Jan 16, 2012
Korea will lead roundtable discussions on energy efficiency and clean resources at the Group of 20 summit in Mexico in June as chair of the working group on green growth, a local news agency said Monday.
The chairmanship comes upon the Mexican governments request, Yonhap News reported, citing a Seoul official. Members of the group have yet to be confirmed.
As chair of the group, the country will orchestrate discussions on green growth and help draw up comprehensive recommendations at the two-day event in Los Cabos, one of the Latin American countrys major tourist destinations.
Seoul officials are also believed to be seeking support from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for related research.
Korea is also likely to lead another working group on development along with other countries, the agency added.
Green growth is one of the key agenda of the international forum, which will also include global economic stability and financial safety nets.
It is also the centerpiece of President Lee Myung-baks economic policy that cherishes environmentally sustainable development while boosting local economy and creating jobs.
At the summit in Seoul in 2010, Korea played a significant role in widening discussions to include issues like climate change, food security, development and anti-corruption.
By Shin Hyon-hee
16 Jan, 2012
Koreas exports grew nearly 20 percent in 2011 from a year earlier, primarily driven by robust sales of ships, vehicles and oil-related products, customs data showed yesterday.
Exports came to a record high of $556.5 billion last year, up 19.3 percent from $466.4 billion a year earlier, according to data by the Korea Customs Service. It made Korea the worlds seventhlargest exporter for a second year.
Imports also grew 23.3 percent on-year to $524.4 billion, bringing the nations annual trade surplus to $32.1 billion, the data showed.
Overseas sales were mostly driven by ships, vehicles and oil-related products, with sales growing 15.7 percent, 28.8 percent and 63.2 percent, respectively.
Exports of semiconductors, liquid crystal display devices and mobile communications equipment, meanwhile, fell 1.1 percent, 7.9 percent and 0.9 percent over the same period
Jan 16, 2012
Foreign investors scooped up Korean Treasuries last year as Korean debts emerged as relatively safer assets compared to those in slumping Europe and the U.S., data showed Monday.
The outstanding amount of South Korean Treasuries held by foreigners reached 61 trillion won ($53.1 billion) at the end of last year, up 27.8 percent from a year ago, according to the data by the Korea Exchange (KRX).
The proportion of foreign investors in the Korean bond market stood at 15.6 percent.
Foreign investors' won-denominated debt holdings have trended upward from 20.1 trillion won in 2008 to 47.7 trillion won in 2010. Also their proportion in the local bond market rose from 7 percent to 13.3 percent in the same period, the data showed.
As offshore investors were battered by the debt-ridden eurozone and a U.S. economic downturn, they opted to flee for safer assets and considered the emerging markets, including Korea, the right place to make bets, the KRX said.
The trading volume of the benchmark Treasuries surged 128.3 percent to 712.8 trillion won, also reaching a record high.
The demand on government bonds with a five or 10 year maturity shot up as much as two-fold as investors sought after long-term bonds in a low-rate market, according to the data.
Jan 19, 2012
One out of two workplaces that employ foreign workers said the government must increase its quota for the foreign workforce, according to a recent survey conducted by the Korean chamber on Thursday.
The Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that 53.8 percent of the firms requested an increase in the foreign worker quota and 49.5 percent said they need a greater number of foreign workers.
The survey was responded to by 303 companies that employ foreign workers.
When asked why they are hiring foreign workers instead of Koreans, six out of every 10 employers said they are unable to find Korean people who are willing to work blue-collar jobs, while only about 12 percent said it was because of the low wages.
About 80 percent of the firms also said that the hiring of the foreign workforce does not impact the income level and working conditions of local workers, while 9.6 percent said it actually offers improvements, it said.
The limited employment period, the language and cultural differences and leaving the workplace without the employers consent were listed as issues involving the hiring of foreign workers, said the survey.
"The survey shows that many of the small and mid-sized firms, which are relying on the foreign workers for their performance, are experiencing difficulties in finding the necessary number of employees," said Park Jong-nam, executive director at the KCCI. "The government must consider such issues and look closely into increasing the quota for the foreign workforce."
