South Korean shares opened higher Tuesday on expectations for an economic recovery amid eased worries over the new coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 10.7 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,005.30 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI extended gains from the previous day largely on investors' optimism for an economic recovery fueled by South Korean President Moon Jae-in's push for a third and possibly largest-ever supplementary budget. US stock marke

South Korea's exports of packaged traditional chicken soup, or "samgyetang," have posted sharp growth in the first four months of 2020 from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, amid the growing demand for ready-to-eat products around the globe due to the pandemic-led lockdowns. Outbound shipments of ready-to-eat samgyetang products reached $4.82 million over the January-April period, up 82.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Agro-Fisheries &

Falling tourist arrivals due to the new coronavirus outbreak is expected to dent the South Korean service industry's added value and employment this year, a report said Tuesday. Battered by the coronavirus pandemic, the number of foreign tourists to South Korea came to 2.04 million in the first quarter of the year, down 47 percent from a year earlier, according to the report from the National Assembly Budget Office. In particular, the figure stood at a mere 83,000 in March, down a staggering

South Korea said Tuesday it will hold the seventh round of talks with China this week to discuss expanding the scope of their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) to better cover the service and investment sectors. The two countries will begin a four-day virtual meeting Tuesday to "speed up" the progress amid the new coronavirus pandemic that has virtually frozen global travel and economic activities, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The previous meeting was

South Korea's consumer sentiment slightly rebounded in May, central bank data showed Tuesday, apparently on a sharp decline in the number of new COVID-19 infection cases here. The country's composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came to 77.6 in the month, up 6.8 points from a month earlier when the index dropped to the lowest level since December 2008, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. "The consumer sentiment

KB Kookmin Bank was named the best financial company last year in the overall corporate assessment, a survey showed Monday.  According to local corporate tracker CEO Score, the South Korea lender topped the list of the country’s top 108 financial companies with assets over 2 trillion won in six categories -- financial group, commercial bank, insurer, brokerage house, credit card company and savings bank. The survey measured each company’s commitment to corporate growth, job c

Due to its fast-aging population and consequently reduced productivity, South Korea will continue to see its current account decline over the years and eventually turn to the red as early as in the next decade, according to a state-run think tank. “The country’s fast-aging demographic trend is likely to reduce the current account surplus or cause a deficit,” the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy said in a report on the impact of demographic change on 

Subscription-based streaming services and e-books are no longer the preserve of the tech-savvy younger generation. People in their 50s and 60s are fast becoming a major consumer base in the digital content market, at least among the better off, a survey showed Monday. From 2016 to 2019, the amount that people in this age group spent on digital content increased 160 percent while the number of online payments soared ninefold. The survey, conducted by local card issuer Hyundai Card and financ

Acleda Bank, the biggest commercial bank in Cambodia, said Monday it was listed on the Cambodia Securities Exchange in which the Korea Exchange (KRX) has invested. The Cambodian bank had assets of $6.18 billion as of the end of last year. Its market capitalization marked $1.75 billion -- nearly three times that of five listed firms in the country. Since the large-cap stock went public, the lackluster Cambodian stock market is expected to be revitalized by attracting new local and foreign inve

State-run lender Industrial Bank of Korea and its New York branch have been fined $86 million by the Attorney General’s Office for allegedly failing to manage their anti-money laundering program, documents and local reports showed Monday. The bank’s apparent decision to delay the upgrade of the program for nearly a decade, eventually led to its failure to detect transactions that violated US sanctions against Iran, settlement documents between IBK and the Attorney General’s O

South Korean shares closed sharply higher Monday on hopes of massive economic stimulus steps sought by the local government. The Korean won fell against the US dollar amid the growing tension between the United States and China. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 24.47 points, or 1.24 percent, to close at 1,994.60. Trading volume was moderate at about 630 million shares worth some 7.84 trillion won ($6.3 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 517 to 303. The in

South Korean savings banks reported a 19.4 percent rise in their combined net profit in the first quarter due to increased interest income, data showed Monday. The combined net income of the 79 savings banks stood at 246.3 billion won ($199 million) for the January-March quarter, compared with a profit of 206.3 billion won a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their interest income rose 14.2 percent on-year to 1.2 trillion won, while loan-loss pro

The Bank of Korea (BOK) will be prodded to further slash its key rate to support the virus-stricken economy, experts said Monday, but when it will push down the base rate to an unknown territory remains to be seen. In a poll conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, 12 out of 18 experts surveyed anticipated to see a rate cut this month. But all but one expected the BOK to cut the rate by a quarter percentage point before the end of September, according to the s

Seoul-based NH-Amundi Asset Management on Monday named Kim Seung-ho as its new chief marketing officer. Kim was formerly headed the fund management unit at NongHyup Bank. He will serve a one-year term. He will replace Moon Young-sik, whose term ended in April. NH-Amundi Asset Management is a 70:30 joint venture of NongHyup Financial Group and France-based Amundi Asset Management. NongHyup Bank is a wholly owned banking arm of NongHyup Financial Group. Kim started his career in 1985 at Nat

Seoul-based KB Asset Management said Monday it has launched a fund that targets blue chips listed in the US stock exchanges. The open-ended fund is raising funds from South Korean retail investors and is expected to invest in US firms that generate stable income supported by their new growth engine, such as Amazon, Apple and Alphabet. At least 70 percent of the funds will go to large-cap stocks, KB Asset said. “The US is taking the lead in new growth engine industries, and is expected