rate hikes
Scope
Date
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Banking & Finance
Bank of Korea sets stage for tightening after holding rates
South Korea’s central bank chief sent a strong indication of tightening later this year after the Bank of Korea (BOK) left its monetary policy...
Jul 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate bonds
KT to raise $300 mn in dollar bond at record-low rates
KT Corp., a South Korea's telecom company, is set to raise $300 million in a dollar corporate bond at the lowest interest rate for its foreign curre...
Jul 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Steel
Korean shipbuilders baffled by steelmakers’ offer to hike prices by 64%
South Korea’s major steelmakers are demanding a sharp price hike for steel plates used in ships, adding to difficulties faced by domestic ship...
Jul 12, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate bonds
Korean corporate bonds suffer from cooling investor sentiment
South Korean corporate bond markets are set to suffer from shrinking liquidity as institutional investors are turning cautious and refraining from m...
Jul 01, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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ESG bonds
LG Chem to issue up to $1bn ESG bonds; Moody’s raises outlook to positive
South Korea’s largest chemical producer LG Chem Ltd. plans to issue up to $1 billion in dollar-denominated green bonds to raise funds for its ...
Jun 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Economy
BOK chief signals interest rate hike within 2021
The Bank of Korea needs to drop its accommodative monetary stance of the past two years and to begin raising interest rates from this year, the cent...
Jun 24, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Automobiles
US anti-dumping duties add to Korean tire makers' woes
The US trade body’s approval of anti-dumping tariffs on tire imports from South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand is adding to the woes of Korea&rsqu...
Jun 24, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Service marketplace Soomgo raises nearly $30 mn in Series C round
South Korea-based Brave Mobile Inc., the operator of service matching platform Soomgo, has secured 32 billion won ($28.6 million) in a Series C fund...
Jun 14, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Central bank
Bank of Korea governor sends stronger signal to raise rates this year
South Korea’s central bank governor on Friday flagged a tighter monetary policy for the second time in less than a month, fueling expectations...
Jun 11, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Banking & Finance
Toss Bank to compete with K Bank, Kakao Bank from September
Toss Bank in September will enter the race of internet-only banks in South Korea as the third player, competing against K Bank and Kakao Bank. Toss ...
Jun 11, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Retail
Chanel, Hermes, LV raise prices in Korea, but sales remain strong
Luxury brands are hiking up prices in South Korea. Designers such as Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Chanel have increased their prices in Korea this year...
Jun 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Automobiles
Korea’s major tire makers to raise prices as rubber supply tightens
South Korea’s three leading tire makers are set to raise prices of commercial and passenger vehicle tires on growing demand from automakers an...
May 31, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Automobiles
Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid outscores Toyota Highlander: Auto Bild ratings
Hyundai Motor Co.’s Santa Fe hybrid has earned higher ratings than Toyota Motor Corp.’s Highlander, one of its strongest rivals, in an e...
May 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Central bank
Bank of Korea governor flags rate hike as economy improves
South Korea’s central bank governor on Thursday flagged a possible policy rate hike before the end of the year as the domestic economy recover...
May 27, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Economy
Inflation fears spread in S.Korea amid wage hikes
Inflation figures have entered a rising trend in South Korea amid ongoing competition across industries for higher wages. The country’s expect...
Mar 29, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean chipmakers
Memory chip shortage may drive SSD price hike in Q2
Chip shortages have hit the memory segment of the industry and are likely to have a price impact on solid-state drives (SSDs), storage devices typic...
Mar 10, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Alternative investments
Korea Ratings forays into online due diligence for alternatives
South Korea’s leading credit rating and business valuation services provider, Korea Ratings, has stepped into the online due diligence service...
Mar 07, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Economy
S.Korea’s birth rate decline accelerates to world’s lowest
The average birth rate in South Korea dropped to a fresh low of 0.84 last year, the world’s lowest, which population experts said will unlikel...
Feb 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate bonds
Korean firms rush to tap bond market ahead of rate hikes
New corporate bond issuance in South Korea is on course to hit 9.2 trillion won ($8.3 billion) in February of this year, the highest amount issued f...
Feb 24, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shipping & Shipbuilding
Korean shipbuilders to hike newbuilding prices; Daewoo eyes $1 bn deal
South Korea’s major shipbuilding companies are set to benefit from rising newbuilding prices, brightening the outlook for an improvement in th...
Feb 05, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Logistics
Surging freight rates, bulker shortages squeeze Korean importers
Surging sea freight rates, coupled with a shortage of bulk carriers and container ships, are putting South Korean exporters and importers in a bind ...
Jan 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
SK's US battery arm sells $1 bn green bonds at lower rates
The $1 billion green bond sale by SK Battery America Inc., a US unit of South Korea’s SK Innovation Co., was nine times oversubscribed at $9 b...
Jan 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean stock market
BOK governor warns of abrupt stock market correction; holds rate steady
South Korea’s central bank governor has warned of an abrupt stock market correction, asking investors to refrain from excessive borrowing amid...
Jan 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Interview
Hanwha Life to further tap into interest rate derivatives
Hanwha Life Insurance Co., South Korea’s No. 2 life insurer, will make active use of derivatives and structured products to hedge against inte...
Dec 22, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean chipmakers
Samsung Electronics to raise image sensor output to overtake Sony
Samsung Electronics Co. is switching one of its DRAM chip fabrication lines to boost production of image sensors used in smartphones and other gadge...
Dec 09, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Economy
BOK raises growth view as it holds rate, warns against V-shaped recovery
The Bank of Korea has raised its growth forecast for this year and next, citing advances in vaccine development and a rebound in exports, after keep...
Nov 26, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Carbon neutrality
Korean govt urged to hike diesel tax, ban fossil fuel cars by 2035
South Korea should raise its tax on diesel to match the price of gasoline and phase out internal combustion engine cars by 2035 to tackle air pollutio...
Nov 24, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Foreign exchange
How the Biden win will affect the won-dollar exchange rate
The won-dollar exchange rate, which has been declining since the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic, is falling faster since Joe Biden was elected as...
Nov 15, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Logistics
Korean firms face triple whammy of soaring KRW, freight rates, Biden
South Korea’s major companies are facing a triple whammy of challenges — a stronger Korean currency, soaring seaborne and air freight rate...
Nov 08, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Central bank
Bank of Korea keeps rate steady at record low; signaling no further action
The Bank of Korea has left its policy rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5% as was widely expected, citing a slow economic recovery amid the ongoing ...
Oct 14, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)