South Korea's corporate direct financing shrank in October from a month earlier due to a reduction in bond sales, data showed Tuesday. Local companies raised a combined 19.15 trillion won ($16.2 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, down 473.6 billion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Direct financing refers to raising funds directly from the stock and bond markets without borrowing from banks and other financial institutions.

For the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference -- or COP26 -- world leaders gathered for two weeks in Glasgow to check the progress of the nationally determined contributions and reaffirm their commitments for climate change transition. Although there are equivocal attitudes to its outcome and some unsatisfied groups, the global leaders in public and private sectors have made leaping progress if we recall how Kyoto Protocol rolled out in the end. The COP26 will be remembered as the most i

Samsung Life Insurance said Monday that it will launch a joint fund with Korea Post to invest 400 billion won ($336 million) in foreign blue chip companies over the next 10 years, expanding cooperation in alternative investments like private equity and real estate. The country’s top insurer and the state-owned postal insurance will make investments under the recommendations of an asset management firm. A Samsung Life Insurance official declined to reveal details about the asset manager.

South Korea's exports are expected to touch an all-time high in 2021 on brisk overseas demand for key products amid the global economic recovery, with their growth momentum likely to continue next year, a report said Monday. The country's overseas shipments are projected to swell 24.1 percent from a year earlier to $636.2 billion this year, according to the report from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). Imports by Asia's fourth-largest economy are likely to amount to $605.7 bill

The number of people who are subject to the so-called comprehensive real estate tax rose 42 percent this year from the previous year amid skyrocketing home prices and hikes in the tax rates, the finance ministry said Monday. A total of 947,000 people are subject to the comprehensive real estate taxes this year, compared with the 667,000 people tallied for last year, according to the ministry. The 2021 numbers accounted for 1.8 percent of the country's 52 million population. Such people are fo

South Korea's exports grew 27.6 percent on-year in the first 20 days of November on the back of robust demand for chips, ships and petroleum products, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $39.9 billion in the Nov. 1-20 period, compared with $31.2 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports jumped 41.9 percent on-year to $39.8 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $73 million during the cited period, the data showed.

South Korea's imports of whisky soared more than 70 percent in the first 10 months of the year as more people drank at home amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. The value of whisky imports came to $93.21 million in the January-October period, up 73.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and the local liquor industry. It represents the first on-year increase in the country's whisky imports since 2014. Industry sources attributed the su

Experts agree on hike of 25 basis points by end of year, but divided over next year’s projections

A senior official of South Korea's financial regulator on Friday urged major banks to determine their lending rates based on "best practice" and make improvements in relevant procedures if necessary. Lee Chan-woo, first senior deputy governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remark in a meeting with officials of eight banks handling credit affairs in Seoul amid growing worries that the recent steep hike in loan rates could add to the financial burden on households

  Most taxpayers will not be subject to the comprehensive real estate holding tax, which was earlier raised to prevent speculative property purchases, the government said Friday in a bid to ease growing public concerns as this year’s payment period approaches.  “Criticism has risen that a large number of ordinary people will be charged with higher rate taxes. As for such exaggerated concerns, I would say bills of comprehensive real estate holding taxes will not be delivere

South Korea's top trade official called on the United States on Friday to launch negotiations swiftly to revise the Section 232 tariff rules on Seoul's steel exports. South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo made the request to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai during in a joint committee meeting of the bilateral free trade agreement. It is the first time in 10 years that a US top trade official has visited South Korea. She arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a four-day visit that includes a m

The head of South Korea's financial regulator has called for more vigilance on growing global debt, warning excessive accumulation of debt could spark a global financial crisis, his office said Friday. Koh Seung-beom, chief of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), made the remark on Thursday as he joined a virtual plenary meeting of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), an organization made up of regulators from the Group of 20 countries to discuss cooperation. "There has always been ex

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, as investors sought to buy oversold stocks after the key index's three straight days of losses. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.44 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,959.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech, auto and bio stocks led the market advance. Top cap Samsung Electronics added 0.28 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix increased 1.36 percent, and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics climbed 2.26 percent. Leadi

South Korea's producer prices grew for the 12th straight month in October as a rise in oil and energy prices drove up the costs of factory products, central bank data showed Friday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, stood at 112.21 in October, up 0.8 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the 12th consecutive month of a rise. Compared with a year earlier, it also jumped 8.9 percent, the

South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday that it will convene an emergency meeting this week with officials of major banks to look into how they determine interest rates on lending amid worries over recent steep hikes in borrowing costs. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will hold the meeting on Friday with officials handling credit affairs at eight banks, including Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori and Hana, according to the regulator. A top FSS official will preside over the meeting. The