The Bank of China has lost its lawsuit against South Korea’s tax authorities to cancel a 35.8 billion won (US$26.8 million) corporate tax penalty in a Supreme Court ruling in South Korea. The Supreme Court has confirmed the original ruling that the plaintiffs lost the case against the Jongno Tax Off
As the global political environment is expected to change due to elections in major countries, Korean industries discussed trade issues such as global policy responses with the Korean government. Companies submitted recommendations to the Korean government on trade issues, including difficulties in
HMM has said that the shipping company will respond to a slump in the shipping industry by using super-large ships and boosting sales efficiency, but external variables are expected to impede the sale of the company.According to a 2024 maritime and fisheries outlook report released on Feb. 15, the K
More and more small and medium-sized food manufacturers that produce and supply Coupang’s private label products are succeeding in achieving a “second leap.”Coupang announced on Jan. 31 that three small food manufacturers in explosive growth regions, with sales that have increased from 3 to up to 29
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
Global private equity fund (PEF) Carlyle Group will sell a 1.2 percent stake in KB Financial Group in a block deal worth about 32 billion won.According to sources in the investment banking (IB) industry on Feb. 14, Carlyle Group made a demand forecast after the close of the market to push forward th
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
China is dominating the global battery market backed by overwhelming growth in its home market. Stopping China’s rise in the global battery industry has become a big challenge for Korea, which ranks second in the market behind Chinese companies as well as the United States and Europe.Six of the worl
Korea’s four major oil refiners are posting a gradual drop in their exports to China. They are diversifying their export destinations to Australia, Japan, and other countries to fill the void. China used to be Korea’s top petroleum product export market.According to the Korea National Petroleum Asso
Following the announcement of the government’s introduction of a program to enhance corporate value, stocks with a low price-to-book ratio (PBR) showed strength. Over the past two weeks, foreign investors’ net purchases on the KOSPI surpassed 5 trillion won. While low PBR stocks surged due to foreig
On Feb. 7, KB Financial Group was selected as the only domestic financial institution to achieve the highest rating, “Top 1%,” in the “2023 Corporate Sustainability Assessment” announced by U.S.-based Standard & Poor’s Global (S&P Global).The highest rating of “Top 1%” in the “2023 Corporate Sustain
The South Korean government has approved new projects worth 13.8 trillion won (US$11.5 billion) under the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) to be implemented by 2026, with 6.5 trillion won to be disbursed. Established in 1987, the EDCF is a fund for concessional loans aimed at supporting
Korea Development Bank (KDB) and Korea Ocean Business Corporation announced on Feb. 7 that negotiations on the sale of Korean container shipping company HMM have been held with a consortium of Harim Group’s Pan Ocean and JKL as a preferred bidder, but their meeting finally ended empty-handed.“During
Korea’s current account surplus reached US$35.5 billion in 2023. This was mainly because the volume of goods exports reaching a yearly high at the end of 2023.The current account surplus stood at US$7.41 billion in December, according to a December 2023 provisional balance of payments data released
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at junsup@nhqv.com -- Ed.WFG’s CET1 ratio is now at 11.9%. While we positively view y-y improvement in the figure, we believe that CET1 ratio needs to be actively strengthened in order for WFG to meet market expectations for
The Korea Exchange (KRX) announced on Feb. 6 that it will open the “30-Year Treasury Futures Market” from Feb. 19 to promote the advancement of the government bond market and hedge against risks from long-term interest rate fluctuations. This marks the first time in 16 years since the introduction o
Due to the strength of the U.S. dollar, the foreign exchange reserves decreased last month for the first time in three months.According to the statistics of the “Foreign Reserves as of the End of January 2024” publication released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Feb. 5, South Korea’s foreign reserves
The government has decided to announce measures in February to address the risk of foreign investors’ failure to settle foreign exchange payments as part of the structural improvements in South Korea’s foreign exchange market, which are set to begin in earnest in July.The plan is to manage the risks
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has raised its global economic growth forecast for this year, but lowered its economic growth forecast for South Korea. While the organization said that global trade markets such as markets of semiconductors and information technology
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has announced plans to conduct a comprehensive investigation aimed at eradicating the common practice of illegal short selling by global investment banks (IBs).In its business plan announced on Feb. 5, the FSS stated, “We will crack down on market disruptions