Head of Hanoi's top think tank sees economic boost from stronger Vietnam-China partnership

The Asian Development Bank on Wednesday lowered its outlook for South Korea's growth for next year, citing the slowing global economy and soaring energy prices. In its report on next year's world economy, the Manila-based bank said South Korea's gross domestic product is expected to grow 1.5 percent in 2023, lower than its September forecast of a 2.3 percent rise. The latest outlook is below a 1.8 percent gain estimated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

South Korea added jobs for the 21st straight month in November, but the growth continued to slow for the sixth month in a row amid concerns over an economic recession, government data showed Wednesday, The number of employed people stood at 28.4 million last month, up some 626,000 from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the highest growth for any November since the agency adopted the current research methods in 1999. The November figure, however, marked a slig

South Korea's finance minister said Wednesday the government will put its priority on combating inflation and creating jobs, while taking preemptive measures to cope with economic risks next year. "The South Korean economy is facing challenging situations at home and abroad. Difficulties are likely to further escalate in the first half of 2023," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said during a meeting with economy-related ministers. "Inflation has passed its peak, and the upward

  SEJONG -- South Korea's finance ministry on Tuesday renewed its call for corporate tax reform that centers on simplifying the taxation bracket and cutting taxes for large-sized firms amid the simmering tensions at the parliament over the bill's passage.   The government and the ruling People Power Party have been pushing to lower the maximum tax rate to 22 percent to attract more investment in South Korea, while the main opposition demands to keep the current rate of 25 percent for e

Foreign investors remained net buyers of local securities, recording a net inflow of $2.74 billion (3.56 trillion won) in local securities in November, data from the central bank showed Friday. According to the Bank of Korea’s report on the international finance and foreign exchange market, foreigners purchased a net $2.1 billion worth of shares and $630 million worth of bonds in Korea in November, continuing the buying rush from the month before. The figure adds up to a total of $8.05 bil

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the second consecutive month in October, but the amount was much smaller than the previous year amid expanded imports and outbound travel, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus came to $880 million in October, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. This marked the second straight month of a surplus, though the surplus was nearly halved from the previous month's $1.58 billion. It also re

South Koreans’ overseas card spending continued to grow in the third quarter as outbound travel spiked bolstered by eased pandemic curbs, central bank data showed. The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, came to $3.81 billion in the July-September period, up 4.1 percent from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. Compared with a year earlier, consumption jumped 32.6 percent. The latest data marked the se

South Korea's financial regulator will keep up its monitoring on short-term money and remain ready to take action in case market volatility spikes amid lingering worries over a liquidity crunch, its chief said Wednesday. "The bond market has been stabilized more or less as a result of taking market stabilization measures in cooperation with relevant agencies, such as the finance ministry, the Financial Services Commission and the Bank of Korea," Lee Bok-hyun, head of the Financial

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday lowered its outlook for South Korea's economic growth for next year to 2 percent from the previous 2.4 percent. The credit ratings agency said the revision came as South Korea is facing multiple external risks from China's slowdown, global inflationary pressure and aggressive monetary tightening by major economies. It also pointed to the country's rising household and corporate debts as one of major reasons for liquidity shortage to hamper

World Bank's HR vice president hints at hiring more Koreans, particularly women, in fields of climate, energy, agriculture, economics

South Korea is expected to post a growth in 2022 exports from a year earlier, but it is unlikely to meet its yearly target of $700 billion in outbound shipments due to sluggish sales of key items, like mobile devices and ships, government data showed Sunday. Exports of 15 major products, including semiconductors, ships, cars and petrochemicals, for the first 11 months of 2022 amounted to $490.6 billion, up 7.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry

South Korea's exports of agricultural and food products jumped to touch a new record high in the first 11 months of this year, government data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments of agricultural and food goods came to $8.08 billion in the January-November period, up 4 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the agriculture and fisheries ministries. Exports of instant noodles surged 14.5 percent on-year to $696 million in the cited period, the ministry said. Outbound shipment

South Korea's on-year growth in consumer prices sharply slowed in November from a month earlier at the lowest level in seven months, data showed Friday, hinting the country's inflationary pressure has passed its peak. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 5 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with a 5.7 percent growth tallied in October, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest on-year increase since 4.8 percent tallied in April. Consumer

South Korea's exports fell for the second consecutive month on-year in November and the decline accelerated from the previous month due to the global economic slowdown and logistics disruptions over a truckers' strike, the trade ministry said Thursday. The country also suffered a trade deficit for the eighth straight month on high global energy prices, ringing an alarm over its growth momentum. Outbound shipments fell 14 percent on-year to come to $51.91 billion last month, following a