Seoul stocks opened higher Friday, tracking the overnight gains from Wall Street as investors welcomed the gradual reopening of businesses across the globe, including the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 7.64 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,932.60 in the first 15 minutes of trading. After trading in negative terrain earlier in the sessions, the Dow Jones Industrial Average eventually advanced 1.62 percent overnight, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.91 perc

South Korea's export prices dropped for a second consecutive month in April, central bank data showed Friday, apparently adding to woes over a slump in outbound shipments by Asia's fourth-largest economy amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The export prices index, in terms of local currency, came to 94.54 in the month, down 1.6 percent from the revised 96.08 the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. From a year earlier, the reading marks a 5.9 percent drop. Apri

South Korea said Friday it has adopted an action plan with other Group of 20 members that centers on maintaining the global supply chains and refraining from implementing new trade barriers as the new coronavirus pandemic continues to put great strains on business activities. South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee discussed with her counterparts from the group of 20 advanced and emerging economies on late Thursday how to expand global cooperation in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, accord

Govt. vows to lead job creation, hoping to boost private sector

A multilateral convention of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to combat multinational corporations’ tax avoidance strategies, which exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules, is slated to take effect here in September, Korea’s Finance Ministry said Thursday. The government has recently deposited its instrument of ratification in the OECD, which would allow South Korea to more smoothly deal with the corporations’ base erosion and profit shifting through

Despite potential for backlash, government hints it may pursue plan to nurture industry

Yuanta Securities Korea said Thursday it has partnered with multinational financial market data provider Refinitiv to mount a new stock search engine function on its trading system for investors in US stocks. The service, dubbed “Reuters tRadar,” will allow users to access Refinitiv’s stock reports related to US stocks and their forecasts on the company performance based on its Institutional Brokers’ Estimate System database, which comprise the combined estimates of som

South Korean stocks closed lower Thursday as investor sentiment was dented by a grim forecast for global economic recovery amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 15.46 points, or 0.80 percent, to close at 1,924.96 Trading volume was high at 744 million shares worth 9.3 trillion won ($7.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 638 to 229. The index never moved above the flatline through

South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday that 16 fintech firms and startups have attracted a combined 136.4 billion won ($111 million) in investment over the past year as the country is pushing to promote the fintech industry. The investments came a year after South Korea introduced a regulatory sandbox meant to allow fintech firms using new technologies, such as blockchain and big data, to develop new financial services without regulatory hurdles. The move came as South Korea is count

Foreign investors will return to the Korean stock market starting from the second half of the year if the US job market hits rock bottom in June, according to a local brokerage Thursday. “If figures on the US labor market hit a low point in June, offshore investors are highly likely to inject their capital into the local stock market from July,” said Lee Eun-taek, an analyst at KB Securities. “They will eye large-cap stocks first.” The US’ monthly employment repo

Seoul stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking losses on Wall Street amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 24.37 points, or 1.26 percent, to 1,916.05 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks plunged Wednesday (local time) after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expected a slow economic recovery from the novel coronavirus fallout. Investor sentiment was also hit by growing concerns over tensions between the United States and Chin

South Korea aims to create 1.56 million jobs in the public sector, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday, as the nation's economy suffered its sharpest job losses in 21 years over the coronavirus pandemic. Hong said the government will soon draw up plans to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on the job market. About 1 million jobs in the public sector have not been opened due to social distancing rules, but the government will soon open such jobs by easing some rules, Hong said. T

Credit card spending by Koreans dipped at a slower rate in April than the previous month amid the COVID-19 infection slowdown, industry data showed Wednesday.  Combined credit card spending last month decreased by 2.9 percent from a year earlier to reach some 54.5 trillion won ($44.5 billion), marking a smaller dip compared to 6.7 percent in March, said Rep. Park Kwang-on of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, quoting data compiled by eight credit card issuers: Shinhan, Samsung, KB Koo

Power of responsible investing becoming more visible in pandemic era, says Green Climate Fund’s evaluation head

Seoul’s prime office building market will face flagging demand due to the coronavirus coupled with new supply in the second quarter, which will create more empty space within the properties and reduce their cash flow, Savills Korea said in a report Wednesday. According to the real estate services firm, real estate investors in South Korea are expected to take a cautious stance as uncertainties in the leasing market are likely to erupt in terms of the proposed buyers’ financing cond