Creditor banks of South Korea’s major conglomerates are pressing their debtor companies to improve balance sheets in order to avert a liquidity squeeze following the collapse of Tong Yang Group, industry sources said Thursday. Creditor banks called on Dongbu Group, the 17th-largest firm in Korea, to upgrade its financial soundness via all possible means, including selling assets, restructuring and securing liquidity if necessary, according to bank officials.Other big enterprises including Doosan

The number of new applications submitted to the country’s copyright agency for coffee-related products and brands surged in 2012 from four years earlier, data showed Wednesday.Around 1,100 coffee-related trademark applications were filed in 2012, rising sharply from an annual figure of 300 cases tallied in 2008, according to the Korean Intellectual Property Office.Market watchers said the increase came as more individuals started their own coffee businesses amid the rising popularity of the drin

The issue of ethics and codes of conduct in the financial industry has returned to the spotlight in the wake of the cash-strapped Tong Yang Group’s woes, two years after the secondary savings bank scandal yielded a huge number of victimized depositors.Over the past year, Tong Yang Securities allegedly actively attracted retail investors for corporate bonds and commercial paper that were issued by some of its nonfinancial Tong Yang affiliates.Market insiders and the political sector are raising t

South Korean stocks ended almost flat Wednesday as investors shrugged off concerns about the partial government shutdown in the U.S. with steady foreign buying, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 0.6 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 1,999.47. Trading volume was light at 231.8 million shares worth 4.31 trillion won ($4.01 billion) with decliners outstripping gainers 463 to 329.KOSPI moved in a tight

South Korea plans to sell up to 33.8 trillion won ($31.5 billion) worth of currency stabilization bonds next year as it braces for potential increased market volatility, the finance ministry said Wednesday.Of the total, 15.8 trillion won will be used to pay back maturing bonds, with 2 trillion won assigned to pay back debts earlier than scheduled. The remaining 16 trillion won would be a net growth in currency bond issuance, according to the finance ministry. It is lower than the 19 trillion won

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Wednesday, tracking U.S. peers overnight on confidence that the U.S. government shutdown won't last long, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 12.30 points, or 0.62 percent, to 2,011.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Shares gathered ground across the board, with tech and financial blue-chips leading the climb. SK hynix, South Korea's chip giant, jumped more than 3.6 percent, and Shinhan Financial Group,

South Korean stocks closed almost flat Tuesday, as continued foreign inflow offset concerns about the U.S. government's shutdown, analysts said. The local currency edged up against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 1.91 points, or 0.1 percent to finish at 1,998,87. Trading volume was light at 275.0 million shares worth 3.84 trillion won ($3.57billion) with decliners far outpacing gainers 508 to 302.The main index started off a tad higher, and bobbed i

South Korean stocks traded 0.6 percent higher late Tuesday morning, cheered by bullish large-cap exporters, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 12.06 points to 2,009.02 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech and auto blue chips shored up the main index. Samsung Electronics rose 1.02 percent, and Kia Motors, the smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor, gained 1.53 percent. In contrast, domestic-focused issues lost ground, with state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Powe

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, dispelling worries about a policy deadlock in the United States, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 6.63 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,003.59 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Large-cap stocks led the gain, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics rising 0.44 percent and Hyundai Motor shooting up 1 percent. U.S. and European markets finished lower, as U.S. lawmakers failed to break the impasse over the fisca

Three debt-ridden units of Tong Yang Group filed for court receivership Monday, as part of the conglomerate’s desperate moves to avoid defaulting on corporate bonds and commercial paper totaling more than 100 billion won ($90.9 million) that matured on the day.The court is to manage assets of Tong Yang Inc. ― the group’s de facto holding firm ― Tong Yang Leisure and Tong Yang International and later could order the group owner to sell some corporate or private assets for management normalization

The National Tax Service said Monday that it imposed penalties and back taxes of more than 743.8 billion won ($692.1 million) against conglomerates and wealthy individuals in the first half of this year.It investigated 377 cases involving those suspected of evading taxes via offshore paper companies and borrowed-named accounts between January and June, the NTS noted via a press statement.In 2012, the NTS looked into 771 cases, down from 869 in 2011.The tax agency’s list of suspects included cong

South Korea’s corporate profitability improved in the second quarter from a year earlier as the economic recovery helped raise local firms’ sales growth, the central bank said Monday.The average ratio of operating profit to sales, a key barometer of profitability, came in at 5.5 percent in the second quarter, up from 4.7 percent in the previous year, the Bank of Korea said in a report based on a survey of 1,755 companies.Sales rose 1.4 percent on-year in the second quarter, a turnaround from a 0