Despite a recent rebound in consumer sentiment, the country’s household consumption is set to weaken in the longer term amid deteriorating employment conditions and rising debt-service costs, experts say.Bank of Korea data showed last week consumer confidence rebounded in September after falling for eight straight months, partly on the back of robust exports and low inflationary pressure. The composite consumer sentiment index, which is based on the central bank’s survey of about 1,9

South Korea’s financial authorities are reinforcing regulations to dissuade homeowners in Seoul from taking out loans to purchase additional residences, part of ongoing efforts to bring housing prices under control and subdue household debt. The Financial Services Commission recently revised its banking oversight regulations, which now restrict anyone who owns a home in the Seoul metropolitan area from taking on additional mortgages, officials said Wednesday.The new restrictions on lending

The ratio of household debt to gross domestic product in South Korea increased at the fastest clip after China and Hong Kong despite a series of tightened lending rules, data showed on Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the Bank for International Settlements, South Korea's household debt accounted for 95.2 percent of the GDP at the end of March this year, up 2.3 percentage points from a year before.The growth rate marks the third fastest among 43 major economies, after China's 3.7 perce

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 22nd installment. -- Ed.Foreign short selling activities on South Korea’s stock market have recently been growing, and with such a trend, there is a Korean startup offering a more comprehensive look into the short selling market landscape in Korea.Short selling refers to the act of selling stocks without owning them in hopes the value goes down. To do so, a short se

South Korea's employment conditions in September may remain disappointing, the country's top economic policymaker said Tuesday, adding that he does not rule out the possibility of a contraction.In a parliamentary interpellation session, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon expressed concerns that job creation remains in the doldrums and said last month's data took a hit due to ongoing corporate restructuring moves and various policy uncertainties."(Job conditions) are not good, and we are not rul

Officials from the presidential office, ministries and the ruling Democratic Party will meet next week to discuss follow-up measures regarding the latest inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, party officials said Tuesday.The three-way meeting will be held Monday to discuss how to implement the agreement reached during the September summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to DP officials. Moon visited Pyongyang from Sept. 18-20 for his third summit with the

South Korea's industrial output advanced in August from a month earlier, helped by a rise in auto production, government data showed Tuesday. Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries rose 1.4 percent on-month in August, following a revised 0.5 percent on-month gain in the previous month.From a year earlier, industrial output also climbed 2.5 percent, following a revised 1.0 percent on-year rise tallied for July.Production in the service sector rose 0.1 percent on-m

Longer-than-expected financial audits are posing hurdles to privately-held companies seeking initial public offerings on South Korea’s stock markets, amid a sharp fall in the volume of total investments through IPOs this year through the third quarter. Following the withdrawals of lubricant oil maker SK Lubricant and game software developer Kakao Games from plans to go public in April and in September, respectively, investors’ attention is on whether refiner Hyundai Oilbank, projecte

Concerns are rising over the weakening of the country’s manufacturing industries, which are suffering the effects of deteriorating conditions at home and abroad.Data released last week by Statistics Korea showed that the manufacturing capacity index -- which measures the maximum possible level of production through the full use of manpower, facilities and other input factors -- had declined for five consecutive months as of July, from 102.9 to 102.6. The annual average figure for 2015 is s

South Korea's financial watchdog on Monday launched a fresh campaign to eradicate phone scams known as "voice phishing," calling for banks and other financial institutions to make more efforts to protect their customers.Such scams involve the use of fraudulent phone calls that trick people into giving away private financial information, enabling scammers access to their accounts. The Financial Supervisory Service's monthlong campaign calls for employees of banks and other financial ins

South Korea spent some 76 percent of its state budget earmarked for 2018 in the first eight months as it moves to maintain its recovery pace and create more jobs, the finance ministry said Monday.Some 212.8 trillion won ($191 billion) was spent through August, 12.6 trillion won, or 4.5 percentage points, more than the expected outlay of 200.3 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.It earlier said efforts were under way to front-load its budget spending to minimize any fa

Real estate-related investment funds reached the highest-ever total of 69.97 trillion won ($62.97 billion) as of the end of August, continuing the streak of monthly increases for nearly three years, data showed Monday.Records from the Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Financial Investment Association showed that the spike in property funds clearly exceeded that of other types of funds. While the money flowing to real estate funds jumped 30.9 percent last year, the comparable figures w

Dairy exports to China are recovering quickly this year after a steep dive in 2017 due to a diplomatic spat, industry officials said Monday.Maeil Dairies Co. is estimated to have increased its exports to China by 20 to 30 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year."The exports would be similar to the total in the first half of 2016," a company official said. "Our China exports last year dropped 30 to 40 percent from 2016 due to the diplomati

South Korea's exports slipped in September compared with a year ago due to fewer working days and a high base effect, despite the high daily volume of products shipped abroad, government data showed Monday.Outbound shipments reached $50.58 billion last month, down 8.2 percent from a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Average daily exports reached $2.69 billion in September, constituting a record high.Imports fell 2.1 percent on-year to $40.83

The Korea Herald publishes a regular contribution series written by senior investment strategists at Standard Chartered Group Wealth Management. – Ed.It is understandable that bond investors are worried as the economic cycle matures, especially in the US, and as the Federal Reserve continues to hike interest rates gradually. Conceptually, as we head toward the late stage of an economic cycle, corporate profitability -- and their ability to repay bond holders -- typically peaks. Meanwhile,