Friday, August 24, 2007

South Korea Gives US Beef The All Clear

by Stewart Douglas

South Korea has announced today it has given US beef the all clear, paving the way for beef imports from the US to resume.
South Korea had until now enforced a ban on beef products from the US after the discovery of BSE at a US plant earlier this month.
However, after assurances from high ranking US [...]

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Bank Of Korea In Shock Interest Rate Hike

by Stewart Douglas

The Bank of Korea has today announced yet another interest rate rise, despite analyst predictions that rates would remain consistent.
In the shock announcement this morning, the Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Committee decided to raise interest rates to 5.00% to help reign in inflation.
The Bank had previously maintained interest rates at 4.5% since their last [...]

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Hyundai Motor all set to start its commercial vehicle business in India

by Vipin Agnihotri

Korean automotive giant Hyundai Motor is all set to begin its commercial vehicle business in India. According to sources, company has already started talking with Eicher group regarding a stake in Eicher Motors. Theoretically speaking, Eicher Motor’s is India’s third biggest commercial vehicle maker.
Not so long ago, DaimlerChrysler and Volvo has also shown keen interest [...]

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Corporate earnings worry Asian investors

by Brian Turner

The train bombings in Mumbai seemed not to have had much effect on Indian equities markets, at least in the short term, after the nation’s finance minister said that the bombings would not harm the economy there. The BSE Sensex index was up 3 percent Wednesday to 10,930.09.
Elsewhere in Asia, however, some equities markets [...]

Monday, May 29, 2006

Nikkei, Karachi down; rest of Asia advances on day

by Brian Turner

Most Asian equities markets saw gains on Monday, with Tokyo again being the exception as the Topix index was slightly higher but the Nikkei was down by 55.08 points on the day.
In South Korea, the Kospi Index added 0.5 percent to 1,329.22 as foreign buyers purchased more than they sold for the first time in [...]

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Investors continue to avoid risk in Asian markets

by Brian Turner

Asian equities markets were down again on Thursday as investors continued to look for less risky places to put their money. The exception was the BSE 30 Index in India, which added 0.88 percent to 10,666.32 after a rally late in the day.
In Thailand the SET Index fell 1.8 percent to 701.03, it’s lowest [...]

Monday, May 22, 2006

Asian markets lower on investor fears

by Brian Turner

Equities markets in Asia saw substantial declines on Monday as investors interested in avoiding risks exited emerging markets. Declines were widespread throughout the region.
In Mumbai, the market fell 10 percent during the day, causing trade to be suspended for an hour. Once trade resumed, the market recovered some but still closed 4.2 percent [...]

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Samsung rapped for hindering investigation

by Brian Turner

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission levied a fine of Won60 million on Samsung Electronics on Tuesday for “systematically hindering” an investigation into the electronics giant’s unfair contracting practices.
The investigation began as an inquiry into accusations of subcontracting irregularities between Samsung and its semiconductor-manufacturing subsidiary, Semes. According to the FTC, however, last November [...]

Thursday, September 15, 2005

South Korea and Taiwan equity markets seek status upgrade

by Brian Turner

The FTSE said on Wednesday that South Korea and Taiwan will not be upgraded to developed market status until at least 2007. This is not expected to have much impact on the two nations’ equities markets, it will delay the time when longer-term redistribution of some global fund flows could begin.
The upgrade [...]

Wednesday, September 7, 2005

East asia stock markets see gains

by Brian Turner

In Asian equities markets, South Korea, Shanghai, and Bangkok all saw gains on the day.
South Korea’s composite index was up 1.8 percent to 1,142.99, an all-time closing high, on a volume of 407.5 million shares traded and with exporters leading the way.
Shanghai’s composite index also gained 1.8 percent, to 1,194.31 on [...]

Thursday, July 21, 2005

China revaluation benefits Asian currencies

by Brian Turner

As predicted, China’s revaluation of its currency has benefited other Asian currencies, at least temporarily.
While analysts say that the currencies, some of which rose sharply after Beijing’s announcement on Thursday, will continue to rise for several weeks, so called “hot money” that has been flowing into Asia betting on a revaluation could begin [...]

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Hyundai signs with Guangzhou

by Brian Turner

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor on Tuesday signed a preliminary agreement with Guangzhou Motor Group of China to cooperate in a joint venture to manufacture commercial vehicles.
The $1.24 billion project is meant to satisfy what Hyundai called an “explosive” demand for commercial vehicles in China. In anticipation of an expanding infrastructure and the [...]

Thursday, June 9, 2005

Asia markets varied as poltics impacts equities

by Brian Turner

Equities markets in Shanghai and Seoul were up on Thursday, while Taipei, Manila, and Tokyo fell on the day.
The composite index in Shanghai rose 1.4 percent to 1,131.052, after advance of 8.4 percent on Wednesday; that was the largest 1-day advance in Taipei in 3 years.
The market in Seoul, meanwhile, was [...]

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

South Korea Bank advises against foreign investment in Korean banks

by Brian Turner

A report from the Institute for Monetary and Economic Research, a think-tank sponsored by the Bank of Korea, South Korea’s central bank, has found that private equity funds have done little for the nation’s banking sector even as they have contributed to the country’s financial stability.
Due to this finding, the Institute has advised [...]

Wednesday, May 4, 2005

KEB executive was secretly filmed in bank deal information gathering operation

by Brian Turner

Cameras and listening devices were found last month hidden in the walls of Korea Exchange Bank’s chief executive’s office.
The cameras and microphones, along with a computer to transmit the results of the surveillance, were discovered while the office was being redecorated for the new president and chief executive of the bank.
It [...]

Friday, April 15, 2005

Samsung suffers profit weaknesses

by Brian Turner

Weak pricing power, oversupply, and an unfavorable exchange rate were among the reasons given for unfavorable figures when Samsung Electronics released it’s first quarter earnings report.
The report was filled with bad news, including that operating profits in its liquid crystal display division were 97 percent lower and in its semiconductor business they fell [...]

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Standard Charter moves on Korea First Bank

by Brian Turner

In the biggest take-over of the Korean financial sector, UK bank Standard Chartered will spend $3.3bn (£1.8bn) to buy Korea First Bank (KFB).
According to the BBC in UK bank seals South Korean deal Korea First Bank has:

- 3.3 million retail customers
- 6% of the country’s banking market
- 404 branches
- 2,100 ATMs
- 1.1 million credit cards [...]