The government decided to give work permits to 57,000 foreigners in 2012, up from 48,000 in 2011.
This years quota is a rise from last year, however, a total of 67,000 migrant workers that were under the employment permit system have to leave the country by the end of this year due to expired E-9 visas.
By Cho Ji-hyun
Jan 18,2012
Kim Ki-mun, chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses (Kbiz), has urged the government to establish a ministry that both handles the affairs of SMEs and gives them more of a voice in policy matters.
"SMEs play a pivotal role in the Korean economy and their role will grow in the future," Kim said in his first press conference of the year yesterday. "As such, their opinions should be better reflected when policy makers hammer out economic policies. To make this happen, a new ministry is necessary."
He recommended upgrading the status of the existing Small and Medium Business Administration to that of a ministry.
While Kim praised the governments efforts to support SMEs, including producing a list of dozens of items that only small businesses can trade in last year, he emphasized the need for shared growth to become a permanent fixture.
"Conglomerates are jumping into industries that SMEs have worked hard to cultivate whenever the former see SMEs making a lot of money, and smaller firms are powerless to stop this encroachment," Kim said.
"To break this sense of imbalance in the market, the Commission on Shared Growth for Large and Small Companies should have more items restricted to SMEs. It currently selects restricted items in the manufacturing sector, but the yardstick should be expanded to the retail sector as well."
Kims remarks come one day after Kbiz released a statement criticizing the government for allowing mom and pop bakeries stores to go bankrupt after conglomerates launched premium bakery brands as rivals.
According to Kbiz, there were about 18,000 such small bakeries in 2003, but this number plunged to 4,000 in 2011 as franchise brands like Tous Les Jours - run by CJ Foodville, an affiliate of CJ Group - and Paris Baguette, run by SPC Group, began to dominate the landscape.
"Bakeries and coffee shops are not conglomerates core business, and they are more suitable for ordinary people who want to start their own businesses," a Kbiz official said.
"Even daughters of conglomerate owners have begun entering the bakery business by rolling out high-end brands, and this is driving smaller outfits out of business."
At least four high-profile scions of Koreas captains of industry have dived into this segment.
Lee Boo-jin, president of both the Hotel Shilla and Samsung Everland, runs the luxury bakery brand Artisee through an affiliate of the hotel. Lee is the eldest daughter of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee.
Shinsegae Group Vice President Chung Yoo-kyung, who is the daughter of Shinsegae Group Chairwoman Lee Myung-hee, also runs a bakery brand called Dalloyau.
And Innocean adviser Chung Sung-yi, a daughter of Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mongkoo, runs Ozen, another bakery brand.
Meanwhile, Jang Sun-yoon, CEO of Bliss and daughter of Lotte Shopping President Shin Yong-ja, runs the Fauchon bakery.
By Kim Mi-ju
Jan 19, 2012
Koreas trade commission said Thursday it has decided to extend its anti-dumping tariffs on ethyl acetate solvents imported from China, Singapore and Japan by an additional three years due to damage to local manufacturers.
The decision will soon be delivered to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance for approval, the Korea Trade Commission said.
Seoul has been imposing anti-dumping duties of 5.81-14.17 percent on products from the three Asian countries since August 2008.
"The local industry is recovering from damage with the market share of domestically produced products growing and the profitability of local companies improving," the KTC said in a statement.
"The commission, however, decided that the termination of the anti-dumping measures will lead to a recurrence of damage to the local industry as incoming shipments, as well as Chinas production capacity, of the reviewed item is growing."
Tariff rates will be adjusted between 3.14 percent and 14.17 percent, depending on the degree and seriousness of price-cutting activities by each foreign manufacturer, it said.
Ethyl acetate is an industrial solvent mostly commonly used in paint, glue and nail polish. The domestic market for the chemical reached about 120 billion won ($105 million) in 2010.
In a separate move, the commission said it has decided to begin an investigation into alleged dumping by Japans aluminum can exporters, which currently accounts for 99.3 percent of the domestic market.
The initial investigation will last three months, with a possible one-time extension by two months, it said.
Office of Commercial Affairs, Seoul
Source : http://www.depthai.go.th