The Korea Times

Hanwha SolarOne announces new NASDAQ ticker symbol

Hanwha SolarOne, a vertically integrated manufacturer of silicon ingots, wafers, PV cells and modules, has come up with its new ticker symbol of HSOL at NASDAQ. According to the global energy company, it rang the closing bell at the American stock exchange to commemorate the company’s updated brand and new ticker symbol on Saturday morning (Korea Standard Time). The closing bell ceremony serves as a platform to generate exposure for a company, make a news announcement or celebrate corporate milestones. In December last year, Hanwha SolarOne changed its name from Solarfun Power Holdings (SOLF), reflecting its efforts to strengthen its brand worldwide and the business partnership with its largest shareholder, Hanwha Group, which is active in solar project development and financing and plans to produce polysilicon in the future. The 15-minute ceremony was aired live on the NASDAQ’s MarketSite Tower, which exposed SolarOne and Hanhwa to the capital of world finance. SolarOne, whose 49.9 percent stake is owned by Hanwha, has formed 500 megawatt solar battery and 900 megawat

Mar 6, 2011By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Insurers firms brace for renewed Nonghyup law

By Kang Seung-woo With the laws regarding the operations of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, or Nonghyup, expected to change, the country’s insurance and credit card companies are bracing for the fall out. The National Assembly is soon expected to approve the bill for the revision of the agricultural cooperative law that will split Nonghyup into a farming cooperative unit and financial services business. The separation of the financial unit will allow Nonhyup to start an independent insurance business by March next year and its potentially massive customer pool may allow it to challenge the supremacy of the country’s top-three insurers of Samsung Life Insurance, Korea Life Insurance and Kyobo Life Insurance. Nonghyup is also planning to spin off its credit card unit and launch a new brand called Chaeum Card. According to the life insurance industry on Sunday, Samsung Life Insurance topped the asset table of life insurers in 2009 with 133 trillion won (about $119 billion), followed by Korea Life Insurance and Kyobo Life Insurance, which hold 59 trillion and

Mar 6, 2011By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Half of households spent over W2 mil. a month in 2010

By Kang Seung-woo For the first time, more than half of Korean households spent more than 2 million won ($1,780) per month last year, as income and consumer prices rose amid economic recovery, the statistical office said Wednesday. According to Statistics Korea’s analysis on consumer expenditure, 53.7 percent of the country’s households spent more than 2 million won a month on average in 2010. The number is up 6.12 percentage points from the preceding year and the year-on-year growth marked the largest increase in monthly expenditure of more than 2 million won, surpassing the previous high of 5.16 percentage points recorded in 2008. Consumer expenditure includes basic living costs and other expenses for goods and services, but not tax, social insurance, pension and interest payments. The proportion of households with a monthly expenditure of more than 2 million won has been on the rise. Consumer expenditure of 2 million won per month eclipsed the 30 percent mark for the first time in 2004 at 32.63 percent and reached the 40 percent level in 2007 at 42.05. The figur

Mar 2, 2011By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Korea to become world’s No. 4 in per capita GDP in 2040

By Kang Seung-woo Korea’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in terms of buying power will become the world’s fourth largest in 2040, an international financial conglomerate said Tuesday. Citigroup has released the top 10 list of countries based on purchasing power parity (PPP) between 2010 and 2050. According to the report, Asia’s fourthlargest economy is expected to reach the No. 4 spot with $86,109 (96.86 million won) in 2040. Korea will first enter the top 10 in 2020 with $44,740 and income will rise to a fifth-largest $63,923 in 2030 before landing at $107,752 in 2050. Citigroup is not the first global financial institution to predict Korea will make the top five in the category. Goldman Sachs Group, a global investment giant, said in 2007 that by 2050, Korea will become richer in income per capita than any of the current Group of Seven except the U.S. Korea’s GDP per capita was forecast to reach $81,462 in 2050, if everything goes smoothly. Considering the nation’s solid growth, the Wall Street company proposed adding Korea to the BRICs, a fast-growin

Mar 1, 2011By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Affiliate fees for check cards will be lowered

By Kang Seung-woo Commissions on the use of check cards paid by affiliates will be lowered from this month. According to card firms, the fee imposed on affiliates whose annual sales are 960 million won or less will fall from 2.1 percent to less than 1 percent. However, it remains to be seen whether the savings will be passed on to the card users. Bigger franchises will benefit a 0.6 percentage point reduction, with the commission reset at below 1.7 percent. For banks’ card units, the commission will be lowered to less than 1.5 percent. The move comes as it has been pointed out that as people can only spend money that is in their accounts and there is no cost for financing or risk of delinquency, the commission should be slashed. Currently, card companies and lenders’ card arms impose almost the same fee on check card users as for credit cards. The commission cut is expected to help the affiliates save more than 200 billion won ($177.2 million) annually. Check cards are gaining popularity as they appeal to consumers with a variety of merits. They have not

Feb 28, 2011By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Business confidence drops in February

