The Korea Herald

Chaebol’s market dominance at record high in manufacturing

Aug 17, 2011

The 10 largest conglomerates pocketed a massive 41 percent of the total revenue of the manufacturing industry in the past five years, the largest portion ever, showing the ever growing dominance of a handful of chaebols against Seoul’s pursuit for shared growth. More than half of listed manufacturin
SC First Bank pinning hopes on compromise to end extended strike

Aug 17, 2011

Management at Standard Chartered First Bank Korea is pinning hopes on a compromise with unionized workers to end their months of labor strikes.The hope for settlement of the labor dispute that started on June 27 over the company’s move to introduce a performance-based wage system is coming as the go
MBK sole preliminary bidder for Woori Finance stake

Aug 17, 2011

Government may launch fresh round of bidding process to find investorMBK Partners submitted a preliminary bid for a stake in Woori Financial Group on Wednesday, becoming the sole bidder among the three potential private equity funds.The other two contenders ― Vogo Fund and T-Stone ― dropped out of t
Regulators express unease over financial groups’ dividends

Aug 17, 2011

Korea’s four major financial groups have been paying high dividends to shareholders compared to those paid by other listed companies, financial industry data showed Thursday.As foreigners account for a great portion of their shareholding structure, there has been anxiety over a capital flight in the
Financial market recovering: Bahk

Aug 17, 2011

Seoul shares extend run of gainsFinance Minister Bahk Jae-wan Wednesday vowed to closely monitor the market as it stabilizes on improved prospects.“Financial markets at home and abroad are stabilizing ... but concerns over possibly drawn-out fiscal woes in Europe and an economic slowdown in the U.S.
Korea seeks stock market balance

Aug 16, 2011

Top regulators and heads of banking groups meet to discuss market stabilityKorea’s financial regulators and heads of banking groups agreed on the need to reduce the importance of foreign investors in the stock market, officials said Tuesday.It was the first time that the nation’s financial authoriti
Seoul to widen supply of Chuseok food items

Aug 16, 2011

Seoul plans to widen the supply of fruit, fish and fresh harvest products in the two weeks prior to Chuseok to control prices rising fast due to the long rainy spell, the Agriculture Ministry said. It will select 15 staple food items and allocate them evenly at major retailers and wholesale market p
Analysts forecast quick stock recovery

Aug 16, 2011

A group of analysts have predicted that the stock market, hit by the fiscal woes in Europe and the United States, will stabilize in the near future.They shared the opinion that the possibility of the U.S. economy falling into a double-dip recession is not so high.“Though the U.S. will experience a s
KOSPI posts biggest daily rally in 2 years

Aug 16, 2011

Local currency strengthens 0.79% to 1,070 against dollarSeoul shares took a dramatic upturn Tuesday, rising 4.83 percent to close at 1,879.87 as foreign investors buoyed by overnight gains in the U.S. turned into net buyers for the first time in 10 days. It is the biggest daily jump the benchmark KO
Korea logs trade surplus for 18th month

Aug 16, 2011

South Korea posted a trade surplus for the 18th straight month in July, fueled by strong exports of petroleum products, ships and automobiles, the customs office said Tuesday.The trade surplus came to $6.3 billion last month, up from $2.8 billion reported a month earlier, according to data by the Ko
Europe accounts for half of foreign selling in Korea

Aug 15, 2011

Fitch, S&P to visit Seoul for yearly assessmentForeign investors pulled investments worth about 5 trillion won ($4.6 billion) out of Korea’s stock market over the past two weeks amid the fiscal woes in Europe and the United States.Funds from Europe accounted for more than 50 percent of the capital o
Woori privatization hits further snag

Aug 15, 2011

The process of privatizing Woori Financial Group may once again be stalled with Vogo Fund hinting that it will not take part in the preliminary bids for the financial group.The Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. currently holds 56.97 percent of Woori Financial Group. The state-run firm plans to sell more
Debt crisis may rekindle ‘currency war’

Aug 15, 2011

Skepticism over G20 pledge to refrain from manipulation is growingThe latest fiscal woes in Europe and the U.S. are expected to invite wider skepticism on the efficacy of the Group of 20 meetings despite pledges from the G20 members for coordinating their efforts to weather global economic difficult
Korea frets over economic woes in Western markets

Aug 14, 2011

Global financial woes may undermine Korea’s industrial growth and private consumptionThe growing global financial woes in the wake of the European debt crisis and the downgrade of the U.S. sovereign rating may deal a blow to Korea’s economy, amplifying the uncertainties and fluctuations of the natio
Korea considers options to stem stock volatility

Aug 12, 2011

South Korea’s financial authorities said Friday they were weighing options to stem stock market volatility in response to growing concerns over foreign “hot money” that allegedly exaggerates the market’s moves. The local regulators’ latest gesture to stabilize the local stock market came after they