Shares on the local bourse are expected to rally this week on account of steady buying from foreign investors, who are likely to stay positive thanks to solid economic data from home and abroad, according to analysts.They now expect the Korean market to settle above the touted 2,000-point level, noting that the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index surpassed the 2,000-point level at one point Wednesday for the first time in three months.The KOSPI finished the week at 1,988.09 this week, up

South Korean stocks opened almost flat Thursday as investors were divided over whether the European Central Bank will take monetary easing steps, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.37 points, or 0.02 percent, to 1,997.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Carmakers traded mixed, with No. 1 Hyundai Motor falling 0.4 percent and its auto parts affiliate Hyundai Mobis edging down 0.62 percent. Kia Motors climbed 0.66 percent.Tech firms also traded bearish,

Ssangyong Motor, run by Indian sport utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra, said Tuesday that its sales soared 23 percent on-year in March on the back of rising demand for its popular Korando family of off-road vehicles.The carmaker's total sales hit 13,232 units in March, comparedwith 10,761 vehicles sold a year earlier. Domestic sales reached 5,850 units, a 18.8 percent increase from the same one-month period in 2013. Exports, including knockdown kits, were tallied at 7,382 vehicles, a 26.

In another blow to the local financial sector that is still reeling from a series of scandals including data breaches, the president of Hana Bank was disciplined for illegally providing loans, financial sources said on Tuesday. Kim Jong-jun allegedly invested 14.5 billion won ($13.7 million) in a savings bank in 2011 using fabricated documents and skipping an approval process by the board of directors. Kim was at the time head of Hana Capital. Hana Capital failed to recollect 6 billion won of th

Asiana and Boeing appear to be in conflict over the cause of the fatal crash of an Asiana passenger jet at San Francisco International Airport in July 2013.On Tuesday, Asiana said that pilot error and defects in the aircraft’s auto throttle system were the combined cause of the crash. “The probable cause can be found in the very slow air speed that made the B777-200ER stall,” the company said in a statement that came hours after USA Today reported that Asiana acknowledged for the first time that

The personal data of 175,000 more customers were found to have been leaked from credit card firms that were responsible for a massive data theft earlier this year, financial sources said Tuesday.The classified data of up to 140,000 shop owners were leaked from KB Kookmin Card, along with information on 35,000 customers of NH Nonghyup Card, according to the sources.The additional breach comes just months after some 103 million cases of data leak were discovered at KB Card, NH Card and Lotte Card.

The local stock market began on a lower note on Friday on losses in technology firms and carmakers, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 6.04 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,971.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Builders traded lower, with Daewoo Engineering & Construction falling 0.76 percent and Daelim Industrial losing 0.75 percent. GS Engineering & Construction shed 1.4 percent.Carmakers lost ground, with No. 1 Hyundai Motor falling 0.2 percent and its

Korea’s largest beer manufacturer, Oriental Brewery, is to launch an original ale brand in April, throwing down the gauntlet to rival HiteJinro and Europe’s premium beer brands.OB held a press conference on Wednesday to reveal Alestone, a British-style premium ale brand which will be launched on April 1.Though the company has the manufacturing license for Hoegaarden, a popular Belgian white ale, Alestone is to be its first original ale, officials said.The label “Alestone” is a combination of “al

The government will unveil information on the original prices of imported goods and how they pass through retailers so that customers can better understand the pricing policies, according to the Korea Customs Service.The authorities are also considering various deregulatory measures so that customs services can begin to contribute to the economy. These and other plans are a part of a government blueprint called “Government 3.0,” aimed at widening government access to administrative data that can

Despite economic uncertainties, local firms listed on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market appeared to have increased their investment in 2013, according to government data on Wednesday.A total of 241 KOSDAQ-listed firms spent a combined 3.87 trillion won ($3.59 billion) last year, compared with 3.76 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the KOSDAQ-Listed Companies Association.The tallied firms spent a combined 2.17 trillion won buying stakes in other firms last year, up 17.1 pe

Korea Exchange, the country's bourse operator said Wednesday that it had signed a deal to complete an information technology system for Uzbekistan’s stock market by 2015.In 2011, the Korea Exchange inked a deal with the State Property Committee of Uzbekistan to provide and assist the Uzbek stock market with an operating system that covers trading, payment and brokering. The process was initially scheduled to be completed by 2013 but was delayed due to procedural matters and differences over the

Hyundai Motor said Thursday that it will move to build a new production plant in Chongqing of China to make yet another leap into the world's largest new vehicle market.The company said its chairman, Chung Mong-koo, will meet with top Chongqing officials on Thursday and sign a strategic cooperation pact.Hyundai said the pact will outline the carmaker's intent to give top priority to the city located in southwest China when it picks the site for its fourth passenger car assembly plant, while Chin

South Korean stocks closed lower Tuesday as investors took a wait-and-see attitude toward the market on weaker-than-expected industry data from the United States and China. The South Korean won closed lower against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved down 4.3 points, or 0.22 percent, to 1,941.25. Trading volume was low at 222 million shares worth 3.72 trillion won ($3.45 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 425 to 376.Analysts said Seoul shares closed lower due

South Korean stocks ended higher on Monday on hopes for an economic recovery in China, while the South Korean currency closed higher against the U.S. greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 10.61 points, or 0.55 percent, to 1,945.55. Trading volume was low at 225 million shares worth 3.26 trillion won ($3.02 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 426 to 380.Analysts said Seoul shares were buoyed by rising hope over an economic recovery in China following the country’

The local stock market started higher on Monday on the back of gains in automakers and mobile carriers, according to analysts.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 14.23 points, or 0.74 percent, to 1,949.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Carmakers led the gain, with No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor adding 0.64 percent and its autoparts affiliate Hyundai Mobis rising 1.33 percent. Kia Motors, the country's No. 2 carmaker, moved up 0.51 percent.Mobile carriers also gathered