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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

Leadership vacuum looms over state-run financial firms

gettyimagesbankFinancial experts avoid public enterprise chief positionsBy Park Jae-hyukState-run financial institutions are facing difficulties finding new leaders, as private sector experts and government officials are hesitant to step in ahead of the upcoming presidential election, according to industry sources, Tuesday.“It seems that former and incumbent bureaucrats are trying to avoid leadership positions at state-run institutions, over expectations they could be replaced as soon as a new president takes office,” one of the sources said.Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. headquarters in Seoul / Korea Times fileThe Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. (KDIC), for example, has yet to dismiss CEO Wi Seong-bak, whose three-year term ended Sept. 17. He has been able to maintain his seat, due to the law that allows him to continue performing his duties until his successor is appointed.The state deposit insurer finished interviewing four candidates on Sept. 9, but it has yet to recommend one of them to the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The FSC head is supposed to request the app

Sep 28, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Leadership vacuum looms over state-run financial firms
Economy

DL's $1.6 billion acquisition boosts stock price

Kraton's manufacturing facility in the United States / YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulThe share price of DL Holding jumped 7.92 percent at Tuesday's exchange close with investors hailing its affiliate's decision to acquire a U.S. company to expand its presence in the booming specialty chemical business sector.DL Holding's shares ended at 76,300 won on the KOSPI, according to data provided by the Korea Exchange (KRX), the country's top bourse operator. On the same day, DL Chemical, a leading petrochemical company owned by DL Holdings, said it had acquired U.S.-based specialty chemical producer Kraton Corp.The South Korean firm, formerly known as Daelim Industrial, said in a statement that it reached a deal to buy the Texas-based company in an all-cash deal. JPMorgan advised Kraton on the transaction, with Goldman Sachs working for DL Chemical. DL Chemical said it paid $1.6 billion to acquire Kraton, although the latter said it agreed to sell itself Chemical for an enterprise value of $2.5 billion. Regarding the gap, DL Chemical said the acquisition price included Kraton's net debt of $900 milli

Sep 28, 2021By Kim Yoo-chul
DL's $1.6 billion acquisition boosts stock price
Economy

Reporter's Notebook Government urged to face reality in economic forecast

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki answers questions from lawmakers during a National Assembly interpellation session in Seoul, Sept. 15. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe Korean government will continue to lose credibility regarding its economic policies unless it drops a “dogmatic attitude” towards the market and listens to realistic voices from experts.No one would refute that public fury is reaching its peak over some controversies regarding economic policy drives by Cheong Wa Dae and the government's economic teams as the year-end approaches and the presidential election draws closer.The Moon Jae-in administration has less than a year left in office, but its rather rosy outlook for the country's economic growth is taking criticism from the public.First and foremost, the government has stuck to its 2021 inflation outlook of 1.8 percent, but the estimation seems far from reality, with a group of global economic institutions expecting Korea's annual inflation to top the 2-percent mark.The OECD recently revised up the nation's inflation outlook by 0.4 percentage points to 2.2 percent

Sep 28, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
[Reporter's Notebook] Government urged to face reality in economic forecast
Economy

Central bank to expand purchase of ESG stocks and bonds

Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol / Korea Times fileThe Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday it will expand its purchase of stocks and bonds related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns, in a move to help transform South Korea to a greener economy. As of June, the BOK had purchased $7.12 billion worth of ESG stocks and bonds with its foreign-currency assets, compared with $5.45 billion six months earlier, the central bank said in a statement.While expanding its purchase of ESG stocks and bonds, the BOK will not buy stocks and bonds related to ESG risks, it said. The BOK's investment strategy comes as a growing number of Korean firms embrace ESG principles and investment, which aim to make companies more sustainable by encouraging them to act on a range of environmental, social and governance issues. This year, non-financial firms across the board were warming to the corporate doctrine as they prepare for a post-pandemic world.According to a recent survey by the Federation of Korean Industries, the nation's largest business lobby, 66.3 percent of 500 CEOs at big firms p

Sep 28, 2021
Central bank to expand purchase of ESG stocks and bonds
Economy

Number of farmers, fishermen continues to fall in Korea

gettyimagesbankThe number of South Koreans in the agrofisheries sector is continuing to fall because of a rapid aging and urbanization trend in the country, government data showed Tuesday. Households engaging in the farming business totaled 1.03 million last year, down 4.9 percent from 1.08 million tallied in 2015, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The number of farmers also fell to 2.34 million in 2020, compared with 2.56 million tallied in 2015. In the fishing sector, the number of families fell to 43,000 last year, with the population retreating to 97,000.The statistics office attributed the drop mainly to the rapid aging of the population, with the younger generation moving to urban areas.The average age of the head of farming families reached 66.1 last year, up from 65.1 in 2015.Those aged 65 and over accounted for 42.3 percent of the farming community, the data showed. (Yonhap)

