Foreign investors in South Korea net purchased some $920 million, or 1.04 trillion won, of locally listed stocks last year, but the figure was conspicuously lower than that of peer emerging economies, data showed Friday.According to Yuanta Securities, the combined net purchase volume by foreigners on the nation’s benchmark Kospi and tech-laden secondary Kosdaq marked $924 million in 2019.Among emerging economies, India topped the list in amount at $14.2 billion, followed by Taiwan and Indo

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion’s key affiliates said Friday they have yet to set a clear blueprint in regards to Chairman Seo Jung-jin’s hint at the blockbuster merger of Celltrion, Celltrion Healthcare and Celltrion Pharm by as early as 2021. “The company is considering the merger plan on the premise of shareholder agreement, but we have yet to make any confirmation as to how and when the merger would be undertaken,” the three firms said in respective disc

South Korea’s central bank maintained the country’s base interest rate at 1.25 percent, prolonging its wait-and-see approach amid mounting expectations of an economic recovery this year. The Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Board announced Friday that the key rate will be kept at the record low of 1.25 percent, largely conforming to market expectations.The rate-setting board carried out two rate cuts last year, reducing by 0.25 percentage point each time, in July and October.In

Sluggish exports and weaker construction investment continued to weigh on South Korea's economy, despite a solid gain in service output and consumption, a government report showed on Friday.  In its monthly economic assessment report, the finance ministry said market sentiment improved after the United States and China signed an initial trade deal, but uncertainties linger on prospects for a second phase of the US-China trade deal.  "Exports and construction investment are still i

As widely expected, South Korea's central bank on Friday left its policy rate frozen, citing slight improvements in the economic and trade conditions facing Asia's fourth-largest economy and the need to assess the effect of previous rate cuts.The Bank of Korea's monetary policy board voted 5 to 2 to keep the rate steady at a record low 1.25 percent.Friday's monetary policy decision was in line with market consensus. In a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News A

Woori Financial Group, South Korea’s fourth-largest banking group by assets, walked away from a bid to buy a 100 percent stake in Prudential Life Insurance of Korea, according to the group on Thursday.Woori Financial, Korea’s only banking group without an insurance unit, did not join the preliminary bidding round for the sale of a 2 trillion-won ($1.73 billion) stake in Prudential Financial’s Korean unit, a spokesperson of the group said.Other talked-about contenders, including

The Seoul Real Estate Forum said Thursday that it had named Wang Jeong-han as its sixth president.Wang, 57, will double as head of the SREF and the Seoul-based Ara Group Architects and Planners, dedicated to architecture, design, construction management and audits in South Korea. Wang has led Ara since 1998. Founded in 2003, the SREF is a forum comprising some 200 members, including real estate professionals and professors in Korea. The forum holds monthly seminars that center on the latest

With bills on personal data and credit information passing the legislature, Korean financial authority Financial Services Commission and other financial organizations on Thursday vowed to make joint efforts to create a better, fair environment for the financial technology market.“The FSC hopes to see fintech firms achieve successful results of their businesses this year, and for that, it will not spare efforts to support them,” said Kwon Dae-young, director general of FSC’s fin

FSS holds sanctions committee to review ‘warning’ decision on both bank CEOs

South Korea’s government will be initiating the registration process for the annual meeting of the Asia Development Bank, to be held here in May this year, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Thursday.“We have finished reorganizing the official website for the operation of the 53rd ADB Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors,” said Jung Byung-sik, operation head of the ministry’s task force, adding that registration starts Friday.While official registration is throu

South Korea’s tax agency said Thursday that it has published its year-end tax settlement manuals for foreigners in English, Chinese and Vietnamese.The publication of tax manuals in foreign languages, while are available both online and offline, comes as the number of foreign employees has been growing.According to the National Tax Service data, Chinese and Vietnamese filers for the 2018 year-end tax settlement accounted for 44 percent of the total filers.  The tax agency also provides

SEJONG -- Fifty years ago, the number of South Koreans engaged in agriculture accounted for more than 40 percent of the total population.But the farming population (defined by the government as people in farming households) has continued to drop. It fell to below 30 percent of the total population in 1980 and was about 15 percent in 1990, according to government data.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs noted that the farming population posted 4.4 million in 1998, accounting for 9

Shinhan Bank is considering taking legal action against Lime Asset Management, claiming the fund operator made a unilateral decision last year to hedge its portfolio with a fund sold through the commercial lender, officials said Thursday. According to Shinhan, Lime Asset didn’t inform the lender of its plans to use Lime Credit Insurance Trade Fund assets to prevent payment delays from other funds that were facing liquidity issues at the time and that its decision amounted to a breach of tr

Alpha Holdings, the largest shareholder of Nasdaq-listed OncoSec Medical, is pinning hopes on its last-ditch efforts to prevent a takeover of the biopharmaceutical firm by Chinese entities, ahead of its special shareholders meeting on Friday.The South Korean shareholder of OncoSec proposed to have controlling stake and hold four out of seven seats on the New Jersey-based firm’s board by injecting a fresh $39.3 million funding. OncoSec is pressed to accept Alpha’s new offer by Thursda

Foreign stock ownership on Seoul’s benchmark Kospi bourse reached the highest level this week since 2006, industry data showed Thursday.According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, offshore investors held a net 585.98 trillion won ($431 billion) as of Tuesday -- 38.90 percent of the bourse’s market capitalization of 1,506 trillion won. The figure is the highest since Aug. 8, 2006, that accounted for 38.91 percent of Kospi’s market value. Foreign investors’ str