World Bank recognizes Korea’s growth and COVID-19 response as case study that other countries can learn from

South Korea’s sole bourse operator Korea Exchange has concluded that it will delist Kolon TissueGene, the original developer of an invalidated joint inflammation treatment named Invossa, it announced via public filing Thursday. The KRX’s Kosdaq Market Committee held a meeting Wednesday and decided to delist the scandal-ridden drugmaker, saying it had not shown sufficient efforts to improve management. Along with failing to achieve the proposed goals that were submitted last year, t

South Korea’s asset management company Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management said Thursday it has snapped up a combined 52 billion-won ($46 million) commitment to a new private fund to finance a wind turbine project in South Jeolla Province. The new fund, dubbed SH BNPP Green New Deal Fund No. 1, will target 17.325-megawatt wind turbines in Wando County, South Jeolla Province. Shinhan BNP Paribas said it managed to reduce the price volatility by entering into a 20-year supply contract wit

South Korea’s current account surplus, a key barometer of the nation’s trade, surpassed $10 billion and hit a two-year high in September, the central bank said Thursday, feeding anticipations that it would easily top its 2020 outlook of $54 billion. On the back of improved exports, the surplus came to $10.21 billion in September, compared to $6.57 billion the previous month, the Bank of Korea said. This marked a surplus for Asia’s fourth-largest economy for five consecutive m

British American Tobacco (BAT) Korea said Thursday it will increase the ratio of non-combustible cigarette products to 50 percent by 2030 to boost sales amid regulations and health concerns over smoking. The British tobacco company has sold the heat-not-burn glo tobacco heating product (THP) series in the Korean market since 2017 on top of its traditional cigarette products. Currently, traditional cigarette products account for 90 percent of BAT Korea's total sales, with the remaining 10 perc

South Korea pledged Thursday to provide U30 million to the local office of the World Bank by 2023 in an effort to promote cooperation with the international organization. South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance made the pledge in a conference in Seoul on innovative technology, which it hosted with the Korean office of the World Bank and the International Development Association. The conference was the first face-to-face forum held by the World Bank since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the glo

South Korean builders' business sentiment surged to a yearly high in October on a recovery in housing orders despite the prolonged coronavirus crisis, a poll showed Thursday. The construction business survey index (CBSI) stood at 79.9 last month, up 4.6 points from the prior month, according to the survey by the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea. The October figure was the highest monthly tally for this year, but it was still below the benchmark level. A reading below 100 i

The South Korean benchmark stock index opened sharply higher Thursday despite the US presidential election being in limbo, taking a cue from the overnight Wall Street rally. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 31.13 points, or 1.32 percent, to 2,388.45 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks traded bullish after a 0.6 percent hike the previous session, as investors rush for giant tech and bio stocks as US election uncertainties continue.  Investor sentiment

South Korea's current account surplus hit a two-year high in September as exports rebounded for the first time in seven months on brisk shipments of chips and autos amid the new coronavirus outbreak, the central bank said Thursday. The current account surplus reached $10.21 billion in September, compared with $6.57 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. It marked the largest surplus since September 20

The Korea Herald’s first forum discusses paradigm shift in the nation’s financial sector, and its economic resilience

Efforts should be made to support Korean financial companies’ entry to Southeast Asian markets to secure sustainable future growth and foster stronger financial ties, a senior researcher said Wednesday. The country’s financial competitiveness along with the development of its economy has grown at large, and it is the time for the local financial industry to seek new opportunities by bolstering economic cooperation with Southeast Asia, said Jeong Young-sik, senior researcher for inte

‘COVID-19 threatens poverty reduction in developing nations’

  South Korea is slated to unveil policy packages to promote fair competition between traditional financial giants and emerging tech players as the pandemic accelerates the digital transformation in the local finance industry, a senior official said Wednesday. Responding to the rise of tech giants in the sector, the Financial Services Commission will construct a legal framework to supervise those firms’ presence in the finance market and ease regulatory imbalances between convention

South Korean shares closed higher Wednesday as investors kept a watchful eye on the ongoing vote count of the US presidential election. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.01 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 2,357.32. Trading volume was high at about 972.9 million shares worth some 14.7 trillion won ($12.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 441 to 377. Foreigners offloaded a net 218.3 billion won of local stocks

SEJONG -- Online shopping in South Korea soared to a new high in September due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Chuseok holiday, data showed Monday, The value of online transactions stood at 14.72 trillion won ($12.9 billion) in the month, up 30.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was also the largest monthly amount since the agency began tracking related data in 2001. The surge was attributed largely to the pandemic that prompted more shoppers t