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  • Economy

    DWS Group bullish on Korea logistics, upbeat on stock market reforms

    DWS Group said Monday that European real estate is expected to deliver annual returns of 9 percent over the next five years, offering fresh investment opportunities for Korean investors despite their recent caution toward alternative assets. Speaking during a press meeting at the International Finance Center in Seoul, officials from the German asset manager noted that European real estate has become increasingly attractive as supply remains tight across major sectors, while demand continues to be supported by structural factors. Clemens Schaefer, global head of real estate for the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa at DWS Group, said vacancy rates in Europe's residential, logistics and office sectors are significantly lower than those in the U.S. But new supply is expected to remain limited, as high development costs and relatively low expected returns have discouraged developers from launching new projects. The company forecast that European real estate will generate annual returns of 9 percent over the next five years, compared with 7.2 percent for the U.S. and 7 percent for

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    DWS Group bullish on Korea logistics, upbeat on stock market reforms
  • Policy

    Gov't newly designates 3 areas in Gyeonggi as speculative zones

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Gov't newly designates 3 areas in Gyeonggi as speculative zones
  • Economy

    Seoul shares open tad higher on Wall Street gains as Middle East tensions ease

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Seoul shares open tad higher on Wall Street gains as Middle East tensions ease
  • Economy

    Industrial output down in May on chip volume adjustments

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Industrial output down in May on chip volume adjustments
  • Policy

    What's left to curb weak won?

    4 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    What's left to curb weak won?
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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

Koreans feel pinch of rising housing costs amid economic downturn

Apartment buildings in Seoul / YonhapBuying a house is often a competitive, costly and stressful process, especially so in Seoul, South Korea's epicenter of politics, business, culture and education.For decades, buying an apartment in a decent neighborhood in the capital city has not been easy for a typical family, but it has become an even more elusive goal under the administration of liberal President Moon Jae-in that took office in May 2017. Moon has made clear that houses should be for those who live in them, not for speculators, rolling out 24 rounds of measures to cool down the real estate market, including a tax hike, tighter lending rules and regulations on apartment reconstruction. Prices of both home purchases and rentals, however, have continued their upward march in the Seoul metropolitan area, home to nearly half of the nation's 51.6 million population, supporting the long-held belief that putting money in real estate is a smart investment. The average apartment price per 3.3 square meters in the capital soared 58 percent to 41.6 million won (US$37,585) during Moon's thr

Dec 2, 2020
Koreans feel pinch of rising housing costs amid economic downturn
  • Major banks' home rental loans grow at record pace this year
Economy

Korea's economic recovery momentum gains traction: finance minister

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki speaks during a meeting at the government complex in Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapThe South Korean economy is seeing its recovery momentum gain traction on improving exports, the finance minister said Wednesday.Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki also pledged the government's efforts to continue to prop up an economic recovery into the fourth quarter and next year."The South Korean economy shows that its recovery momentum has gained traction in the face of difficult conditions," Hong said at a meeting on the property market.Asia's fourth-largest economy grew at a faster-than-estimated pace of 2.1 percent in the July-September period from three months earlier, according to central bank data.The country's exports rebounded by rising 4 percent in November on-year on the back of robust sales of chips.The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday forecast the Korean economy would retreat 1.1 percent this year, sharper than its September estimate of a 1 percent contraction.But despite the downward revision, the OECD said the Korean economy is

Dec 2, 2020
Korea's economic recovery momentum gains traction: finance minister
  • Korea's consumer prices grow at faster pace in November
Economy

Korea's consumer prices grow at faster pace in November

A man wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus walks through an underground shopping mall in Seoul, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. APSouth Korea's consumer prices grew at a faster pace in November than a month earlier as prices of agricultural products and service charges went up, data showed Wednesday.The consumer price index rose 0.6 percent on-year last month, compared with a 0.1 percent on-year gain in the previous month, according to the data by Statistics Korea.In October, the country's inflation rate grew at the slowest pace in four months due to state subsidies for mobile phone bills.Compared with a month earlier, the country's consumer inflation declined 0.1 percent last month following a 0.6 percent on-month fall in October.Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and oil prices, gained 0.6 percent last month from the previous year."In November, the growth of consumer inflation picked up as the impact of one-off state subsidies for communications fees receded and prices of farm products rose," Ahn Hyung-joon, a senior Statistics Korea official, said at a pres

