‘External uncertainties to heighten stock market sensitivity’

Developing external uncertainties will heighten sensitivity of the main bourse of South Korea, according to market experts Friday. The first-tier market has been riding on momentum for nearly a month backed by first-quarter earnings surprises of local listed firms and President Moon Jae-in‘s highly-anticipated move to improve corporate structure and induce institutional investors to adopt a stewardship code.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Market Index, however, suffered a two-day slump

May 19, 2017

KRX to launch portal on short-selling

The Korea Exchange will launch a new web portal in June to provide information on short-selling in the local stock market and facilitate individual investors’ access, the market operator said Thursday.The beta version of the website will kick off Monday, through which the KRX is expected to gather feedback from investors until June 16, 10 days ahead of the official launch of the service available in Korean and English. The KRX said in a release Thursday that it aims to address misconceptio

May 19, 2017

Seoul shares little changed as earnings momentum fades

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat on Friday as investors remained cautious amid no fresh leads following a recent rally led by robust corporate earnings, analysts said. The local currency edged down against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.66 points, or 0.07 percent to close at 2,288.48. Trading volume was moderate at 415.2 million shares worth 5.78 trillion won ($5.12 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 598 to 230. "As the first-qua

May 19, 2017

Gov't dividend income jumps 27.4% in 2017

The government's dividend income from its stakes in public companies rose sharply this year on improved earnings of state-funded companies, the finance ministry said Friday.Public companies' dividend payments to the government totaled 1.56 trillion won ($1.38 billion) in 2017, up 27.4 percent from 1.2 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The ministry said that the spike comes as the average dividend payout ratio, or the percentage of earnings paid to sh

May 19, 2017

BOK completes moving cash reserves to Gangnam

The Bank of Korea has completed moving more than 10 trillion won ($8.88 billion) of cash -- previously stashed in an underground vault -- to its Gangnam office, bank officials said Friday.The move comes as the central bank will be starting its three-year renovation of its headquarters in central Seoul from the second half of the year. This will include reconstruction of the main annex building to enhance security and safety, the BOK said. While most of the BOK’s departments are moving

May 19, 2017

New 2018 budget guidelines put jobs, income growth first

Under the new Moon Jae-in administration, the Finance Ministry has set up renewed guidelines for next year’s budget prioritizing Moon’s key policies, such as job creation and income growth, the ministry said Friday.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said it has revised its budget guidelines for 2018, which had been announced on March 31, to reflect the new government’s key policy tasks. “To reflect the new government’s policies and streamline the fiscal spend

May 19, 2017

Seoul shares almost flat in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks trading was nearly unchanged late Friday morning, with tech blue chips losing ground while auto large caps moved upward, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 1.59 points, or 0.07 percent, to hit 2,288.41 as of 11:20 a.m. Tech giant Samsung Electronics fell more than 2 percent, with chipmaker SK hynix shedding over 1 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor continued its bullish mode with a roughly 2-percent gain, and its affiliate Hyundai Mobis, an

May 19, 2017

Ex-KDB chief gets 4-year jail term for corruption

Former Finance Minister Kang Man-soo was sentenced to four years in prison Friday on multiple corruption charges. The Seoul Central District Court convicted Kang, also a former head of the state-run Korea Development Bank, of pressuring the government to designate a biotech firm run by his friend as a business partner and provide billions of won in subsidies in December 2009. The court ordered him to pay a fine of 50 million won ($44,000). Kang was the country's finance minister from 2008 to ear

May 19, 2017

Seoul shares open tad lower on large-cap losses

South Korean stocks started marginally lower on Friday, as a drop in top-listed firms offset gains in cosmetics and food companies, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 2.04 points, or 0.09 percent, to trade at 2,284.78 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top-cap Samsung Electronics lost almost 1 percent, with No. 1 automaker Hyundai Motor sliding 1.6 percent. But top cosmetics maker AmorePacific gained around 1 percent and major food maker CJ Cheiljedang clim

May 19, 2017

Seoul shares down 0.27% on Trump risk

South Korean stocks declined 0.27 percent on Thursday, as an elevating US political crisis involving its president prodded investors into a flight from making risky bets, analysts said. The local currency fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index KOSPI closed down 6.26 points at 2,286.82. Trading volume was moderate at 374.4 million shares worth 5.83 trillion won ($5.18 billion) with decliners far outstripping gainers 507 to 296."Investors are beginning to w

