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  • Policy

    MSCI cites improved access to Korea-linked investment products ahead of review

    Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) said Friday that the Korean financial market has improved in terms of the availability of investment instruments ahead of next week's annual market classification review, while noting that underlying accessibility issues remain unresolved. "Derivative products linked to Korean indexes have recently been listed on international exchanges," it wrote in its 2026 global market accessibility review, upgrading its assessment from minus to plus. A plus rating means there are no major issues, though there is still room for improvement. MSCI said some restrictions remain in Korea on the use of exchange data for the creation of financial products. The Korean market received minus ratings in six of the 18 assessment categories last year. But this year, as the availability of investment instruments category was upgraded to plus, the number of minus-rated categories fell to five: the foreign exchange market liberalization level, investor registration and account setup, information flow, clearing and settlement, and transferability. "Authorities have continu

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    MSCI cites improved access to Korea-linked investment products ahead of review
  • Economy

    KOSPI slips from record high amid US-Iran uncertainty

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    KOSPI slips from record high amid US-Iran uncertainty
  • Economy

    Gov't to expand supply of imported eggs amid price hikes

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Gov't to expand supply of imported eggs amid price hikes
  • Economy

    Seoul stocks sharply up late Friday morning on chip rally

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Seoul stocks sharply up late Friday morning on chip rally
  • Economy

    US-Iran MOU poses new opportunities, challenges for Korea: finance minister

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    US-Iran MOU poses new opportunities, challenges for Korea: finance minister
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Economy

INTERVIEW 'PEFs adapt better to global disruptions'

Unison Capital Korea Representative Director Kim Soo-min speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, Dec. 30, 2021. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulUnison Capital Korea interested in e-commerce sectorBy Park Jae-hyukA massive inflow of global investors' money in recent years has enabled private equity firms (PEFs) to participate more aggressively in multiple mega-size buyout deals here and overseas, prompting market insiders to regard PEFs as the main beneficiaries of the COVID-19 pandemic that has rapidly increased the liquidity of the capital market.According to investment data provider Preqin, buyout funds in Korea raised a combined $17 billion in 2020 and an additional $5 billion during the first 11 months of 2021.Unison Capital Korea Representative Director Kim Soo-min, however, denied any correlation between the pandemic and the private equity industry's recent growth, emphasizing that PEFs have enhanced their competitiveness in the M&A market, regardless of the spread of the coronavirus.“From the viewpoint of investors, private equities

Jan 16, 2022By Park Jae-hyuk
[INTERVIEW] 'PEFs adapt better to global disruptions'
Economy

Seoul stocks likely to begin gradual rebound next week: analysts

Electronic signboards at a Hana Bank dealing room in Seoul show the benchmark KOSPI closing at 2,921.92 points, Jan. 14. Yonhap South Korean stocks are likely to start gradually picking up next week after the recent plunge from U.S. inflation woes, analysts said Saturday, expecting an increase in demand for semiconductors, and liquidity in the stock market.The benchmark KOSPI closed at 2,921.92 points Friday, down 1.12 percent from a week ago.Volatility was high in the local financial market this week, tracking its U.S. peers. Stock prices fluctuated according to the U.S. Federal Reserve officials' hawkish comments about rate hikes and contracting its balance sheet, as well as the U.S. inflation data that grew at the fastest pace in almost four decades.Analysts said stocks would start to gain ground gradually in the coming week, although concerns about the Fed's aggressive policy tightening would continue to play out in the market. Foreign investors are optimistic f

Jan 15, 2022
Seoul stocks likely to begin gradual rebound next week: analysts
Economy

