South Korea's corporate watchdog said Thursday seven more major firms are required to disclose detailed information on their management and business activities. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) unveiled its new updated list of large business groups with assets of 5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) or more to face tougher filing regulations. The number of such firms stood at 71, with e-commerce giant Coupang, Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI), the country's sole aircraft manufacturer, and s

SK IE Technology Co. (SKIET), a battery materials subsidiary of SK Innovation Co., is set to draw a record-breaking subscription rate from retail investors for its initial public offering (IPO) on the Seoul bourse, the company's IPO managers said Thursday. SKIET, which makes lithium-ion battery separators used in electric vehicles, has allowed individual investors to subscribe to up to 5.34 million new common shares to be sold under the IPO on the main KOSPI market on May 11. The battery mater

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, backed by the US Federal Reserve's reiteration to keep its asset-buying schemes and earnings surprises from major companies that increased investors' appetite for risky assets. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 14.32 points, or 0.45 percent, to 3,195.79 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The stock index came to a strong start as the US Federal Reserve said Wednesday (local time) it would not roll back its asset-buying progr

South Korean restaurants' business sentiment rebounded in the first quarter of the year on eased social distancing rules, but it was still below pre-pandemic levels, a state food distribution firm said Thursday. The business survey index (BSI) for the country's restaurant industry stood at a post-pandemic high of 67.26 for the January-March period, up 7.5 points from a year earlier, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. The first-quarter reading was also 7.93 points high

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment rose for the fourth straight month for May, despite lingering concerns about sluggish consumption amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local manufacturers came to 98 for May, up from 91 for April, 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 o

S&P Global Ratings affirmed South Korea’s credit rating at AA with a stable outlook, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Wednesday. Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s long-term sovereign credit rating has remained at AA -- the third-highest level on the agency’s rating scale -- since August 2016. “While the Korean economy contracted for the first time since 1998, growth is back on track, and the decline was less than that of most other high-income economies

South Korean stocks dipped 1 percent on Wednesday as foreign investors offloaded local stocks to cash in recent gains ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 33.95 points, or 1.06 percent, to close at 3,181.47 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.4 billion shares worth some 18 trillion won ($16.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 699 to 193. Foreigne

South Korea resumes the short selling of stocks Monday, ending a 14-month ban imposed to protect investors from a sudden market fall triggered by the pandemic.  Despite the government’s cautious moves -- leaving some restrictions in place even after the temporary ban expires -- retail investors are still wary over a possible drop in stock prices, according to industry sources Wednesday. The regulator’s decision to permit short selling within limits starting May 3 came after

Korean-Japanese game maker Nexon on Tuesday said it spent $100 million to purchase bitcoin, joining companies like Tesla and MicroStrategy who bet on cryptocurrencies. The company listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange said it purchased 1,717 bitcoins at $58,226 on average. Bitcoin was being traded at $54,910 as of 1:35 p.m. on Wednesday. “In the current economic environment, we believe bitcoin offers long-term stability and liquidity while maintaining the value of our cash for future investme

Global credit ratings agency S&P Global Ratings revised its credit rating on South Korean brokerage Mirae Asset Securities from negative to stable Tuesday, assigning the firm’s rating of BBB in the long term. S&P said its revised rating reflected its expectation that the local securities firm will likely to improve and maintain an adequate capital buffer over the next 18-24 months. “Mirae Asset Securities’ diversified business lines underpin its largely stable earni

The number of South Koreans who moved to different residences in the country fell for the third straight month in March as housing transactions declined, data showed Wednesday. The number of people who changed their residences fell 4 percent on-year to 735,000 last month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the third straight month of decline after population mobility rose for the seventh consecutive month in December 2020 amid skyrocketing home prices. The fall was

The value of daily retail payments grew 15.2 percent on-year in 2020 as online financial transactions increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The value of daily retail payments, which are typically made between individuals and non-financial firms on a small sum of money, stood at 80.2 trillion won ($72 billion) last year, compared with 69.6 trillion won in 2019, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). With COVID-19 spreading, more consumers are using

South Korea's business sentiment continued to improve on recovering demand in the non-manufacturing business sector, a local think tank said Wednesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales reached 107.7 for next month, up 1.7 points from April, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. The index stayed above 100 for the third straight month after its March reading exceeded 100 for the first time in 34 months, it said. A reading ab

South Korea's exports of autos grew 31.4 percent on-year in the first quarter on the back of brisk shipments of sedans and eco-friendly vehicles, data showed Wednesday. The country's outbound shipments of cars came to $11 billion in the January-March period, compared with $8.37 billion the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. Imports of autos rose 21.8 percent on-year to $2.9 billion, the data showed. Overseas shipments of sedans and eco-friendly vehicle

Major South Korean companies saw their overseas sales shrink 4 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. Combined overseas sales of 230 out of the country's top 500 firms by revenue totaled 804.1 trillion won ($723 billion) last year, down 33.4 trillion won from a year earlier, according to CEO Score. The figure accounts for 45.6 percent of the 83.6 trillion-won decrease in their sales at home and abroad. The 230 companies cover thos