Officials from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank will visit South Korea this week for a regular assessment of the nation's financial system, officials said Monday.The IMF and World Bank conduct evaluations of the financial architecture of 25 selected countries every five years under the Financial Sector Assessment Program. South Korea was last reviewed in 2013. A delegation of IMF and World Bank officials will arrive in South Korea on Tuesday to discuss details of the assessment

Inventory of South Korean manufacturers has increased to its highest point in 10 years, data showed Monday, a likely sign of a dulled economy.Figures obtained from the Korea Center for International Finance and Statistics Korea put the inventory-to-sales ratio in December last year at 116 percent. The number is the highest since 122.9 percent in September 1998, when the country was struggling with the Asia-wide foreign exchange crisis. The ratio has been on the incline from late last year. After

SEJONG -- South Korea’s nine provinces are competing to step up outbound shipments of agricultural products amid growing demand from a variety of overseas buyers, including Southeast Asian countries.South Chungcheong Province is drawing particularly close attention since diversifying its export markets last year. Whereas until then the province had mainly focused on Hong Kong, Taiwan and the US, it has expanded its export destinations to include Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam.According to

Leading banks seek to nurture in-house ventures, amid slowing business and intense rivalry from fintech players

Prospective license seekers range from BGF Retail and WeMakePrice to Kiwoom Securities and Kyobo Life Insurance

Major brokerage firms reported worse-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter of last year, with analysts citing increased market volatility coupled with a slump in the nation’s equity-linked securities market, data released in recent days showed. Mirae Asset Daewoo’s fourth-quarter net profit dropped 72 percent on-year to 26.9 billion won ($23.9 million), noticeably below the average range of 40 billion-50 billion won projected by analysts. The firm had been reporting lackluster

KB Financial Group, a major South Korean banking group, said Friday its net profit declined 7.3 percent on year in 2018, hit by outlays related to job cuts. 　Net profit stood at 3.06 trillion won (US$2.72 billion) last year, KB Financial said in a regulatory filing. The profit fell below the market expectation of 3.31 trillion won.  　KB Financial said it spent 286 billion won in severance payments and 185 billion won in compensation as it carried out a voluntary retirement program late last

SEJONG - The North American Free Trade Agreement is estimated to have much contributed to development of the commerce segment in the continent as one of the world’s main trade blocs.Though US President Donald Trump recently threatened to terminate the NAFTA contracts, expressing dissatisfaction with trade terms with Mexico and Canada, it is undeniable the three-member trade bloc has been a counterpart to the European Union.In Europe, apart from the EU there is the European Free Trade Assoc

South Korea’s Woori Bank has partnered with Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab’s Cambodia office to offer low-interest loans and other specialized financial products to Grab drivers in the country, the bank said Thursday.WB Finance, the Cambodian business unit of Woori Bank, signed a memorandum of understanding with Grab Cambodia, to launch a series of financial services specifically designed for Cambodia’s Grab drivers, including low-interest loans. “Grab Cambodia w

South Korea’s financial regulator plans to raise the limit of recharging credit on mobile payment platforms from the current 2 million won ($1,782), as part of its plans to ease rules on quick payment services, an official said Thursday.The new plan addresses the growing ire among mobile platform operators and users on the 2 million won recharge cap, which makes it impossible for users to purchase goods that cost more than the stated limit through payment systems such as Kakao Pay or Naver

A South Korean man has reportedly filed a damage suit seeking compensation for war bonds and insurance products his father was forced to purchase from Japanese financial companies in 1943 during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea. According to a report by local broadcaster YTN on Thursday, Ahn Chul-woo, an 80-year-old man living in Busan, is pursuing a lawsuit in Korea against Japan Post Group, a major financial company and postal service operator in the neighboring country. Ahn directed his su

Apartment transactions in Seoul sank to a six-year low in January from a year earlier, according to data from the land administration department of the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The number of apartments sold in the capital city plunged to 1,857 last month, down 81.8 percent from 10,198 in January 2018 and the lowest level for the month since 2013. Real estate experts noted that with increased supplies of new houses in the midst of fortified anti-speculative regulations, the lease

Woori Bank clinches ad deal with Blackpink, KB Kookmin Bank renews contract with BTS

Anticipation is building up over who will become the new owner of Lotte Card, a credit card business owned by Korean-Japanese retail conglomerate Lotte Group that has been put up for sale.　Lotte Group has set out to sell three of its financial units -- Lotte Card, Lotte Non-Life Insurance and Lotte Capital – as part of steps toward adopting a holding company structure. Under South Korean law mandating a separation of financial and industrial capital, a holding corporation cannot possess fi

South Korean exports are forecast to decline in 2019, as outbound shipments contracted for two months in a row, economic organizations and observers said Wednesday.The poor export showings in December and January marked the first time in 27 months that shipments have fallen in consecutive months on an annual basis and are an indication of tougher times ahead for Asia's fourth-largest economy, experts here said. Data by the Korea Customs Service showed exports down 5.8 percent from a year earlier