Demand for apartments in Seoul inched down last week, data showed, after the government rolled out a series of supply measures Feb. 4. According to data collected by the state-run Korea Appraisal Board, an index that gauges supply and demand for apartments dropped by 0.8 points to 109.8 last week, compared with 110.6 marked in the previous week. A rating above 100 means demand exceeds supply. After seeing bouts of fluctuations, the index had risen for 10 straight weeks since the last week o

The combined assets under management by South Korea’s real estate investment trusts came to 65.3 trillion won ($58 billion) as of end-January, preliminary data showed Sunday. The total volume rose 26 percent from the previous year, indicating a moderately growing market, according to the Korea Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. A REIT refers to a company designed to offer annual dividend returns to its investors in return for investment in securitized real estate. By asset t

South Korea could be home to international financial behemoths if the government avoids regulatory overlap and takes a more flexible approach to operational issues faced by foreign banks in the rulemaking process, the head of BNP Paribas South Korea said.  In an interview with The Korea Herald, Philippe Noirot, head of territory for BNP Paribas South Korea, said “overlapping regulations” may pose hurdles for foreign financial institutions’ to enter into the South Korean m

South Korea’s retail investors have bought a combined net 99.2 trillion won ($88 billion) on the domestic stock markets since January 2020, Korea Exchange data showed Sunday, as the bourse faces a market correction on a surge in bond yield. The figure is a combination of individuals’ net buying on the main board Kospi and the development board Kosdaq, both operated by the KRX, from January 2020 until February this year. In the first two months of 2021, individual investors net pu

South Korea's financial regulator will unveil a plan next month to further slow the growth of household debt, an official said Sunday. Household credit had reached a record high of 1,726.1 trillion won ($1.55 trillion) as of December last year, up 44.2 trillion won from three months earlier. Banks have been required to implement stricter screening rules for mortgage loans to better manage growing household debt. The debt service ratio (DSR), a barometer of risky household loans, measures ho

South Korean stocks are likely to face choppy trading next week following this week's highly volatile trading, as concerns about a US Treasury yields hike may continue to fuel heavy selling by foreign investors here. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,012.95 points Friday, down 3.05 percent from a week ago. Foreigners dumped a net 2.1 trillion won ($1.9 billion) at the main bourse this week as the yields of benchmark 10-year US Treasury fueled inflation worri

Bitcoin declined Friday, falling below 53 million won ($48,100) in the week that the largest cryptocurrency is suffering its worst pullback in a year.   　 The digital currency fell to as low as 52.88 million won in the afternoon, plunging almost 20 percent from Sunday’s record high of 65.84 million won.  Bitcoin’s volatility coincided with a slump in stock markets with investors wary over a sharp rise in US bond yields, hurting steep valuations of tech companies. The te

South Korea’s financial authorities plan to launch an industry-wide probe into insurers selling foreign currency insurance -- which has been gaining popularity here in recent years -- next month, on allegations of possible misselling of the high-risk products, sources said Friday. When customers subscribe to foreign currency insurance in Korea, they pay an insurance premium with foreign currency, the most popular being the US dollar, and receive payments with the same currency. The natio

The South Korean key stock index dipped nearly 3 percent Friday, just managing to stay above 3,000 points. Affected by US inflation woes, foreign and institutional investors accelerated their selloffs of local shares. The main bourse Kospi began trading lower at 3,089.49 points then continuously moved downward throughout the day to close at 3,012.95 points, falling 2.8 percent from the previous session’s close. The index retreated below the 3,000-point threshold until around 3 p.m., but s

South Korean stocks dipped nearly 3 percent Friday on the back of an overnight Wall Street plunge that was spurred by a bond yield hike. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 86.74 points, or 2.8 percent, to close at 3,012.95 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 21 trillion won ($18.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 729 to 153. Foreigners dumped a net 2.8 trillion won, institutions o

South Korea plans to sell 8 trillion won ($7.1 billion) worth of Treasury bills next month in a bid to fund its expansionary fiscal policy, the finance ministry said Friday. The bills, which have a maturity of 63 days, will be sold in five separate auctions in March, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. With the debt sale, the outstanding amount of Treasury bills is expected to rise to 15 trillion won next month. Treasury bills are usually floated to raise money to cover short-te

South Korean brokerage firm Mirae Asset Daewoo said Friday that it plans to set up an in-house committee focused on environmental, social and corporate governance. The brokerage house’s new agenda will be put to a vote at the upcoming shareholders meeting set for March 24. The decision came to reinforce the company’s practices in ESG management. To take the lead in being a socially responsible firm, the committee will handle decisions related to ESG issues and open the results to