South Korean stocks traded 0.46 percent higher late Thursday morning, led by gains in techs and financial firms.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 8.82 points to 1,922.85 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares gathered ground, with Samsung Electronics rising 0.39 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix adding 0.55 percent. Flat panel maker LG Display gained 0.36 percent.Financial firms also traded higher, with Shinhan Financial moving up 1.46 percent and KB Financial adding 1.83 perce

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as the United States Federal Reserve remained silent over when the central bank will scale back its quantitative easing moves, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.28 points, or 0.28 percent, to 1,908.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech shares traded lower, with top chipmaker SK hynix falling 0.18 percent and handset maker LG Electronics losing 0.41 percent. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics remained unch

Creditors of troubled STX Offshore & Shipbuilding have agreed to provide fresh liquidity to the shipbuilder in a bid to help resolve its cash crunch, industry sources said Wednesday.The creditors have submitted a written consent for the liquidity supply worth about 2.15 trillion won ($1.92 billion) to the company's main creditor Korea Development Bank, according to the sources.The supply of fresh liquidity includes 1.85 trillion won in emergency funds, leading the total volume of liquidity injec

A government plan to merge a state-controlled bank and financial corporation is expected to reduce state lending capacity, backfiring on cash-short small and medium enterprises, experts said on Wednesday.The move came as state authorities are set to integrate the Korea Development Bank and the Korea Financial Corp. in the course of reorganizing state-controlled brokerages. The KDB and the KoFC were established in 1954 and 2009, respectively, largely to boost the national economy by providing cre

South Korea’s new venture-driven stock market has posted stagnant growth since its launch earlier this month, data showed Wednesday, as its low trading volume has dented investors’ sentiment.The Korea New Exchange market saw its market capitalization reach 497.3 billion won ($446.6 million) Tuesday, a tad higher than 468.8 billion won tallied on July 1, the Korea Exchange data showed.The KONEX market was officially launched earlier this month to foster the growth of young venture firms and lend

South Korea suffered a widened deficit in tourism in the first six months of the year as outbound travelers outnumbered inbound visitors, industry data showed Wednesday. The country’s tourism deficit reached $1.79 billion in the January-June period, compared with the $279 million shortfall a year earlier, according to the data.The deficit came as the number of South Korea’s outbound travelers exceeded that of foreigners visiting the country, and they spent big on purchases overseas.The number of

Government seeks to levy tax on religious sector, reduce tax cut for rich

South Korean stocks closed 0.16 percent lower Wednesday as market uncertainties grew before the release of minutes from this week's Federal Reserve policy meeting, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 3.02 points to close at 1,914.03. Trading volume was moderate at 379.3 million shares worth 4.02 trillion won ($3.58 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 468 to 343.Analysts said Seoul shares traded lower as investors continued to take a wait-and-see approac

Bank holding companies in South Korea will be required to comply with revised global capital rules from December as part of efforts to beef up their financial health in line with international standards, the financial regulator said Wednesday.The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country's top financial regulator, will impose the Basel III capital requirements on local bank holding firms as of Dec. 1, according to the watchdog. The Basel III refers to a set of the latest regulatory rules

South Korean stocks traded 0.15 percent lower late Wednesday morning, led by losses in techs and carmakers.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 2.91 points to 1,914.14 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares continued to trade lower, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.62 percent and LG Electronics losing 0.55 percent.Samsung SDI, a local plasma display panel maker, decreased 0.6 percent.Hyundai Motor, the country's top carmaker, lost 1.26 percent and its auto parts affiliate Hyundai

South Korean stocks opened a tad lower Wednesday as investors took a wait-and-see approach on advanced countries' July economic data slated to be announced this week, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.81 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,914.24 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares traded lower, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.31 percent and its domestic rival LG Electronics losing 0.41 percent. Flat panel maker LG Display shed 0

South Korea's new venture-driven stock market has posted stagnant growth since its launch earlier this month, data showed Wednesday, as its low trading volume has dented investors' sentiment.The Korea New Exchange (KONEX) market saw its market capitalization reach 497.3 billion won ($446.6 million) Tuesday, a tad higher than 468.8 billion won tallied on July 1, the Korea Exchange (KRX) data showed.The KONEX market was officially launched earlier this month to foster the growth of young venture f

The deal to sell state-run Woori Finance Holdings Co. is estimated to fetch at least 5.42 trillion won ($4.85 billion), the financial regulator said Wednesday, amid the government's push to wrap up the long-pending privatization of the banking giant. The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country's top financial regulator in charge of the Woori sale, said the estimated value has grown by 1.9 trillion won from the figure it came up with a year earlier. The latest sale value was estimated ba

South Korean savings banks saw their net losses nearly halve in fiscal 2012 from a year earlier, as they reduced loss reserves upon the stringent restructuring after a whirl of bankruptcies, the financial regulator said Wednesday. The combined net loss of 91 savings banks here came in at 880.3 billion won ($791.9 million) between July 2012 and June this year, down 45.9 percent from the 1.7 trillion-won net loss logged in the previous fiscal year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (F