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  • Economy

    Expected BOK rate hike prompts concern over rising interest burdens on households, firms

    Expectations of imminent interest rate hikes by the Bank of Korea (BOK) are adding to pressure on households and businesses already struggling with rising borrowing costs, analysts said Sunday. Lending rates at major banks have continued to climb as BOK Gov. Shin Hyun-song struck a hawkish tone following a Monetary Policy Board meeting on May 28, reinforcing market expectations that the central bank could begin raising rates as early as July. According to banking industry data, fixed-rate mortgage loans offered by the country's five major lenders — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — carried interest rates ranging from 4.39 percent to 7.33 percent as of Friday. The upper end of the range was up 0.33 percentage point from a month earlier, when rates stood between 4.4 percent and 7 percent. It marked the first time since October 2022 that the highest fixed mortgage rate among the five major lenders exceeded 7.3 percent. Personal credit loan rates have also moved higher. As of Friday, interest rates on personal credit loans for top-tier borrowers with one-year maturities ra

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    Expected BOK rate hike prompts concern over rising interest burdens on households, firms
  • Policy

    Top policymakers vow stern action against speculative FX market activities as won weakens

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Top policymakers vow stern action against speculative FX market activities as won weakens
  • Cryptocurrency

    Bithumb's bitcoin payout blunder results in $1.6 mil. compensation

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    Bithumb's bitcoin payout blunder results in $1.6 mil. compensation
  • Economy

    S. Korean retail investors sell over $641 bil. in overseas stocks in 1st week of June

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    S. Korean retail investors sell over $641 bil. in overseas stocks in 1st week of June
  • Economy

    Seoul stocks, won hammered by massive foreign selling

    2 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    Seoul stocks, won hammered by massive foreign selling
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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

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Economy

Will IPO market heat up again this year?

gettyimagesbankIPO-planning companies lower corporate value to appeal to investors By Anna J. ParkWhile a number of big-named companies are awaiting their IPOs during the second half of this year, questions remain whether their listing plans will succeed amid the unstable global market conditions. The first half of the year was a period of disappointment for major IPOs. Despite their initial plans to go public earlier this year, most big-name companies' IPO plans had to be canceled, as seen in the cases of Hyundai Engineering, SK Shieldus and One Store, as they failed to convince investors of their desired corporate value. Putting such setbacks behind, many major companies, such as Hyundai Oilbank, Kurly, SOCAR, CJ Olive Young, K bank and more, are planning to go public during the second half of this year. So far, nearly 50 corporations have submitted their requests for preliminary IPO evaluations to the Korea Exchange (KRX), while a total of 17 companies are currently conducting their book building processes, during which institutional investors' bids are collected. Market experts s

Jul 18, 2022By Anna J. Park
Will IPO market heat up again this year?
Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin set to bounce back as inverted US treasury yield curve sparks recession fears

By Lee Min-hyungThe price of Bitcoin will enter a period of a major upturn near the end of this year when the U.S. Fed is expected to be in the final stage of its monetary tightening, experts said Monday. The outlook came after the inversion between the U.S'. 2-year treasury yield and 10-year treasury yield recently deepened to the highest level since 2000 amid the Fed's possible giant rate hike of 75 basis points in the upcoming rate-setting meeting next week. The yield-curve inversion is a major indicator of a recession.A lead researcher at Bithumb, one of Korea's major crypto exchanges, said the cycle of rate hikes usually comes to an end about half a year after the curve inversion.“The Bitcoin price will bottom out in the latter half of this year, and show signs of stabilization as the year-end approaches,” Lee Mi-sun, the research center chief at Bithumb, said. This is because the Fed is widely expected to shift its monetary stance next year after ending the ongoing hawkish steps possibly around the end of this year, according to her.Bitcoin's price has been trapped

Jul 18, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Bitcoin set to bounce back as inverted US treasury yield curve sparks recession fears
Economy

