Japanese investors have been putting their money into the South Korean financial market even after Japan's devastating quake, data showed Monday, easing speculation that they may repatriate overseas assets to finance Japan's post-quake rehabilitation.The 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami hit the northeastern part of Japan on March 11, leaving more than 20,000 people dead or injured.Japa

South Korean stocks began marginally higher on Monday but traded in a narrow range as investors opted to take a breather following last week's climb, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 0.51 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,054.55 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Last week, the KOSPI finished up 3.68 percent from a week earlier.   Techs were bullish w

Major commercial banks should refrain from engaging in excessive competition to increase their assets as there is a possibility that they will face financial difficulties, a report said on Sunday.The Korea Institute of Finance likened the current situation to that of the period between 2005 and 2008, when banks saw their profitability continue to worsen due to heated competition.The cautionary adv

South Korea is moving to stem future cases of bird flu as foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks have been largely put under control, the government said Sunday.The farm ministry said it currently maintains poultry movement restrictions in 14 rural cities and counties across the country after quarantine authorities had to cull 6.27 million birds on 269 farms since Dec. 29, when the first case of bird fl

Korean stocks ended 1.22 percent higher on Thursday as foreign investors sharply increased their holdings on reviving appetite for riskier assets, analysts said. The local currency gained ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 24.6 points to 2,036.78. Trading volume was light at 290.3 million shares worth 6.56 trillion won ($5.8 billion), with gaine

Korea’s top trade official said Thursday that the government is carefully looking into the impact of a free trade deal with China on Asia’s fourth-largest economy as there are divided views on benefits.“We are cautiously examining the impact of a free trade deal with China on our economy,” Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said in a meeting with business leaders. Kim said there are opinions that

   SEOUL, March 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's central bank is expected to hike its key interest rate by 0.75 percentage point this year to fight oil and commodity price gains, a senior economist at HSBC Holdings Plc. said Thursday.   "South Korea's central bank may raise its interest rate 75 basis points further from where we are now through the course of this year," HSBC Group Chief Economist Step

Reinstating debt-to-income caps may further weaken property marketKorea’s plans to reinstate mortgage lending limits that were temporarily scrapped in August to spur property transactions may lead to a further decline in the real estate market. Korean banks will resume restrictions on the amount of loans homebuyers can get as a proportion of their annual income starting in April, the government sa

South Korea's financial watchdog plans to announce its road map to resume the sale of a major stake in state-owned Woori Finance Holdings Co. by the second quarter of this year, its chief said Wednesday.   The Financial Services Commission (FSC) put the 56.97 percent government stake in the second-largest banking group up for sale in November last year but suspended the sale process in December af

South Korea will tighten its rules on loans for home purchases amid growing concerns that rising household debts could emerge as a drag on the nation's economic recovery, the government said Tuesday.The plan, announced jointly by the finance, public administration and land and construction ministries, however, calls for the government to lower acquisition tax rates for home purchases in a bid to b

Woori Finance Holdings Co., South Korea's No. 2 banking group, said Tuesday it picked the vice president of Woori Bank as the new chief executive officer of the group's flagship banking unit.   The state-run financial services company said its seven-member special president selection committee selected Lee Soon-woo, 61, to lead South Korea's second-largest lender for three years.   Woori Bank is c

With President Lee Myung-bak’s appointment of a new government financial regulator earlier this year, reform is once again a serious topic in Korea’s one-step-forward, two-steps-back financial services industry.“The most revolutionary area (of reform) will be the introduction of hedge funds,” said Ernst J. Lee, spokesperson for the Financial Services Commission, echoing recent pronouncements by hi