Direct foreign investment into Korea during the first nine months of the year increased from a year ago, but the rate of growth slowed, government data showed Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the amount of foreign investment reported to the authorities during the first nine months of the year came in at $7.58 billion, up 4.3 percent compared to the same period last year. ...

South Korean stocks finished 1.62 percent higher on Tuesday, led by oil refiners and shipyards, as European leaders' move to shore up the region's banking sector boosted investor confidence, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 28.58 points to 1,795.02. Trading volume was moderate at 393 million shares wo...

Hyundai Oilbank Co., South Korea’s fourth-largest oil refiner, said Tuesday that it will spend 100 billion won ($86 million) on building a new storage facility for oil and petrochemical products. The facility in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, includes a 300,000-kiloliter tank, it said. Construction of the facility will be completed in the second half of 2013, Hyundai Oilbank said. H...

The Bank of Korea is widely expected to keep the benchmark rate steady at its rate-setting meeting on Thursday, a survey by Korea Financial Investment Association showed on Tuesday. The KOFIA survey, conducted on local bond dealers, brokers and analysts between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3, revealed that 96.3 percent of respondents see no change in the monetary stance of the BOK this month. The responde...

The Financial Supervisory Service plans to launch an on-the-spot probe soon into the credit card and capital services industries amid a series of financial accidents involving customer information leaks among loan issuance firms. The action comes after a great amount of personal information was leaked at Samsung Card and Hana SK Card last month. The FSS has ordered all credit card and capital s...

The World Bank will open a consultation center in Seoul as part of their efforts to provide advice on finance to developing countries in the East Asia and Pacific region, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday. The agreement was reached under a memorandum of understanding signed between Choi Jong-ku, a deputy finance minister, and James Adams, World Bank vice president for East Asia and Pacific, acco...

South Korea’s financial regulator has urged local bank chiefs to stem excessive dividend payments and set aside enough money to brace for worsening shockwaves stemming from the ongoing global uncertainty, sources said Tuesday. The move comes on the heels of projections that local banks are expected to pay hefty dividends on the back of their record profits. Market watchers forecast that lenders ...

The Fair Trade Commission said Tuesday that it has launched an investigation into major local and foreign brands sold at the so-called “Big Three” department stores in the nation. The probe started as part of the antitrust regulator’s determination to root out unfair business activities in the retail industry such as high commission fees charged to smaller businesses. Despite their tentative ag...

South Korean trading companies are rushing to develop overseas natural resources as part of efforts to diversify their business portfolios and seek new growth engines, industry sources said Tuesday. LG International Corp., the country’s leading coal trader, started commercial production this month at a coal mine in Inner Mongolia where it owns a 30 percent stake. In 2008, LG International acqui...

South Korea’s automobile production increased 10.3 percent on-year in September on strong demand from both domestic and overseas markets, the government said Tuesday. The country’s five carmakers produced 374,014 vehicles last month, compared with 339,077 in the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Domestic sales rose 5.1 percent on-year to 135,098 units with e...