Choo wraps up his 1st G20 finance leaders' meeting after taking office

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, left, talks with U.S. Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen during the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting last week in Bali, Indonesia. The two are scheduled to meet again in Seoul, Tuesday, for official bilateral talks. YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho has returned home after attending his first G20 financial leaders' meeting since taking office in May, the ministry said Monday. During the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, from Friday to Saturday, he spoke about how Korea can contribute to multilateral efforts tackling global challenges related to the economy, public health, finance, sustainability and taxation.The meeting was also attended by officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other invited guest countries, such as Singapore.Speaking before representatives of the world's 20 largest economies, he underlined the importance of free trade as well as the recovery of balanced t

Jul 18, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
Choo wraps up his 1st G20 finance leaders' meeting after taking office
Economy

Gov't, ruling party to push for tax reform amid high inflation, low growth rate

PPP's chief policymaker Rep. Sung Il-jong, left, speaks during a policy consultation meeting at the National Assembly, Seoul, July 18. YonhapThe ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the government agreed Monday to actively consider tax reform to revitalize the economy and improve people's lives, officials said. The PPP and the government held a policy consultation meeting at the National Assembly and discussed tax reform measures, including lowering the corporate tax and the income tax for the lower and middle class, as well as amending the real estate tax system. "We have shared views there is a need to restructure the tax system in accordance with principles of taxation to improve economic vitality and stabilize people's lives," Rep. Sung Il-jong, the PPP's chief policymaker, told reporters after the meeting. The party, in particular, asked the government to devise measures to relieve the burden of income tax for lower income earners and the middle class suffering from financial difficulties due to high inflation, Sung said. Sung also said the party called for a reduction of the cor

Jul 18, 2022
Gov't, ruling party to push for tax reform amid high inflation, low growth rate
Economy

Overseas stock dealings dip in H1 on weak equity markets

gettyimagesbankKoreans' transactions of foreign stocks fell sharply in the first half of the year from six months earlier on bearish overseas equity markets, with their bond trading edging up, data showed Monday.Local investors' transactions of overseas shares were valued at $167.99 billion in the January-June period, down 12 percent from the second half of 2021, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD).The figure covers overseas stock purchases and sales made through the depository institution.The value of U.S. stocks traded by South Korean investors accounted for 94.9 percent of the total.U.S. electric vehicle titan Tesla Motors was Korean investors' top pick at $21.41 billion, which was 31.1 percent more than six months earlier.The data also showed Korean investors' trading of foreign bonds gaining 3.1 percent on-quarter to $39.97 billion, with the value of their overseas securities transactions thus declining 9.4 percent to $207.96 billion.The United States and four other leading markets ― the European Union, Hong Kong, China and Japan ― took up 99.5 perce

Jul 18, 2022
Overseas stock dealings dip in H1 on weak equity markets
Economy

Household debt to continue shrinking in 2nd half

Customers sit at a commercial bank's loans counter in Seoul on July 13. YonhapBy Anna J. ParkAmid soaring key interest rates and a sluggish housing market, the country's household debt is forecast to continue on a downward path in the second half of this year, according to financial market analysts Sunday.According to data compiled by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country's aggregate household debt decreased by 800 billion won ($603 million) to 1,060 trillion won, as of the end of June.It was the first biannual decrease since the FSC began compiling such data in 2015. The amount of household debt had been increasing fast, particularly since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020. In 2020, the annual household debt increased by 8 percent throughout the year, while the annual increase rate slowed to 7.1 percent in 2021.Although the rate of increase in household debt slowed during the previous year, the aggregate debt amount actually logged a net reduction in the first half of this year, due to a series of interest rate hikes from both inside and outside of Korea.It is estimate

Jul 18, 2022By Anna J. Park
Household debt to continue shrinking in 2nd half
Economy

Gov't, ruling party to allow low-priced home owners to opt for fixed-rate borrowing

