Jan 5, 2012
South Koreas food prices rose at the second highest rate among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development members in 2011, mainly due to unfavorable weather conditions, a report showed Thursday.
The report by the Paris-based organization showed the countrys food prices jumping an average 7.9 percent in the January-November period, with only Estonias growth being steeper at 9.9 percent among the 32 countries checked.
South Koreas consumer prices rose 4 percent on-year in 2011, which is the fourth-highest gain after Turkey, Estonia and Poland. Turkeys inflation rate hit 6.3 percent.
Cold weather, floods and other developments affected output of various fresh vegetables, the OECD said, adding that a rise in international crude prices exerted upward inflationary pressure.
Related to the hike in prices, the Hyundai Research Institute, a local private think tank, said because of the countrys small size and relative shortage of arable land, South Koreas food prices generally rise at a faster pace compared to other OECD countries.
While inflation pressure may subside this year vis-a-vis 2011, the slower pace economic growth forecast could negatively influence ordinary consumers, the think tank said.
The Bank of Korea predicted the countrys consumer prices will drop 0.7 percentage points from the previous year to 3.3 percent in 2011, with private think tanks here predicting inflation will hover in the mid-3 percent range.
The government and the BOK said that for the new year, the countrys economic growth may reach 3.7 percent, down from 3.8 percent estimated for last year.
Jan 4, 2012
High-paid salaried workers would make up only 20 percent of those paying the "Buffett tax," while the others are expected to be payers of comprehensive income or capital gains tax, a government report found Tuesday.
The National Assembly on Saturday passed a controversial bill raising income taxes for the rich.
The tax is named for American billionaire Warren Buffett, who has suggested that those in his income bracket should pay more in taxes. The bill increases the income tax rate from 35 percent to 38 percent for those making 300 million won ($259,000) or more per year.
Of the 65,623 people who reported last year to have earned 300 million won or more, 21.1 percent, or 13,895, were salary workers with their average yearly income totaling 600 million won, according to the National Tax Agency on Tuesday.
Those who reported that they paid capital gains tax or consolidated income tax accounted for 39.5 percent and 39.4 percent and their average yearly income was 480 million won and 1.03 billion won, respectively.
There were 8,866 salaried workers whose annual income ranged between 300 and 500 million won, while there were 1,281 people whose annual income exceeded 1 billion won.
Many of them, or 65 percent, were Seoul residents, followed by those living in Gyeonggi Province, Busan, South Gyeongsang Province and Ulsan. In Jeju, there were only 15 people who earned 300 million won or more.
"Considering deductions from their income, the number of Buffett tax payers decreases to 10,146. But people for taxation could continue to increase as high-paid workers are growing every year," a NTS official said.
The passage of the tax hike was an embarrassment to President Lee Myung-bak, who has built his policies around low taxes and deregulation.
The ruling Grand National Party, by supporting the bill, wanted to shed its image of being a party for the rich and distance itself from the unpopular president.
GNP lawmakers claimed that the tax hike will help generate additional tax revenue of 770 billion won annually.
Some critics, however, say that the tax on the rich will discourage investment and saving, impeding the nations economic growth.
The main opposition Democratic Unity Party had proposed to hike the tax rate to 40 percent for those earning 150 million won or more but agreed to a compromise deal.
They stayed away from the vote on Saturday in protest at the GNPs refusal of its demand for a parliamentary probe into Lone Star Funds, a U.S. buyout firm which is seeking to sell a controlling state in Korea Exchange Bank.
By Lee Ji-yoon
Jan 1, 2012
South Korea's trade surplus grew from a year earlier to $4 billion last month, remaining in the black for the 23rd consecutive month, the government said Sunday.
The country's exports reached $49.7 billion in December, up 12.5 percent from the same period last year with imports growing 14 percent to $45.7 billion, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
For the whole of 2011, the country's exports gained 19.6 percent on-year to $557.8 billion with imports growing 23.3 percent to $524.5 billion for a trade surplus of $33.3 billion. (Yonhap)
Eximbank extends $131 mil. loan to Indonesian plant project
Jan 3, 2012
The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) said Tuesday it has signed a deal to provide a US$131 million loan to an Indonesian hydroelectric power plant project as part of its drive to step up green growth financing.
Under the agreement, Eximbank will be the sole project financing (PF) loan provider for the $174-million project to build a 45 megawatt hydroelectric power plant in Wampu, Indonesia, the policy lender said in a press release.
Two South Korean firms, POSCO Engineering Co. and Korea Midland Power Co., will take part in the construction, which is set to be completed in July 2014.
Upon completion, the two companies are slated to run the plant along with Indonesian privatesector power provider PT Mega Power Mandiri for 30 years, according to Eximbank.
The project is expected to help the firms secure 230,000 tons of certified emission reduction annually, it added.
Eximbank has been stepping up efforts to support local firms doing business in the so-called "green growth" sector, such as renewable energy.
Dec 29, 2012
Chairman of the Financial Services Commission Kim Seok-dong vowed to "revolutionize" the financing structure of small and mid-sized enterprises while defending the stability of the financial market "by any means necessary" in 2012.
"The economic situation will become more difficult than you imagine," Kim said at a media seminar late Tuesday night. "And for the FSC, financial market stability is a premise that cannot be ceded. We will even issue measures that might appear excessive at times [to keep market stability]."
The head of the FSC again underscored his intent to make financing more accessible for SMEs in 2012. "If market stability is our defensive tactic, our offense is [policies for] start-ups and SMEs," Kim said.
"We will do away with joint liability on loans, and if an employee [of a financial company] is reprimanded for problems arising from loans provided on personal credit, the CEO of said company will be held responsible."
Kim also defended the FSCs decision to hasten the pursuit of high-profile projects such as normalizing the savings bank sector and addressing the rise of household debt since January, saying that the FSC followed "a script" that foresaw economic contraction in the latter half partly due to "a breakdown of the euro system" from an inherent structural problem" of no fiscal integration.
Jan 4, 2012
Korea's foreign exchange reserves fell for the second consecutive month in December, as a weaker euro and British pound lowered the conversion value of non-dollar assets.
Data released by the Bank of Korea on Tuesday showed that the nation held US$306.4 billion in foreign reserves, a drop of over $2 billion from the previous month.
The currency fluctuations directly affect Korea's foreign reserves as about 40 percent are in nondollar assets.
However, as of the end of November, Korea ranked as the worlds seventh-largest holder of foreign reserves, up one notch from the previous month. It switched rankings with India, which saw its foreign reserves plummet.
Office of Commercial Affairs, Seoul
Source : http://www.depthai.go.th