my timesThe Korea Times

Economy

PolicyCryptocurrencyOthers
  • 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
Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
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.

Read more

Economy

Hanjin chairman honored for bold leadership amid pandemic crisis

Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae / YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungHanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae has been selected as the 2021 Person of the Year by Orient Aviation, a commercial aviation news publisher, in recognition of his bold leadership to tackle the pandemic-induced crisis in the airline industry.The Hong Kong-based media outlet spoke highly of Cho's crisis management after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic early last year since major airlines have had to contend with a steep fall in sales amid lockdowns around the world.Korean Air, a key subsidiary of the group, has reported surpluses for six consecutive quarters until the end of September this year, after making preemptive investments in cargo operations to offset declining earnings from passenger traffic.Cho thanked employees and executives for making concerted efforts to deal with the pandemic crisis.“It would have been impossible for me to be selected as the person of the year if our staff had not joined hands by making sacrifice and efforts with one another,” Cho said. “I want to express my gratitude to o

Dec 2, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Hanjin chairman honored for bold leadership amid pandemic crisis
Economy

FSS chief meets with asset management leaders

Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Jeong Eun-bo, fifth from right, stands next to CEOs of local asset management companies who participated in the meeting held at Kensington Hotel in Seoul's financial district Yeouido, Thursday. During the meeting, the FSS chief urged them to effectively manage internal and external risks, in order to win back investor trust from the market. Governor Jeong also vowed to support local asset managers' strive to strengthen competitiveness moving forward. Korea Financial Investment Association head Na Jai-chel, fifth from left, and CEOs of eight asset management firms, including Samsung Asset Management, KB Asset Management and Mirae Asset Management, attended the meeting. Courtesy of FSS

Dec 2, 2021By Anna J. Park
FSS chief meets with asset management leaders
Economy

PEFs face difficulties in acquiring or selling manufacturers

gettyimagesbankBy Park Jae-hyukPrivate equity funds (PEFs) are facing difficulties in buying and selling manufacturers in the Korean market, as politicians are calling for measures to restrict them from intervening in the management of companies possessing core technologies or those involved in the materials, parts and equipment industries.Changwon City Council members unanimously agreed last week on a proposal urging the central government to inspect PEFs pursuing short-term profits from their investments in the manufacturing industry and to ultimately prevent them from participating in the management of manufacturers.Doosan Machine Tools, Mottrol, K Shipbuilding, STX Engine and PK Valve are among the manufacturers in the largest city in South Gyeongsang Province that have experienced the involvement of PEFs in their management.“In the manufacturing industry, acquisitions by PEFs could lead to passive reinvestments and deterioration in long-term competitiveness, having negative impacts on the regional economy,” said Justice Party Councilor Choi Young-hee, who made the pr

Dec 2, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
PEFs face difficulties in acquiring or selling manufacturers
Economy

Contribution What can we expect in post-pandemic Korea?

Alicia Garcia HerreroBy Alicia Garcia HerreroAfter a long fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Korea has started to open up recently by making international travel possible albeit still difficult. The Korean economy, though, has been recovering for the whole of 2021 thanks to both fiscal, but especially monetary stimuli (the latter being about 15 percent of GDP). As if this were not enough, external demand has been very supportive thanks to the strong rebound of the global economy in 2021, led by China in the first quarter and followed by the U.S. and, more recently, Europe with, however, a slowdown in China since the peak in the first quarter.Korea's growth rate this year is expected to reach 3.9 percent, which is quite positive given the still not fully open economy but, at least, with more limited mobility suppression than other countries in Asia, especially in ASEAN. The rather high domestic mobility maintained throughout the pandemic has been possible thanks to widespread contact tracing and testing measures. More recently, the vaccination rate has reached 70 percent, which has

Dec 2, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
[Contribution] What can we expect in post-pandemic Korea?
Economy

Korea's Q3 economic growth unchanged at 0.3%: Bank of Korea

gettyimagesbankSouth Korea's economy grew at the same pace as earlier forecast in the third quarter of the year despite better-than-expected private consumption and robust exports, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's gross domestic product adjusted for inflation grew 0.3 percent in the July-September period, compared with three months earlier, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This is the same as the earlier estimate the central bank announced in late October. Annualized economic growth in the third quarter stood at 4 percent, also unchanged from what was previously estimated.The on-quarter growth slowed from the 0.8 percent tallied in the second quarter. The deceleration raised concerns that the country might not be able to achieve its annual growth target of 4 percent for this year amid the prolonged fight against the coronavirus pandemic and global supply chain disruptions.Last week, the BOK kept its 2021 growth outlook at 4 percent, unchanged from its August projection, while raising its key interest rate by a quarter parentage point to tam

