The Korea Herald

Hyun pledges cooperation with World Bank to help poor countries

Apr 18, 2013

South Korea’s finance minister has promised to step up cooperation with the World Bank in helping improve the lender’s aid-delivery system and sharing its development experience with other poor countries, his office said Thursday.Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok is visiting Washington to attend a meeting of the group of 20 advanced and emerging countries. The promise was made during his meeting with World Bank president Jim Yong Kim on Wednesday (local time), according to the Finance Ministry.The W
Cosmetics firms’ sales soar last year

Apr 18, 2013

South Korean cosmetics companies saw their sales rise at an alarming clip last year helped by women’s increased spending on cosmetics despite the protracted economic downturn, industry data and sources said Thursday. “Local cosmetics companies enjoyed a boom in their sales last year despite a prolonged economic slump as women increased spending on cosmetics,” an industry source said. “The companies’ sales are expected to grow between 10 percent and 20 percent this year.” LG Household & Health Ca
Imported beer sales grow at double-digit rate in Q1

Apr 18, 2013

Sales of imported beer at local discount chains grew at a double-digit pace in the first three months of the year as consumers’ taste is shifting in favor of foreign-made beer instead of locally made beer, industry sources and data said Thursday. The government’s regulation to promote the fair trade of alcoholic beverages was one of the reasons behind a drop in locally made beer sales and a steep growth in imported beer sales, industry sources said. In January, the National Tax Service launched
Regulator to consider TV viewing fee raise

Apr 18, 2013

The nation’s broadcasting regulator said Thursday it will consider raising a public broadcaster’s monthly viewing fee this year in an effort to stabilize its finances.“We will come up with measures to stabilize finances of public broadcasters,” the Korea Communications Commission said in a 2013 policy report to President Park Geun-hye.The report did not directly mention KBS, the country’s largest public broadcaster. However, a KCC member said during a press briefing on the plan on Wednesday that
Seoul shares fall 1.24 pct on Q1 earnings woe

Apr 18, 2013

South Korean stocks closed 1.24 percent lower Thursday due to rising concerns over the listed firms' earnings for the first quarter, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 23.78 points to finish at 1900.06. Trading volume was moderate at 336.9 million shares worth 4.2 trillion won (US$3.75 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 464 to 339. "Investors sat on the sidelines as the first-quarter earnings of l
Seoul shares down 0.32 pct in late-morning trade

Apr 18, 2013

South Korean stocks moved down 0.32 percent late Thursday morning due mainly to losses in techs and autos, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) decreased 6.11 points, to 1,917.73 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech blue chips traded lower, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.66 percent and its smaller affiliate LG Electronics losing 0.12 percent. Leading chipmaker SK hynix shed 2.78 percent.Carmakers also lost ground, with No. 1 player Hyundai Motor falling 1.3 p
Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street losses

Apr 18, 2013

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street as U.S. firms posted lackluster quarterly results amid the jittery market, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.89 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,915.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most large-cap firms lost ground, with tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics slipping 0.4 percent and steelmaker POSCO dropping 1.6 percent. U.S. markets ended bearish overnight as some ma
ING’s annuity product draws popularity

Apr 17, 2013

ING Life Korea said stability and flexibility are two unchanging boosters for annuity sales, as shown in customers’ strong demand for its signature non-par annuity “Free Style.”Annuities are financial products generally used to build up savings in preparation for retirement.ING has been locally rated “AAA” for five consecutive years on its IFSR, or Insurer Finance Strength Rating. Having begun operation here under its former name Life of Georgia in 1989, the insurer changed its name to ING Life
Short-term investments hit record high on North Korean tensions

Apr 17, 2013

A growing number of investors are opting to invest their money in short-term financial instruments or hold onto cash, in part due to North Korea risks.Capital invested in financial instruments ranging from cash and cash equivalents to repurchase agreements and demand deposits amounted to a record 676 trillion won ($604 billion) as of Wednesday, according to data by the Bank of Korea and the Korea Financial Investment Association.This was an increase of about 9.4 trillion won from late last year,
Seoul in dilemma over bans on short selling to brake speculation

Apr 17, 2013

Short selling, a speculative stock investment technique, has come under the spotlight in the financial market as a pharmaceutical-oriented company CEO recently argued that the firm’s shares were hit by foreign speculators.The Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Exchange launched their review as to whether there is an urgent necessity to issue a ban on short selling of “each company’s shares.”A short-selling investor seeks short-term gains by issuing “sell” orders with borrowed stocks: Th
Producer prices dip by most in 41 months in March

Apr 17, 2013

South Korea’s producer prices fell at the sharpest pace in 41 months in March as oil prices declined and the local currency rose per the dollar, the central bank said Wednesday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, declined 2.4 percent in March from a year earlier, after declining 1.6 percent on-year in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The data marked the sharpest fall since a 3.1 percent on-year decline tallied for October 2009.In March, oil price
Government debt from bond sales reaches W765.6tr

Apr 17, 2013

South Korea’s debt from bond issuance reached 765.6 trillion won ($687.8 billion) this month, raising concerns over increasing tax burdens down the road, data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by Korea Financial Investment Association, the combined amount of state bonds needing to be repaid by the South Korean government reached 436.1 trillion won on Monday, up 5.5 percent from the end of 2012.The amount of special bonds, which refer to debt sales floated by state-owned enterprises
Korean banks’ assets top 2,000 trillion won

Apr 17, 2013

The amount of assets held by South Korean banks surpassed the 2,000 trillion-won mark for the first time ever, while the figure for soured loans sank due to the regulator’s policy push in beefing up their financial soundness, data showed Wednesday. The amount of assets held by major local lenders totaled 2,031.3 trillion won ($1.82 trillion) at the end of December last year, up 62.3 trillion won from 1,969.0 trillion won the previous year, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Servi
Watchdogs to announce measures to tackle stock price rigging

Apr 17, 2013

South Korean financial authorities plan to announce a set of measures to expand their surveillance of price rigging on the country's stock markets, sources said Wednesday.The Financial Services Commission is to hold a meeting with governmental authorities, including the Ministry of Justice, the National Tax Service, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), and the Korea Exchange, on Thursday to prepare countermeasures against price manipulations.Sources said the envisioned plan includes giving i
Seoul shares end tad higher on institutional buying

Apr 17, 2013

South Korean stocks closed slightly higher Wednesday in a volatile session as institutions' net buying of local equities offset losses from a foreign selloff, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.In a choppy trading session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished up 1.63 points, or 0.08 percent to 1,923.84. Trading volume was moderate at 408.1 million shares worth 5.29 trillion won (US$4.75 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 414 to 394."Institution