Optimism abounds for Kospi rally

Expectations of strong policy drives by President Moon Jae-in are leading to forecasts of a further Kospi rally and a stronger local currency, offsetting rising worries about geopolitical risks.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index extended rallies for two days, even after North Korea fired a ballistic missile Sunday. The Kospi closed at 2,295.33, up 0.2 percent Tuesday, despite the loss of earlier gains in morning trade that pushed the index above 2,300.The local currency also strengt

May 16, 2017

FSS disciplines stock brokers for illegal short-selling

The Financial Supervisory Service issued last Thursday a disciplinary warning on stock brokers for short selling using insider information, the regulator said Monday.The FSS said a team of stock traders from SK Securities had failed to avoid conflicts of interest and used unpublished information obtained on duty, both considered breaches of law. It issued cautionary discipline and ordered the securities firm to take autonomous action on the traders.The traders allegedly short sold stocks after a

May 16, 2017

[Photo News] Sejong expects to see a real estate boon

May 16, 2017

BNP Paribas, Deutsche fined for FX collusion

South Korea’s anti-trust watchdog said it has fined France’s BNP Paribas and Germany’s Deutsche Bank a combined 176 million won ($157,000) for colluding on foreign exchange forward bids.The Fair Trade Commission said officials at the two bank’s Seoul branches colluded on prices of foreign exchange forwards, prior to 44 rounds of bidding worth $224 million for two local companies from April to July in 2011. The FTC did not reveal the names of the two local firms. The two E

May 16, 2017

MBK Partners reduces stake in Coway

Korea’s major private equity firm MBK Partners has sold 5 percent stake in Coway, the nation’s largest water purifier maker and rental firm by market share, in the form of a block deal, news reports said Tuesday.A block deal refers to a trade of massive shares at an arranged price between the seller and buyers, often institutional investors, outside the open market to reduce the impact on the price of the targeted shares. The buyout fund sold the shares to major institutional investo

May 16, 2017

Korea's money supply up 6.2% in March: BOK

The money supply in South Korea jumped 6.2 percent in March from a year earlier, the central bank said Tuesday. The nation's "M2" totaled 2,436.9 trillion won ($2.1 trillion) in March, compared with 2,294.5 trillion won a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.Month-on-month, the money supply gained 0.8 percent, the statement said.M2 is a measure of the money supply counting the currency in circulation, including bank debentures and deposits with a maturity of less than tw

May 16, 2017

Banks' foreign currency deposits fall in April

Foreign currency deposits held by banks operating in South Korea fell in April as exporters reduced their deposits of dollar-denominated earnings, central bank data showed Tuesday.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local banks, domestic and foreign, reached $67.39 billion in April, down from 70.54 billion a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.  Broken down, foreign currency deposits held by domestic lenders came to $57.98 billion in April, down from $60.33 billio

May 16, 2017

Seoul shares tad down on bearish retailers, pharmaceuticals

South Korean stocks inched down after a strong start late Tuesday morning, as shares of key retailers and pharmaceutical companies widened losses, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 0.9 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,289.75 as of 11:20 a.m. Lotte Shopping, which runs the department store and hypermarket chain units of Lotte Group, the country's fifth-largest conglomerate, fell 1.3 percent. Another leading retailer Shinsegae also slid 1.8 percent. Pharmaceutica

May 16, 2017

Korean bourse emerges as top performer worldwide

The South Korean stock market has emerged as the best performer in the world over the past month on the back of strong foreign buying, data showed Tuesday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,286.02 Friday, up 7.4 percent from a month earlier and the highest rise among bourses in major advanced and emerging markets, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Center for International Finance. Japan's Nikkei 225 came next with a 7.2 percent increase over the c

May 16, 2017

Seoul shares open higher on tech blue chips

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday, buoyed by bullish tech large caps, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 13.38 points, or 0.58 percent, to trade at 2,304.03 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics gained more than 1 percent, with chipmaker SK hynix advancing nearly 2 percent. Brokerage firms also gathered ground, led by an around 2 percent gain by Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities. On the other hand, domesti

