The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said on November 20 that it will further strengthen the control to scale down Korea’s short-term, overnight-based money markets by diversifying ways for borrowing and lending between financial firms.To curb the liquidity problem, the financial regulator ironed

The local unit of Citi Bank said on November 19 that the US-based bank will reduce nearly 10 percent of its branches in Korea through November this year. This decision is mainly due to its declining profits in the local financial market.The local unit of Citi Bank said that they had about 196 branch

Following oversupply in Q1-Q3 2013, DRAM chips are in short supply in Q4, and the trend is expected to continue in 2014. As a result, DRAM prices are likely to continue to rise, and memory manufacturers will probably record better performance next year.According to market research firm iSuppli on No

Daewoo International is being investigated for creating a paper company in a tax haven to create a slush fund. On November 18, the Foreign Criminal Affairs Department of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office in Seoul announced that it is “... investigating Daewoo International for creating a paper company

A domestic company filed a class action suit against global banks in New York, US accusing them of “currency manipulation” and requesting compensation. This is the first time a Korean company has filed a class action suit against global banks in the US for currency manipulation.On November 17 (local

The number of foreign-owned shares in the Seoul bourse has inched up throughout November this year, mainly due to their record-long buying rally from August to October.According to data released by the Korea Exchange (KRX), foreign investors bought a net 4.66 trillion won (US$4.36 billion) in the ci

Korea is reportedly to be the 7th largest country in shadow financing in comparison with GDP. The rate of increase is said to be accelerating each year.According to an annual report titled “Global Shadow Banking Monitoring Report 2013” published by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) on November 14

Bank of Korea governor Kim Choong-soo predicted that the household debt problem would not lead to a crisis while the growth of the Korean economy will regain its pace in or before late 2014. He held a press conference on November 15 at the Bank of Korea Human Resources Development Center located in

Korea’s financial watchdog plans to probe into a Kazakhstani bank acquired by Kookmin Bank, which currently suffers from huge losses. According to financial industry sources, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) plans to send two high-level executives to Kazakhstan next month to discuss the opera

Samsung Electronics continues to dominate the global NAND flash market during the third quarter of this year thanks to the rise in the demand for mobile chips. According to market research firm DRAMeXchange, Samsung Electronics’ sales in the NAND flash industry increased by 10.5% from a quarter earl

Bank of Korea governor Kim Choong-soo said on November 14, 2013 that Korea’s large-scale current account surplus as of late is derived from emerging economies rather than advanced countries, and thus it is stretch to say that the surplus is based on the depreciation of the won. He added that Korea i

“The party is over,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Hyun Oh-seok on November 14. He was referring to debts owed by public corporations. The reason for his remarks lies in his intention to reform the public sector. Last year, the IMF published international guidelines

Moody’s senior vice president Tom Byrne said that both household debt and debts incurred by state-owned enterprises could drag down the Korean economy next year. The remarks were made at the 11th Annual Conference, organized by Moody’s and the Korea Investors Service, and held at the Conrad Seoul on

The Financial Supervisory Service said on November 14 that it has taken disciplinary measures against the Seoul branch of JPMorgan for disclosing its clients’ deal information without their consent. According to the Korean financial watchdog, the local office of the US investment bank provided, with

Korea’s central bank froze the key interest rate for the sixth consecutive month on November 14, as the domestic economy shows signs of moderate recovery amid low inflationary pressure.Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Kim Choong-soo and his six fellow currency policymakers unanimously agreed to keep the

KakaoTalk is likely to be listed on the KOSDAQ as early as the first half of next year. The company’s listing is expected to have a symbolic meaning in that the KOSDAQ is trying to become a technology stock market. On November 12, a senior official at the Korea Exchange (KRX) confirmed, “KakaoTalk w

UK-based Standard Chartered (SC) will reduce its operations in the Asian market. In line with the prospect that the growth rate in Asia is likely to slow down, the company has scaled back its income growth target, and is planning to reduce the number of local branches in some Asian countries. In a N

“Unlike the past, new investments are being made for advanced nations such as the US and Northern Europe. Shale gas, weakened competition in cheap labor, and changes in innovation will make significant differences in the Korean economy, too.”Founder and former chairman of Emerging Market Management

“Internally, we’re seeing 1,040 as the break-even point. Most of the products are made in the country, so there are no big concerns. However, if the exchange rate for won keeps dropping, it can make people anxious,” said an official at Samsung Electronics.“80% of automobile industry has to do with e

LTE telephony is growing fast in China, a land of opportunity for smartphone manufacturers. Competition between Apple and Samsung Electronics is likely to heat up in what is sure to be the world’s largest LTE market soon. Recently, China Mobile put an ad on its official website that it will launch i