Prolonged #HongKong protests to hurt #Korea’s #exports
The Institute for International Trade, under the Korea International Trade Association, released a report Tuesday gauging the potential impact of prolonged protests in Hong Kong against an extradition bill. Hong Kong is a major export channel for South Korea, as Korean products imported by Hong Kong are often re-exported to other markets such as mainland China.
According to the report, 82.6 percent of Korean products exported to Hong Kong were re-exported to mainland China.
When the institute looked at all items imported and re-exported by Hong Kong, 6.4 percent were from Korea, which came in third in this respect after China (57.1 percent) and Taiwan (9.7 percent).
Many Korean exporters prefer to send their products through Hong Kong because the city offers an efficient environment for financing, various tax benefits and better legal protection.
Korean parts, materials firms spend less on R&D than Japanese counterparts
A survey by the Korea Economic Research Institute under the Federation of Korean Industries showed that Korean firms manufacturing materials spend less on R&D compared to their Japanese rivals.
Based on the survey of 11,117 Korean and Japanese firms, the institute said that the disparity in R&D expenditures was more significant in materials firms than parts manufacturers, at 3 out of 5 cases of Japanese materials firms spending more on R&D than Korean companies.
Japanese materials firms spent 1.6-fold more on R&D. Among those dedicated to chemical materials for semiconductors and displays, the gap was 40.9 fold.
#SK Siltron CEO named top #CEO
SK Siltron CEO Byun Yeong-sam was named the best CEO in a survey that measured performances of 225 CEOs in #SouthKorea since 2016.
The survey conducted by CEO Score, a local corporate tracker, Byun topped the list with 77.96 points followed by Hanwha Energy CEO Ryoo Du-hyun and #CJ CheilJedang CEO Shin Hyun-jae.
The top 10 also included three CEOs from #Samsung affiliates -- Samsung SDI, Samsung Engineering and Samsung Electro-Mechanics.
The survey was based on measurement of companies’ performance from five categories: percentage revenue growth, return on equity, debt ratio, employment growth and excess earnings rate for the last 4 1/2 years.
#Bank employees in South Korea get highest pay raise in 6 years
The average salary of employees at South Korea’s top six banks rose at the fastest pace in six years in the first half of the year.
The per-capita average half-year salary at the lenders -- KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, KEB Hana Bank, Citibank Korea and Standard Chartered Bank Korea -- came at 51.5 million won.
The figure was up 8.4 percent from the prior year, and the fastest on-year growth rate since the 19.1 percent surge in 2013.
Citibank Korea posted the wage of 58 million won, while KEB Hana Bank showed the largest on-year gain of 26.7 percent.
Over half of major listed companies in South Korea expect worsening Q3 operating profit
As of Aug. 16, 137 out of 224 major listed companies saw their operating profit forecasts fall for the third quarter. The revised forecasts were analyzed alongside forecasts presented at the end of June, before Japan imposed trading restrictions on South Korea for three key materials needed to manufacture semiconductors and display panels.
In a mere month and a half, the Q3 forecast for SK hynix decreased by half, and major travel agencies and airlines also saw their forecasts sharply reduced.
#Koreans’ average #loans top 40 million won
According to data released by Statistics Korea, the average amount of loans taken out by working South Koreans reached 40.76 million won ($33,4500) as of end-2018, up 7.4 percent from the previous year.
When categorized by income, the loan amounts were close to their respective annual salaries.
South Korea’s potential growth rate to drop below 2% by 2026
A report released by Hyundai Research Institute said the potential growth rate of South Korea’s economy, currently forecast at 2.5 percent on average till 2020, will fall below 2 percent by 2026.
The potential figure refers to the maximum possible rate a country’s economy can grow without triggering inflation. It is used as an indicator of a country’s basic economic strength.
The private think tank said factors that influenced the projections include weak economic vitality due to the aging population, low investment and accumulated capital, low research and development investments, and lackluster performance of the service sector, combined with an overreliance on the manufacturing sector.
Korea’s ICT exports to Japan meager
There are calls within South Korea to counter Japan’s export curbs of hi-tech materials by leveraging its exports of ICT-related products to Japan.
Data from related ministries and the Korea International Trade Association, however, show that Korea’s exports of ICT products such as semiconductors and display panels to Japan only account for 2.32 percent share.
Smartphone use by elderly jumps 10-fold
The number of people in their 70s and above owning smartphones has jumped 10-fold within the past five years.
According to a report titled “Homo Smartphonicus” authored by researcher Jung Yong-chan of the Korea Information Society Development Institute, the ratio of smartphone owners among those aged 70 and over has increased rapidly from 3.6 percent in 2013 to 37.8 percent in 2018.
The report was based on an annual survey of different platforms used for watching media content.
The total number of smartphone owners in the country reached 89.4 percent, meaning nine out of 10 citizens used one.
Assets held in dormant, inactive accounts reach W8tr
Financial Supervisory Service said Wednesday that financial resources held in accounts classified as dormant or inactive amounted to a combined 8 trillion won ($6.8 billion) as of last year.
Assets held in dormant accounts, including unclaimed insurance and pension funds, amounted to 1.2 trillion won as of the end of 2018.
Resources in accounts where owners have not initiated any activity for more than three years, thus classified as inactive, came at 7.7 trillion won in the same period.
The FSS said that though they’re providing services to locate the owners of the unclaimed assets, financial institutions need to try harder to transfer the money to the original beneficiaries.
Number of Korean firms with W1tr market cap drops to 9-month low
The number of South Korean firms listed on the main and secondary bourses with market capitalization of over 1 trillion won ($846 billion) has fallen to a nine-month low as the market faces risks stemming from the trade row between Seoul and Tokyo.
According to the Korea Exchange, the nation’s sole bourse operator, the number of such firms stood at 186 as of Monday. The figure is 12 firms less compared to June and the lowest since October last year.
The Korean stock market strongly underperformed in October 2018, with the benchmark Kospi experiencing its biggest monthly drop since the 2008 global financial crisis. Around 260 trillion won was wiped off from the #Kospi and #Kosdaq combined.
Samsung C&T top Korean builder for 6th straight year
Samsung C&T, a construction affiliate of #Samsung Group, maintained its position as the top #builder in South Korea in terms of building capacity for the sixth consecutive year in 2019.
According to government data, Samsung C&T’s construction capacity was worth 17.5 trillion won, compared with runner-up #Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s estimated capacity of 11.7 trillion won.
The ranking evaluated 61,559 local construction firms, roughly 89 percent of 68,781 firms here.