May 16, 2017

Seoul stocks end higher despite foreign selling

South Korean stocks closed higher on Monday as individual and institutional buyers scooped up big cap stocks offseting a selling spree by foreigners amid uncertainties at both home and abroad, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 4.63 points, or 0.20 percent, to close at 2,290.65. Trade volume was moderate at 248 million shares worth 4.58 trillion won ($4.07 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 406 to 393.Foreign

May 15, 2017

Rising debt highlights Moon's relief pledge

The ongoing increase of household debt brings focus on whether President Moon Jae-in will manage to fulfill his pledge of curbing swelling household debt, which has long been a drag on South Korea’s economy.Household borrowing from lenders in Asia’s fourth-largest economy rose 7.3 trillion won ($6.5 billion) in April, according to preliminary data from the Financial Services Commission on Monday. The monthly increase was sharper compared to the previous month. The volume of debt rose

May 15, 2017

Finance Ministry preparing for looming tax hikes

With President Moon Jae-in promising to create 810,000 jobs and enhance welfare for ordinary people, the new government needs a big boost in fiscal income to execute jobs and welfare programs.The Finance Ministry is preparing for a possible change in its tax code plan, which is expected to be completed by the end of July, according to ministry officials. After announcing the tax code plan, the ministry has to submit the plan along with the 2018 budget proposal to the National Assembly by Sept. 1

May 15, 2017

Dollar-won exchange volatility narrows in April

The dollar-won volatility eased in April from a month earlier in line with eased volatility in the global financial markets, central bank data showed Monday.The session-over-session changes in the dollar-won exchange rates averaged 0.43 percent last month, compared to 0.47 in March, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.  "The won fell against the dollar in April due to geopolitical risks and remittances of dividends by foreign investors," the statement said.Tensions heightened on

May 15, 2017

Seoul shares up in late morning trading

South Korean shares traded higher late Monday morning as institutional buyers scooped up big cap stocks amid a massive selling spree by foreigners.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 6.35 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,293.37 as of 11:20 a.m.The index opened lower on losses in market heavyweights, including market bellwether Samsung Electronics. However, the local index pared earlier losses as most market heavyweights turned higher.Top cap Samsung Electronics added 0.74 percent,

May 15, 2017

Stock market's daily turnover hits 22-month high

The daily turnover of South Korea's main stock market has reached a 22-month high in May on the back of strong foreign buying, data showed Monday.The daily value of shares traded on the main stock market has averaged 6.67 trillion won ($5.92 billion) through Friday this month, up 45 percent from the previous month and 32.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the bourse operator Korea Exchange. In particular, the turnover reached a monthly peak of 9.38 trillion won on May 10, a

May 15, 2017

Seoul shares open lower on foreign selling

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as foreign investors continued to dump market heavyweights, such as Samsung Electronics amid lingering geopolitical uncertainties.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 4.7 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,281.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Earlier in the day, North Korea said that it has successfully tested-fired a new surface-to-surface intermediate-range ballistic missile, claiming that the US mainland is within its reach.Market bellwe

May 15, 2017

Regulators recommence work to consolidate financial oversight

Financial regulators have restarted their postponed discussion to consolidate a financial supervision system, a measure aimed at better spotting potential financial risks. The move is part of the Moon Jae-in administration’s chaebol reform drive, by examining financial transfers between a group’s companies, including loans and investments such as cross-shareholding. 　 The Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service have reportedly picked up talks on how to oversee

May 14, 2017

4 out of 10 Kospi stocks left out of bullish trend

Despite the record-setting bull run on South Korea’s main bourse, 4 out of 10 stocks there fell, data from the Korea Exchange showed Sunday.The KRX said 302 stocks out of 750 listed on the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell as of Thursday compared to Dec. 29, accounting for 40.3 percent. The Kospi rose 13.32 percent over the cited period, from 2,026.46 to 2,296.37. As for the listed firms of both the first-tier and second-tier stock markets, 890 stocks out of 1,973, accountin

May 14, 2017