Korea’s foreign exchange reserves edged up in June, turning to an increase in a month. This was due to the weakening of the U.S. dollar.According to “Foreign Exchange Reserves at the End of June” data released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on July 5, the country’s foreign exchange reserves stood at US$
As China’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has been slower than expected, investors are increasingly turning to so-called post-China markets such as India and Vietnam.In fact, the Indian and Vietnamese stock markets have been rising steadily this year. The Sensex and Nifty 50, India’s leading
On June 29, South Korea and Japan finalized a US$10 billion currency swap. The renewal of this currency swap deal comes eight years after its suspension in February 2015. This South Korea-Japan swap agreement is not an exchange of South Korean won and Japanese yen, but rather a “dollar swap” that ex
Negotiations are underway to resume currency swaps between Korea and Japan after an eight-year hiatus. A U.S. dollar-denominated swap is on the table. Japan has an indefinite and unlimited full-time swap agreement with the United States. Therefore, some analysts believe that Korea will be able to en
According to the 2022 International Investment Balance Sheet by Region and Currency (Provisional) released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on June 27, the balance of Korea’s external financial assets, excluding reserves, stood at US$1.7456 trillion at the end of last year. This represented a drop of US$1
In the near future, Shinhan Bank customers will be able to withdraw money from the bank’s automated teller machines (ATMs) with their faces even if they don’t have a bank card or bank book for ID. The lender will launch ATM services through facial recognition beginning in September.First, 900 ATMs,
Korea, now a major lender to developing countries, will make a change in its loan system in order to better manage the growing volume of its loans to those developing countries. The first step is to eliminate currency exchanges, an obstacle to the efficient enforcement of loans.The Korean government
There is no sign of an end in the aftermath of the suspension of deposits and withdrawals at Haru Invest, a Korean cryptocurrency management company. Delio, considered to be number one in the Korean cryptocurrency industry, suspended withdrawals, prompting investors to file a criminal class action s
The U.S. Treasury Department announced on June 16 that it will continue to list South Korea on the currency watchlist on its official website.Other countries included on the list are China, Switzerland, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. Japan, which was on the previous watchlist, is now off.
Recently, the won-dollar exchange rate has fluctuated the most among major currency exchange rates. This sharp change in the value of the won has been blamed on Korea’s trade deficit.According to the Bank of Korea (BOK)’s June Monetary and Credit Policy Report, the rate of changes in the won’s excha
The government announced on May 29 that it will discuss the resumption of Korea-Japan currency swaps, which were previously suspended in 2015, at the Korea-Japan Finance Ministers' Meeting to be held in Tokyo, Japan.Choo Kyung-ho, deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance, respon
Global analyst firm ECA International annually selects the most expensive cities for expatriates by compiling the ECA Index based on the costs of living including currency value and rents.This year, New York topped the list. This is due to inflation and New York’s rising accommodation costs. Hong Ko
With a recent spike in gold prices, some experts have argued that the Bank of Korea (BOK) should increase its gold reserves. but the BOK believes that maintaining U.S. dollar liquidity is preferable.According to a report on the status of the BOK’s gold reserves and the future direction of gold manag
As of the end of last month, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves amounted to US$420.98 billion, the lowest in six months since November last year. The increase in foreign exchange reserves has been limited since the second half of last year, coupled with the strengthening of the U.S. dollar
Korea’s stock market gained the fifth most among the Group of 20 (G20) in May. This growth was driven by strong stock prices of semiconductor companies.According to the Korea Exchange on June 4, the KOSPI rose 3.02 percent in the month of May. The KOSPI, which closed at 2501.53 on the last trading d
An analysis says that it is necessary to prepare a comprehensive response system for possible spillover risks between crypto assets and the traditional financial system. This is because the global crypto asset market recently revealed vulnerabilities similar to those of traditional financial markets
The national competitiveness ranking of Korea, invited to the Group of Seven (G7) Summit scheduled from May 19 to 21 in Hiroshima, Japan, has emerged as the sixth in the world, demonstrating a level comparable to G7 nations.On May 17, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) announced the findings
For the first time since the enactment of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, a bill related to virtual assets (cryptocurrencies) has passed the National Policy Committee of the National Assembly.On May 11, the National Policy Committee voted to pass the Virtu
In April, Korea’s foreign exchange reserves swelled by about US$600 million despite an interest rate differential between Korea and the U.S. hitting 1.50 percentage points, the highest in more than 22 years. The increase was due to earnings from foreign currency asset management and a weaker U.S. do
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com -- Ed.A reduction of US bank lending will partially replace Fed rate hikes. The May FOMC is expected to signal a pause rather than an explicit start of a rate freeze cycle. Also, we expect a unanimous rate