A local equity fund, in which South Korean President Moon Jae-in invested last week to show his confidence in domestic firms likely to benefit from Japan’s export curbs, has amassed more than 40 billion won ($33 million) as of Friday, fund operator NH-Amundi Asset Management said Sunday. The fund dubbed the “NH-Amundi Victorious Korea Equity Fund,” was launched on Aug. 14 with about 30 billion won initial capital. It invests in local companies that manufacture industrial equipm

Fiscal chief foresees challenges in growth pace, dispels worries on plans to increase expenditure

South Korean stocks are expected to move in a tight range this week as investors remain wary over the US and China trade row, analysts said Sunday.On Friday, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended up 34.38 points, or 1.8 percent, at 1,967.79 on hopes of US-China trade talks. Last week, the KOSPI gained 1 percent. Investors will remain cautious as the world's two biggest economies prepare to hold face-to-face talks in Washington this month, according to Kim Yong-gu, an anal

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Friday two BOK board members cast a dissenting vote in the August rate-freeze decision. Cho Dong-chul, who is considered the most dovish among the seven-member monetary policy board, and another dovish member, Shin In-seok, called for the central bank to cut its key rate by a quarter percentage point, Lee told reporters, after freezing the key rate at 1.5 percent. Many analysts view that a dissenting vote could signal a change in the BOK's policy in the c

South Korea's central bank has room for a further rate cut to deter a longer skid in Asia's fourth-largest economy, the bank's chief said Friday, with analysts eying a rate reduction in October.The Bank of Korea's monetary policy board voted to leave the bellwether rate steady, after in July the bank carried out the first quarter percentage-point reduction in three years. The BOK's wait-and-see stance had been widely expected as it needs to gauge the impact of the rate cut on Asia's fourth-large

South Korea's industrial output rose 1.2 percent in July from a month earlier due to increased auto output and facility investment, government data showed Friday. The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed the production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries also went up 2.6 percent in July from a month earlier, while the output of the service sector increased 1 percent on-month.From a year earlier, industrial output grew 0.5 percent. (Yonhap)

A year since its launch of the Green, an online application-only credit card targeting young customers, Hyundai Card has decided to take a step further and adopt a new packaging for its premium cards, the firm said Thursday.The credit card operator recently unveiled a “book-themed” package for its premium card lines – the Black, the Purple and the Red – dubbed “the Book,” with each packaging embodying the unique traits of each line.  The firm said that it

Dollar up W100 this year; national debt up W100 trillion since 2017

 South Korea’s fiscal spending will climb 9.3 percent on-year in 2020, amid the government’s expansionary policy measures in response to growing economic uncertainties such as US-China friction and Japan’s trade curbs, according to officials.The Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday laid out next year’s state budget bill and a five-year fiscal road map at a Cabinet meeting, as a preliminary step to parliamentary submission slated for Tuesday. If the budget bill

Chiefs of major South Korean commercial banks will join President Moon Jae-in as part of his economic delegation on the Myanmar leg of his trip to three Southeast Asian countries next week, sources said Wednesday.Heads of commercial banks here, Shinhan’s Jin Ok-dong, KB Kookmin’s Hur Yin and Industrial Bank of Korea Chairman Kim Do-jin, will accompany Moon on his visit to Myanmar scheduled for Sept. 3-5, spokespersons for the firms confirmed to The Korea Herald. Moon’s entire t

Japan on Wednesday put into force its decision to remove South Korea from a list of favored trade partners, further deepening a row between the two countries over trade and wartime history. Japan pressed ahead with the removal approved by its Cabinet on Aug. 2, despite Seoul's repeated calls to stop such export curbs, which it sees as political retaliation for last year's South Korean Supreme Court rulings against Japanese firms over colonial-era forced labor.Seoul is expected to officially lodg

President Moon Jae-in's new official car, based on hydrogen fuel-cell technology, made its debut Tuesday, rolling briefly across the grounds of Cheong Wa Dae.Moon moved from one office building to another inside the presidential compound in the Nexo crossover SUV, produced by Hyundai Motor, according to Cheong Wa Dae.   Moon chose it as a presidential car in a demonstration of his resolve to do his best for the growth of the hydrogen economy and efforts to tackle fine dust air pollutio

South Korea’s consumer sentiment came to 92.5 in August, the lowest indicator readout since January 2017, data released by the Bank of Korea showed Tuesday as global trade issues continued to weigh on the economy. According to the central bank, the composite consumer sentiment index dipped 3.4 points on-month to well below the baseline of 100, which means consumers are decidedly pessimistic compared with average readings between 2003 and 2018. The BOK cited a number of risks to explain the

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Tuesday it had signed a loan agreement to provide $86 million from the Economic Development Cooperative Fund for Ethiopia’s project involving a university. The ceremony was attended by Eximbank Chairman Eun Sung-soo and Ethiopia’s State Minister of Finance Admasu Nebebe during Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali’s state visit to Korea.The EDCF offers long-term low-interest loans to developing countries, set up and managed by the Korean g

South Korea's top financial regulator said Tuesday the government will expand financial support for companies hit by Japan's export restrictions if needed, as Tokyo's decision to drop Seoul from its list of trusted trading partners is set to take effect this week. Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, made the remarks at a meeting with senior executives of banks, a day before South Korea is officially dropped from Japan's so-called whitelist.  Japan, which tightened e