The South Korean government said Wednesday it will expand financial support for domestic companies in green sectors to make inroads into the global market, in partnership with the Green Climate Fund. Launched in late 2010, the South Korea-based United Nations climate fund aims to channel money from industrialized nations to developing countries to help them tackle climate change-related problems. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Yannick Glemarec, executive director of the GCF, agreed to inc

The Bank of Korea (BOK) may raise its 2021 growth forecast to some 4 percent this week as exports showed signs of a strong recovery amid an aggressive fiscal stimulus, economists said Wednesday. The BOK is widely expected to freeze its key rate at a record low of 0.5 percent at Thursday's monetary policy meeting, but market observers will closely monitor the central bank's revised growth outlook. The BOK's February forecast was that South Korea's economy would grow 3 percent this year. So

Large companies in South Korea cut their workforce nearly 1 percent in 2020 from a year earlier in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. According to CEO Score, 309 out of the country's top 500 corporations had a combined headcount of 1,203,835 as of the end of March, down 0.8 percent or 9,756 from end-December 2019. The number of their regular workers declined 1 percent to around 1.13 million over the cited period, with that of irregular employees edging up

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment fell for June, marking the first on-month decline since January, as chip shortages cost automakers, central bank data showed Wednesday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local manufacturers came to 97 for June down from 98 for May, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' outlook on business conditions in the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. Hyundai Motor

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, helped by expectations of a fast economic recovery from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.76 points, or 0.21 percent, to 3,178.08 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks advanced despite the overnight losses on Wall Street, as local economists increasingly speculate that the central bank may raise its 2021 growth forecast to some 4 percent this week. A strong 41.1 percent jump in April exports

Dongnae, a property tech company based in South Korea, said on Tuesday that it has raised an additional $4.1 million in an extended seed series funding from global investors. Dongnae’s final seed round stood at $8.2 million including $4.1 million in the latest fundraising and another $4.1 million raised five months ago, the company said. The company’s seed funding size compares with local venture investments in all rounds that stood at an average of 2 billion won ($1.7 million) per

South Korean stocks ended their three-day losing streak Tuesday, following the US Federal Reserve's comments that helped ease concerns of early post-pandemic inflation. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 27.02 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 3,171.32 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 603 billion shares worth some 11.5 trillion won ($10.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 618 to 224. Foreigners bought

The 38-year-old hotel formerly owned by Daewoo Group reportedly to become office building

Kim Tae-hee, Ha Jung-woo, Soyou and more put properties on sale apparently due to government’s stricter rules

South Korea’s market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service said Tuesday it has ordered the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea to compensate up to 80 percent of the losses from the lender’s misselling of problematic funds structured by Discovery Asset Management.  The dispute arbitration committee under the FSS set the reimbursement rate for individual investors, who signed up for Discovery funds through IBK, ranging between 40-80 percent, the FSS said in a statement.  Th

Educational technology startup Riiid has snapped up $175 million in fresh funding from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 to accelerate global entry of its artificial intelligence-based personalized learning experience and assessment program, the company announced Tuesday. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 was the sole investor in the latest series D round, bringing Riiid’s total funds raised to $250 million. Riiid did not disclose its post-money valuation. The deal was made 10 months after its pre-series D rou

South Korea's household credit grew at a slower pace in the first quarter, as banks tightened rules on loans, central bank data showed Tuesday. Household credit reached a record high of 1,765 trillion won ($1.56 trillion) as of March, up 37.6 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Household credit refers to credit purchases and loans for households that have been extended by financial institutions, including commercial lenders and mutual sav

Exports of South Korean bigger companies declined 7.3 percent last year from a year earlier amid the pandemic, led by a fall in shipments of petrochemicals, data showed Tuesday. Overseas shipments by the country's conglomerates were valued at $322.5 billion last year, compared with $347.7 billion the previous year, according to Statistics Korea and the Korea Customs Service. The decline was led by the manufacturing sector, the backbone of the country's economy, the data showed. Exports of larg

South Korea's corporate direct financing inched up 2 percent in April from the previous month due largely to a rise in bond sales, data showed Tuesday. Local companies raised a combined 24.9 trillion won ($22.1 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, up 492.7 billion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Corporate stock sales declined 96 percent on-month to 250.4 billion won in April due to the previous month's high base. In

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, as investor concerns over early post-pandemic inflation were eased by the soothing comments by the US Federal Reserve. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 8.27 points, or 0.26 percent, to reach 3,152.57 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-laden Nasdaq gained 1.41 percent, as the Fed's key officials said the recent price hikes and supply shortages may be temporary. The Dow Industrial Average and the