BOK chief says US expansionary fiscal policies to help world economy

The governor of South Korea's central bank has said that the US expansionary fiscal policies could help the world economy and that South Korea's exports could continue to improve.BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Friday that South Korea's exports have picked up due to a recovery of the world economy. Lee made the comments in a meeting with South Korean reporters after attending the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors' meeting in Washington.South Korea's exports rose for the fifth st

April 22, 2017

IMF sees NK tensions having no major impact on S. Korea

Tensions with North Korea haven’t had any significant impact on South Korea’s trade and investment, and a sharp rise in US interest rates is a major risk for Asia’s fourth largest economy going forward, an International Monetary Fund official said Friday.“So far, we have not seen any significant impact on South Korea’s trade investments,” Markus Rodlauer, deputy director of the Asia-Pacific department at the IMF, said during a press briefing, referring to the

April 22, 2017

FSS punishes 4 securities firms for taking W10b worth rebates

The Financial Supervisory Service of Korea announced Friday that it took punitive action against Korea‘s four securities firms for receiving rebates from a securities-financing services company.The firms -- Mirae Asset Daewoo, NH Investment & Securities, Yuanta Securities Korea and Korea Investment & Securities -- were found to have received rebates in return for depositing customers’ money in the money market wrap run by Korea Securities Finance Corp.  Combined they too

April 21, 2017

Hana Financial's Q1 net jumps 12.4% on synergy effects

Hana Financial Group Inc., a major South Korean banking group, said Friday its net profit rose 12.4 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier on increased interest income and other synergy effects.Net profit came to 492.1 billion won ($434 million) in the January-March period on a consolidated basis, up 54.2 billion won from a year ago, the group said in a regulatory filing. It marked the highest quarterly net profit since the first quarter of 2012.Hana Financial Group said it has set asi

April 21, 2017

FSS urges prudence in collecting shipbuilders' debt

South Korea’s top financial regulator on Friday asked heads of banks not to recklessly collect debt from the financially-troubled shipbuilders such as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.Zhin Woong-seob, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, directly made such request at a meeting with CEOs of 15 commercial banks including Shinhan, Kookmin, Woori and KEB Hana, after thanking them for cooperating in the rescheduling of debt for DSME, the FSS said.The world’s largest

April 21, 2017

Seoul stocks end higher on foreign buying

South Korean stocks closed higher Friday as foreigners scooped up stocks on bargain hunting. The won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.75 points, or 0.50 percent, to close at 2,149.15. Trade volume was moderate at 274.59 million shares worth 4.63 trillion won ($4.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 424 to 356.Foreign and institutional investors bought a combined 323.75 billion won worth of shares, offsetting individuals' net selling wort

April 21, 2017

IBK Q1 net up 16% on increased interest income

State-run Industrial Bank of Korea said Friday that its first-quarter net profit jumped 15.9 percent from a year earlier on increased interest income and gains from asset sales.Net profit for the three months ending March 31 came to 437.7 billion won ($386 million) on a consolidated basis, compared to 377.7 billion won a year earlier, the lender said in a regulatory filing.The figure includes earnings of its non-bank affiliates.On a standalone basis, the bank saw its net profit rise 12.1 percent

April 21, 2017

Korea, World Bank agree to widen cooperation

South Korea's finance minister held a meeting with the president of the World Bank Group to discuss ways to expand the country's participation in the organization, the ministry here said Friday.Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho met with WBG President Jim Yong Kim in Washington on Thursday (local time) on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting. The gathering runs from Thursday through Friday.They agreed that the organization's Seoul office will play a leadi

April 21, 2017

Internet banks poised to become a force to be reckoned with

Jang Hong-suk got a credit line for a deposit to buy an apartment. All he did was download an app on his smartphone and open an account before applying for a loan.It took about 20 minutes before Jang got approval for the loan from K-Bank, South Korea's first Internet-only bank."I opened a bank account with a 50 million won ($44,000) overdraft line of credit on my way home from work," said the 30-year-old salaried employee who handles accounting at a foreign company in Seoul.The simple

April 21, 2017

Korean shares extend gains in late morning trade

South Korean stocks extended gains late Wednesday morning on a rebound in tech and telecom stocks. The won rose against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 18.45 points, or 0.86 percent, to 2,167.60 as of 11:20 a.m.Foreign and institutional investors bought a combined 123.4 billion won ($108 million) worth of stocks, while individuals shed 115.26 billion won worth of stocks, keeping the KOSPI from rebounding further.     Market bellwe

