.73 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 410 to 385.Analysts said the local stock market gathered g
Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gain

Dec 9, 2013

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on the back of overnight gains on Wall Street, curbing earlier concerns that improved U.S. jobs data may weigh down on investors' sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 19.99 points, or 1.01 percent, to 2,000.40 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with Samsung Electronics adding 1.54 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor climbing 0.65 percent. Leading steelmaker
Creditors to discuss fate of Ssangyong E&C

Dec 8, 2013

Financial authorities are working to placate creditors of Ssangyong Engineering & Construction, as the builder could face a more serious situation than its current debt rescheduling: delisting from the stock market.The Financial Services Commission’s efforts have been stepped up after the Military Mutual Aid Association moved to provisionally seize the bank accounts of the cash-strapped construction firm.Over the weekend, the FSC held emergency talks with the company’s creditors -- both financia
KDB, IFC to cooperate in global trade financing

Dec 8, 2013

The Korea Development Bank has launched joint trade financing projects with the International Finance Corp., a World Bank member organization, in a move to make inroads to trade funding markets in developing economies. The state-run KDB said Sunday that it had signed a KDB-IFC master guarantee and cooperation agreement on Dec. 5 to cooperate on IFC’s trade financing projects by sharing market information and business opportunities in developing countries.The agreement was signed a day after the
Shares to gather ground amid eased U.S. woes

Dec 8, 2013

The South Korean stock market is expected to trade higher this week on eased concerns over an early tapering of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 2.9 percent last week to close at 1,980.41. Investors continued to take a wait-and-see approach ahead of U.S. non-farm job data coming out after Friday’s trading session, which would give investors a better glimpse of when the Federal Reserve will commence tapering of its
Foreigners turn to selling local equities in 5 months

Dec 8, 2013

Foreigners turned net sellers of local equities for the first time in five months, mainly on profit-taking after consecutive net stock purchases in the Seoul market, the financial regulator said Sunday.Overseas investors dumped a net 323 billion won (US$305.3 million) worth of local equities last month, turning from a net buying of 5.2 trillion won the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).The value of their shares reached 442.6 trillion won at the end of November,
Financially shaky firms further going downhill: data

Dec 8, 2013

South Korean companies with weak financial footing saw their balance sheets worsen further this year amid a protracted economic slowdown, with their debt ratio sharply rising and their ability to pay back interest declining, industry data showed on Sunday.According to the data, the top 300 in terms of debt ratio, out of 1,501 listed non-financial firms, had the average debt ratio of 279.2 percent as of end-June this year, rising 35.7 percentage points from a year earlier.The June figure also com
Jeonse prices up for record 66th consecutive week

Dec 6, 2013

The jeonse prices of apartments across the nation increased for the 66th consecutive week, the longest streak in the nation’s history, according to a newly released report.Online real estate information provider R114.com said the prices of apartment jeonse inched up 0.06 percent this week from a week earlier. Jeonse is a Korean-style rental system in which a tenant deposits a lump sum of money instead of paying monthly rent.The price increase breaks the earlier record of 65 consecutive weeks, st
NPS seeks to safeguard overseas investments

Dec 6, 2013

The National Pension Service, Korea’s state-run pension fund manager, will aim to fully protect its investments in overseas bonds by hedging against foreign exchange risks through efficient management, the NPS’ National Fund Management Committee said Friday.The committee said that the NPS will seek to safeguard its bond investments abroad by targeting a hedge ratio of 100 percent next year. It has set the ratio at zero percent for its 2014 overseas equity investment portfolio.The NPS will seek t
FSC chief urges SME financial support

Dec 6, 2013

Financial Services Commission chairman Shin Je-yoon said Friday that Korea would need to reshape its financial environment to allow small and medium-size enterprises to expand overseas, even though earlier attempts have failed.In a seminar for members of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the FSC chief stressed that a convergence between finance and manufacturing in the economy is necessary for sustainable growth.Shin said that the financial industry has not been doing its part, and wil