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The Bank of Korea on Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate for a second consecutive meeting, tightening monetary policy amid persistent inflationary pressures as chip-led growth outweighed expectations. The Monetary Policy Board lifted the rate by 0.25 percentage point to 3 percent, following an increase of the same size in July. The decision was backed by six of the seven board members, with only one-member dissenting. The hawkish decision puts the base rate back to the 3 percent range fo
A surge in long-term US Treasury yields is driving up borrowing costs in Korea, lifting government bond yields and adding pressure on companies, households and stocks. The spillover was on full display last week. As the US 30-year yield climbed to 5.33 percent, its highest since 2007, Korea’s 30-year government bond yield surged to a record 4.751 percent. The yields have since retreated, but the underlying pressures — heavy US debt issuance, aggressive AI-related borrowing and weakening demand f
Mirae Asset Financial Group Chairman Park Hyeon-joo rejects criticism that disappointing shareholder returns are weighing on Samsung Electronics and SK hynix shares, arguing that investment and corporate fundamentals matter more. “Saying a stock falls because the company does not pay enough dividends is a weak argument,” Park said Wednesday at a dinner with employees of Digital X, formerly Korbit, Korea’s first cryptocurrency exchange acquired and renamed by Mirae Asset Securities in July. “What
The Bank of Korea on Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate for a second consecutive meeting, pressing ahead with monetary tightening amid persistent inflationary pressures. The Monetary Policy Board lifted the rate by 0.25 percentage point to 3 percent, following an increase of the same size in July. Thursday’s decision came amid strong inflationary pressure fueled by rising incomes from the semiconductor boom. Real gross domestic product grew 0.6 percent in the second quarter from the pre
The won’s recent rally could gain momentum from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, as their record shareholder returns are expected to trigger billions of dollars in currency conversions. Earlier this month, the Korean won broke into the 1,300-per-dollar range for the first time since October. While the won has been hovering around the 1,370-1,380 per dollar range in recent sessions, analysts said the currency could strengthen further, supported by the large shareholder return initiatives. The co
The Bank of Korea is set to hold its next rate-setting meeting Thursday, with markets split over whether the central bank will deliver another rate hike or pause, a decision that could offer clues on the pace and extent of its current tightening cycle. The BOK raised its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage point to 2.75 percent in July, marking its first rate hike in over three years since January 2023. Markets are now watching whether the central bank will deliver a back-to-back rate hike. Follow
Foreign tourists are becoming an increasingly important source of growth for Korea’s convenience stores, with spending surging fastest in Seoul’s trendsetting Seongsu district. Foreign-card sales at CU stores in Seongsu jumped 115.1 percent on-year in the first half, according to data provided to The Korea Herald by BGF Retail, operator of Korea’s largest convenience store chain by outlet count. That far outpaced growth of 35.3 percent in Myeong-dong and 32.5 percent in Hongdae, Seoul’s other ma
South Koreans lean on bars for socializing more than drinkers elsewhere, according to two new reports commissioned by AB InBev, parent company of Oriental Brewery, as global alcohol volumes hold more than 30 percent above early-2000s levels amid declining per-capita consumption. An Oxford Economics study of 5,311 legal-drinking-age adults across five countries — Korea, Brazil, Mexico, the UK and the US — found that 93 percent of Koreans say bars are their go-to or occasional place for socializin
Woori Bank has become the first Korean bank to complete a government bond transaction with an overseas financial institution through an international securities settlement network, marking the first such transaction by a domestic bank since authorities opened the channel earlier this year. The bank said Thursday it sold and settled Korean Treasury bonds through an International Central Securities Depository while also conducting related foreign exchange and hedging transactions. ICSDs, including
The won broke into the 1,300-per-dollar range Wednesday for the first time in more than 10 months, defying a steep Kospi selloff as weak US data pressured the dollar and Korean exporters sold more of their dollar holdings. The won opened at 1,413.3 won per dollar in Seoul's onshore trading, and continued to strengthen throughout the morning session. It eventually weakened to below the 1,400 won mark just before noon, marking the first time it has traded at the 1,300 won level since Oct. 2. After
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