Growth of South Korea's corporate capital expenditures is expected to lose steam sharply in 2018 due to this year's big investments by major companies, the central bank said Sunday.Corporate investment in new plants and equipment is projected to expand 3 percent next year, compared to an estimated 9.5 percent surge for this year, according to the Bank of Korea.In its latest economic outlook released Thursday, the central bank said the country's capital expenditures probably jumped 14.1 percent i

A majority of South Korean retailers remain downbeat on their business conditions in the third quarter amid concerns over weak domestic demand and high household debt, a poll showed Sunday. The Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry said its retail business survey index stood at 91 for the July-September period of the year, up from 90 from three months earlier.The figure is based on a poll of some 1,000 retail businesses in Seoul and six other major cities nationwide. A reading below 100 means

South Korea's top economic policy chief said Sunday the government will promptly come up with measures to relieve smaller businesses of the burden from a decision to hike the minimum wage for next year. A panel representing the government, labor and management decided Saturday to raise the minimum hourly wage to 7,530 won ($6.64) for 2018, up 16.4 percent from this year. It is the highest on-year increase after a 16.6 percent hike in 2000.  "The decision will be a huge momentum for an

The value of South Korea's overseas investment funds has jumped more than 40 percent over the past year as big-time investors look overseas for high returns despite the recent bull of the domestic stock market, data showed Sunday. According to the data by the Korea Financial Investment Association, the combined net worth of overseas investment funds came to 110.75 trillion won ($97.7 billion) as of Wednesday, up 40.4 percent from a year earlier.Funds investing in special overseas assets, excludi

South Korea's central bank is expected to maintain its key interest rate at a record low until mid-2018, according to an economist at Goldman Sachs on Saturday, after the Bank of Korea hinted that it may keep a dovish tone. Goldman Sachs economist Kwon Goo-hoon also expected the nation's inflation rate to slow down as prices of raw materials are predicted to fall off. This week, the central bank announced it will keep its policy rates at the present record-low of 1.25 percent for a 13th consecut

South Korea's initial public offering market is expected to lose ground sharply in the second half of the year as several large candidates have scrapped or postponed their plans, sources said Sunday. The country's IPO market was white-hot in the first six months of the year thanks to share sales by South Korea's largest mobile games maker Netmarble Games Corp. and three other companies that were listed on the main stock market.The four companies raised 3.9 trillion won ($3.44 billion) by selling

South Korea's corporate lobbies on Sunday expressed concerns over a decision to hike the minimum wage for next year, saying it could worsen business conditions and hamper job creation.  A panel representing the government, labor and management decided Saturday to increase the minimum hourly wage to 7,530 won ($6.64) for 2018, up 16.4 percent from this year. It is the highest on-year increase after a 16.6 percent hike in 2000. "It was a decision that ignored small and mid-sized business

The number of unemployed college graduates in South Korea hit a record in the second quarter amid tightened job markets for young adults, government data showed Saturday.The number of jobless people with a bachelor's degree and above reached 546,000 in the April-June period, up 11.8 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.It marked the largest quarterly figure since 1999 when the agency changed its calculation standard for compiling jobless data.Unemployed people mean those wh

South Korea is preparing for upcoming talks to amend a free trade agreement with the United States, officials said Friday.On Wednesday (US time), the US Trade Representative requested that its South Korean counterpart hold a special joint committee to discuss the amendment and modification of the Korea-US FTA, which took effect in 2012.Moreover, US President Donald Trump said on the same day that the two countries have already started renegotiating the FTA, which he called a "horrible deal.

More seniors found employment youths in the second quarter of this year, representing the shifting demographics in the country, data showed Friday.Statistics Korea said that of those who were in employment between April and June, 4.25 million were aged 60 and over, compared to 4.03 million aged 15-29.The number for over-60s is the highest on record, and takes up 15.9 percent of all employed people.Commenting that higher employment of the elderly cannot be perceived all positive, Statistics Korea

South Korea’s main bourse index continued its relentless record run Friday, closing at 2,414.63 points, up 0.21 percent from the previous day’s close at 2,409.49.Making the historic jump past the 2,400 closing mark Thursday, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Market Index has risen 18.9 percent from Jan. 2 to Thursday, the highest in seven years, according to data by the market operator, the Korea Exchange.Analysts, meanwhile, focused on the shifting sands amid the bull run, with fo

Foreign currency deposits held by banks operating in South Korea dropped in June as exporters decreased their deposits of dollar-denominated earnings, central bank data showed Friday.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local lenders, domestic and foreign, reached US$63.61 billion in June, down $6.33 billion from a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.Broken down, foreign currency deposits held by domestic banks came to $54.44 billion in June, down from 59.87 billion in

Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup Inc., and its labor union on Friday signed an agreement under which the bank will slightly reduce the number of branches it plans to shut down and not lay off employees without justifiable cause.Citibank Korea, which had operated a total of 126 retail banking branches in South Korea, had originally planned to shut down 101 branches. But the move has been criticized by the union and some politicians for leaving customers without easy access to ke

US President Donald Trump has called the free trade agreement with South Korea a "horrible deal," saying that the two have already started renegotiations on it, a transcript of his recent meeting with reporters showed Friday.Trump made the remarks off the record in a conversation on Wednesday (US time) with reporters on an airplane bound for France where he was to hold a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, but they were later disclosed by the White House."Somebody said,