April 21, 2017

Korea's fiscal spending on SOC projects creates more jobs in Q1: gov't

South Korea increased fiscal spending on infrastructure-building projects in the first three months of the year contributed to the creation of more jobs, the finance ministry here said Friday.The government spent 14.9 trillion won carrying out social overhead capital projects in the January-March period, up 200 million won from its earlier plan, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The move aimed to expand the state's role in leading economic recovery for Asia's fourth largest econ

April 21, 2017

Banks urged to play 'responsible role' in normalizing Daewoo Shipbuilding

South Korea's top financial regulator on Friday called for heads of banks to play a "responsible role" in normalizing Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., as the bailout plan for the troubled shipbuilder was cleared by its stakeholders. Zhin Woong-seob, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, also asked banks not to aggressively collect debt from shipbuilders and their subcontractors, given their financial strains over a downturn in the shipbuilding industry. I

April 21, 2017

Korean shares open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street and ahead of major companies' first-quarter earnings reports. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 12.45 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,161.60 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.85 percent on strong corporate earnings results, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ gaining 0.92 percent. Foreign and institutional investors increased their s

April 21, 2017

KB Financial Group’s net profit soars nearly 60% in Q1 on-year

KB Financial Group, the second-largest banking group in net assets, posted 870.1 billion won ($763.7 million) of net profit in the first quarter, a 59.7 percent rise on-year, according to the group’s earnings report Thursday. The net profit of the holding company, which operates financial units including Kookmin Bank, the second-largest commercial lender in market cap, skyrocketed 91.7 percent compared to the previous quarter, the report indicated Thursday Kookmin Bank in the first quarter

April 20, 2017

FSC to ease rules for debt-to-equity swaps

The Financial Services Commission of Korea announced Thursday it would ease regulations for lenders in streamlining the debt restructuring of financially troubled firms. By revising the enforcement ordinance of the Financial Holding Companies Act, lenders will be more easily able to exclude debt-ridden firms under their receiverships from their subsidiaries in the process of converting debt into equity.Currently, a lender, upon becoming the biggest financer of a debt-ridden company subject to re

April 20, 2017

Seoul stocks end higher on institutional buying

South Korean stocks closed higher Thursday as institutions scooped up stocks on bargain hunting. The won rose against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.75 points, or 0.50 percent, to close at 2,149.15. Trade volume was moderate at 262.01 million shares worth 4.91 trillion won ($4.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 445 to 329.Institutional and foreign investors bought a combined 296 billion won worth of shares, offsetting 274.81 billion won in net sell-

April 20, 2017

Shinhan’s net profit surges 29 percent in Q1

Shinhan Financial Group said its net profit rose to 997.1 billion won in the first quarter this year, a 29 percent gain from a year earlier, mainly due to improved net interest margins and reduced general and administrative expenses.The nation’s largest financials having banking, credit card, insurance and other financial units said its first-quarter net profit this year was the largest since the establishment of the holding company in 2001.“While banking and non-banking affiliates i

April 20, 2017

Korea to support vulnerable borrowers

South Korea’s financial regulator said Thursday it planned to allow borrowers who cannot repay debts due to a job loss or the death of a relative, to suspend the repayment of the principal for up to three years.The Financial Services Commission announced a set of measures to help alleviate the debt burdens of vulnerable households after releasing new data on household debt. The growth of household debt slowed in the first quarter after quickly rising 11.7 percent on-year in 2016. Household

April 20, 2017

Daewoo Shipbuilding files for debt restructuring

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering filed a petition with the Changwon District Court on Thursday, seeking approval for its 2.9 trillion won ($2.5 billion) bailout plan. If DSME’s mass debt-restructuring proposal is approved, the cash-strapped shipbuilding firm will receive 2.9 trillion won in liquidity from its major creditors, including the Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea. Upon the court’s approval, there will be a weeklong window for bondholders

April 20, 2017

BOK launches pilot program to achieve coinless Korea

The Bank of Korea on Thursday launched a pilot program with major distribution giants to push forward its long-term goal of creating a coinless society in Korea by 2020.By partnering convenience store chains, department stores and supermarkets nationwide, the BOK is encouraging consumers to use their change from purchases for electronic prepayments. Participating store operators include CU, 7-Eleven, With Me, E-mart and Lotte Mart.For instance, the change that results from a purchase at a CU sto

April 20, 2017