Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki held a meeting with heads of economic organizations on Monday to discuss economic relief packages for companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the finance ministry said Monday. The meeting is aimed at hearing opinions from experts as South Korea seeks to stimulate economic growth after apparently bringing the coronavirus outbreak under control. Heads of economic organizations called for the government to swiftly implement financial aid programs for virus-hit bu

Tmon, a leading South Korean e-commerce company, is gearing up to go public in earnest, as it has recently chosen local investment firm Mirae Asset Daewoo as its leading underwriter. The move came after the IPO plan faced a number of hurdles in finding underwriters earlier this year due mainly to negative outlooks for the highly saturated domestic e-commerce market. “Mirae Asset Daewoo has been picked as the sole underwriter, outgunning NH Investment & Securities and Nomura Securit

To shore up the global economy and contain the fallout from COVID-19, South Korea will provide $400 million for health projects in developing countries and postpone the maturity of debts worth $110 million, the country’s fiscal chief said Monday. Also, to keep up the momentum of the Moon Jae-in administration’s New Southern Policy and New Northern Policy, the government will double the volume of its official development assistance to $7 billion over the next three years. “

South Korean stocks closed 1.79 percent higher Monday as the country continued to see the novel coronavirus outbreak wane. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 33.76 points to close at 1,922.77. Trading volume was moderate at 725 million shares worth 8 trillion won ($6.5 billion), with gainers far outpacing losers 738 to 126. The index opened higher and continued to build up gains on hopes that the coronavirus outbreak is p

Jeonbuk Bank’s Cambodian subsidiary recently floated corporate bonds worth $10 million, becoming the first South Korean financial institution to do so in the Southeast Asian nation, the lender’s holding group, JB Financial Group, said Monday. Phnom Penh Commercial Bank issued the bonds with a maturity period of three years and an annual interest rate of 6.5 percent. They are worth $25 in par value. The plan was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia, whic

Insurance companies in South Korea saw their risk-based capital ratio fall in the fourth quarter of last year, data showed Monday. The risk-based capital (RBC) ratio -- the actual solvency capital divided by the minimum solvency capital required -- of insurance firms stood at 269.5 percent at the end of December, down 17.4 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The RBC ratio is required to stay above the regulatory stan

Woori Financial Group Inc., a major South Korean banking group, said Monday its first-quarter net profit fell 8.9 percent on-year due to loan-loss provisions. Net profit stood at 518.2 billion won ($421.3 million) for the January-March period, compared with 569 billion won for the same period of last year, Woori Financial said in a statement. The banking group said its loan-loss provisions in the first quarter led to the decline in its net profit. Woori Financial said there was a reversal of

Seoul-based consumer loan provider KB Kookmin Card said Monday that it had signed a deal to buy a controlling 50.99 percent stake in J Fintech, a Thailand-based personal loan provider, for 650 million baht ($20 million). This marks the first acquisition deal that allows a South Korean credit card company to enter the Thai financial market since the Asian financial crisis in 1997. The deal is awaiting approval from the financial authorities in Korea and Thailand. The credit card company ex

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Monday it will deliver an additional $1.26 billion to local banks under its currency swap deal with the US Fed in a move to help stabilize the local foreign exchange market. The BOK held its fifth online auction to provide up to $4 billion. Bids undershot the target amount, possibly indicating the stabilization of the local market, the BOK noted. "Considering that bids fell short of those of last week (at $2.12 billion), the recent drop in the London Interba

Four in 10 major listed firms in South Korea pulled off earnings surprises in the first quarter of this year despite the coronavirus pandemic, market data said Monday. Fourteen out of the 35 companies listed on the country's main and secondary stock markets posted first-quarter operating income that were more than 10 percent higher than market consensuses, according to the data from Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The firms covered the ones that unveiled first-qu

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.23 points, or 0.65 percent, to 1,901.24 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday (local time), US stocks ended higher as investor sentiment was boosted by the progress in a coronavirus relief package. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.11 percent, the S&P 500 added 1.39 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 1.65 percent. Most large-ca

South Korea's exports are expected to have plunged by a whopping 25 percent in April from a year earlier, a poll showed Monday, as the new coronavirus pandemic has dealt a harsh blow to global trade and corporate activities. Outbound shipments are estimated at $36.4 billion this month, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was carried out on nine local brokerage houses. The sharp decrease was also attributable to the falling global o

South Korea will offer more than $400 million to emerging nations this year to help them push for health projects against the novel coronavirus, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Monday. Hong made the remarks at a meeting with economy-related ministers earlier in the day as South Korea seeks to share coronavirus information with the world. The money will be offered through the nation's Economic Development Cooperation Fund, Hong said. South Korea will also postpone debt payments worth $110 m

Online scams raise importance of early education on safe financial transactions

State projects likely to include remote medical services, online education