The annual volume of capital raised through initial public offerings in the South Korean stock market this year is expected to mark the lowest in five years, amid volatile sessions throughout 2018 due to external uncertainties, data showed Sunday.Some 2.8 trillion won ($2.4 billion) in equity capital is expected to be raised through IPOs in Korea’s markets by the end of the year, according to data from the Korea Exchange, the sole market operator. The figure included the anticipated raise

South Korean stocks are expected to rebound slightly over the holiday-shortened trading sessions next week, led by bargain hunting from the recent slump, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,061.49 points on Friday, down 0.38 percent from the previous week.This week, investors took to the sidelines out of concerns over the US Federal Reserve's interest rate hike and global economic growth. While the Fed's fourth rate raise of the year had been widely

Residents of the South Korean capital earned the highest average incomes last year, data showed Friday.According to Statistics Korea, Seoul topped the list of 16 cities and provinces in per capita disposable income for a second consecutive year.Disposable income, also called disposable personal income, is the total earnings a household makes that are available to save or spend after taxes and pension funds have been paid.Residents of Seoul earned 21.43 million won ($19,000) on average

South Korean stocks slightly rose Friday as institutions scooped up local shares to offset a selloff by foreigners who remained jittery about global growth, analysts said. The South Korean won firmed against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 1.37 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,061.49. Trading volume was slim at 304.92 million shares worth 5.38 trillion won ($4.79 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 445 to 381. The index was in negative territory on continu

South Korean stocks fell for a second day on Friday as investors were increasingly jittery about global economic growth and a possible government shutdown in the United States, analysts said. The South Korean won firmed against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 1.37 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,061.49. Trading volume was slim at 304.92 million shares worth 5.38 trillion won ($4.79 billion), with losers beating winners 445 to 381.  Foreign investors remained

The cryptocurrency market, already reeling from a free-fall in the values of key digital currencies, was dealt another blow on Friday as officials at South Korea's No. 1 cryptocurrency exchange were indicted for offering fraudulent transactions and swindling money from investors.The three officials at Upbit -- a board chairman, a financial director and a working-level official -- allegedly opened a fake account around September last year and made bogus orders worth 254 trillion won ($226.2 billi

The financial regulator said Friday it will encourage banks to provide mid-rate policy loans worth 1 trillion won ($886 million) to desperate borrowers from next year, as part of ongoing efforts to relieve their debt burdens.About 3 million borrowers, who have no option but to borrow money from private lenders due to their poor credit scores, are expected to benefit from the move, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement.  The maximum legal lending rate was lowered to 24 percen

South Korea's stock market will close this year's trading session next week, the bourse operator said Friday.The main KOSPI, secondary KOSDAQ and derivative markets are scheduled to wrap up the year on Dec. 28, according to the Korea Exchange. Trading will restart at 10 a.m. on Jan. 2, an hour later than usual, though the day's trading will finish at 3:30 p.m. as normal, the KRX added. The ex-dividend date for listed firms, whose fiscal year ends on Dec. 31, is set at Dec. 27, so investors seeki

South Korea's producer prices dropped at the fastest clip in more than three years in November on sagging crude oil prices, central bank data showed Friday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, reached 104.67 last month, down 0.7 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.It is the sharpest on-month decline since October 2015, when the index lost 0.7 percent. Also, the producer price index went south for the second consecu

A majority of South Koreans were in support of expanding the generation and use of Solar photovoltaic power, according to a survey recently released by an association that promotes the wider use of solar energy. Earlier this month, the Korea Photovoltaic Industry Association commissioned Korea Research to survey 1,000 adults on their perceptions toward diverse energy sources. The survey showed that 67.9 percent of the respondents believed the proportion of solar energy out of overall energy use

SEJONG -- Global research organizations have revised their growth outlook for the South Korean economy, predicting its GDP growth in 2018 and 2019 would stay under 3 percent. The International Monetary Fund forecasted the Korean economy would expand only 2.8 percent this year and 2.6 percent next year. The Asian Development Bank’s prediction was 2.7 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, which is 0.2 percentage point lower for both years compared to its earlier estimates.The forecasts cont

South Korea’s central bank has vowed closer monitoring in domestic financial markets to brace for potential volatile capital flows following a US rate hike Wednesday, while the financial watchdog reviewed a contingency plan of the national financial system. The Bank of Korea said Thursday it held an emergency meeting led by BOK Deputy Gov. Huh Jin-ho to keep close tabs on the possible consequences of the US Federal Reserve’s decision and its persisting hawkish stance in monetary poli

South Korean households are becoming less able to repay their debts in terms of their income amid a rate hike trend, a central bank report showed Thursday.The debt service ratio of household borrowers reached 38.8 percent in the second quarter, up 0.8 percentage point from six months earlier, according to the biannual report by the Bank of Korea submitted to parliament. The DSR refers to the ratio of a family's total debt payments -- principal and interest -- to its annual income, designed to ch

About 20 percent of South Korea's corporate loans were granted to businesses with shaky balance sheets last year, a central bank report showed Thursday.According to the Bank of Korea biannual report, submitted to parliament, 4,469 companies were not able to properly pay interest, suffered from liquidity problems or had weak equity capital numbers. The fragile firms accounted for 19.6 percent of businesses with total assets of 10 billion won ($8.9 million) or more. They borrowed a combined 150.6

A new smartphone-based payment service, aimed at relieving small business owners of the burden of settlement costs, was launched on a trial basis in Seoul on Thursday.The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it began the trial service of the "Zero Pay" service ahead of its formal launching after March next year. Zero Pay is a mobile direct transaction system in which money is transferred from a consumer account to a merchant account when the consumer scans the merchant's QR code with a s