Dec 2, 2020
Korea's consumer prices grow at faster pace in November
  • Korea's economic recovery momentum gains traction: finance minister
Economy

OECD sees sharper-than-expected retreat for S. Korean economy this year

gettyimagesbankThe Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday forecast a sharper-than-expected contraction for the South Korean economy this year, citing the fallout of the new coronavirus outbreak.The OECD expected Asia's fourth-largest economy to retreat 1.1 percent this year, steeper than its September forecast of a 1 percent contraction. The Paris-based club of major economies predicted the Korean economy to grow 2.8 percent next year and 3.4 percent in 2022.Despite the downward revision, the OECD said the South Korean economy is expected to contract by the smallest margin this year among its 36 member countries, citing the country's efforts to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.“(South Korea's) effective measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 have limited the estimated fall in gross domestic product to just over 1 percent in 2020, the smallest decline in the OECD,” the organization said.The OECD's growth forecast is on a par with the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s projection. Last week, the BOK, South Korea's central bank, revised up its 2

Dec 1, 2020
OECD sees sharper-than-expected retreat for S. Korean economy this year
Economy

Tesla supplier Myoung Shin tops IPO subscription rates

By Anna J. Park Following a bullish run of the nation's benchmark KOSPI since mid-November, another record-breaking number made stock market history with Tesla supplier Myoung Shin Industry's IPO process.The local automotive parts company that owns unique hot stamping and quenching technology has been gaining much interest from investors, as the firm supplies auto parts for Tesla's Model 3 sedans, along with other car manufacturers including Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors. According to the firm, about 37 percent of the firm's yearly revenue of 775 billion won ($700 million) in 2019 came from Tesla, while the remaining 63 percent came from Hyundai and Kia. Reflecting the ever-rising global interest in electric vehicles (EVs) and their rosy outlook, Myoung Shin's IPO subscription rate for retail investors reached 1476.64:1, an all-time high for the KOSPI, easily replacing the previous record of 1318.29:1 set in early November with the IPO of Kyochon Chicken.A total 15.967 trillion won ($14.43 billion) was gathered for the allotment of the firm's shares during the two days on Nov. 27 and

Dec 1, 2020By Anna J. Park
Tesla supplier Myoung Shin tops IPO subscription rates
Economy

SC Korea to roll out high-security mobile banking service

A worker from Standard Chartered Bank Korea explains how the bank's new mobile phone app operates with higher security at the bank's branch in Seoul. Courtesy of Standard Chartered Bank KoreaBy Lee Kyung-min Standard Chartered Bank Korea said Tuesday that some of its customers will be able to use an app providing safer, high-security mobile banking services, courtesy of a chipset that carries a perfect unpredictable random number generator.The Seoul-based branch, a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based Standard Chartered said the mobile banking services will have 5G quantum security technology applied, a first for a commercial bank here.The services will be offered to users of the Samsung Galaxy A Quantum smartphone, in which a quantum random number generator (QRNG) chipset is embedded, offering the strongest level of encryption and protection.SK Telecom, the country's largest mobile carrier, will be sole provider of the android-based mobile phone that offers the services.QRNG is a technology that creates unpredictable quantum random numbers without patterns by utilizing the charac

Dec 1, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
SC Korea to roll out high-security mobile banking service
Economy

