Two major foreign investment banks (IBs) have revised down their targets of South Korea's key stock index for 2022 amid rising market volatility following the discovery of the omicron coronavirus variant, industry sources said Wednesday. In a recent report on South Korea, Goldman Sachs has cut its 2022 target of the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) to 3,350 from an earlier estimate of 3,700. Goldman Sachs said its downgrade reflects the characteristic of the South Korean sto

ESG and impact investment will offer a new way for investors to make financial returns while leaving a positive, social and environmental impact, and South Korea hopes to spread the practice of “responsible investment,” Korea Investment Corporation CEO Jin Seoung-ho said Tuesday. The chief of the country’s sovereign wealth fund said ESG investment, which looks at environmental, social and governance factors, and impact investment, which aims to make money and measureable socia

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Tuesday the country's snowballing household debt is posing limited risks to the economy, given borrowers' capability to repay debt and banks' financial health. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks during his meeting with the delegation of S&P Global Ratings, led by Kim Eng Tan, senior director of Asia-Pacific sovereign ratings at the global credit appraiser. The delegation kicked off its annual consultations with the Korean government Mo

SEJONG -- South Korea’s industrial output and facilities investment declined on-month, though the two sectors also recorded positive growth on-year, reflecting economic uncertainty under constant pressure of the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The industrial output decreased by 1.9 percent in October from a month earlier, which marked the highest negative growth since it posted minus 2 percent in April 2020. Production in the manufacturing segment, including automobiles and metals, decrea

South Korean stocks tumbled to a 52-week low Tuesday as concerns over the potential impact of the omicron coronavirus variant continued to weigh on investor sentiment. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plummeted 70.31 points, or 2.42 percent, to close at 2,839.01 points. Trading volume was high at about 968 million shares worth some 19.2 trillion won ($16.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 874 to 48. Foreigners sold a

South Korea has clinched the top spot in Asia in a United Nations agency’s global innovation rankings, coming in fifth globally. In the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index 2021, Korea was ahead of Singapore, Japan and China. It was behind Switzerland, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom. Korea, Asia’s fourth-biggest economy, was in 10th place last year. (Yonhap) By Nam Kyung-don

Dunamu, the operator of cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, said Tuesday that it has launched the beta version of its video chat metaverse platform, pushing the boundary between the real world and virtual reality. Metaverse refers to virtual communities that let users interact in real time. On 2ndblock, the metaverse platform, a video chat window automatically pops up when users’ avatars are close by, and users can see each other’s faces through webcams. They can also actively communic

South Korea’s Shinhan Bank said Tuesday it has completed its review of its cross-border wiring and transfer technology for stablecoins, but remained cautious on its actual adoption. Stablecoins are a form of cryptocurrency designed to have a stable value tied to traditional government-backed currencies, or to a commodity such as gold, to dodge the volatilities that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have. “With the stablecoin transactions growing overseas, including JP Morgan&rsqu

South Koreans' overseas card spending declined 14.8 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier as the government tightened rules on withdrawals of money from automatic teller machines and the won depreciated against the dollar, central bank data showed Tuesday. According to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, came to $2.88 billion in the July-September period, down from $3.37 billion

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investors attempted to buy oversold stocks amid the potential impact of the omicron coronavirus variant. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 28 points, or 0.96 percent, to 2,937.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The new variant has not been detected in South Korea, which has been battling a recent surge of coronavirus cases. Global stock markets rebounded Monday, partly recouping their losses made last Friday amid inv

South Korea's industrial output fell by the most in 18 months in October as production in the manufacturing sector lost steam amid global supply chain bottlenecks, data showed Tuesday. Industrial output declined 1.9 percent in October from the previous month, a turnaround from a 1.1 percent on-month gain in September, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest on-month fall since April 2020, when industrial output fell 2 percent. From a year earlier, industrial

The nonperforming loan rate of banks in South Korea fell to a record low in September due to the expanded provision of credit and debt rollovers for small businesses and merchants, the financial watchdog said Tuesday. The rate of bank loans more than three months overdue in interest or principle payment had stood at 0.51 percent as of end-September, down 0.03 percentage point from three months earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the rate

South Korean stocks ended down for the fifth straight session on Monday as investors remained worried over the impact of the emergence of the omicron variant of the coronavirus on the global economy. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 27.12 points, or 0.92 percent, to close at 2,909.32 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 832 million shares worth some 12.9 trillion won (US$10.8 billion), with losers outnumbering

Globally, internal control is a hot issue for financial companies on several fronts, including environmental, social and governance -- or ESG -- issues as well as cybersecurity. This is because internal control is the process implemented by companies to ensure compliance with the law and the reliability of its information and financial reporting, therefore it is an area of law that must adapt to the changing legal and business environments. Accordingly, as the world focuses on a sustainable futu

South Korea’s vice finance minister said Monday that the government plans to keep close tabs on the financial market for possible volatilities and woes caused by the emergence of the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. “There is a possibility that the volatilities in the global financial market could be expanded by the emergence of the omicron variant,” First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-won said at a macroeconomic meeting of government officials and the private sector.