South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Thursday, taking a cue from overnight drops on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 49.67 points, or 1.59 percent, to 3,072.89 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Foreign selling increased as the US Fed did not announce new measures to quicken the economic recovery. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite retreated 2.61 percent, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closing down 2.05 percent and 2.57

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended Thursday that South Korea further carry out accommodative fiscal and monetary policies, including rate cuts, in a bid to accelerate its economic recovery amid the pandemic. Despite rising budget deficit, the country also has fiscal room for increasing targeted support to people and businesses hit hard by the new coronavirus outbreak, according to Andreas Bauer, Korea mission chief at the IMF. An IMF team, led by Bauer, unveiled the outcome of i

South Korea's financial watchdog said Thursday it has decided to advise local banks to reduce dividends this year to help them better cope with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The decision, among other things, recommends lenders to keep their dividends below 20 percent of earnings, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC). But the recommendation doesn't apply to dividends that banks pay out to their holding companies. Two state lenders -- the Korea Development Bank and the

South Korea's imports of Japanese beer plunged nearly 86 percent in 2020 due to a local boycott of goods from the neighboring country, data showed Thursday. Seoul brought in $5.67 million worth of Japanese beer last year, down 85.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and the liquor industry. The tumble follows a drop to $39.76 million in 2019 from a peak of $78.30 million a year earlier. South Koreans launched the boycott in protest of Japan's exp

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment rose in February, but concerns about sluggish consumption persisted amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local manufacturers came to 81 for February, up from 77 for January, 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. In Decemb

South Korea’s venture investment set records in 2020 both in the number of deals and their value, despite the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced Wednesday. The country’s investment in startups reached 4.30 trillion won ($3.89 billion) in 2020, adding 26.8 billion won, or 0.6 percent, from the previous year. The number of investment deals also hit a record high of 4,231 while the number of invested companies logged an all-time high

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Wednesday that it would be desirable for South Korea to selectively provide assistance to sectors and people hit hard by the pandemic as economic recovery is uneven. During a conference call with Finance Minister Hong Nam-Ki, Andreas Bauer, Korea mission chief at the IMF, said South Korea needs to maintain policy support to tackle economic slumps caused by the new coronavirus outbreak. An IMF team held its annual meetings with South Korea's finance mi

South Korean brokerage firm KB Securities said Wednesday that it had completed the sale of a UK logistics facility, in which it jointly invested with LB Asset Management in 2017. The two Korean companies bought the facility through funds designed to invest in UK property assets in 2017. The exact investment amount for the acquisition was not unveiled at the time. KB Securities and LB Asset Investment sealed the sale deal of the facility in January. The facility is leased to UK supermarket ch

South Korean stocks slumped after a choppy session Wednesday, largely due to heavy foreign selling related to concerns over fiscal policy tightening in major financial markets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 17.75 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 3,122.56 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 905 million shares worth some 19.4 trillion won ($17.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 574 to 293. Foreigner

South Korean investment firm Truston Asset Management said Wednesday that it is establishing a fund to invest in companies that have room for improvement in their environmental, social and governance standards, and to make changes through shareholder activism if necessary. The company, which managed assets worth 9.3 trillion won ($8.4 billion) as of end-2020, aims to raise some 500 billion won from public distribution channels in the nation, where unorthodox family business succession plans to

South Korea’s state-run pension fund raked in over 58 trillion won ($52.6 billion) from stock investments last year amid a bullish run on the local stock market, data showed Wednesday. The total amount of shares that the National Pension Service holds in listed companies, of which it owns 5 percent or more, was worth nearly 181.3 trillion won as of Friday. The figure has soared over 57.68 billion won or 46.7 percent from the start of last year, according to corporate tracker CEO Score.

The price gap between high and low-priced apartments nationwide widened to the highest level in 12 years in December last year, showing deepening housing polarization in the country, according to data Wednesday.  Apartment prices of the top 20 percent group reached an average of 951.6 million won ($861,198) in December, soaring by more than 200 million won from a year earlier, the monthly housing price trend report released by KB Kookmin Bank showed. Meanwhile, prices of low-cost apartme

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Wednesday as investors waited for the results of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 1.4 points, or 0.04 percent, to 3,138.91 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.35 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shed 1.16 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem moved down 2.2 percent, but rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI climbed 0.25 percent. Pharmaceuti

South Korea's national pension fund earned nearly 58 trillion won ($52.6 billion) from stock investments in 2020 thanks to the bullish stock market, data showed Wednesday. As of Friday, the National Pension Service (NPS) held 181.3 trillion won worth of shares in 275 companies, of which it owns 5 percent or more, according to the data from corporate tracker CEO Score The amount was up about 47 percent, or 57.7 trillion won, from the start of last year. The bulk of last year's gains came from

Several foreign investment banks (IBs) have revised up their forecasts for South Korea's 2021 economic growth following the economy's relatively good performance last year, a report showed Wednesday. Out of six foreign IBs and one research institute that published reports on Asia's fourth-largest economy Tuesday, three upgraded their growth outlooks by 0.1 to 0.3 percentage point, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance. These institutions predict the South Korean