Korea on alert over Chinese cities' Omicron slowdowns

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Concern is spreading over a highly probable spillover of China's slowdown into the Korean economy, as foreshadowed by partial or full lockdowns of a number of major cities in the world's second-largest economy, a firm believer in the “zero-COVID” strategy. The prospect of Korea's largest trading partner suffering a major setback in economic growth is a major red flag for Korea's export-reliant economy, given that the Omicron variant has also led to stricter social distancing measures here for months, with private consumption weakening rapidly. Economists say that the situation may not be a matter of immediate concern, since it will take a while for China's downturn to dent Korean exports, but Korea's growth momentum can be undercut if and when a decline in the demand from Chinese buyers materializes. Others warn that China will grow about 4 percent this year, only about half the 8 percent from a year earlier, if it refuses to revise the current zero-COVID policy. The world's second-largest economy planned to bolster private consumption in t

Jan 15, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Korea on alert over Chinese cities' Omicron slowdowns
Economy

LG Energy Solution to raise 12.75 trillion won in Korea's largest-ever IPO

YonhapLG Energy Solution Ltd. (LGES) is expected to raise 12.75 trillion won ($10.7 billion) this month in what will be Korea's largest-ever initial public offering (IPO).South Korean battery maker said in a regulatory filing Friday it set the IPO price at 300,000 won per share, the top end of a 275,000 won to 300,000 won range it initially offered. The blockbuster listing, set for Jan. 27, will mark the biggest ever market debut by a company in the country, more than double the value of Samsung Life Insurance Co.'s 2010 IPO of 4.89 trillion won, the largest to date. The IPO will value LGES at 70.2 trillion won, making it the third-largest listed company on the main KOSPI stock exchange, behind two South Korean tech bellwethers ― Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. LGES is offering 34 million new shares and 8.5 million existing shares held by parent firm LG Chem in the IPO. In the two-day book building conducted earlier this week, institutional investors placed bids worth 1,520 trillion won, LGES said in a press release. According to Friday's filing, the competition ratio for the book

Jan 14, 2022
LG Energy Solution to raise 12.75 trillion won in Korea's largest-ever IPO
Economy

Seoul stocks dip for 2nd day on rate hike concerns

Currency traders watch computer monitors near a screen showing the KOSPI at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, Jan. 14. AP-YonhapStocks on the Korean bourses extended their losing streak to a second session Friday amid concerns about quicker rate hikes at home and in the United States. The Korean won also rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI declined 40.17 points, or 1.36 percent, to close at 2,921.92 points.Trading volume was moderate at about 523 million shares worth some 10.6 trillion won (US$8.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 663 to 209.Institutions sold a net 600 billion won and foreigners offloaded 246 billion won, while retail investors bought 814 billion won.Shares opened steeply lower, tracking an overnight stock plunge on Wall Street as U.S. Federal Reserve officials signaled aggressive policies to rein in rising inflationary pressure.The retreat was led by losses in tech stocks, usually more sensitive to rate hikes compared with other sectors.The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite plunged 2.51 percent overnight, largely affected by hawkish comments

Jan 14, 2022
Seoul stocks dip for 2nd day on rate hike concerns
  • Bank of Korea chief leaves door open for additional rate hikes
Economy

Hyundai Heavy mulls legal action against EU over veto of DSME takeover

A liquefied natural gas carrier vessel built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE), the holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), said Friday that it has not ruled out legal measures to protest the veto of the European Union antitrust regulator a day earlier against its acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).“We are having internal discussions on whether we should seek legal remedies to challenge the veto,” an official from the holding firm said. “We cannot say at this point that we have firmly decided on the next course of action, but what we can say for sure is that we have not ruled anything out. Specifics will be outlined immediately after we receive the EU regulator's ruling which we consider unreasonable and regretful.”The comment came hours after the European Commission blocked the holding firm's proposed acquisition of the Daewoo subsidiary, claiming the deal could lead to a monopoly in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier market. “

Jan 14, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Hyundai Heavy mulls legal action against EU over veto of DSME takeover
Economy

