The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday revised up its growth outlook for the South Korean economy this year, citing robust exports of chips and the country's fiscal and monetary support. The Manila-based bank expected Asia's fourth-largest economy to grow 3.5 percent this year, up from its earlier estimate in December last year of 3.3 percent. The ADB forecast predicted the Korean economy to grow 3.1 percent for next year. The bank's outlook is higher than the growth estimates by the Ba

South Korea's consumer sentiment increased for a fourth consecutive month in April, as exports showed signs of a strong recovery and health authorities vowed to speed up the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, central bank data showed Wednesday. The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came in at 102.2 for April, up 1.7 points from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The latest reading marks the fourth on

Seoul Main Customs, the regional office of South Korea’s customs agency, said Tuesday that it discovered apartment purchases in Seoul by foreign nationals who used illicit funds or failed to report their purchases to authorities. Through investigations into their foreign exchange transactions, bank accounts and searches and seizures, 55 apartments were found to be involved in illegal purchases, worth about 84 billion won ($75.5 million) combined, the customs office said. The probe was car

South Korea’s economy expanded 1.6 percent on-quarter in the first three months of the year, signaling a faster-than-expected recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels, central bank data showed Tuesday. Bolstered by improvement in private consumption and exports, “the 1.6 percent growth in the first quarter has pushed the real gross domestic product level higher than that of the last three months of 2019,” Park Yang-su, head of the economic statistics department at the Bank of Korea, sa

The number of South Koreans in the agro-fishery sector declined 9.5 percent last year from five years earlier amid rapid aging and younger people's movements to cities, data showed Tuesday. The number of people engaged in the farming and fishery segments totaled 2.64 million last year, compared with 2.92 million in 2015, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The number of households in the agro-fishery sector came to 1.18 million last year, down 4.5 percent from five years earlier. The

South Korea's investment in startups spiked nearly 61 percent in the first quarter of the year amid hopes of high returns, government data showed Tuesday. A total of 1.25 trillion won ($1.12 billion) was invested in promising venture firms and startups in the January-March period, up 61.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. It was the highest amount for the first quarter and the second-largest quarterly figure after the 1.41 trillion won f

South Korea's demand for natural gas is expected to rise 15 percent through 2034, data showed Tuesday, on the back of higher demand from hydrogen fuel cell cars and liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering ships. The country's annual demand for natural gas is expected to reach 47.9 million tons in 2034, compared with 41.7 million tons estimated for this year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Of the volume, the demand from the industrial segment is especially anticipated to

South Korean refiners' exports fell to the lowest level in 10 years in the first quarter of the year as global oil demand remained low amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, industry data showed Tuesday. Oil and petrochemical products shipped by SK Innovation Co., GS-Caltex Co., S-Oil Corp., Hyundai Oilbank Co. and others reached 90.94 million barrels in the first quarter of the year, down 27.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Petroleum Association. The t

Sales of derivatives-linked securities in South Korea dropped 30.3 percent on year in 2020, partly due lower demand following the misselling of derivatives-linked funds, data showed Tuesday. The combined value of equity-linked securities (ELS) and derivatives-linked securities (DLS) issued last year came to 91.3 trillion won ($82 billion), down 39.7 trillion won from a year ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The products are structured to track the performance o

South Korea's economy expanded at a faster-than-expected pace in the first quarter, buoyed by a modest recovery of exports and fiscal policy support, amid signs that the economy is inching closer to pre-pandemic levels, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday. Gross domestic product expanded 1.8 percent in the three months ended March 31 from a year ago, the BOK said. On a quarterly basis, Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded 1.6 percent, accelerating from a 1.2 percent expansion in the final qu

Insurance firms in South Korea saw their risk-based capital fall in the fourth quarter of last year, data showed Monday. The risk-based capital (RBC) ratio of local insurance firms stood at 275.1 percent at end-2020, down 8.8 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their RBC ratio fell in the fourth quarter as their funds to hedge against risks increased, the FSS said. A key yardstick of financial stability, the RBC rati

Overseas branches of South Korean insurance firms reported a 34.8 percent drop in their combined net profit for 2020, mainly due to economic pains from the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Monday. The overseas branches posted a combined net profit of $45.6 million last year, compared with a net profit of $69.9 million in 2019, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). "COVID-19's impact on the life insurers' business and the increased losses of nonlife insurance co

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea rose 18 percent in March from a year earlier on recovering demand amid the extended coronavirus pandemic, an industry association said Monday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles climbed to 413 units last month from 349 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. Sales of all imported commercial vehicles were up last month on increased sales of MAN, Volvo an

South Korea's exports are expected to jump 41 percent in April from a year earlier, on the back of a base effect, and robust shipments of chips and autos, a poll showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments are forecast to reach $51.1 billion this month, according to the poll on five local brokerage houses by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. It would mark the sixth straight month of gains and the fastest on-year growth in more than 10 years, it showed. Imports

South Korea's corporate direct financing rose 22.3 percent in March from the previous month due to a robust rise in stock sales, data showed Monday. Local companies raised a combined 24.4 trillion won ($21.8 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, up 4.45 trillion won from a month ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Corporate stock sales soared 783.4 percent to 6.04 trillion won, with the value of initial public offerings jumping 660 percent to 5.3