By Kang Seung-woo Business confidence among Korean firms has dropped to its lowest point in more than a year due to higher energy and commodity prices, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Monday. The central bank’s business survey index (BSI) for manufacturers was 88 for February, down from 90 in January and representing the lowest reading since 86 in August 2009. The index for non-manufacturing firms hit a 17-month low of 79. The bank regularly conducts the surveys on companies to measure their confidence on the economy and their finances, and a reading above 100 means that optimists outnumber pessimists. Local companies are particularly alarmed by soaring fuel and raw material prices, which have been stoked by the recent political unrest in the Middle East. The cost of Dubai Crude, Korea’s benchmark, was over $110 per barrel on Friday, while the rise in import prices for January marked the fastest pace in 23 months due to the elevated cost of commodities. The BOK’s survey also revealed the business community’s optimism for the coming months, despite rising costs. The

Feb 28, 2011By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Current account surplus falls to 11-month low

By Kang Seung-woo Korea’s current account surplus dropped to the lowest level in 11 months in January, as oil and commodity prices increased and overseas travel soared during the vacation season. The central Bank of Korea (BOK) said that the surplus was $229 million last month, steeply down from $2.11 billion the preceding month. The current account is the broadest measure of trade that reflects the movement of goods and services. Last month’s figure was the smallest since Asia’s fourth-largest economy posted a deficit of $363.1 million in February 2010. There is a silver lining in that the country has extended its surplus streak to 11 months thanks to solid exports, which account for more than 50 percent of the Korean economy. Korea recorded the fourth-largest current account surplus ever last year on the strength of robust exports in semiconductors and automobiles, with its economy expanding 6.1 percent. The central bank predicted the nation’s current account for February to remain in the black despite escalating prices of oil and raw materials. The cost of th

Feb 25, 2011By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Korea Exchange fines Deutsche Bank W1 bil.

By Kang Seung-woo The brokerage arm of Deutsche Bank was hit with a record 1 billion won ($887,000) fine by Korea’s stock market operator Friday for illicit trade manipulation. The Korea Exchange (KRX) said that Deutsche Securities Korea failed to notify the bourse on Nov. 11, when it placed a massive stock sell-off of 2.4 trillion won that triggered the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) to drop 2.79 percent, wiping out $26 billion in market value. The previously highest penalty the exchange imposed was 250 million won on Kiwoom Securities in June 2009. Investors are required to report to the KRX 15 minutes before the market closes at 3 p.m. if they want to place an order during the final 10 minutes of trading. The Seoul bourse said that the Deutsche’s unit informed it of the sell orders one minute later than required. “The local brokerage unit's massive sell-off deteriorated the fair market and helped specific investors gain illegitimate profits,” the KRX said in a statement. “The Deutsche Bank unit also failed to abide by regulations.” The K

Feb 25, 2011By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

FSC tells Deutsche to take it or leave it

By Kang Seung-woo In hitting Deutsche Bank with the harshest penalty ever levied on a foreign securities firm, financial authorities appear determined to make a statement against future stock market offenders. In concluding that Deutsche Bank employees manipulated Korea’s stock market last year, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) banned the bank’s local operations from trading shares and derivatives through its own account here for the next six months. The FSC has been probing Deutsche Bank after the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.8 percent in the last 10 minutes of trading on Nov. 11 last year. Regulators say that Deutsche Bank employees, who had built up large proportions in derivatives, pushed through around 2.4 trillion won (about $2.13 billion) worth of trading during the last 10 minutes before closing to walk off with nearly 45 billion won in illegal profit. The alleged manipulation coincided with the Group of 20 meetings in Seoul, which Deutsche Bank chief executive officer (CEO) Josef Ackermann was attending. The FSC is also s

Feb 24, 2011By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Deutsche Bank unit banned from derivatives trading

By Kang Seung-woo The brokerage arm of Deutsche Bank was banned from proprietary stock and derivatives trading here for six months, Wednesday, after the nation’s financial regulator held it accountable for a market crash on Nov. 11 triggered by its massive sell orders. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it decided to slap Deutsche Securities Korea with the business suspension, which will take effect from April, for market manipulation. The six-month shutdown is the highest administrative sanction. In addition, the regulator filed charges with the prosecution against five Deutsche Bank employees ― one from the Seoul brokerage unit, one from its New York branch and three from the lender’s Hong Kong operation ― over illegal trades. However, the FSC said that it failed to find any involvement by Deutsche Bank headquarters in the manipulation, and did not ask prosecutors to investigate the head office of the German-based banking giant. The punitive action came after the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the executive body of the FSC, investigated the bank’s ma

Feb 23, 2011By Kang Seung-woo

Kang Seung-woo

Read more

Hanwha SolarOne announces new NASDAQ ticker symbol

Insurers firms brace for renewed Nonghyup law

Half of households spent over W2 mil. a month in 2010

Korea to become world’s No. 4 in per capita GDP in 2040

Affiliate fees for check cards will be lowered

Business confidence drops in February

Current account surplus falls to 11-month low

Korea Exchange fines Deutsche Bank W1 bil.

FSC tells Deutsche to take it or leave it

Deutsche Bank unit banned from derivatives trading

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