Exports drive Korea's GDP rebound in Q3

By Lee Min-hyungThe economy will show signs of steady growth in the latter half of the year, as expectations for strong exports from the manufacturing sector remain in place despite renewed fears of the further spread of COVID-19 here, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday.The third wave of the coronavirus is weighing on the economy again, but growing signs of a rebound in exports of chips and vehicles could offset weakening domestic demand, according to the central bank. The BOK recently revised up its third-quarter GDP growth target to 2.1 percent, a remarkable turnaround from a contraction of 3.2 percent in the previous quarter.“We expect the economy to see a gradual improvement trajectory in the fourth quarter thanks to strong exports and equipment investment,” said Park Sung-bin, a director at the BOK's economic statistics division. “But visible uncertainties remain over the worldwide coronavirus spread.”Exports increased by 16 percent during the third quarter, up 16 percent year-on-year, marking the largest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 1986

Dec 1, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
Exports drive Korea's GDP rebound in Q3
Economy

Mirae Asset wins lawsuit against Anbang in US

Mirae Asset Financial Group headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Mirae Asset Financial GroupBy Lee Min-hyungMirae Asset Global Investments will be able to get back the $580 million (642 billion won) deposit it paid to Anbang Insurance Group for purchasing 15 luxury hotels in the United States, after winning a high-stakes lawsuit against the Chinese insurer, the Korean company said Tuesday.Under the ruling from Delaware Chancery Court, Anbang failed to abide by specific terms of the contract it signed with Mirae Asset over the sales of the hotels.The court said Mirae Asset is eligible to receive the money from Anbang along with other transaction-related expenses worth $3.68 million. Mirae Asset will also be able to receive all the legal costs incurred during the months-long battle against Anbang, according to the ruling.In September last year, Mirae Asset clinched the mega deal worth $5.8 billion to purchase the 15 luxury hotels Anbang owns in major cities across the U.S. This made headlines as it was the largest-ever overseas alternative investment by a Korean company.The deal was sch

Dec 1, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
Mirae Asset wins lawsuit against Anbang in US
Economy

EXCLUSIVE Lone Star rebuts Korean government on settlement proposal

Lone Star Funds' settlement proposal sent to the Korean government last month / Courtesy of Justice Party lawmaker Bae Jin-gyoUS PEF confirms it seeks to resolve 8-year-long conflictBy Park Jae-hyukLone Star Funds managing director Christina PrettoLone Star Funds has officially verified the authenticity of its latest settlement proposal to the Korean government after the administration refused the offer, raising doubts on the validity of the document containing it.Christina Pretto, the global head of communications and public affairs at the United States private equity firm (PEF), told The Korea Times via email Tuesday that it was true her company sent the document written under the name of its general counsel Michael Thomson.In the proposal, the U.S. firm asked Korea to pay $870 million to end their international legal dispute, which started in 2012 after the Texas-based fund filed a case with the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). In the case Lone Star claimed the Korean government should pay it $4.68 billion in compensation for the latter's “

Dec 1, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
[EXCLUSIVE] Lone Star rebuts Korean government on settlement proposal
Economy

Bitcoin surges past $19,800, approaching record territory

Representations of virtual currency Bitcoin are placed on U.S. Dollar banknotes in this illustration taken May 26, 2020. REUTERS-YonhapThe price of digital currency Bitcoin hit a 2020 high Monday, peaking at over $19,800 per digital coin, after dropping below $17,000 on Friday.The price of the crypto token has been rallying for several weeks, increasing by more than 170% in value in this year."Our thesis is that Bitcoin is gold 2.0, that it will disrupt gold," Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of crypto exchange Gemini, told CNBC Monday. Winklevoss said he believes that Bitcoin could rise to $500,00 per digital coin."At $18,000 Bitcoin, it's a hold or at least if you don't have any it's a buy opportunity, because we think there's a 25x from here," Winklevoss added.The digital currency hit an all-time peak of $19,864.15, breaking its prior record set in December, 2017.Three years ago, the cryptocurrency shot up in value approaching $20,000 per digital coin before dropping to less than $4,000 over the next year.Since the U.S. presidential election, enthusiasm and the willingness of online p

Dec 1, 2020
Bitcoin surges past $19,800, approaching record territory
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