Seoul stocks hit new all-time high; Korean won at 29-month high
MarketsNov 27, 2020
South Korean stocks hit another fresh record high Friday on recovery hopes despite soaring new coronavirus cases. The Korean won surged to an over 29-month high against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.54 points, or 0.29 percent, to close at 2,633.45. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 12.4 trillion won ($11.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 488 to 332. Foreigners bought a net 77 billion won, and retail in
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S. Korea to see limited impact on local markets from global food insecurity: vice finance ministerEconomyNov 27, 2020South Korea’s first vice finance minister said Friday the global food insecurity worsened by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will not have a serious impact on the local food supply chain, but the government will continue to keep an eye on the market condition. “According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the FAO Food Price Index has continued its upward trend in recent months, signaling food insecurity around the globe,” Kim Yong-beom, first vice -
S. Korea's state pension fund logs over 4% return in Jan.-Sept.EconomyNov 27, 2020South Korea's state pension fund posted a return rate of over 4 percent through September on robust performances in domestic and overseas stock markets, its operator said Friday. The state pension fund registered a 4.17 percent investment return at the end of September, according to the National Pension Service (NPS). It chalked up a 8.47 percent investment return from the local stock market and a 3.28 percent yield from investments in overseas stocks. The fund's return rates from investme
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S. Korea to delay opening of FX market by 1 hour on college entrance exam dayEconomyNov 27, 2020The opening of South Korea's foreign exchange market will be delayed by one hour on the day of the college entrance exam next week, the committee in charge of the foreign exchange market said Friday. The foreign exchange market is set to open at 10 a.m. and close at 3:30 p.m. next Thursday as part of efforts to ease traffic, according to the Seoul Foreign Exchange Market Committee. Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly high school seniors, are scheduled to take the crucial test that is wide -
PEF-led consortium picked as main bidder for STX OffshoreEconomyNov 27, 2020Midsized shipyard STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. said Friday its creditors led by the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) have picked a consortium as the prime bidder for the shipbuilder. On Nov. 9, the creditors signed a preliminary deal with the consortium comprising local private equity fund KH Investment (KHI) and United Asset Management Company (UAMCO), South Korea's biggest bad debt clearer, to sell the shipbuilder. After the deal, the creditors put up the stake in the shipbuil -
Federation of Korean banks appoints NH Financial chief as new headMoneyNov 27, 2020NH Financial Group Chairman Kim Kwang-soo has officially been tapped to lead the Korea Federation of Banks, a representative body of commercial banks, officials said Friday. The KFB board of directors unanimously approved Kim’s nomination as its 14th chairman during a general meeting held early in the morning. The appointment came after Kim was picked as the sole candidate to be KFB chief Tuesday, among seven candidates initially recommended for the post. Kim’s three-year te -
Manufacturing sector's 2019 added value dips at fastest pace since 1998EconomyNov 27, 2020South Korea's manufacturing industry saw its added value shrink at the fastest clip in 21 years in 2019 on falling prices of chips and other key products, government data showed Friday. The added value of the country's manufacturing and mining sectors came to 559.8 trillion won ($507 billion) last year, down 1.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was the largest annualized contraction since the 2.1 percent fall recorded in 1998 in the wake of the count -
Institutions' investments in foreign securities rise in Q3EconomyNov 27, 2020South Korean institutions' investments in foreign securities rose in the third quarter from three months earlier as global financial markets recovered from pandemic-driven losses, central bank data showed Friday. The combined value of foreign securities held by institutional investors came to $345.4 billion as of end-September, up $8.9 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked a gain for the second straight quarter after a $9.5 billion fall in the firs -
Banks' lending rates stay flat in OctoberEconomyNov 27, 2020South Korean banks' lending rates stayed flat in October, despite rising market rates, central bank data showed Friday. The average interest rate charged on new bank loans came to 2.66 percent in October, unchanged from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). In September, banks' lending rates rose for the first time in four months. The rates declined for the third straight month since June due to the impact of the central bank's policy rate cut in May. -
Seoul stocks open nearly flat on virus concernsMarketsNov 27, 2020South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Friday after the benchmark index hit an all-time high the previous session amid the soaring new coronavirus cases. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.37 point, or 0.01 percent, to 2,626.28 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a muted start, as soaring COVID-19 cases and valuation pressure left investors questioning the index's short-term peak. Large caps traded mixed in Seoul. Market behemoth Samsung Electr -
Moon meets top Chinese diplomat, requests role for inter-Korean tiesMarketsNov 26, 2020South Korean President Moon Jae-in greeted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday and stressed that his administration won't cease the drive for lasting peace on the peninsula. "Our government will not stop efforts to put a (formal) end to war on the Korean Peninsula and achieve complete denuclearization and permanent peace together with the international community, including China," Moon told Wang at the start of their meeting, which pool reporters were allowed -
![[News Focus] Of all foreign-owned land in Korea, Americans own 52%](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=643&simg=/content/image/2020/11/26/20201126000001_0.jpg)
[News Focus] Of all foreign-owned land in Korea, Americans own 52%EconomyNov 26, 2020SEJONG -- Foreign ownership of South Korean land has continued to increase over the past few years, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed. As of December 2019 foreigners owned 248.6 million square meters of land, or 248.6 square kilometers, which is the latest figure available. This was a 3 percent increase from a year earlier in terms of land owned, as opposed to the value of the real estate. Compared with December 2016, when the figure was 233.5 million square m -
S. Korea to inject extra W4tr into COVID-19 reliefEconomyNov 26, 2020Govt seeks to include food delivery apps in dining coupon program amid social distancing -
Seoul stocks close at all-time high on improved growth forecastMarketsNov 26, 2020South Korean stocks closed at a fresh all-time high Thursday as the central bank's revised growth forecast boosted investor sentiment, despite an eight-month high in daily virus cases here. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 24.37 points, or 0.94 percent, to close at 2,625.91 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.4 billion shares worth some 12.5 trillion won ($11.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 433 to 3 -
Worst is over for Korean economy but not in recovery yet: BOK chiefEconomyNov 26, 2020Central bank holds interest rate steady at record low in a year-end move
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