Foreign investors boost Korean stock holdings for 7th month

Offshore investors continued to pour money into South Korean stock markets last month, remaining net buyers of local stocks for a seventh consecutive month, official data showed Monday. Foreign investors boosted their holdings of local stocks by a net 1.75 trillion won ($1.51 billion) in June to 597.7 trillion won, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.  For the first six months of this year, offshore investors bought a net 10.8 trillion won worth of shares issued by So

July 10, 2017

Top 10 conglomerates account for over half of Kospi's value

South Korea’s 10 largest business groups in market capitalization account for more than half of the total value of listings on the country’s main bourse, data showed Sunday.The 10 business groups had 907.2 trillion won ($785.8 billion) in market capitalization, accounting for 51.3 percent of the total 1,767 trillion won as of Thursday, showed data by the Korea Exchange.Among the so-called chaebol, Samsung Group with the market bellwether and its electronics arm Samsung Electronics to

July 9, 2017

Govt. mulls system to supervise banks over service charges

South Korea's financial regulator said Sunday it is considering adopting a system to supervise banks when they raise service charges.    The move is part of President Moon Jae-in's pledges to help relieve the financial burden of consumers and strengthen transparency at banks when they raise fees and charges.   In a report made to the ruling Minjoo Party, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said banks, insurers and card companies have charged a combined 27.7 trillion won (

July 9, 2017

Samsung's chief global wealth ranking rises to 45th place: report

Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee's ranking among the world's super rich rose to 45th place last week, thanks to the surge in the stock value at the conglomerate's electronic arm, a US-based financial news source said Sunday.   According to Bloomberg, Lee, who has been hospitalized since May 2014 after he suffered a heart attack, is valued to be worth $18.5 billion. The total represents an increase of $4.4 billion this year alone, the information source said.    His ranking

July 9, 2017

Seoul stocks sink 0.33% despite Samsung's upbeat earnings

South Korean stocks finished lower Friday, taking a cue from overnight falls on Wall Street, although Samsung Electronics, the top cap here, delivered a record quarterly high for the second quarter, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 7.94 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 2,379.87.Trade volume was moderate at 303 million shares worth 4.97 trillion won ($4.31 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 485 to 307.The loc

July 7, 2017

Korean stocks down late Thursday morning

South Korean stocks traded lower late Friday morning, as investors opted to cash in recent gains. Samsung, the top cap here, slid after reporting its all-time high earnings for the second quarter.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 5.30 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,382.51 as of 11:15 a.m.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics fell 0.04 percent, while SK hynix, a major chipmaker, declined 0.44 percent.Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, dropped 2.57 percent.Top steelmaker POSCO gain

July 7, 2017

Securities firms to venture into short-term credit business

South Korea’s five largest securities firms in net worth are expected to submit applications to start short-term financing businesses Friday.The firms -- Mirae Asset Daewoo, NH Investment & Securities, KB Securities, Samsung Securities and Korea Investment & Securities -- are planning to apply for eligibility reviews to start financing businesses from the third quarter of this year, according to the Financial Services Commission on Thursday.The eligible securities firms will be gra

July 6, 2017

Individuals shy away from bullish market led by large cap stocks: data

South Korea's retail investors are generally staying away from the local bourses, industry data showed Thursday, as foreigners and institutions pushed up stocks to record highs in recent months backed by improving corporate earnings and resilient exports.The KOSPI main bourse has risen 18 percent in the first six months this year, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market posted a 6 percent jump during the same period.The daily trading volume of individual investors contracted 8.5 percent to 5.06 trill

July 6, 2017

Market rebounds after North Korea risk shock

South Korea’s main stock market rebounded Wednesday from a brief retreat after North Korea’s missile launch, but the foreign selling trend continued a second day. 　The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Market Index rose 0.33 percent to close at 2,388.35 on Wednesday, after a 0.58 percent loss the previous day, the third-largest since May. Foreign investors net sold 8.9 billion won ($7.7 million) in Korean stocks, a continued sell-off after 193.6 billion won was sold by offshore investo

July 5, 2017

Government to announce new fiscal blueprint this month

The Moon Jae-in administration’s new comprehensive macroeconomic blueprint will be announced later this month, according to Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon on Tuesday. 　“The president, along with other officials, will hold a meeting to discuss the government‘s fiscal policies and strategies over the next five years sometime mid-July,” said the finance minister, during a policy meeting in Seoul with ministry officials, including the minister of land, infrastructure, transpo

July 4, 2017

BOK to brace for global tightening

Emerging markets should brace for signs of monetary policy shifts in developed nations, and South Korea will remain vigilant to such signs that are moving toward ending a decade of fiscal stimulus, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Tuesday.“The massive amount of cash flow into global financial markets will be on the decrease at any rate,” Lee said, while presiding over a conference on economic trends. “The BOK will respond to this by closely watching the shift in developed na

July 4, 2017