MSCI decision unlikely to dampen Korean stock markets: FSC

South Korea’s stock markets are unlikely to be dampened despite foreign cash flight triggered by the MSCI’s plans to add China A Large Cap shares to its benchmark emerging markets index starting next year, according to the Financial Services Commission on Wednesday.The looming investors’ capital exodus of up to 4.3 trillion won ($3.76 billion) and reduction of their proportion in the emerging markets index by between 0.23 percent and 15.27 percent “will put little pressur

June 21, 2017

Seoul stocks end lower on foreign selling, US losses

South Korean stocks ended lower on Wednesday as foreigners turned net sellers tracking losses on Wall Street. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 11.70 points, or 0.49 percent, to close at 2,357.53. Trade volume was moderate at 356.21 million shares worth 6.34 trillion won ($5.5 billion), with decliners outnumbering advancers 516 to 296.Foreigners sold a net 180.29 billion won worth of stocks and institutional investors also dumped share

June 21, 2017

‘Coinless Society’ project gets tepid response

Kim Kyung-min, 27, was not aware of a pilot project by the Bank of Korea to reduce the use of coins until she was told by The Korea Herald.“Things would be convenient if I were able to receive change directly through my bank account,” Kim said, adding that carrying coins “can sometimes be a hassle.” Dubbed “Coinless Society,” the BOK’s project has got a lukewarm response from the public during its two months of operation. The project encourages users to

June 21, 2017

Korean shares extend losses on foreign selling

South Korean shares extended losses late Wednesday morning as foreigners dumped stocks on profit taking. The won traded lower against the dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 12.58 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,356.65 as of 11:20 a.m. Foreigners and institutional investors offloaded a combined 182 billion won ($159 million) worth of stocks. But individuals bought a net 163 billion won worth of stocks.  Large-cap stocks were mostly trading lower. Market bel

June 21, 2017

Seoul shares open lower on US losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. The won fell against the dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 13.73 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,355.50. On Tuesday (local time), the Dow Jones industrial average moved down 0.29 percent to end at 21,467.14, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also declined 0.82 percent to 6,188.03.Analysts expected the addition of China blue-chip stocks to MSCI's emerging markets index from next year

June 21, 2017

Seoul stocks down on profit-taking, Samsung hits fresh record high

South Korean stocks ended lower on Tuesday as institutions went on profit taking, but top cap Samsung Electronics and second most-valued SK hynix surged to fresh record highs, aided by heavy foreign buying. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 1.67 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 2,369.23. Trade volume was moderate at 346.16 million shares worth 6.67 trillion won, with decliners outnumbering advancers 618 to 199.Institutional investo

June 20, 2017

Likelihood of capital outflow low in case of reversal in Korea-US rate gap

The likelihood of a capital outflow from South Korea is low even if the interest rate gap between Korea and the US is reversed, as the local currency is expected to remain strong, an analyst said Tuesday. Kim Jae-chil, a researcher at the Korea Capital Market Institute, said volatility in the local foreign exchange market will likely be limited due to various conditions. South Korea's sovereign bonds are also attractive for investors in Europe, where several central banks slashed interest rates

June 20, 2017

Naming of new BOK policymaker delayed

The naming of a new member of the Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee has been delayed, leaving the central bank without a tie-breaking vote in the upcoming rate-setting meeting in July.Jang Byung-wha, senior deputy governor at the BOK and a member of the bank’s seven-member board, is to finish his three-year term as board member Saturday this week. The deputy governor is appointed by the president, based on the recommendation by the BOK governor. However, BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol

June 20, 2017

Korean shares lose ground on profit-taking

South Korean shares lost ground late Tuesday morning as institutions engaged in profit-taking. The won traded higher against the dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index surrendered 1.30 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,369.60 as of 11:20 a.m.Institutional investors offloaded a net 232 billion won ($204 million) worth of stocks.Foreigners and individuals bought stocks worth a combined 217 billion won, keeping the main index from falling further.Large-cap stocks were mixed acros

