Hanwha Life Insurance has become the first domestic insurance company to venture into overseas banking.The company announced on April 24 that it will acquire a 40 percent stake in Nobu Bank held by Lippo Group, the sixth largest conglomerate in Indonesia. The process of equity investment will be fin
The amount of debts owed by households and businesses in Korea was more than twice Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP). About half of the nation’s companies were unable to pay even interest on their debts with money they earned from sales, revealing their vulnerability.The ratio of private credit t
The possibility of exporting South Korea’s indigenous helicopter, Surion, to Iraq is increasing. Following visits by high-ranking Iraqi military officials, the Iraqi Defense Minister’s visit to South Korea has heightened discussions about the introduction of the Surion. The potential first export of
Twenty years ago, the wage level of workers in South Korea was not even half of that in Japan, but now it has surpassed Japan. The wage gap between large, medium, and small-sized enterprises has further widened due to the cumulative wage increases in large companies.On March 17, the Korea Enterprise
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com -- Ed.The Fed's rate cut playbook emphasizes cuts sooner rather than later and further tightening. With this in mind, we anticipate bullish steepening of yield curves starting from 2Q24. The US and EU are
Last year, South Korea’s gross national income (GNI) per capita reached US$33,000, marking a rebound for the first time in a year. The annual real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was recorded at 1.4 percent.According to the “2023 Preliminary 4th Quarter and Annual National Income” report re
For four consecutive years, South Korea has maintained its position as the top country among 34 advanced and emerging markets worldwide in terms of household debt relative to gross domestic product (GDP). As of the end of last year, the ratio stood at 100.1 percent, slightly lower than the previous
The Namdong district of Incheon Metropolitan City houses the Namdong National Industrial Complex, playing a pivotal role in driving the Korean economy. The industrial complex, established in December 1989, is a key metropolitan industrial area with an annual production value of approximately 30 tril
For the first time in 25 years since the foreign exchange crisis, South Korea’s economic growth rate last year fell behind Japan. However, projections indicate South Korea is expected to outpace Japan again this year. Due to prolonged low growth, Japan’s economic size has slipped to the place of fou
South Korea has climbed to the third highest position among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in terms of the proportion of corporate taxes to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), marking the highest level in the last 50 years.According to the report “Current St
The Korea Development Institute (KDI) has maintained its economic growth forecast for South Korea at 2.2 percent for this year. However, it has slightly lowered its forecast for private consumption, citing prolonged high interest rates as a contributing factor.According to the “Economic Outlook” rel
Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Systems announced on Feb. 13 that they signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation in the defense industry with the Saudi Ministry of National Defense during the World Defense Show 2024, a comprehensive defense exhibition in the Middle East held
Daewoo Engineering & Construction announced on Feb. 8 that Chairman Jung Won-joo visited India from the 31st of last month to the 6th of this month, where he held meetings with several business figures, including Vice Foreign Minister Dammu Lavi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and executives fro
On Feb. 8, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) unveiled its agenda for the year, intending to elevate the criteria for designating business conglomerates subject to disclosure. Criticism has been directed at the regulations governing the disclosure of business groups as they are unique to South Korea. T
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com -- Ed.While Secretary Yellen's key goal in 2023 was to secure TGA cash despite a massive fiscal deficit, the one for 2024 is to be improving the fiscal balance by using the tax revenue surplus. This implie
Cho Dong-chul, the president of Korea Development Institute (KDI), publicly issued a stark warning on government debt, going so far as to state, “The country will collapse.” In particular, he cautioned that South Korea’s national debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio could skyrocket to over 250
Following the election of an anti-China candidate in the Taiwanese presidential election, the geopolitical risks associated with Taiwan, a central player in the global semiconductor supply chain, have elevated the roles of Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam as new global
Experts are anticipating that the economic growth rate for South Korea will reach 2.2 percent this year. This aligns with the forecasts presented by the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), both indicating a 2.2 percent growth. It slightly surpasses the Bank of Korea’s projection of
South Korea’s economy continued to grow slowly throughout the year of 2023 with an annualized growth rate in the low 1 percent range. Exports are expecting it to continue to improve, but a strong rebound is unlikely this year as domestic demand remains weak.The Bank of Korea (BOK) released prelimina