The concept of “country ownership” is a key attribute of all investments and projects that multilateral and international organizations have incorporated into their objectives and constitutions. The concept emerged as a dominant way of thinking in the late 1990s, when the focus of the international aid architecture began to shift from donor-driven decision-making toward empowering recipient countries, building their capacities and greater partnership. In 2019, the Independent Evalua

IMF slashes growth outlook by 6.3% to an unprecedented minus 3.3%; S. Korea to be less affected

COVID-19, falling global oil prices dampen export prices

Suspended hiring amid COVID-19 fear signals economy close to recession

The Bank of Korea (BOK) will deliver an additional $2 billion to local banks this week in its third injection of US banknotes under a bilateral currency swap arrangement with the US Federal Reserve aimed at preventing a foreign exchange liquidity crunch here, the bank said Tuesday. The BOK held an online auction to provide up to $4 billion in seven-day debt and 84-day loans. Bids undershot the BOK target of $3.5 billion in 84-day loans and $500 million in seven-day loans. Successful bidders

South Korea's domestic stock investment funds are enjoying a recovery in their returns on a recent market rebound, data showed Tuesday. Domestic equity funds with a net asset value of 1 billion won ($821,000) or more yielded an average 7.59 percent in the week ending Monday, according to the data from market tracker FnGuide. The number outperformed an average 5.5 percent return for overseas stock investment funds and 0.22 percent for local bond funds over the cited period. The average yield

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a revised ordinance on advance payments in state contracts to help companies damaged by the coronavirus pandemic, officials said. Under the revised ordinance, the government will be allowed to make up to 80 percent of a total contract sum in an advance payment from late this month, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. Currently, the government is allowed to make up to 70 percent of a total contract sum in an advance payment, officials said.

South Korea’s exports have fallen by more than 18 percent so far this month, government data showed Monday. Weighing further on the country’s export front is the fast-spreading pandemic in developed economies, as well as the gloomy outlook for the semiconductor market throughout the year. Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw the value of its exports stand at $12.21 billion this month as of last Friday, down 18.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Customs Servic

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans edged up in February from a month earlier, data showed Monday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.43 percent at the end of February, up 0.02 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). But compared with a year ago, the rate was down 0.09 percentage point, it said. The delinquency rate for loans extended to companies increased 0.04 percent

South Korea's state bond sales reached a new high in the first quarter of the year due to more fiscal spending to cushion the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus outbreak, data showed Monday. The government issued 62.4 trillion won ($51.5 billion) in state bonds and Treasurys in the January-March period, up 29.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The tally is up a whopping 156 percent from the previous quarter and marks

South Korea’s central bank is awaiting government signoff on an emergency program that would extend loans to nonbanking institutions, sources said Sunday, as both monetary and fiscal authorities aim to further funnel liquidity into the markets to counter the effects of the novel coronavirus. “We are currently preparing to launch an emergency lending program as swiftly as possible,” a Bank of Korea official said. The program -- which is expected to mirror actions taken by t

Foreign investors held a record amount of state bonds and monetary stabilization debts amid increased uncertainties stemming from the outbreak of the new coronavirus, data showed Sunday. According to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service, foreign investors held a combined 134.1 trillion won ($111 billion) worth of state bonds and other listed debts as of Thursday, up 1.08 trillion won from the end of last month. The reading marks the largest ever since the financial watchdog

Government expands family care subsidy to 500,000 won for 10 days

South Korea has more room for monetary policy, says central bank chief

Sales of commercial papers (CP) in South Korea surged more than 34 percent on-month in March as brokerages rushed to secure cash to brace for the fallout from the novel coronavirus outbreak, data showed Thursday. The country's CP issuance came to 21.2 trillion won ($17.4 billion) last month, up 34.2 percent from the previous month's 15.8 trillion won, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. Securities companies led the sharp increase in March sales of CP, a short-term debt