Sep 28, 2021
Number of farmers, fishermen continues to fall in Korea
Economy

'Living with COVID-19' to further boost travel and leisure stocks

gettyimagesbankBy Anna J. ParkDespite their recent selling spree, major local institutional investors, including asset managers and pension funds, continue to net-purchase domestic stocks related to travel and leisure activities, as they expect the so-called “living with COVID-19” themed stocks to lead possible upward movement in the near future.According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), local institutional investors turned to net-selling 3.46 trillion won ($2.93) worth of domestic stocks from September 1 to 24. Their most sold stocks were Samsung Electronics at 751 billion won, followed by Kakao Bank at 739 billion won, Kakao at 441 billion won and SK Bioscience at 304 billion won. Their top pick net purchase during this period was Korean Air at 433 billion won. S-Oil and Hana Tour were two other highly net-purchased stocks at 117 billion won and 52 billion won, respectively. Led by the strong buying power by the major investors, travel, leisure and retailer stocks continued their bullish moves this month.Korea Air's share price rose 10.12 percent this month, while Asiana Ai

Sep 28, 2021By Anna J. Park
'Living with COVID-19' to further boost travel and leisure stocks
Economy

Local financial institutions curtail overseas real estate holdings

gettyimagesbankBy Anna J. Park Before the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the global economy, overseas real estate or infrastructure investments were considered by local institutional investors as safe alternatives that ensure high returns amid low interest rates. Local institutional investors began to make large-scale investments in overseas real estate and the boom was in full swing from 2017 and 2019. However, this concept changed completely due to the pandemic. Most overseas real estate investments included in the portfolios of local institutional investors are hotels in North America or office buildings in European countries. But the strengths of these alternative investments have weakened during the pandemic. Some of these hotels and office buildings owned by local institutional investors stopped generating profits and became distressed, because the number of global tourists declined significantly and more people were forced to work from home instead of commuting to their offices during the pandemic.The Drew Las Vegas Project is a prime example. The unfinished hotel and casino const

Sep 27, 2021By Anna J. Park
Local financial institutions curtail overseas real estate holdings
Economy

Korea set to delay taxation on gains from crypto trading

Rep. Yoo Dong-soo, head of task force for cryptocurrency under ruling Democratic Party of Korea speaks at the beginning of a meeting at Yeouido, Seoul, June 23. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minThe ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has reached a consensus to delay imposing taxes on gains from cryptocurrency transactions, in a move to play to its voter base ― mostly those in their 20s and 30s who have invested heavily in the digital asset ― ahead of the presidential election next year.The Ministry of Economy and Finance is expected to protest the party platform on the grounds of it defeating policy consistency. Yet the politically charged push is backed by the unified stance of ruling party lawmakers, whose popularity is rapidly declining due to a series of government policy failures notably concerning real estate.“The DPK reached a broad consensus in terms of delaying the timing of the taxation of cryptocurrency transactions for another year than earlier planned,” a DPK source told The Korea Times. The move is expected to thwart the ministry's plan to impose a 20 perc

Sep 27, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Korea set to delay taxation on gains from crypto trading
Economy

KDB, IBK, Eximbank, KIC pressured to leave Seoul

Korea Development Bank headquarters in Seoul / YonhapPresident Moon to discuss relocation plan next monthBy Park Jae-hyukPrime Minister Kim Boo-kyum's recent remarks on moving state-run financial institutions out of the Seoul metropolitan area are raising concerns that such a move will make it more difficult to attract talent and foreign investors, according to industry sources and experts, Monday.“Foreigners will avoid investing in Korea, if they have to visit multiple regions that are distant from each other to meet officials of state-run financial institution,” said an insider of one of the state-run financial institutions facing relocation. He cited the National Pension Service (NPS) Investment Management which was moved to Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, as an example. The pension fund has been suffering for several years from the outflow of investment experts following its relocation, eventually deciding to hire inexperienced fund managers to cope with the employee shortage.Specifically, Kim's remarks are unnerving the employees of Korea Development Bank (KDB), the I

Sep 27, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
KDB, IBK, Eximbank, KIC pressured to leave Seoul
Economy

INTERVIEW Korea to boost standing in global procurement market

Public Procurement Service Administrator Kim Chung-woo / Courtesy of Public Procurement ServiceProcurement agency helps export of virus containment goods By Lee Kyung-min The government will continue assisting local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the export of key goods needed to contain the pandemic, as part of efforts to help the country become a leader in the global procurement market, the head of the state-run procurement service agency said Monday.The pandemic-sparked health crisis has awakened the need for supply of key medical and protective equipment, a task facilitated by Public Procurement Service (PPS) amid its years-long preparedness to create an ecosystem whereby effective organization of purchase and public bidding programs bolster sustainable, innovative growth.The agency places top priority on product quality assurance and by extension competitiveness of the producers, a goal strengthened by a rigorous review of purchase and public bidding records. “We maintain stringent management of innovative products that will help Korea boost standing

Sep 27, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
[INTERVIEW] Korea to boost standing in global procurement market
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