Latest Saudi drone attack to have limited impact on domestic oil supplies: vice minister

Robo-advisers, or digital algorithm-based wealth management services provided by investment firms, outpaced major indexes here last month, reflecting their ability to build a strong portfolio amid a bear market, data provided by a state-backed IT firm showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by Koscom, return rates for risk-seeking, risk-neutral and risk-averse investments made via robo advisors in August came in at 0.1 percent, minus 0.51 percent and minus 1.18 percent, respectively. The d

　South Korean individuals and corporations held a combined 61.5 trillion won ($51.5 billion) worth of wealth in overseas accounts this year, down 7.4 percent from a year earlier, the country’s tax agency said.　The National Tax Service said 696 corporate entities held 55.1 trillion won in June, compared with 551 companies with 59.5 trillion won in overseas accounts a year earlier.　The corporations held the largest amount, 14.81 trillion won, in their accounts in Japan, with their accounts i

The government’s fiscal spending has a multiplier impact, augmenting the economy by about 1.3 times over five years, central bank data showed Monday.In a recent study by the Bank of Korea, the multiplier effects of government spending on the domestic economy stood at 1.27 over five years.The given index means that every 1 trillion won ($844 million) spent by the government will generate 1.27 trillion won in gross domestic product during the period.When the figure is low, it means that expa

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance said Monday it was granted a six-month exclusive license to offer long-term disability insurance in South Korea, making the firm the first to provide such a policy with a coverage period of more than three years. Long-term disability insurance allows workers to receive a portion of their salary if they are unable to work for a period deemed to be long by the insurance company, compared to short-term disability policies that usually require a waiting or elimina

YG Entertainment -- recently shaken by a police investigation into its former CEO Yang Hyun-suk -- is expected to return an investment worth 67 billion won ($56.5 million) related to redeemable convertible preferred shares to French luxury giant LVMH next month, local reports said Monday. According to reports citing financial industry sources, the repayment date set for LVMH’s holdings of 1,359,688 redeemable convertible preferred shares of the entertainment agency is slated for Oct. 16. L

Fiscal spending may have a greater impact on the economy than generally viewed, but the effect may take some time to take place, a central bank report said Monday.In a recent study conducted by the Bank of Korea, the multiplier effect of government spending on the local economy came to 1.27 over a five-year period. This means every 1 trillion won ($850 million) spent by the government will generate 1.27 trillion won in gross domestic product over a five-year period, the report said.Previously, t

SEJONG -- The Moon Jae-in administration has continued to push for “income-led” growth by raising the minimum wage and scaling back the workweek. This was aimed at boosting consumption by raising the disposable income of low-income households. This in turn was meant to boost growth in the overall economy.But drastic hikes in the minimum wage had side effects, as small and midsized businesses took a conservative stance toward hiring due to higher labor costs, which have been linked to

South Korea’s tax burden per capita will stand at an estimated 7.5 million won ($6,300) next year, slightly up from this year, and is poised to grow through 2023, according to data released by the government Sunday. The data comes amid growing concerns about a heavy tax burden in relation to the government’s expansionist fiscal operations, including efforts to change the tax system. The tax burden per capita, which stood at an estimated 7.4 million won this year, will increase by nea

South Korea's homegrown hedge funds continued to soak up money while viable investment vehicles remain few in number, data showed on Saturday.Hedge funds here pulled in 600 billion won (US$509 million) over the past month, with their assets under management reaching 34.9 trillion won at the end of August, according to industry data.The end-August figure also marks a sharp rise from 23.3 trillion won at the end of last year, the data showed.The capital inflow into hedge funds averaged 1.4 trillio

South Korea's stock exchange will introduce an electronic securities system next week, under which all listed stocks and bonds do not exist in paper form, according to the country's financial regulator.Under the new system, which will go into effect Monday, securities certificates of listed stocks and bonds are required to be recorded on an electronic register, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said. The new system will allow investors to acquire, transfer and exercise subsequent rights el

Asset manager marks presence as frontrunner in overseas real estate investing

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to look into the weakening of the global economic framework in light of fading liberalism and the rise of trade protectionism and nationalism. This is the second installment. -- Ed.The World Trade Organization was birthed in 1995 as an advocate of free trade, persuading global economies to lower trade barriers through yearslong rounds of negotiations. Though it has slowly been losing its clout in recent years, the WTO continued to shine as a be

South Korea's jobless rate hit a six-year low in August, and job additions increased the most in 29 months, government data showed Wednesday.The unemployment rate fell 1 percentage point on-year to 3 percent in August from a year earlier, also marking the lowest level for any August since 2013. The number of employed people reached 27.3 million in August, a rise of 452,000 from the same month in 2018, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The number of jobs added is the largest sin

The new head of South Korea's antitrust regulator on Tuesday said the agency will crack down on tech companies over their abuse of monopoly power and dominant market position.Joh Sung-wook, the chairwoman of the Fair Trade Commission, said in her inaugural speech that the move is meant to facilitate market innovation, but she did not elaborate. She said last month that the antitrust regulator has been looking into alleged unfair trade practices by two US tech giants -- Google Inc. and Apple Inc.