South Korea's exports have extended their gains to 10 months, jumping 35 percent on the back of robust demand for chips and automobiles, and underpinning recovery momentum in Asia's fourth-largest economy, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments came to $53.2 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports climbed 44 percent to $51.5 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $1.67 billion. It marked the 16th consecutive month for

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Wednesday, tracking a muted session on Wall Street overnight as investors took a breather after US stocks reached record high levels. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 1.97 points, or 0.06 percent, to trade at 3,197.3 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.11 percent, while the tech heavy Nasdaq composite inched down 0.04 percent. The Nasdaq had reached a record high the

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday revised up South Korea's growth forecast for this year to 4 percent on strong exports. In its report on world economic outlook, the rating agency adjusted South Korea's gross domestic product growth outlook from its previous estimate of 3.5 percent in May. The nation's growth will continue to be supported by high demand across the globe for industrial products, especially electronics, the agency said. Moody's also revised South Korea's growth outlook for n

South Korea‘s mobile payment app operator Kakao Pay has revised down its target offer price range for the initial public offering of its stocks as its plan to go public underwent a two-month delay, a prospectus showed Tuesday. The decision will reduce the IPO size of the Ant Group-backed financial arm of internet giant Kakao, by up to some 100 billion won ($86.3 million). Under the new plan to float 17 million common shares, each share will be priced at the suggested target price range

Moon keeps expansionary stance for his final year despite growing criticism over the nation’s worsening fiscal soundness

South Korea’s three top cryptocurrency exchanges -- Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit -- launched a joint venture to co-develop solutions for a “travel rule” system, the companies said Tuesday. They invested 300 million won ($258,115) each in the new joint venture, COnnect Digital Exchanges or CODE, to satisfy the mandate before the deadline set by the government and an international anti-money laundering body. The travel rule is a global standard imposed by the Financial Actio

Financial authorities will unveil additional measures to rein in household debts, the new head of the financial regulator said Tuesday. Koh Seung-beom, the new chairman of the Financial Service Commission (FSC), said that curbing household debts is his top priority. "I will mobilize all available policy means to reduce risks of surging household debts," Koh said, but stopped short of saying when the FSC will unveil additional measures. The FSC will make a decision on whether to ex

South Korean stocks rose for the third straight session Tuesday as foreign investors scooped up tech shares after an overnight tech rally on Wall Street. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 55.08 points, or 1.75 percent, to close at 3,199.27 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 647.3 million shares worth some 15.2 trillion won ($12.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 495 to 333. Foreigners purchased a net 1.1

The reports surrounding the US Federal Reserve’s plan to trim bond purchases over an extended period have had limited impact on the Korean market “for now,” First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-won said Tuesday. The remark follows some volatility observed in the nation’s main bourse in the events leading up to and after US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole gathering last week. The central bank may begin withdrawing some of i

New York-based private equity firm Blackstone is attempting to cash in on its holdings in Simone Acc Collection for up to 320.7 billion won ($275.3 million) in a partial exit involving an initial public offering, a prospectus showed Tuesday. The IPO of luxury handbag maker Simone, which could fetch up to 400.9 billion won before its proposed October listing on the Korea Exchange‘s main board Kospi, will allow the world’s largest private equity investor to carry out an immediate exi

South Korean institutions' investment in foreign securities rose 5.1 percent in the second quarter as they increased their holdings of foreign stocks and bonds, central bank data showed Tuesday. The combined value of foreign securities held by institutional investors came to $381.1 billion as of end-June, up $18.5 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign securities include stocks, bonds and so-called Korean paper, which refers to foreign currency-denomi

Nonperforming loans at South Korean banks fell 11.5 percent in the second quarter from three months earlier due to a decline in overdue corporate loans, data showed Tuesday. Nonperforming loans came to 12.2 trillion won ($10.5 billion) at the end of June, down 1.6 trillion won from the end of March, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Overdue corporate loans reached 10.5 trillion won at the end of June, down 1.4 trillion won from a quarter earlier, the data sho

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday emphasized the importance of maintaining an aggressive fiscal policy next year, as the government has proposed an 8.3 percent hike in the state budget. "(We) are facing a very important time for the nation in the midst of the world's order of upheaval and great transformation. The fiscal role is more important than ever," he said at the start of a weekly Cabinet meeting. Main agenda items included the budget plan for fiscal 2022. In its final annual b

South Korea on Tuesday proposed a record high budget of 604.4 trillion won ($519 billion) for next year as it plans to maintain expansionary fiscal spending to cement the economic recovery and narrow social gaps caused by the pandemic. The proposed budget, endorsed by the Cabinet, marks an 8.3 percent on-year rise from this year's 558 trillion-won budget, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The increase is lower than the 8.9 percent increase for this year. The government plans to

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors took to the sidelines amid the country's protracted fight against its worst wave of the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.03 points, or 0.13 percent, to trade at 3,140.16 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. South Korea's fight with the current wave of the pandemic weighed on investor sentiment as health authorities struggle to flatten the virus curve ahead of the Chuseok holiday next month. In