South Korea's central bank said Friday that, along with the Bank for International Settlements and other central banks, it will launch a project together to automate compliance procedures and offer real-time monitoring in cross-border transactions. In a statement, the Bank of Korea said BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre, Reserve Bank of Australia, the BOK, Bank Negara Malaysia and Monetary Authority of Singapor will launch a project, dubbed Project Mandala, which explores the feasibility

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Thursday amid a mixed outlook on whether the United States will maintain its monetary tightening policy. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index declined 2.09 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 2,403.60. Trading volume was moderate at 446.01 million shares worth 8.96 trillion won ($6.64 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 583 to 295. Foreigners and institutions dumped a net 272.1 billion won an

Shares of Doosan Robotics, South Korea’s largest collaborative robot producer under the conglomerate Doosan Group, nearly doubled on Thursday, as the company made its stock market debut. Doosan Robotics closed at 51,400 won ($38.03) per share on Korea's main bourse Kospi, up 97.69 percent from its initial public offering price of 26,000 won. Its market capitalization stood at 3.33 trillion won, ranking in the top 100 stocks on Kospi. Its shares opened at 59,100 won, 127.3 percent hi

South Korean stocks rebounded Thursday from a crash the previous day, as weaker-than-expected US jobs data raised hopes that the Federal Reserve may refrain from further rate increases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.08 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,414.77 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares rebounded after a slump the previous session thanks to big tech gains, including Tesla, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon. Investors hope that the Fed may not go fo

South Korea's on-year consumer prices accelerated by the most in five months in September, driven by higher oil costs and rising prices of some farm goods, data showed Thursday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 3.7 percent last month from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. In August, consumer prices increased 3.4 percent on-year, accelerating from 2.3 percent growth tallied in July. It was the highest on-year rise since the 3.7 percent growth tallied

South Korean stocks fell to a six-month low Wednesday on a sharp decline in big-cap tech shares amid growing concerns the Federal Reserve will keep its rates higher for longer. The local currency fell against the US dollar to hit an 11-month low. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 59.38 points, or 2.41 percent, to close at 2,405.69, the lowest since March. The secondary KOSDAQ plunged 4 percent. The Kospi's trading volume was moderate at 417.16 million shares worth 9.88 tr

Wholesale CBDC between BOK, banks to be tested first

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have launched formal negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement, Seoul's industry ministry said Wednesday. The two nations agreed in 2021 to push for forging a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and the first round of talks kicked off in Seoul on Monday for a four-day run, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The CEPA is a type of FTA, which emphasizes a broader scope of economic cooperation and exchanges on top

South Korea's industrial output rebounded in August from a month earlier on the back of a robust recovery in the chip sector, data showed Wednesday. The industrial output advanced 2.2 percent in August from the previous month, after slipping 0.8 percent in July, according to Statistics Korea. It was the sharpest growth since a 2.3 percent rise tallied in February 2021. The rebound came after the country's industrial output, retail sales and facility investment all lost ground at the sa

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Wednesday, tracking an overnight slump on Wall Street, as US jobs data deepened concerns about further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 47.43 points, or 1.92 percent, to 2,417.64 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The secondary KOSDAQ index lost more than 2.2 percent in the first 15 minutes. Overnight, US shares ended markedly lower as an increase in available job openings in August strength

Individuals increasingly turning eyes to more stable investment options amid higher interest rates

South Korea's exports fell for the 12th consecutive month in September but logged the smallest on-year decline so far this year, as global demand for semiconductors has been on the recovery track, the industry ministry said Sunday. Outbound shipments fell 4.4 percent on-year to $54.66 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Exports have marked an on-year drop since October last year amid aggressive monetary tightening by the United S

Assets held by South Korean households in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan areas were some 70 percent larger than those owned by households in the non-metropolitan regions, data showed Saturday. The average per-household assets in Seoul, the western city of Incheon and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province came to 692.46 million won (US$512,554) as of end-March, some 69.2 percent greater than 409.35 million won owned by each non-capital household, according to the data by Statistics Korea pres

The inflation rate for food prices at dining establishments and prices of processed foods has been increasing at a faster pace than the overall inflation rate for consumer goods, a state-led agency’s data showed Saturday. According to Statistics Korea, the inflation rate for food prices at dining establishments in August came to 5.3 percent, while the inflation of consumer prices reached 3.4 percent. Government data also showed that food prices at restaurants have been increasing for 27 st

Major South Korean refiners are expected to post a turnaround in their third quarter earnings, recovering from losses and dismal profits in the previous quarter, on the back of stronger margins amid rising oil prices, according to analysts Friday. SK Innovation Co., the energy unit under SK Group, is forecast to log 667.5 billion won (US$498 million) in the operating profit for the July-September period, turning around from a loss of 107 billion won in the previous three months, according to the