The British Chamber of Commerce will hold a workshop in Seoul on Jan. 17 to discuss reforms of the retirement pension and severance rules for all employees.Patrick J. Monaghan, senior foreign legal consultant at Kim and Chang law firm, will speak about outsourcing and expansion of the discretionary working system and leveling the playing field between large corporations and small and medium enterprises.Monaghan is a member of the firm’s labor and employment practice and advises both foreign and

IE Business School will offer a free lecture and networking evening with as guest lecturer, the school’s chair of the Entrepreneurship Management Department.Pablo de Holan is a popular professor of strategy at IE Business School and will present the school’s 4th lecture in a series on global business innovations on Jan. 13 from 7 p.m. at the COEX Convention Center Hall C room 318 A in southern Seoul.Titled “The Giant Within: How Businesses Grow Thru Entrepreneurship and Innovation, A review of r

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Korea’s state-run pension fund is seeking to invest as much as $300 million in Chinese stock markets as it looks to diversify assets worth nearly $300 billion, officials said.The National Pension Service said earlier this week that it received the status of “qualified foreign institutional investor” from the China Securities Regulatory Commission.The pension fund service expects to receive a quota ranging from $100 million to $300 million, equivalent to 0.1 percent or l

The growth of Korea‘s money supply remained at the same pace in November of last year as the previous month although it picked up from a year earlier, the central bank said Thursday. Korea’s M2, a narrow measure of the money supply, totaled 1753.3 trillion won ($1.5 trillion) in November 2011, up 4.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.The growth speed of November M2 remained unchanged from a 4.4 percent on-year expansion tallied in October, which marked the sharpest grow

Uncertainties stemming from the eurozone debt crisis are likely to impact the Korean economy, Asia‘s fourth-largest, by sapping overseas demand for local products, HSBC Bank Plc said Thursday.“The uncertainties may have dampening impacts on (Korea’s) export mechanism ... If consumers are cautious, they will buy less goods,” Steven Major, Global Head of HSBC‘s Fixed Income Research, told reporters in a media session.Major said Germany may be an exception that could help offset weakening demand in

Korea’s fund market suffered a setback last year, with its aggregate amount of money parked for stock and bond investment shrinking amid heightened global growth risks and wobbly financial markets, data showed Thursday. According to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association, the total amount under management of local funds stood at 298.5 trillion won ($257.4 billion) as of the end of December, down 6.3 percent from 318.8 trillion won a year earlier. The latest figure marked the fi

South Korean stocks closed 1.03 percent higher on Thursday as investors snapped up shares on eased eurozone debt woes and signs of moderate U.S. economic growth, analysts said. The local currency inched up against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI gained 19.02 points to 1,864.57. Trading volume was heavy at 470.8 million shares worth 5.31 trillion won ($4.57 billion) with gainers outstripping decliners 477 to 338.“Despite lingering uncertainty, investors got a little relief from U.S. markets,”

Korean stocks closed 0.41 percent lower Wednesday, as investors unloaded shares in large-cap tech issues amid worries over signs of a slowing economy in China, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.After bobbing in and out of negative territory, the benchmark KOSPI lost 7.67 points to 1,845.55. Trading volume was light at 235.1 million shares worth 2.20 trillion won ($1.89 billion) with decliners outpacing gainers 428 to 358. “Tech blue-chips lost ground largely due to c

Korea’s financial aid to underdeveloped and developing countries has surpassed $1 billion per annum.The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Wednesday that the yearly amount of “official development assistance” has reached $1.17 billion.This means each Korean offered an average of 27,730 won to underdeveloped and developing countries, according to the state-run bank.Asia was the main target of the ODA, accounting for 65.2 percent, followed by Africa with 15.5 percent, and South & Central America wit

Korea’s financial authorities are moving to deal sternly with stocks that move drastically in tandem with politician-linked rumors and other artificial factors. The Korea Exchange, which runs the KOSPI and KOSDAQ, said Wednesday it is considering halting the trading of shares immediately when they receive official investment warnings.The plan comes as a series of local stocks climbed erratically mainly due to market rumors and speculation generating a wide range of “themes,” including the politi

South Korea’s financial regulator said Wednesday it plans to step up the inspection of the country’s major savings banks this year as part of its efforts to restructure the ailing sector.According to the Financial Services Commission, its executive body, the Financial Supervisory Service, is expected to sign an agreement with the state-run deposit insurer Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. to conduct annual inspections of savings banks with assets over 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) or those who have

Losses blamed on KIC’s purchase of Merrill Lynch stakeKorea Investment Corporation, Korea’s sovereign wealth fund, suffered a net loss of 3.3 percent in terms of average yield last year, hurt by the turmoil in the global financial market and a massive loss linked to its investment in Merrill Lynch, industry sources said Wednesday. The main culprit for the deeper loss is KIC’s poor stock investment, particularly concerning its holdings in Merrill Lynch. In early 2008, KIC bought $2 billion worth