South Korean stocks closed lower Thursday after a choppy session, as the hopes for economic recovery is balanced against concerns about fast inflation. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 5.8 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 3,007.33 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 871 million shares worth some 10.3 trillion won ($8.7 billion), with loser outnumbering gainers 563 to 297. Foreigners bought a net 42 billion won

Eight out of 10 young Koreans are currently investing in stocks, funds, cryptocurrencies and other assets, and their main purpose behind making such investments is to buy a home, a survey showed Thursday. According to the survey conducted by insurance agency Rich Planner Consulting Co. on 1,000 Koreans in their 20s and 30s, 88.2 percent of them answered they are investing in stocks. Nearly 35 percent said they are trading cryptocurrency. For the purpose of investment, 42.2 percent of young in

Shinhan Bank said Thursday it has opened an office in Hungary, becoming the first South Korean commercial lender to enter the central European country. The flagship lender under the nation’s No. 1 banking group by assets said it was granted the license to operate by the Hungarian National Bank in September and opened the office Tuesday. It also marked Shinhan’s latest overseas market entry since the launch of its subsidiary in Mexico in 2018. The new office is expected to bolste

Fund houses in Korea to compete on level playing field with foreigners on domestic nonbank direct lending market, experts say

SEJONG -- The number of layer chickens raised in South Korea dropped 4.2 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier due to the impact of the bird flu outbreak, data showed Thursday. The number of layer chickens came to 70.7 million as of end-September, compared with 73.8 million a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Yet it was up from 65.9 million three months earlier and 62.1 million as of end-March, which was the lowest in more than three years. The on-year decr

With four crypto exchanges having nearly passed market authorities’ high bar for official registrations, investors are turning their eyes to the four entities already enjoying soaring profits and making steps for their respective market debuts. The four -- Upbit, Korbit, Coinone and Bithumb -- were able to apply for registration by undertaking the long list of anti-money laundering and security measures required by financial authorities. As of Tuesday, Upbit and Korbit have received appr

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Thursday, led by advances in techs and autos. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.82 points, or 0.16 percent, to 3,017.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.43 percent to 35,609 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slipped 0.05 percent to 15,121 points. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged up 0.14 percent to 70,400 won, while LG Chem shed 2.62 percent to

South Korea's exports rose 36.1 percent on-year in the first 20 days of October on the back of robust demand for chips, petroleum products and autos, customs data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $34.2 billion in the Oct. 1-20 period, compared with $25.1 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports increased 48 percent on-year to $36.7 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.49 billion during the cited period, the data show

South Korea's producer prices gained 0.2 percent on-month in September due to a rise in prices of energy-related products, extending their monthly gains for the 11th straight month, central bank data showed Thursday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 111.13 in September, compared with 110.86 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The September reading was up 7.5 percent from the same month a year earlier, the BOK data showed. The rise

South Korea’s finance minister once again downplayed the possibility of delaying taxation on cryptocurrency earnings, while emphasizing that his ministry is gearing up to carry out its plan as scheduled. Hong Nam-ki, the minister of Finance and Economy, made such remarks during an Assembly hearing on Wednesday when asked about the preparedness of taxation infrastructure on crypto assets. Hong’s remarks came one day after a lawmaker revealed a survey result in which three crypto e

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings said Wednesday that it would maintain South Korea’s stable credit rating and keep its economic growth projection positive, citing the country’s economic resilience. During a webinar hosted by Fitch on assessing regional outlooks, Jeremy Zook, a director at Fitch Ratings, reaffirmed the credit rating for Asia’s fourth-largest economy at AA-, the fourth-highest level in the agency’s system, in line with its July projection. It has rema

US-based investment manager BlackRock has become the third-largest shareholder of energy services company Hanwha Solutions, a filing showed Wednesday. BlackRock’s 11 affiliated entities were holding a combined 5.08 percent stake in Hanwha Solutions -- which is dedicated to petrochemicals, advanced materials and solar energy -- as of Friday, according to the disclosure filed with the Financial Supervisory Service. Solely on Friday, BlackRock had invested 65.4 billion won ($55.6 million)

South Korean stocks retreated Wednesday, led by strong institutional sell-offs. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 15.91 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 3,013.13 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 668 million shares worth some 11 trillion won ($9.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 521 to 337. Institutions sold a net 208 billion won, while retail investors bought 284 billion won. Foreigners offloaded

Despite industrywide efforts to promote sustainable corporate management through environmental, social and governance aspects, many South Korean companies appear to be struggling to integrate the values into their businesses, a survey suggested Wednesday. Only 123 companies, or 15 percent of all Kospi-listed firms, have established committees to deal with ESG issues, according to the survey conducted by CEO Score, a local corporate tracker. Most of the ESG management committees included chief

South Korean mobile payment app operator Kakao Pay embarked on a two-day book building process targeting institutional investors Wednesday, following delays due to local authorities’ requests. The result will determine at which price a share of Kakao Pay, the Ant Group-backed financial technology firm, would be offered, as well as the proceeds Kakao Pay will be able to attract through the initial public offering, ahead of its proposed market debut on Nov. 3. Korean analysts are valuing