FSS, KFB invite officials of Bank of Thailand for seminar with Korean banks, credit card companies

South Korea's financial regulator formally asked state prosecutors on Tuesday to launch a criminal probe into accounting breaches at Samsung BioLogics Co., a move that is expected to deal another blow to the biotechnology unit of Samsung Group.After months of regulatory review, a panel of the Financial Services Commission ruled last Wednesday that Samsung BioLogics intentionally inflated the value of its affiliate, Samsung Bioepis Co., ahead of its listing in 2016.  Trading of Samsung BioLo

KIEP forecasts 3.5 percent growth for world economy next year

Combined sales by South Korean companies rose for the second-straight year in 2017 on better performances in the manufacturing, telecommunication and retail sectors, government data showed Tuesday.The combined sales from 12,579 companies, excluding financial firms, reached 2,343 trillion won ($2.07 trillion) last year, up 8.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It is based on a survey of the companies that have more than 50 regular workers and paid-in

The bulk of Vietnamese consumers are positive about the design and image of South Korean goods, but many feel burdened by their high prices, a poll showed Tuesday.The survey of 2,000 Vietnamese people, taken by the Ho Chi Minh City office of the Korea International Trade Association, showed 84 percent of the respondents think South Korean products have good designs.An additional 16 percent consider their designs ordinary, with no negative responses.Concerning the image of South Korean goods, 89

 South Korea's producer prices backtracked for the first time in nearly one year in October as farm production recovered in the fall season, central bank data showed Tuesday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, reached 105.41 last month, down 0.4 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It is the first on-month decline since November last year when the index edged down 0.1 percent. On a year-on-year basis, i

　SEJONG (Yonhap) -- Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon held a meeting with a senior Chinese politician Monday during which they discussed ways to promote economic ties between the two nations, Kim‘s ministry said. 　Kim met Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong, who is on a visit to Seoul to attend an economic forum. 　China unofficially imposed retaliatory measures against South Korean firms after Seoul agreed to install the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System. Tension thawed after

Korea needs to step up efforts to increase exports in the service sector to offset a possible decline in the outbound shipment of its major manufactured goods, experts here say.Exports have shored up the slowing Korean economy so far this year, as decreasing investment and slumping consumption decelerate its growth.According to data recently released by Korea Customs Service, the country’s goods exports increased 22.7 percent on-year to $54.9 billion in October, mainly on the back of a ris

South Korea’s financial groups are facing potentially massive reshuffles of their executive teams as a majority of the incumbents at commercial lenders and their holding companies approach the end of their tenure at year-end. According to disclosures from the respective financial holding companies -- KB, Shinhan, KEB Hana, Woori and NH -- sweeping changes may be ahead for the new year. KB Financial Group will see 12 out of 16 executives, excluding auditors, end their terms in December. At

South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Monday that more efforts should be placed on economic reform to help innovation-led growth policies bear fruit.In a meeting with businessmen, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said it's time to seek measures so the incumbent Moon Jae-in administration's economic policy goals such as income-led growth can make headway."We have had much debate on those issues, but it's time to allow the policies to produce some results," the senior official said

Retail investors are estimated to hold more than 3 trillion won worth of Samsung BioLogics Co. shares, whose trading was suspended last week over window-dressing, a corporate researcher said Monday.As of last Wednesday, individual investors owned an estimated 9.6 million shares of Samsung BioLogics, or 14.53 percent, according to Chaebul.com. It translates into 3.2 trillion won ($2.83 billion) in value, based on the closing price Wednesday, when its trading was halted. Foreign investors held an

South Korea’s central bank chief on Monday urged Asia-Pacific economies to reinforce their resilience against potential external risk factors amid a fluctuating global financial environment.“We must enhance the general resilience of the regional economy so that drastic changes in capital flows stemming from external risks do not lead to systematic risks,” Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a conference jointly held at Seoul’s Plaza Hotel by the BOK and the Bank for In

South Korea’s capital city is poised to set up a state-sponsored financial infrastructure project aimed at lowering card payment-processing costs for small merchants. But there are already doubts about the plan’s sustainability due to the lack of a revenue model.The operation of what is called “Zero-Pay,” referring to near-zero payment-processing fees, will start in December, but the date of the launch has yet to be confirmed, according to state sponsors the Ministry of S

South Korean stocks ended higher for the second consecutive session on Friday as investor sentiment recovered on hopes of eased US-China trade friction. The South Korean currency rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 4.34 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 2,092.40. Trading volume was moderate at 294 million shares worth 4.69 trillion won (US$4.15 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 564 to 261.Individual and institutional investors picked up 18

The home ownership rate in South Korea came to 55.9 percent in 2017, 0.4 percentage point up from a year earlier, government data showed Friday. The data released by Statistics Korea said 11 million households out of 19.67 million across the country owned homes in 2017. The average price of homes came to 225 million won ($199,000), and the average size stood at 86.3 square meters.The data also showed that the total number of residences across the country came to 17.12 million units, up