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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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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

'Those aged 30 and younger may not be able to receive state pension in 30 years'

Getty ImagesBy Lee Kyung-min Those born in 1990 and after may not be able to receive monthly pensions from the National Pension Service (NPS) 30 years from now, unless the state-run organization overhauls its fund operations, a private think tank report said Thursday.Subscribers of the Korean pension fund, relative to their peers in five major countries, contribute less and receive less, a systemic flaw borne out by its low income replacement rate of 35.4 percent in 2020, nearly 20 percentage points lower than the five's average of 54.9 percent.Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) under the Federation of Korean Industries said the country's future generations will suffer, if pension reform does not take place immediately.“Data from the National Assembly Budget Office show that the fiscal balance of the NPS is expected to register a deficit in 2039, and its reserves will be depleted in 2055,” the report said. “The number of pension recipients to be supported per 100 subscribers is expected to spike to 93.1 in 2050, nearly a five-fold increase from 19.4 in 2020.K

Jan 14, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
'Those aged 30 and younger may not be able to receive state pension in 30 years'
Economy

Korea to foster bio industry for innovation

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, left, speaks during a meeting at the Seoul Government Complex, Thursday. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min Korea will invest 12.2 trillion won ($10.2 billion) in data, networks, artificial intelligence (AI), biohealth, semiconductors and future vehicles, backed further by 78 trillion won in financial assistance, in a bid to foster key growth driver industries, the government said Thursday. Policy measures will be strengthened and a law will be enacted this year to better foster the rapidly growing vaccines, drugs and medical supplies makers as well as manufacturers of raw materials and parts. “Last year, biohealth, semiconductors, electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) registered a combined $63 billion in exports, up 29.2 percent from the previous year,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said during a meeting at the Seoul Government Complex. Thursday's meeting was the first to be held this year. “The industries are showing significant visible growth. Korea-produced FCEVs acco

Jan 13, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Korea to foster bio industry for innovation
Economy

Banks' MyData drives draw lukewarm response

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Min-hyungKorean commercial banks' much-hyped MyData businesses are drawing a lukewarm response from the market, as they offer “few differentiating factors” from conventional services, industry sources said Thursday.As of Jan. 5, a group of 33 financial firms ― including banks, card firms and securities firms ― started their own MyData services. Licensed MyData business operators ― mostly financial firms ― can offer customized services by collecting their users' personal financial data and displaying it all on one platform.Major lenders ― such as KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori ― also launched the services to take the lead in the nascent growth area. KB Kookmin Bank placed its MyData focus on asset management services, with Woori Bank launching a service to predict changes in customers' future asset sizes in accordance with their life cycle.But the data-driven services have not drawn as much attention as expected in the first week after their launches, as customers do not feel the need to use the services.Even if they can capitalize on the services easily

Jan 13, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Banks' MyData drives draw lukewarm response
Economy

'Gray rhino starts closing in on us'

Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Koh Seung-beom, fifth from left, poses with economic and financial experts at the Korea Federation of Banks headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of FSCFinancial regulator urged to brace for risks from ChinaBy Park Jae-hyukThe nation's top financial regulator has vowed to take measures against looming threats to the economy, putting its top priority on stability in the financial market.“Potential risks that have been likened to 'gray rhinos' have become reality one by one,” Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Koh Seung-beom said during a meeting with market experts in Seoul, Thursday. “The gray rhino that had been further away has started closing in on us.”A “gray rhino” is used as a metaphor for a highly probable and significant threat that is neglected by decision makers. The term has become popular globally since American author Michele Wucker came up with the concept during the World Economic Forum in 2013.The FSC chairman was especially advised at the meeting to brace for the impacts of

Jan 13, 2022By Park Jae-hyuk
'Gray rhino starts closing in on us'
Economy

Korea lost full-time, high-quality and manufacturing jobs last year

A Statistics Korea official speaks during a press briefing at the Sejong Government Complex, Wednesday. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The country added 369,000 jobs last year, its largest year-on-year increase in seven years, according to Statistics Korea data released Wednesday, and the country's top economic policymaker is eager to define the finding as evidence of a clear, strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the year-on-year increase is irrelevant to the quality and sustainability of the jobs added, a years-long criticism that predates the pandemic and is unlikely to be dispelled any time soon. Last year's labor market condition did improve, anchored mostly by a base effect from a year earlier, when the pandemic tanked the labor market, and not due to the effectiveness of government job creation measures. Most of the jobs were short-term and low-paid work held by those aged 60 and older or those in their 20s. Regular, high-paid jobs, mostly considered high-quality work with job security, and held by people in their 30s and 40s, were lost. Continued job losses in manufac

Jan 12, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Korea lost full-time, high-quality and manufacturing jobs last year
Economy

