[THE INVESTOR] The Bank of China, one of China’s four major state-owned banks, has decided to participate in yuan futures market launched by the Korea Exchange last year, sources said June 20. Financial Services Commission, Korea’s top financial regulator, is expected to give a preliminary approval to the Seoul branch of BOC soon as the bank applied for operation license to trade yuan-based derivatives products here in March. Once the Chinese bank receives the green light, the Korean authority w

[THE INVESTOR] The new anticorruption act set to take effect in September will cost local businesses 11.6 trillion won (US$9.96 billion) on an annual basis, a think tank claimed.Commonly known as the Kim Young-ran act, it will place a ceiling on the value of gifts -- cash and goods -- and meals individuals in selected professions can have in their professional capacities. The government announced its enforcement in May. According to a report compiled by the Korea Economic Research Institute, if

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares opened higher on June 20 due to eased Brexit concerns following the murder of a British politician who was in favor of remaining in the European Union.Polls conducted after her murder last week show that more citizens now favor staying in the EU rather than leaving, a contrast from earlier. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index soared 18.15 points, or 0.87 percent, to 1,970.38 during the first 15 minutes of trading. Most large cap stocks traded higher

[THE INVESTOR] The nation’s ratio of income tax revenue to gross domestic product has been rising at a fast pace in recent years largely due to the increasing number of taxpayers, data showed on June 20. The country’s revenue from earned income and global income tax came to 36.8 trillion won (US$31.4 billion) in 2014, accounting for 2.48 percent of the overall tax revenue of 1,485.1 trillion won, according to the report based on data from the Finance Ministry and the National Tax Service.Earned