The combined net profit of asset management companies in South Korea jumped 44.4 percent in the third quarter from a quarter earlier due a strong gain in commission fees, data showed Wednesday. The combined net profit of 324 asset management firms came to 459 billion won ($415 million) in the July-September period, compared with a profit of 312 billion won a quarter earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. Korea’s benchmark Kospi rose about 10 percent in the third quarte

South Korea's exports are set to rise 6 percent in 2021 as pandemic-hit economies are expected to gradually recover and demand for chips and IT goods is likely to remain strong, a trade organization said Wednesday. Outbound shipments are estimated to be valued at $538.2 billion in 2021, compared with this year's estimated $507 billion, according to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). KITA said imports will reach $490 billion next year, also up 5.4 percent from $465 billion estima

Seoul has been selected as the top destination for international meetings by a global magazine on corporate travel, the city government said Wednesday. Business Traveler conducted an online survey in July and August for the 2020 Business Traveler Awards in 53 categories, including the world's best airlines, airports, hotels and international meeting destinations, the city government said in a press release. Some 200,000 magazine subscribers took part in the vote and chose Seoul as the Best In

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid optimism surrounding the possible availability of COVID-19 vaccines. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 24.16 points, or 0.92 percent, to 2,658.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.63 percent higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 1.28 percent, boosted by vaccine hopes. Pfizer with BioNTech and Moderna applied fo

The South Korean economy is seeing its recovery momentum gain traction on improving exports, the finance minister said Wednesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki also pledged the government's efforts to continue to prop up an economic recovery into the fourth quarter and next year. "The South Korean economy shows that its recovery momentum has gained traction in the face of difficult conditions," Hong said at a meeting on the property market. Asia's fourth-largest economy grew at a fas

Payments made with cards in South Korea grew more than 5 percent in October amid the new coronavirus outbreak, industry data showed Wednesday. Spending made with credit, debit and prepaid cards came to 77.3 trillion won ($69.7 billion) in October, up 5.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Credit Finance Association. Credit card spending stood at 60.1 trillion won, with payments made with debit cards reaching 17.1 trillion won. The association attributed the October in

South Korea's stock prices rose at the 10th-fastest pace among the Group of 20 (G-20) nations with major economies posting double-digit surges, data showed Wednesday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 14.30 percent in November from the prior month, outpacing the previous record monthly increase of 13.52 percent recorded in April 2009. It was the 10th highest hike among the G-20 economies and outperformed their average 14.1 percent expansion. All G-20 members saw

South Korea's consumer prices grew at a faster pace in November than a month earlier as prices of agricultural products and service charges went up, data showed Wednesday. The consumer price index rose 0.6 percent on-year last month, compared with a 0.1 percent on-year gain in the previous month, according to the data by Statistics Korea. In October, the country's inflation rate grew at the slowest pace in four months due to state subsidies for mobile phone bills. Compared with a month earlie

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday forecast a sharper-than-expected contraction for the South Korean economy this year, citing the fallout of the new coronavirus outbreak. The OECD expected Asia's fourth-largest economy to retreat 1.1 percent this year, steeper than its September forecast of a 1 percent contraction. The Paris-based club of major economies predicted the Korean economy to grow 2.8 percent next year and 3.4 percent in 2022. Despite the dow

South Korean carmakers' sales fell 5 percent last month from a year earlier as the coronavirus outbreak continued to sap demand around the globe, industry data showed Tuesday. The five carmakers in South Korea -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. -- sold a combined 674,040 vehicles in November, down from 710,466 units a year ago, according to data from the companies. Weak overseas demand and a series of strikes weighed on th

Mirae Asset Global Investments, one of South Korea’s largest asset management firms, said Tuesday that it won a US court case against Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance Group over legal disputes involving a $5.8 billion deal to acquire luxury hotels. The Delaware Court of Chancery rejected Anbang’s demand of Mirae Asset to pay off the rest of the deal, and ordered the Chinese insurer to return $580 million it received from the South Korean company as a deposit of the deal, with inte

South Korea has decided to invest $9.8 million in green and digital projects in developing nations through the World Bank’s Korea Green Growth Trust Fund, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Tuesday. The KGGTF, launched in 2011, is a Korean government-financed trust fund that has helped more than 100 green growth programs in WB lending, according to the ministry. The latest investment will involve 23 developing nations and projects in digital, green and health care fields. It aims t

South Korean stocks rebounded from a sharp decline the previous session to hit a new all-time high Tuesday on the back of upbeat economic data, lifting hopes for a faster-than-expected recovery amid the pandemic. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 42.91 points, or 1.66 percent, to close at 2,634.25. Trading volume was high at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 15.7 trillion won ($14.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering los

Sohn Byung-doo, former vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, was named as the single candidate for the new chair post of the Korea Exchange, South Korea’s sole bourse operator, according to industry sources Tuesday. After conducting final interviews of three candidates a day earlier, the KRX’s chairman recommendation committee chose Sohn, insiders said without giving the names of the two others. The securities exchange operator is slated to hold a shareholders’ g

South Korean builders' business sentiment increased for the third consecutive month in November on a recovery in new orders despite the prolonged coronavirus crisis, a poll showed Tuesday. The construction business survey index (CBSI) stood at 85.3 last month, up 5.4 points from the previous month, according to the survey by the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea. The November figure was the highest monthly tally for this year, but it was still below the benchmark level. A r