Citibank Korea was awarded Best Foreign Commercial Bank from Hong Kong-based magazine Finance Asia last month. This is the fifth consecutive year Citibank has won this award. Finance Asia is one of the Asia’s leading monthly financial magazines. It announces the best banks in different Asian countries every year through Country Awards. The magazine commented that Citi Korea introduced an innovative service enhancing foreign exchange cash management capability to clear payment on the same day and

South Korean investments in overseas securities fell for the first time in three quarters in the second quarter as the eurozone debt crisis hit share prices, the central bank said Thursday.Institutional investors' investments in foreign stocks, bonds and so-called Korean Paper reached an outstanding $54.44 billion as of the end of June, down $2.2 billion from three months earlier, according to the

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Thursday, dented by losses in blue chips, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 12.04 points, or 0.62 percent, to 1,916.50 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Large-cap shares dipped across the board, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics sinking 1.06 percent and No. 1 automaker Hyundai Motor sliding 1.02 percen

Among the nation’s 10 conglomerates, Hyundai Heavy Industries marked the highest credit rating, according to recent research. CEO Score, a CEO and company appraising website, said on Wednesday that Hyundai Heavy Industries issued a total of 1.2 trillion won ($1.06 billion) worth of corporate bonds between July last year and Aug. 24 this year, at an average annual interest rate of 3.51 percent. The interest rate was the lowest among the ten conglomerates researched, which signifies that the compa

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, fueled by gains in tech heavyweights amid lingering hopes for stimulus action by the U.S. Federal Reserve ahead of its chief's speech, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.56 points, or 0.08 percent, to 1,917.89 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech blue chips drove up the shares, with mobile phone maker LG El

South Korea’s credit default risks eased after a global credit appraiser has raised its sovereign rating on Asia’s fourth-largest economy, reflecting the soundness of its overall economic health, industry data showed Tuesday. The credit default swap premium for the country’s five-year Treasuries stood at 103.6 basis points as of Aug. 27, down 2.9 basis points from the previous day, according to the Korea Center for International Finance. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. The spread on CDS

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, as investors await with hope for the U.S. Federal Reserve to bring about another solution for an economic boost, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 7.83 points, or 0.41 percent, to trade at 1,925.70 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Upward moves in telecom and financial shares drove the index, with top mobile ca

Foreign investment banks lowered their 2012 outlooks on South Korea’s consumption growth in the private sector to the 1 percent range, the Korea Center for International Finance said on Wednesday. HSBC scaled down Korea’s forecast for private consumption growth from 2.1 percent to 1.8 percent year-on-year, lower than the Bank of Korea’s revised outlook of 2.2 percent in July. The global investment bank said that negative outlooks on the nation’s sluggish real estate market prevail, and the secto

Hana Financial Group announced Friday that Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank received awards from Hong-Kong-based magazine Finance Asia.The magazine named Hana Bank on Friday the Best Bank in Korea and KEB the Best Foreign Bank in Korea. Finance Asia announces the best banks in different Asian countries every year through Country Awards. The magazine commented that Hana Bank has shown stable financial growth and growing market share despite the unstable financial environment in and out of the co

Experts cite real estate market, worsening employmentThe number of credit delinquents has increased by more than 23 percent over the past year. A local credit appraiser NICE Information Service said on Sunday that the index showing the increase of credit delinquents every month scaled up from 16.83 in April last year to 20.80 in March this year, which is a jump by 23.6 percent. A higher index, developed by NICE, means more credit delinquents. The index has been on the increase since the latter h