The Financial Services Commission, which decided on Aug. 27 to extend its stock short selling ban, said on Aug. 30 that the extension is a temporary measure to respond to the impact of COVID-19 and this point will be adequately explained to foreign investors so that their negative view can be minimi
Last year, the number of those aged 65 and over accounted for more than 15 percent of the total population of South Korea for the first time. With the working age population and the young population continuing to decrease on the contrary, a rapid decline in labor input is predicted to affect South K
Kolmar Korea’s 30-year R&D efforts are bearing fruit. The original development manufacturer (ODM) currently has a total of 422 registered patents along with 774 that have been applied for. The figures are the highest in the cosmetic ODM industry of South Korea. R&D personnel accounts for more than 3
The Bank of Korea froze the key rate at 0.5 percent on Aug. 27, saying that any excessive liquidity expansion should be avoided although the key rate can be cut depending on the magnitude of the second wave of COVID-19.Earlier, the central bank cut the benchmark rate from 1.25 percent to 0.75 percen
KT Corp., South Korea’s largest telecommunications company, has showcased the country’s first drive-in commencement ceremony for 2019 graduates who could not have a traditional celebration because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.The contactless ceremony was held at the Seoul campus of Hongik Univer
The author is a strategist of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at yh.kim@nhqv.com. – Ed. On Aug 2, 2019, the US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), an arms control agreement between the US and the Soviet Union to eliminate all intermediate-range nuclear and
Korea Exchange announced on Aug. 26 that individual investors bought 134.4 billion won of KOSDAQ stocks in just four days and the KOSDAQ trading value hit an all-time high of 17,090.8 billion won that day. In KOSPI, the investors’ net buy totaled 192.6 billion won that day, the first buy since Aug.
Korea Development Bank Chairman Lee Dong-gull and HDC Hyundai Development Company chairman Chung Mong-gyu met with each other on Aug. 26 to resume the sale of Asiana Airlines.According to industry sources, the bank offered an acquisition price of 1.5 trillion won, including old share purchase and pa
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mi announced on Aug. 25 that the ministry may implement regulations in order to block foreigners’ speculative real estate transactions.That day, United Future Party lawmaker Kim Sang-hoon pointed out at the plenary meeting of the Land, Infrastruct
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Han Joon-ho has asked the South Korean government to take measures against Google’s coercive payment fees.“Google, which accounts for no less than 73.38 percent of the South Korean market, is planning to impose the 30 percent fees by forcing in-app purchase,” he sa
The South Korean government announced that a partial amendment to the Commercial Act, a full amendment to the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act and a legislative proposal for the Financial Group Supervision Act were approved at the cabinet meeting on Aug. 25. The government is anticipating that
The International Contractors Association of Korea announced on Aug. 24 that the value of orders South Korean builders received abroad this year totaled US$17.8 billion, up 30 percent from a year ago.Specifically, the value includes US$8 billion derived from the Middle East whereas it was US$4.2 bil
LG Chem and Malaysian chemical company Petronas Chemical Group (PCG) will jointly build a nitrile butadiene (NB) latex plant in Malaysia.PCG announced on Aug. 24 that it has signed a contract with LG Chem to build an NB latex plant with an annual capacity of 200,000 tons at the Pengerang Petrochemic
With economic uncertainties increasing in the wake of COVID-19, foreign currency deposits hit an all-time high yet again based on an increasing demand for the U.S. dollar. In addition, securities companies’ U.S. dollar demand increased along with overseas stock investment.The Bank of Korea announced
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has recently announced that South Korea’s pharmaceutical market size was estimated at 24,310 billion won in 2019, up 5.2 percent from 23,117.5 billion in 2018.The total production amount of pharmaceuticals stood at 22,313.2 billion, which is a 5.7 percent
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jinmyung.choi@nhqv.com. -- Ed. LIG Nex1’s 1H20 results confirm that the firm has remained free from Covid-19 effects. We forecast stable domestic demand thanks to the government’s expanded budget for domestic weapons system
The fund preparing to enter the South Korean stock market is currently amounting to 260 trillion won. Especially, individual investors’ money is continuing to increase to approximately 50 percent of the fund.The Korea Financial Investment Association announced on Aug. 23 that the sum of the cash man
The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) said in its report on Aug. 21 that the latest U.S. restrictions on Huawei, which are to block Huawei’s access to all types of semiconductors, are likely to directly affect South Korean companies supplying semiconductors to Huawei and yet t
The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on Aug. 23 that foreign workers having difficulty returning to their home countries after their stay or work in South Korea due to COVID-19 can be given job opportunities in farming and fishing villages for up to three months along with loans for living
National Security Office Director Suh Hoon met with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), in Busan on Aug. 22. They agreed to make efforts so that Chinese President Xi Jinping can visit South Korea once COVID-19 subsides.The dip