A view of apartments and buildings in Seoul / YonhapThe government and the ruling party on Sunday agreed to allow low-priced home owners to replace their floating rate-based borrowing with fixed ones as part of efforts to help ease their financial burden amid fast-rising borrowing costs.The decision was made at a policy consultation meeting between the government and the People Power Party (PPP), as the central bank's recent swift and sharp rate hikes have resulted in a spike in interest-payment burden on many people who have bought homes with borrowed money."We shared the view that top priority should be put on the stability of prices and livelihoods," a PPP spokesperson said after the policy meeting.In a related move, they agreed to allow people owning homes valued below 400 million won ($301,640) to replace their borrowing based on floating rates with fixed ones starting in September as part of efforts to ease burdens from interest payments, the spokesperson said.The PPP proposed around 4 percent as a fixed interest rate as an option for those homeowners, though details, such as t

Jul 17, 2022
Gov't, ruling party to allow low-priced home owners to opt for fixed-rate borrowing
Economy

Financial regulator mulls forming stock market stabilization fund

Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Joo-hyun speaks during the inauguration ceremony held at the government complex in central Seoul on July 11. NewsisBy Anna J. ParkKorea's top financial regulator has hinted at the possibility of employing a stock market stabilization fund, aiming to support sagging local stock market indices by injecting a sufficient amount of liquidity.This is the first time since 2020 that the stock market stabilization fund was mentioned by a key financial regulator. Following his inauguration early last week, Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Joo-hyun told reporters of the possibility of creating the stock market stabilization fund if necessary.The stock market stabilization fund refers to a pool of money created jointly by private financial institutions as well as state-run lenders and agencies, which is designed to be invested by a fund management committee.The latest stock market stabilization fund was formed back in 2020 when the global pandemic erupted. That fund involved 23 private financial firms, 5 major financial groups ― KB

Jul 17, 2022By Anna J. Park
Financial regulator mulls forming stock market stabilization fund
Economy

S. Korea to push to exempt taxes on foreigners' investment in gov't bonds

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho speaks during a meeting with reporters, Saturday (local time), in Bali on the sidelines of a Group of 20 (G-20) gathering of finance chiefs. NewsisSouth Korea will push to exempt taxes on interest income and capital gains from foreigners' investment in government bonds and monetary stabilization bonds in a bid to help stabilize the debt market, the finance minister has said.Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho made the remarks on the details of the government's planned tax code revision at a meeting with reporters Saturday (local time) in Bali on the sidelines of a Group of 20 (G-20) gathering of finance chiefs."The government plans to seek the exemption of taxes on interest income and capital gains for non-residents and foreign companies' investment in Treasuries and monetary stabilization bonds to help broaden the demand base for government bonds and advance the debt market," Choo said.The move is expected to stabilize the country's bond and foreign exchange market as an increase in foreign bond investment will likely help lower bond yields and curb the won

Jul 17, 2022
S. Korea to push to exempt taxes on foreigners' investment in gov't bonds
Economy

Economic initiatives involving Russia, China derailed under Yoon administration

President Yoon Suk-yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee arrive in Madrid, Spain, on June 27 for the NATO Summit. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoonS. Korea looks to Europe in bid to cut dependency on ChinaBy Kim Bo-eunHONG KONG ― An apparent shift in the external economic policy of South Korea's new government has put the brakes on a number of efforts in Russia and China that were initiated under the previous administration.And while the shift also reflects developing situations such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the abrupt sea change that has occurred with the leadership change has come at the cost of government funds, time and effort.Under the previous administration of Moon Jae-in, an ambitious plan was drawn up to build a power grid spanning South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia. The idea was for countries in northeast Asia with high energy demand to be able to access wind and solar power, along with natural gas, from the resource-abundant easternmost parts of Siberia and Mongolia.Possibilities were discussed at the 2017 Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, which

Jul 17, 2022By Kim Bo-eun
Economic initiatives involving Russia, China derailed under Yoon administration
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