Bank of Korea chief leaves door open for additional rate hikes

Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol speaks during a press conference in Seoul, Friday, after holding a monetary policy board meeting when the central bank decided to increase the key rate to 1.25 percent. Courtesy of Bank of Korea'Monetary policy still accommodative despite three rate hikes'By Lee Min-hyungBank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol hinted Friday that the central bank will continue to hike interest rates in the months to come in a bid to reduce risks on widening financial imbalance and escalating inflationary pressure.The message came later in the day after the central bank raised the key rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent during a monetary policy board meeting. The BOK also underscored the need to increase it further in accordance with economic circumstances here and abroad.“We still consider the monetary policy accommodative,” Lee told reporters during an online press conference. “Even if we raise the benchmark rate once more to 1.5 percent, Korea's monetary policy is not in a contractionary level.”Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the BOK cu

Jan 14, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Bank of Korea chief leaves door open for additional rate hikes
  • Seoul stocks dip for 2nd day on rate hike concerns
Economy

Tighter virus curbs to hamper recovery in domestic demand: finance ministry

gettyimagesbankThe economy is on a recovery track on robust exports, but the spike in COVID-19 cases and strengthened social distancing rules could hurt domestic demand, the finance ministry said Friday.Amid the fast spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, external economic uncertainty has persisted as global supply chain bottlenecks have deepened and the U.S. Federal Reserve is ramping up a shift in its monetary policy, the ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report, called the Green Book."The country's exports have extended robust growth, and the number of employed people sharply rose, but stricter quarantine measures could affect domestic demand, such as the in-person services segments," the report noted.The Korean economy faces growing downside risks from the latest upsurge in virus cases and the spread of the Omicron variant.The government has imposed tighter antivirus measures since mid-December, after the number of daily infections soared to nearly 8,000 ― cases dropped to the 4,000s this month.The current toughened antivirus restrictions, effective unti

Jan 14, 2022
Tighter virus curbs to hamper recovery in domestic demand: finance ministry
  • Pandemic-hit small business owners to receive additional 3 million won
Economy

Pandemic-hit small business owners to receive additional 3 million won

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki speaks during a meeting at the government complex in Seoul, Jan. 14. YonhapThe government plans to propose another extra budget of 14 trillion won ($11.8 billion) to support small merchants suffering from COVID-19 caused losses amid extended social distancing curbs against the coronavirus, the finance minister said FridayThe administration will create the extra budget because last year saw additional tax revenue estimated at well over 10 trillion won, according to Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki.The planned budget will be first financed with debt sale, as the tax revenue can only be used after the government settles last year's state accounts in April.It plans to submit the extra budget bill to the National Assembly before the Lunar New Year holiday scheduled for Jan. 31 to Feb. 2."The government plans to draw up an extra budget to help small merchants and support antivirus efforts," Hong told a press briefing.South Korea plans to spend 10 trillion won to additionally provide 3 million won to each merchant who has suffered a fall in revenue. In December, the

Jan 14, 2022
Pandemic-hit small business owners to receive additional 3 million won
  • Tighter virus curbs to hamper recovery in domestic demand: finance ministry
Economy

Central bank raises key policy rate amid inflation woes

Bank of Korea / YonhapThe Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its key policy rate by a quarter percentage point to a pre-pandemic level Friday in a move to tackle persistent inflation concerns and normalize its protracted loose monetary measures amid an economic recovery.The central bank's monetary policy board convened its first rate-setting meeting of the year and voted to raise its seven-day repo rate to 1.25 percent.The decision came after the bank raised the rate by 0.25 percentage points in the previous board meeting in November. This also marked the third rate increase since the BOK delivered its first rise during the pandemic in August.Friday's hike brought the rate back to the pre-pandemic level maintained before March 2020 when the BOK held an emergency meeting and slashed it by a half percentage point to 0.75 percent to cushion the fallout from the pandemic. Two months later, it trimmed the rate further to an all-time low of 0.5 percent.The zero range interest rate had been in place for about two years to shore up the economy buffeted by less spending and sluggish business activity

Jan 14, 2022
Central bank raises key policy rate amid inflation woes
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