South Korea's finance ministry said Wednesday it will make efforts to minimize possible economic fallout from the spread of the China coronavirus amid worries that it could hurt local consumption.Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom made the remarks at a meeting with senior financial officials earlier in the day, the ministry said in a statement. South Korea's financial markets are seeing volatility rise amid jitters over the virus, which emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last mon

The South Korean economy expanded at the slowest pace in a decade in 2019, largely weighed down by an extended slump in outbound shipments amid a lengthy trade row between the United States and China, the central bank said Wednesday.South Korea's gross domestic product expanded 2 percent in 2019 from a year earlier, according to advance data from the Bank of Korea.The figure marks the slowest on-year growth since 2009, when Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded 0.7 percent in the aftermath of t

South Korea's finance minister voiced hope on Tuesday that the nation's exports are likely to post a monthly gain next month.Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks as exports fell 0.2 percent in the first 20 days of January, marking the lowest rate of decline in a year, as outbound shipments of semiconductors rebounded.January exports are unlikely to rebound due to fewer working days later this month, Hong said, as the Lunar New Year holiday begins on Friday.Last year, the Lunar New Year

A majority of corporate honchos attending the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, have given the thumbs down to global economic growth this year, a survey by global accounting and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers showed Tuesday.Over 50 percent of the corporate leaders have lowered their forecast for this year’s global economic growth pace, amid lingering uncertainties such as excessive regulations and the prolonged US-China trade war.The survey conducted between Septem

South Korea will test-run a financial data exchange platform in March, enabling users to sell and purchase such data conveniently, the nation’s top financial regulator said Tuesday, in a move seen as an effort to accelerate digital transformation. According to the policymaking Financial Services Commission, the data will be uploaded to the platform by providers including financial and public institutions, insurance companies and mobile operators. It will then be purchased by buyers such as

Banks in South Korea will likely expand their lending to local companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises in the first quarter but tighten their rules on loans to local households, a central bank poll showed Tuesday.In a quarterly survey conducted by the Bank of Korea, the index measuring the banks' overall attitude toward fresh loans came to 4 for the January-March period, compared with negative 5 for the previous quarter.The rise comes amid expectations for better conditions for

South Korea's exports fell 0.2 percent in the first 20 days of January, marking the lowest rate of decline in a year, as outbound shipments of semiconductors rebounded, data showed Tuesday.The country's exports stood at $25.7 billion in the January 1-20 period, down $40 million from the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service.The rate of decline was also much less than the 2 percent fall in the December 1-20 period last year, the data showed.By product, exports of semicondu

Finance minister foresees economic recovery on back of improvement in external factor and new momentum from regional collaboration

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Monday that it will extend 69 trillion won ($59.5 billion) in loans to South Korean companies this year to help boost the economy.The figures represent a 16 percent hike from 2019, according to the South Korean state-run policy lender.Under the plan, the Export-Import Bank of Korea set aside 20 trillion won for companies that make industrial materials, parts and equipment in 2020, compared with 19 trillion won in 2019.The move is the latest in a series of Sou

South Korea's exports to Canada have shot up 14 percent since the implementation of their free trade deal, data showed Monday, despite increased protectionism and the slowing economy around the globe.Outbound shipments to Canada stood at $5.6 billion in 2019, compared to $4.9 billion posted in 2014, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries implemented the bilateral FTA in January 2015 after decadelong negotiations.The combined trade between South K

South Korea said Monday it seeks to expand its outbound shipments of agricultural goods by 6.7 percent to hit $7.5 billion in 2020 by diversifying its product portfolio and penetrating deeper into emerging markets including Southeast Asia.In 2019, exports of agricultural goods reached $7 billion, compared to $6.9 billion posted a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Last year, South Korea's overall exports slipped 10.3 percent amid growing protectionism

South Korea's exports of information and communications technology products nosedived nearly 20 percent on-year in 2019, data showed Monday, due mainly to a lengthy trade row between the United States and China and a drop in chip prices.Outbound ICT shipments totaled $176.9 billion last year, falling sharply from $220.4 billion in 2018, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The decrease was also caused by a base effect, as the country posted record-high exports in 2018.ICT exp

South Korea's finance ministry has been considering imposing a 20 percent tax on income from cryptocurrency transactions, officials said Monday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance has recently ordered its office of income tax to review a taxation plan for cryptocurrencies, according to officials. Previously, the ministry's office of property tax had reviewed the plan. The move raised speculation that the government may categorize gains from cryptocurrency trading as other income, not capital ga

The South Korean economy is expected to have fallen far short of its growth target last year, marking the slowest growth in a decade, a poll showed Monday.In a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, seven local experts polled estimated Asia's fourth-largest economy to have expanded 1.89 percent from a year earlier in 2019.The Bank of Korea earlier predicted a 2 percent on-year expansion in Asia's fourth-largest economy, which would have still marked the

South Korea will focus on promoting economic cooperation this year with Russia, Mongolia and other countries located north of the Korean Peninsula in line with the diplomatic initiative of its New Northern Policy, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Monday. Hong made the remarks at a meeting with economy-related ministers earlier in the day. South Korea "will bolster economic cooperation with northern countries to pull off accomplishments from the New Northern Policy," Hong told the meet