The recent surge in the US Treasury yields, if prolonged, could lead to a decline in asset prices, South Korea’s Vice Finance Minister said Tuesday, saying that the government would keep an eye on market volatilities. “If the US bond yields continue to rise, volatilities including change in asset prices over avoidance of risky investments and an outflow of emerging market capitals could materialize,” Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said during a macroeconomics meeting. &

Bond issuance in South Korea rose by more than 11 trillion won in February from the previous month due mainly to increased state and corporate debt sales, industry data showed Tuesday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 75.2 trillion won ($65.9 billion) last month, up 11.3 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Sales of government bonds increased by 5.5 trillion won, and the issuance of corporate

South Korea's economic activity remains stagnant as the country has continued to suffer heavy job losses despite improving consumption and robust exports, a state-run think tank said Tuesday. Revived consumption of durable goods and solid exports have provided some defense against the economic slowdown, according to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). "The Korean economy continues to be sluggish with rapidly contracting employment due to COVID-19

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to lift a set of regulations in the agricultural sector to harness more state-of-the-art technologies and foster new growth engines for the industry. Under the blueprint, South Korea will establish new smart farming clusters for a wider scope of areas covering livestock, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The country previously focused on adopting the solution for greenhouses. The concept of smart farming centers on the applicat

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Tuesday that it has signed a combined 835 billion won ($731 million) worth of orders from Liberia, Oceania and Europe to build eight ships. The orders include four container carriers and three liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers, Korea Shipbuilding said. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a unit of Korea Shipbuilding, will build four 15,900-twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU) container carriers and deliver them to buyers from the second half

South Korea's tax revenue rose 2.4 trillion won ($2.1 billion) in January from a year earlier due largely to an increase in the collection of capital gains taxes, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The country collected 38.8 trillion won in taxes in January, compared with 36.5 trillion won the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The rise in tax revenue was mainly attributable to an increase in capital gains tax income from housing transactions and fund investments.

South Korea's financial markets are likely to undergo further volatility as bond yields and inflation risks are rising amid hopes for an economic recovery, a vice finance minister said Tuesday. First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom warned that if US bond rates continue to rise, asset prices may suffer a decline, after their bull run caused by ample liquidity. "If US bond yields continue to rise, investors could turn risk-averse, which could spark a fall in asset prices and capital out

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, tracking overnight tech losses on Wall Street that stemmed from concerns over post-pandemic inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 3.7 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,992.41 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.41 percent, as yields of the US benchmark 10-year Treasury rebounded and finished just shy of 1.6 percent. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.61 percent,

A recent jump in international oil prices and recovering refining margins are raising expectations for a rebound in South Korean oil refiners' earnings down the road, industry sources said Tuesday. Industry leader SK Innovation Co. and three other players registered their worst performances ever last year, stung by slumping crude prices, weak refining margins and tumbling demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a boon to local refiners, however, international oil prices have been rising rap

Major global investment banks (IBs) have revised up their forecasts for South Korea's 2021 economic growth for the third consecutive month amid growing expectations for a recovery, a report showed Tuesday. As of end-February, nine major global IBs, including Barclays, BoA-Merrill Lynch and Citi, forecast Asia's fourth-largest economy to grow 3.6 percent this year, up 0.1 percentage point from their median outlook a month earlier, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Fin

South Korea's current account surplus narrowed sharply in January due to higher oil prices, the central bank said Tuesday. The current account surplus reached $7.06 billion last month, narrowing from a surplus of $11.51 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. Since the country logged a deficit of $3.33 billion in April last year, the largest in almost a decade, on faltering exports amid the COVID-19 p

As COVID-19 vaccination campaigns have picked up pace around the globe, South Korean drugmaker SK Bioscience has garnered keen attention from investors at home and abroad ahead of its market debut. The vaccines unit of the nation’s No. 3 conglomerate SK Group wrapped up its two-day book building Friday. While institutional investors placed bids to obtain new shares for the initial public offering, a total of 1,464 domestic and foreign institutions participated, according to investment ba

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said on Monday that the latest land speculation scandal involving public officials is a wake-up call for public servants whose misdeeds undermine the credibility of key policies. Public outcry mounted over allegations that employees of the state-run housing developer Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) used internal information on housing supply projects for their speculative property investments. "Public servants should take the latest case with extra vigilance

South Korean stocks fell under the 3,000-point threshold on Monday, as improved Chinese economic data and higher US bond yields stoked renewed concerns over rising inflationary pressure. The Korean won weakened against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 30.15 points, or 1 percent, to close at 2,996.11 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.9 billion shares worth some 15.5 trillion won ($13.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 551 to 302.

South Korea’s largest airline, Korean Air, said Monday that it had successfully raised 3.3 trillion won ($2.9 billion) by issuing new shares. Of the funds raised through the latest capital increase, some 1.5 trillion won will be used to acquire domestic rival Asiana Airlines, according to the carrier. In the funding round, which ran from March 4 to 5, the right to buy the newly issued shares was given only to the firm’s existing shareholders and members of the employee stock owne