The average number of credit cards held by South Koreans hit a record high last year thanks to a well-established payment system and improving economic conditions, a report showed Sunday.   A total of 114.94 million cards had been issued as of the end of the third quarter of last year, according to the report by the Credit Finance Association.    Given that the number of economically active peopl

China boosted its holdings of Korean bonds last month even as lawmakers in Seoul reinstated a tax on interest income from debt securities. China’s net purchases of Korean Treasury notes totaled 444 billion won ($395 million), 23 percent more than in December 2009, the Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday. The addition more than tripled China’s holdings of Korean fixed-income securities to 6

Hyundai Motor Group looks set to win its months-long competition with Hyundai Group to take over Korea’s top construction company. Creditors of Hyundai Engineering & Construction, including Korea Exchange Bank, launched their preparations Wednesday to sign a memorandum of understanding with the automobile giant by as early as next week.Their move followed a court ruling Tuesday which supported the

Korean stocks finished 0.12 percent lower on Wednesday as investors sat on the sidelines following recent rallies that had set fresh record highs, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 2.59 points to 2,082.55 after reaching a new intra-day high of 2,087.14 at one point. Trading volume was moderate at 379.1 million shares

Woori Bank filed complaints against several former executives with the prosecution last month to investigate allegations that they issued illegal loans and took kickbacks, sources said Tuesday.Among them were two former deputy CEOs of the nation’s second-largest bank in charge of loan business and trust business. The two executives resigned before the bank referred them and several staffers to the

The yuan’s appreciation may slow this year after the currency strengthened beyond 6.6 per dollar for the first time in 17 years, as China seeks to stem inflows that may fuel inflation, the most-accurate forecasters for 2010 said.The yuan will advance 4.6 percent to 6.3 per dollar, after climbing 3.6 percent in just over six months, said Yen Ping Ho, the head of Asian foreign-exchange strategy for

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves rebounded in December from the previous month as a weaker U.S. dollar boosted the conversion value of assets in other currencies, the central bank said Tuesday.   The country's foreign reserves reached US$291.57 billion as of the end of December, up $1.34 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).   The foreign reserves expanded b

South Korean stocks began higher on Tuesday as overnight rallies on Wall Street boosted investor sentiment, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 3.77 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,073.85 in the first 15 minutes of trading.   Shipbuilders led the climb with market leader Hyundai Heavy Industries jumping more than 3 percent and its smaller rival Daewoo Shipbu

President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that his economic policies will focus on strong economic growth, job creation and a firmer middle class. “This year, our goals in running the economy are: a high economic growth rate of over 5 percent, inflation of under 3 percent, the creation of good jobs and improvement in quality of life of middle- and low-income families,” Lee said in his New Year’s address