my timesThe Korea Times

Economy

PolicyCryptocurrencyOthers
  • Economy

    Gov't wary of chip boom liquidity spilling into housing market

    Policymakers are growing increasingly concerned that a wave of liquidity generated by the ongoing semiconductor boom could spill over into Korea's already overheated housing market, fueled by record-high bonus payouts and low-interest employee loans at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Industry estimates suggest that bonus payouts and employee housing loan programs at the two chipmakers could unleash as much as 53 trillion won ($34.6 billion) in liquidity by next year, raising worries about further pressure on the housing market. The figure includes about 23 trillion won in bonus-related cash and more than 30 trillion won in low-interest housing loans available to employees. The estimates come as both companies prepare to roll out large bonus packages driven by the global artificial intelligence-driven semiconductor boom. SK hynix, which allocates 10 percent of its annual operating profit to employee bonuses, is expected to set aside about 26 trillion won for incentive payments based on forecasts that it will post an operating profit of 260 trillion won this year. The company also offers

    3 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    Gov't wary of chip boom liquidity spilling into housing market
  • Economy

    Over 200 stocks face delisting as penny stock crackdown kicks off in July

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    Over 200 stocks face delisting as penny stock crackdown kicks off in July
  • Economy

    8% youth savings plan faces test as stock market booms

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    8% youth savings plan faces test as stock market booms
  • Economy

    Exports up 60% in first 20 days of June on robust chip sales

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Exports up 60% in first 20 days of June on robust chip sales
  • Economy

    Seoul shares sharply up late Monday morning amid uncertainty over US-Iran talks

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Seoul shares sharply up late Monday morning amid uncertainty over US-Iran talks
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

Korea to dole out cash handouts to ordinary people next week

This Aug. 2 file photo shows a sign about the use of emergency cash handouts at a store in a traditional market in Jongro District, Seoul. YonhapSouth Korea said Monday it will begin providing emergency relief funds to people in the bottom 88 percent income bracket next week in the latest move to help them cope with the fallout from the pandemic.The government will begin to provide up to 250,000 won ($215) per recipient on Sept. 6 as part of an 11 trillion-won cash handout program, according to the interior and finance ministries. The money must be spent by end-December.In July, the country drew up an extra budget of 34.9 trillion won, the second of its kind this year, to finance another round of relief funds to support pandemic-hit small merchants and most other people.In May last year, the country doled out 14.3 trillion won in relief funds to all households to help them tackle the economic headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic.The government earlier said it will provide relief aid to ordinary people before the Chuseok holiday scheduled for Sept. 20-22, a move aimed at spurring spen

Aug 30, 2021
Korea to dole out cash handouts to ordinary people next week
Economy

Discrepancy emerges between fiscal and monetary policies

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, left, and Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol speak with participants in a meeting at the Korea Federation of Banks headquarters in Seoul in this February file photo. Joint Press CorpsBy Park Jae-hyukControversy is growing over what some call a discrepancy between the nation's fiscal and monetary policies, after the central bank raised the key interest rate last week, despite the government's plan to increase its expenditures next year.According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the government has decided to continue its expansionary fiscal policies, with the record-high annual state budget of 605 trillion won ($520 billion) for 2022. The amount is even larger than the sum of this year's regular budget of 558 trillion won and the two rounds of supplementary budget, collectively worth 46 trillion won.Before the Chuseok long weekend in September, a 250,000 won ($215) disaster relief stimulus will be distributed to 88 percent of the population, as part of the government's efforts to support the economic recovery of needy house

Aug 30, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Discrepancy emerges between fiscal and monetary policies
Economy