IBK to offer ETF trading of pension funds in first half of 2022

Getty ImagesBy Lee Kyung-min Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) will roll out a new product in the first half of this year that lets customers include exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in their pension investment portfolios, in the latest move by non-brokerage financial service firms to lock in the stable source of revenue relating to the over 260 trillion won ($217 billion) private pension market. The state-owned lender will make the new product available before July.IBK is the first state-owned lender to strengthen pension investment services after leading commercial lenders ― Shinhan, Hana, Woori, KB Kookmin and NH NongHyup ― came out with a similar product which will also be available before July. The collective move by lenders is explained in large part by the explosive growth of the private pension market and investor sentiment warming to more direct management of their financial assets, brought on by low interest income on bank deposits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed that the private pension market in Korea was scaled at 262

Jan 12, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
IBK to offer ETF trading of pension funds in first half of 2022
Economy

KDB's attempt to sell life insurer embroiled in lawsuit

KDB Life Insurance headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of KDB Life InsuranceBy Park Jae-hyukThe Korea Development Bank (KDB) has been embroiled in a lawsuit over its plan to sell KDB Life Insurance to JC Partners, according to industry sources, Wednesday.Sources said Consus Asset Management filed an injunction Tuesday to ask the court to prohibit the state-run bank from selling the life insurer to the local private equity firm (PEF). Consus owns a 2.5-percent stake in a special purpose entity named KDB Consus Value, which holds a 26.9-percent stake in KDB Life.The plaintiff raised a question about the validity of the deal signed between KDB and JC Partners, as the deadline for the latter's acquisition was Dec. 30. If the court accepts the claim, the contract will be nullified.Consus is expected to look for another buyer who can acquire KDB Life for a higher price in that case. The asset management company has been reluctant to sell KDB Life for 200 billion won ($168 million), because over 1 trillion won has been injected into the insurer since it was sold to KDB Consus Value in 2010.How

Jan 12, 2022By Park Jae-hyuk
KDB's attempt to sell life insurer embroiled in lawsuit
Economy

KB regains leading market cap status from KakaoBank

KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo delivers a speech at the company's headquarters in Seoul, Friday, during an online meeting with the group's executives. Courtesy of KB Financial GroupKakao Pay falls behind Shinhan after stock option scandalBy Park Jae-hyukKB Financial Group has won back the status of being Korea's leading financial firm in terms of market capitalization, overtaking KakaoBank for the first time since the internet-only bank's listing on the benchmark KOSPI market last August.During Tuesday's trading session, KB's stock price closed at 60,000 won ($50), raising its market cap by 3.81 percent to 24.9 trillion won. KakaoBank's stock price fell to 49,350 won, dragging down its market cap by 3.42 percent to 23.4 trillion won.KB's market cap ranking shifted just a few days after KB Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo stated regret over the fact that market participants viewed his company as less valuable than the online bank.“Despite the significant gap in terms of the size of assets and profits, the internet-only bank is considered more valuable on the market than the l

Jan 11, 2022By Park Jae-hyuk
KB regains leading market cap status from KakaoBank
Economy

Exports rise 24.4 percent in first 10 days of January

Stacks of containers at a port in Korea's southeastern city of Busan are seen in this Dec. 1, 2021, file photo. Yonhap Korea's exports grew 24.4 percent year-on-year in the first 10 days of January on the back of solid demand for semiconductors, cars and petroleum products, customs data showed Tuesday.The country's outbound shipments stood at $13.9 billion in the Jan. 1 to 10 period, compared with $11.2 billion the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.Imports jumped 57.1 percent year-on-year to $18.9 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $4.95 billion during the cited period.By sector, outbound shipments of memory chips, a key export item, rose 23.3 percent year-on-year.Semiconductors accounted for about 20 percent of exports by South Korea, home to Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip maker, and its smaller rival SK hynix.Exports of petroleum products soared 135.3 percent as oil prices remained high amid the global

Jan 11, 2022
Exports rise 24.4 percent in first 10 days of January
  • Korea logs current account surplus for 19th straight month in November
Economy

INTERVIEW Jim Rogers urges Korea to lift short-selling ban in 2022

Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings and Beeland Interests, speaks during an online interview with The Korea Times from his residence in Singapore, Jan. 7. Screenshot from Zoom79-year-old investor warns of 'worst bear market in lifetime'By Park Jae-hyukJim Rogers, who is often regarded as one of the world's three most renowned investors along with Warren Buffet and George Soros, did not hesitate to criticize the Korean government for its tough financial regulations that he said go against global standards.“South Korea is one of the most difficult markets in the world for international investors to invest in,” he told The Korea Times online from his residence in Singapore. “Seoul says 'we want foreign investors,' and 'we want people to invest here.' But their actions say something else.”His criticism was leveled at Korea's indefinite prohibition of shorting small-cap stocks, which has been enforced since early in the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.Although the Financial Services Commission partially lifted its ban on the short-selling of KOSPI 200 and Kosdaq 1

Jan 11, 2022By Park Jae-hyuk
[INTERVIEW] Jim Rogers urges Korea to lift short-selling ban in 2022
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