May 18, 2017

‘Human touch’ vital to digitize banks

Cultural change in the banking industry looms, with financial technology penetrating into the industry worldwide. But the new technology should be embellished with “human touch,” which would leverage deeper fintech penetration by improving customers’ satisfaction, bank officials said at a forum held at Standard Chartered Korea headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday.Michael Gorriz, chief information officer of the London-based international banking group, said in a keynote speech th

May 18, 2017

Seoul shares down 0.49 % in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.49 percent lower late Thursday morning, dragged down by a drop in top-cap tech and IT service companies, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 11.22 points to 2,281.86 as of 11:20 a.m.   Market behemoth Samsung Electronics was down nearly 1 percent, with Naver, the operator of the country's top search engine, losing 0.8 percent.In contrast, shares of automakers and mobile carriers moved in positive territory. Top automaker Hyund

May 18, 2017

Stock funds suffer outflows for 8th consecutive session

South Korea's stock funds suffered outflows for an eighth straight trading session on profit-taking as the benchmark stock index stayed in a tight range, data showed Thursday. After touching its highest-ever close earlier last week, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index has lost some ground in recent trading sessions. According to the data by the Korea Financial Investment Association, domestic stock funds, excluding exchange traded funds, posted 993 billion won ($882 million) of net outflo

May 18, 2017

Two big debutants fare ill on stock market

Shares of the two latest big debutants on South Korea's stock market -- Netmarble Games Corp. and ING Life Insurance Korea -- have tumbled well below their issue price as investors are leery of earnings and market outlooks, analysts said Thursday.South Korea's largest mobile games maker Netmarble Games Corp. successfully debuted on the country's main bourse on Friday above its initial public offering  price. The company closed at 162,000 won ($144.20), much higher than the IPO price of 157,

May 18, 2017

Seoul shares open lower on US losses

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Thursday, tracking their US peers that ended bearish amid intensifying political turmoil surrounding President Donald Trump's alleged interference with a federal investigation, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 11.18 points, or 0.49 percent, to trade at 2,281.90 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US S&P 100 index marked its biggest fall in months Wednesday (local time), as investors opted for selling o

May 18, 2017

Seoul shares down 0.1% on lack of momentum

South Korean stocks inched down Wednesday as there was no fresh lead to drive the market following a recent rally, analysts said. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 2.25 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 2,293.08. Trading volume was moderate at 390.4 million shares worth 5.62 trillion won ($5.02 billion), with decliners outstripping gainers 416 to 372. "The recent rally was largely driven by domestic-focused issues, whi

May 17, 2017

K-Bank meets 76% of deposit target in 45 days

K-Bank, South Korea's first Internet-only bank, said Wednesday it has achieved 76 percent of its full-year target of attracting deposits just 45 days after launching operations. K-Bank, which was launched on April 3, has attracted 380 billion won ($339.2 million) in deposits, compared with this year's target of 500 billion won. K-Bank has also made loans worth 310 billion won, compared with this year's target of 400 billion won, the bank said.  The pace of growth in K-Bank's deposits and lo

May 17, 2017

Citibank Korea to turn 300 contract positions permanent

Some 300 contract employees of Citibank Korea will unconditionally become full-time within 2017, the bank said Tuesday. The benefiting employees are office clerks and bank tellers, currently under unlimited term contracts. Previously, each year the Korean unit of the New York-based bank converted the contract employees into permanent positions through a set of screening processes, which accounted for one-fifth of the newly employed full-timers.The bank, however, has not determined the exact date

May 17, 2017

Banks' daily FX turnover up 11.9% in Q1

The daily foreign exchange turnover by local and foreign banks in South Korea rose 11.9 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter, the central bank said Wednesday.The daily FX turnover averaged $49.98 billion in the January to March period, compared to the previous quarter's $44.66 billion, according to the Bank of Korea. The daily trading volume of foreign exchange spots reached $19.41 billion in the first quarter, up 11.8 percent from the previous quarter.By currency type, the dai

May 17, 2017

Seoul shares down 0.14% in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.14 percent lower late Wednesday morning, led by losses in brokerage and utility firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 3.25 points to 2,292.08 as of 11:20 a.m. NH Investment & Securities, a leading brokerage house here, dropped 1.8 percent, with state-run utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. falling 1.7 percent.But large-cap tech and auto companies edged up. Top-cap Samsung Electronics added about 0.08 percent and leading

May 17, 2017