The net profits of 54 securities firms in South Korea rose 1.5 percent on-quarter to 621.4 billion won ($557.8 million) in the second quarter of the year, government data showed Monday.Revenue from brokerage commissions came to 1.99 trillion won during the period, up 13.5 percent from a quarter earlier, on an increase in the stock trade following the Bank of Korea's interest rate cut and Britain's decision to leave the European Union, according to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory S

Since the US Federal Reserve signaled last week that it was close to raising its interest rates soon, economic policymakers in Seoul are on edge for the potential impact to Korea’s fragile economy and financial markets. The heightened likelihood of the US tightening as early as next month complicates the job of the Bank of Korea, in particular, which already faces a tough balancing act between the desire to support growth and worries over rising household debt levels.Federal Reserve Chair Janet

Samsung Asset Management said on Friday the company will start its operations in the Seocho Samsung Town starting Monday, marking the beginning of the realignment of the group’s financial units. According to the asset management subsidiary, it will complete the move-in of around 300 employees over the weekend and begin operations in the building that was previously occupied by Samsung Electronics. The company operated in Yeouido for 13 years and in the Taepyeongro building for five years. During

KB Kookmin Bank said on Friday it opened a new foreign investor support center in southern Seoul in a bid to increase convenience for overseas investors when they are considering investments in Korea. The new center is located at the KB Insurance building on the Teheran Road in Gangnam, which will be a new hub for foreign investment connecting them with Korean businesses. The bank plans to provide one-stop services ranging from legal, taxation to financial services regarding making investments i

Bank lending rates on new household loans dropped from a month earlier in July and interest paid by banks on new deposits also fell, central bank data showed Friday.The average interest rate on fresh household loans extended by local banks came to 2.96 percent last month, down 0.10 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The July reading marked the fourth consecutive months of drop.The decline could prompt additional household borrowing, which had reached a recor

South Korea's finance minister held a meeting with the delegation head of global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings Inc. to exchange their views on the recent economic situation and the country's macroeconomic policies, the finance ministry here said Friday.In a meeting with Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho in Seoul, Thomas Rookmaaker, head of Asia-Pacific sovereigns at Fitch, said South Korea has seen steady economic growth and maintained fiscal soundness, along with its efforts to push forward with

South Korea's latest measures against soaring household debt are unlikely to impact large private builders much as they are focused on curbing the supply of new apartments by a state housing developer, analysts said Friday.In a bid to tackle snowballing household debt, Seoul announced a package of measures Thursday that calls for the development of fresh residential areas and scale down of the supply of new apartments by state-owned Korea Land and Housing Corp., among others.In a note to clients

South Korea plans to sell 6.5 trillion won ($5.8 billion) worth of state bonds next month, the finance ministry said Thursday.The government will issue 1.6 trillion won worth of bonds with a maturity of three years and 1.4 trillion won worth of five-year bonds.It also plans to sell 1.8 trillion won worth of 10-year bonds and a combined 1.7 trillion won of bonds with a maturity of between20 and 30 years.The finance ministry said the government will repay state debt worth a combined 1.95 trillion

The market valuations of tech giants Naver and Kakao stand in stark contrast, with their mobile strategies expected to affect their profitability in the opposite directions. According to Oh Dong-hwan, an analyst at Samsung Securities, the valuation of Naver is on the rise due to its mobile-focused strategies, while that of Kakao is going downhill as it seeks offline-to-online business models. The country’s largest portal Naver will continue to post annual growth rates of around 20 percent based

The market valuations of tech giants Naver and Kakao stand in stark contrast, with their mobile strategies expected to affect their profitability in the opposite directions. According to Oh Dong-hwan, an analyst at Samsung Securities, the valuation of Naver is on the rise due to its mobile-focused strategies, while that of Kakao is going downhill as it seeks offline-to-online business models. The country’s largest portal Naver will continue to post annual growth rates of around 20 percent based

Woori Bank has expanded its mobile remittance services to 16 countries, the lender said Thursday. Customers can now wire money to the US, UK, Bangladesh, Australia, India and United Arab Emirates via the bank’s mobile platform WiBee Bank, in addition to the 10 countries already available. The fee has also been cut from the previous 8,000 won to 5,000 won per transaction. Money transfers are available 24/7 on WiBee Bank, which is downloadable on mobile devices for both Android and iOS. The servic