Cryptocurrency exchange Upbit to continue strong lead

The headquarters of Upbit, located in southern Seoul / YonhapBy Anna J. ParkUpbit's top-rank position among local cryptocurrency exchanges is expected to continue, as it surpasses other coin exchanges in terms of transactions and number of customers by a wide margin. According to the latest figures received by conservative opposition People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Yoon Doo-hyun from four major cryptocurrency exchanges ― Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit ― the number of newly registered customers at Upbit from April to July stood at 1.77 million, far exceeding those of Bithumb at 450,175, Coinone at 171,446 and Korbit 44,864.The volume of deposits held by the exchanges also shows Upbit's invincible top lead among local coin exchanges. Upbit's customer deposits as the end of last month stood at 5.26 trillion won ($4.5 billion), more than five times that of Bithumb at 1.34 trillion won. The figure was more than 21 times of that of Coinone and 77 times that of Korbit at the end of July. Even the aggregate number of the three other exchanges only accounted for about a quarter of Upbit's d

Aug 29, 2021By Anna J. Park
Cryptocurrency exchange Upbit to continue strong lead
Economy

Brokerages expect Bank of Korea to deliver another rate hike in November

Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol speaks during a press conference after holding a rate-setting meeting at its headquarters in central Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of BOKBy Anna J. ParkFollowing the Bank of Korea (BOK) hiking its key rate by 0.25 percentage points to 0.75 percent last Thursday, the market's attention is turning to if and when the central bank will impose yet another rate hike. Most brokerages forecast that the central bank will raise the key rate in November, in a bid to rein in soaring household debt and home prices and improve the financial imbalancesWhile the BOK's Monetary Policy Board is set to have two rate-setting meetings in October and November, more than 80 percent of the country's 20 brokerage research centers that published reports on the matter forecast that the next interest rate raise will be implemented at either of the two remaining meetings. And most expected the November meeting is more likely than October. “Given the wording during the BOK governor's press conference as well as the announcement, it is highly likely that the central bank

Aug 29, 2021By Anna J. Park
Brokerages expect Bank of Korea to deliver another rate hike in November
Economy

Korea-ASEAN Financial Cooperation Center project gains momentum

Seen is an aerial view of the central business district in Jakarta, Indonesia. gettyimagesbankBy Park Jae-hyukThe government is going all out to avoid any further delay in its ambitious plan to open the Korea-ASEAN Financial Cooperation Center, which has been pursued over the past three years as part of the Moon Jae-in administration's efforts to boost ties with Southeast Asian countries and India.A recent document from the Mission of the Republic of Korea to the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in Jakarta showed that it had invited tenders from Korean-owned construction firms in Indonesia until last Friday to open a separate space for the center inside the mission's office in the Sentral Senayan 2 building by the end of this year, with a budget of around $340,000.The mission plans to announce the winning bidder on Sept. 6. According to its notice, the winner should sign a contract with the mission within 10 days of the announcement, and finish construction within 90 days of beginning.In February, the mission recruited two Korean employees to work for the center startin

Aug 29, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Korea-ASEAN Financial Cooperation Center project gains momentum
Economy

Contribution What are the investment implications of rising global inflation?

Certain EM central banks have begun to raise rates or signal normalizationGabriela Santos, Global Market Strategist at J.P.Morgan Asset Management. Courtesy of J.P.Morgan Asset ManagementBy Gabriela Santos After a sharp drop in 2020, global inflation is rising due to recovering energy, surging goods and normalizing services prices. This reflation signals building momentum in the global economy, a support for credit and equities, especially of cyclical regions like Europe, Japan and emerging market (EM) ex North Asia. Most central banks will likely remain patient, but certain EM central banks have begun to raise rates or signal normalization. Short-term, these local EM bond prices have suffered, but once the normalization path is priced in, higher yields and more supported currencies present an opportunity for improving yield.After averaging 1.6 percent in 2020 and falling to 0.9 percent in November, global headline inflation moved up to 2.7 percent in April. Three components have been driving up global prices.First, energy: After starting 2020 at $68 a barrel, Brent crude prices coll

Aug 29, 2021
[Contribution] What are the investment implications of rising global inflation?
Economy

CONTRIBUTION Where is inflation heading?