June 20, 2017

Movie shares fare ill despite stock-market bull run

Despite a stock-market bull run, movie theater operators and distributors in South Korea have suffered severe setbacks in their share prices this month due to a drop in the number of cinemagoers.Shares of South Korea's top cinema chain CJ CGV listed on the main bourse closed at 72,600 won ($63.9) on Monday, down a whopping 12.5 percent from June 1, according to the Korea Exchange on Tuesday.Media company Jcontentree Corp., the operator of multi-screen theater chain Megabox, which is registered w

June 20, 2017

Seoul shares open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking gains on Wall Street. The won traded lower against the dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 5.48 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,376.38.On Monday (US time), the Dow Jones industrial average moved up 0.68 percent to end at 21,528.99, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also advanced 1.42 percent to 6,239.01.Large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.59 percent, and major chipm

June 20, 2017

Seoul stocks end higher on foreign buying

South Korean stocks ended slightly higher Monday as foreigners turned net buyers. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 9.07 points, or 0.38 percent, to close at 2,370.90. Trade volume was moderate at 288 million shares worth 5.35 trillion won ($4.7 billion), with decliners outnumbering advancers 418 to 388.Foreigners bought 124.19 billion won worth of stocks, turning net buyers after dumping 163 billion won worth of stocks in the previous

June 19, 2017

KAMCO shares know-how with entities overseas

Korea Asset Management Corp. is building a track record of sharing knowledge abroad on nonperforming loan resolution.On Thursday, the state-run asset manager shared with a group of Vietnamese officials its know how on debt resolution and its experience of overcoming a financial crisis in 1998, during a session held in Busan.The firm has opened doors not only to offshore public representatives, but also academic circles. Students and faculty members from the Paris Dauphine University and Universi

June 19, 2017

Korean shares extend gains on foreign buying

South Korean shares extended gains late Monday morning as foreigners turned net buyers. The won traded higher against the dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 14.48 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,376.31 as of 11:20 a.m.Foreigners were net buyers of local stocks worth 19.38 billion won ($17 million). They offloaded 163 billion won worth of stocks in the previous session. Institutions also bought 62.48 billion won worth of shares. But individuals sold 92.87 billion won

June 19, 2017

Seoul shares open tad higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Monday, tracking US gains. The won traded higher against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.19 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,364.01. Foreigners continued to sell domestic stocks, weighing on the KOSPI index. They sold 162.9 billion won ($144 million) worth of stocks in the previous session.On Friday (local time), the Dow Jones industrial average inched up 0.11 percent to end at 21,384.28, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Compo

June 19, 2017

Korea ranks 14th worldwide in stock market value

South Korea ranks 14th worldwide in terms of stock market value as its bourses have performed superbly this year on the back of strong foreign buying, data showed Monday.The combined market capitalization of the country's main and secondary stock markets came to $1.55 trillion as of the end of May, up 20.8 percent from end-2016, according to the data from the bourse operator Korea Exchange.South Korea's ranking was up one spot over the cited period, during which the total value of 81 exchanges b

June 19, 2017

Apartment prices grow 3 times faster than household income

Apartment prices in South Korea on average grew nearly three times faster than current household income over four years under the previous administration, data showed Sunday. The price of jeonse -- referring to deposits for a two-year lease of a house instead of monthly payments -- also rose sixfold compared to income over the cited four years. The average current monthly household income rose by 8.7 percent, from 3.93 million won ($3,470) at the end of 2012 to 4.27 million won at the end of 201

June 18, 2017

Loans for facility investments hit record high

Loans taken out to finance facility expansions reached an all-time high in March, in line with a recovery in exports and the global economy, data showed Sunday.According to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea, facility loans reached a record 404.87 trillion won ($356 billion) as of end-March, up 9.21 trillion won from the end of last year. From a year ago, the figure also swelled by 42.39 trillion won, the data showed.The data indicate that local firms are set to increase spending on facility

June 18, 2017

China stretches finance muscle through AIIB

China has been striving to take the lead in reshaping regional and global economic governance by creating a fresh network that connects Eurasia and South Pacific through a multilateral development financing institution, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.In 2013, China’s President Xi Jinping expressed the country’s aim to leverage and realize its centerpiece foreign policy, the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. Since 2015, China has encouraged 65 countries to partici

June 16, 2017