South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, taking a cue from overnight record gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23.3 points, or 0.75 percent, to 3,110.85 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics added 0.85 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix hiked 1.6 percent. Internet portal giant Naver moved up 2.51 percent, with its rival Kakao up 0.22 percent. Leading chemical maker LG Chem jumped 3.1 percent, and rech

South Korea's current account surplus widened on-month in December last year, mainly due to a modest recovery in exports, the central bank said Friday. The current account surplus reached $11.51 billion in December, widening from a surplus of $9.18 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 2020, the largest in almost a decade, on faltering expo

South Korea's exports of sauces reached an all-time high in 2020 as more people enjoyed cooking at home around the globe amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Friday. Outbound shipments of sauces rose 25.8 percent on-year in 2020 to reach $301.7 million, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). KITA said the growth also came as global consumers became more aware of Korean-style foods following the popularity of Korean cultural content oversea

South Korea plans to supply 830,000 housing units in Seoul and other big cities by 2025 through housing redevelopment projects led by state-run agencies, marking the largest-scale supply measure yet envisioned by the Moon Jae-in administration. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Thursday announced its real estate plan, which aims to provide affordable housing in big cities to meet the demand from young people and to tackle soaring home prices. “If this measure is imp

South Korean stocks snapped their three-day winning streak Thursday, as foreign and institutional investors sought profits following a recent hike. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 42.13 points, or 1.35 percent, to close at 3,087.55 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.3 billion shares worth around 20.4 trillion won ($18.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 539 to 305. Foreigners sold a net 640 billion won, e

Top bankers likely to file lawsuits against the FSS’ punishment, officials say

Unemployed or underemployed up 1 million since Dec. 2019

South Korea’s top financial regulator’s recent decision to extend a temporary ban on stock short selling has garnered mixed reviews from market analysts and retail investors. Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo said on Wednesday that the temporary short selling ban will be lifted from May 3 on 200 stocks listed on the main bourse Kospi and 150 stocks on the tech heavy Koadaq. The government has banned the shorting scheme since March 16 last year over growing concer

South Korea‘s investment house Mirae Asset Global Investments said on Thursday it has launched a new equity fund to invest in domestic companies with clean technology prowess. With the launch, Mirae Asset aims to ride on the green wave among financiers that is triggering a seismic shift across the industries. Its portfolio will mainly comprise of Korean firms dedicated to solar, wind and hydroelectric power resources, waste management, electric vehicles, hydrogen cars, as well as smart

South Korea’s first internet-only lender, K bank, saw a hike in term deposits in January backed by new customers looking to invest in bitcoins through the online bank. Under the partnership between K bank and crypto exchange Upbit forged in June, retail investors can open a bitcoin trade account via the online lender. A bitcoin frenzy in January appears to have pushed the number of customers subscribing and depositing cash at K bank, according to market watchers. K bank’s sav

South Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank on Thursday said it has adopted a global environmental, social and governance-related risk-management framework, known as the Equator Principles, to better uphold its environmental responsibilities. By complying with the international convention adopted by financial institutions around the world, KB Kookmin hopes to bolster its ESG standards in its decision-making process. Project financing over $10 million and corporate loans of over $50 million are subje

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) said Thursday that it has issued global bonds worth $1.5 billion to overseas investors. The three-tranche debt is comprised of three-year bonds worth $500 million and five-year bonds worth $700 million, with the remainder maturing in 10 years, the lender said. The three-year bonds carry an annual interest rate of the yield on three-year US Treasurys plus 0.23 percent, and the five-year debt has a rate of the return on five-year US Trea

The amount of wheat and other grains brought home by South Korean agricultural firms more than doubled in 2020 from a year earlier, data showed Thursday, in line with the country's efforts to revamp its national food security. The combined amount of grains excluding rice imported through South Korean agricultural developers reached 110,000 tons in 2020, soaring from just 44,000 tons posted the previous year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Wheat accounted for

Spot market prices for DRAM chips are on a rising course, industry data showed Thursday, boding well for South Korean chipmakers that dominate the memory market. The spot price of 8-gigabit DDR4 DRAM, a benchmark price for the category, reached as high as $3.93 as of Wednesday, according to data from DRAMeXchange, a research division of market tracker TrendForce. Its spot price reached $2.54 on Aug. 20, 2020, but rebounded above the $3 mark in mid-December. A spot price is the price quoted in

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday largely on tech and pharmaceutical losses. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 18.48 points, or 0.59 percent, to 3,111.2 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks quickly fell to the negative terrain due to strong foreign and institutional selling, after the key index rallied 5.2 percent in the past three sessions. Top cap Samsung Electronics lost 1.42 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shed 1.92 percent. Pharmaceutical giant Sam