'No single measure can truly forecast the future'Meera Pandit, Global Market Strategist at J.P.Morgan Asset Management / J.P.Morgan Asset ManagementBy Meera Pandit One of the most prevalent concerns among investors today is where inflation is heading next. The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) watches inflation expectations closely, in part because expectations can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Consumer expectations, measured by the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers, tend to be the highest, currently at 2.8 percent. This reflects the pricing pressures consumers face in their daily lives, which may not be fully represented in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) due to its composition.For example, median existing home prices are up an astonishing 23.6 percent, year-on-year, and median new home prices are up 18.1 percent over the same period, while the equivalent housing component in CPI is up just 2.1 percent. That is because shelter prices are not measured by the costs of actual units sold, but rather what homeowners surveyed think their home would rent for if they rented it out (o

Aug 28, 2021
[CONTRIBUTION] Where is inflation heading?
Economy

Korea needs to raise key rate further: FSC chairman nominee

Koh Seung-beom, nominee for chief of the Financial Services Commission, answers questions from lawmakers during a National Assembly confirmation hearing in Seoul, Friday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungFinancial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman nominee Koh Seung-beom reiterated his hawkish viewpoint on the nation's monetary policy, saying the recent key rate hike from the Bank of Korea (BOK) is not enough to resolve the deepening financial imbalance.“Personally, increasing the rate only once will not help alleviate the nation's financial imbalance, and of much more importance is the future policy direction,” Koh told lawmakers during a National Assembly confirmation hearing. As widely expected, the BOK raised the benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent on Thursday for the first time in almost three years.He served as the BOK's monetary policy board member from April 2016 to August 2021 before having recently been nominated as the new leader of the watchdog.While he didn't specify the timing of an additional rate increase by the central bank, Koh expected the BOK to do

Aug 27, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Korea needs to raise key rate further: FSC chairman nominee
Economy

National Pension Service to expand alternative investments

National Pension Service headquarters building in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province / YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The National Pension Service (NPS), the world's third-largest pension fund with over 900 trillion won ($769 billion) in assets under management, is seeking to diversify its investment channels with private equity funds (PEFs) and alternative investment targets. The NPS is seeking to increase the proportion of its alternative investments to up to 15 percent of its total operating assets by 2024, up from 10.4 percent this year, according to sources familiar with the issue, Friday. Its gradual shift towards new asset classes reflects growing demands for joint equity financing, deal sourcing and due diligence from overseas investors, with whom the pension fund's financing and operating capability can be enhanced. The NPS plans to establish a division which will explore the best possible opportunities beyond the fund's conventional investment metrics. The new unit will be launched upon the passage of the revised presidential ordinances governing the pension fund. The new team wil

Aug 27, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
National Pension Service to expand alternative investments
Economy

Rate hike to hit jeonse tenants, young people

A branch of Hana Bank in Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minLow-income small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as young people are expected to suffer the most from the central bank's Thursday rate hike decision, economist and analysts said, Friday.Jeonse tenants say their mortgage interest payments will spike in the short term compared to that of homeowners. Unique to Korea, jeonse is a housing rental system whereby tenants pay a refundable lump sum deposit instead of monthly rent. Jeonse tenants often rely on loans to afford the hefty deposits borrowing up to 80 percent of the total deposit amount payable to their landlords. For example, the interest total is 20 million won ($17,000), on a loan of 400 million won at a 5 percent interest rate. A key rate increase of 25 basis points will translate to nearly 4 trillion won in interest for borrowers. Korea Economic Research Institute, a local think tank, says if borrowing rates rise by 1 percentage point, the total defaulted household loans is expected to rise up to 5.4 trillion won, with the delinquency rate soarin

Aug 27, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Rate hike to hit jeonse tenants, young people
previous page
790791792793794
next page

Most Read in Economy