Dec 2, 2021
Korea's Q3 economic growth unchanged at 0.3%: Bank of Korea
Economy

Inflation growth hits 10-year high in November

gettyimagesbankSouth Korea's consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in nearly 10 years in November due to surging energy costs and high prices of farm products, data showed Thursday, underscoring a build-up in inflationary pressure amid economic recovery.The consumer prices increased 3.7 percent in November from a year earlier, accelerating from a 3.2 percent on-year gain in October, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.Consumer inflation rose 0.4 percent in November from a month ago.It marked the fastest on-year gain since December 2011, when consumer prices spiked 4.2 percent.The country's consumer inflation grew more than 2 percent ― the central bank's midterm inflation target ― for the eighth straight month in November. Inflation growth stayed above 3 percent for the second month last month. The pickup in inflation was mainly attributable to rising oil prices and high prices of agricultural products. Demand-pull inflationary pressure has also built up amid the economic recovery.Prices of petroleum products jumped 35.5 percent on-year, the steepest gain since July

Dec 2, 2021
Inflation growth hits 10-year high in November
Economy

Ruling party desperately appeals to voters ahead of presidential election

Rep. Park Wan-joo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea speaks during a meeting at the National Assembly, Tuesday. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said Tuesday that it is considering temporarily lowering capital gains taxes on owners of multiple homes, in the latest move of pandering ahead of the presidential election next year. A day earlier, the DPK agreed to a one-year delay in the imposition of taxation on gains from cryptocurrency trading. The clear shift in stance indicates the degree to which the ruling party is willing to renege on the once-railroaded policy platform, a sad reality of extreme voter cynicism brought on and amplified by real estate policy failures by the Moon Jae-in administration.Public fury is escalating over this year's tax on owners of expensive and multiple homes with more than one million people paying the “comprehensive real estate tax” on their homes and land. The figure topping 1 million is the first time since the tax is imposed on housing with the officially appraised value of over 1.1 billion won

Dec 2, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Ruling party desperately appeals to voters ahead of presidential election
Economy

OECD ups 2022 growth outlook for Korean economy to 3%

The logo of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is seen in this October file photo. AFP-YonhapThe Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Wednesday revised up its 2022 growth outlook for the South Korean economy to 3 percent, citing robust exports and a recovery of private spending.The OECD's 2022 outlook for Asia's fourth-largest economy was raised from its September estimate of 2.9 percent. The Paris-based organization maintained its 2021 growth projection for Korea at 4 percent. Its 2023 economic outlook for Korea came to 2.7 percent.The OECD's 2022 forecast is on par with the growth estimates by the Korean government and the Bank of Korea (BOK).The OECD said South Korea's economic growth is expected to be “stable through 2023.”“The Korean economy continues to recover following the COVID-19 shock, propelled by strong export growth, improving business investment and public support,” the OECD said.The outlook for Korea came even as the OECD revised down its 2021 growth forecasts for major economies, includi

Dec 1, 2021
OECD ups 2022 growth outlook for Korean economy to 3%
Economy

FSS urges local savings banks to implement stringent risk management

Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Jeong Eun-bo speaks during a meeting with local savings bank CEOs at Hotel President in central Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of FSSBy Anna J. ParkDuring a meeting with local savings bank chiefs, Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Jeong Eun-bo stressed the need for meticulous risk management on the part of savings banks during this time of continuing uncertainty in the global economy. The FSS chief urged domestic savings banks to take stringent voluntary supervisory approaches in order not to repeat any previous unfortunate incidents such as the mass run for bank withdrawals that took place in 2011, when approximately 100,000 customers suffered damages as dozens of savings banks were closed down. More than 27 trillion won ($23 billion) of public money was caught up in the situation, yet less than half of this money, or 13.4 trillion won, has been retrieved, after 10 years. “Recently, the internal and external economic situations are as uncertain as ever, due to concerns over recovery and sluggish growth. Accumulated household de

Dec 1, 2021By Anna J. Park
FSS urges local savings banks to implement stringent risk management
Economy

Hawkish Powell gives impetus for Bank of Korea to hike key rate again

From left are Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol and U.S. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. AP-YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungU.S. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's “surprisingly” hawkish turn is expected to provide an impetus for the Bank of Korea (BOK) to deliver another key rate hike early next year despite renewed fears of a slowdown in the economic recovery here triggered by the Omicron variant of COVID-19 that could be potentially resistant to current vaccines, according to economists, Wednesday. After increasing the benchmark rate to 1 percent last week, BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol hinted at another hike in the months to come by saying that the nation's key interest rate was “still accommodative.”With Powell signaling the Fed's willingness to accelerate its tapering moves by reducing its purchases of treasury bonds, the economists said the BOK had been given more leeway in its push for monetary tightening and policy normalization. The Fed had, in recent months, maintained an ultra-careful approach in the timeline of tapering and rate hikes; therefore, the BOK was facing some

Dec 1, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Hawkish Powell gives impetus for Bank of Korea to hike key rate again
previous page
753754755756757
next page

Most Read in Economy