South Korea
Korean governor wants domestic demand boost
At the latest Bank of Korea financial council meeting, Kim Choongsoo calls for increase in long-run domestic demand; bank presidents raise concerns over SME business environment
Korea to miss OTC clearing deadline
It is ‘highly unlikely’ Korea will meet the deadline to start clearing OTC derivatives by January 1, 2013, due to legislative delays, according to market participants
Conundrum facing reserve managers set to continue, say Nalm speakers
Central bank reserve managers to face further challenges about where to allocate their resources as reserve levels look set grow
Korea transaction tax could halve number of derivatives transactions
Proposal for a transaction tax on futures and options could have a dramatic impact on Korea's derivatives market
Bank of Korea strikes melancholy note in policy announcement
South Korea notes struggling economic scenes both at home and abroad; MPC decides to hold benchmark rate as a consequence
Bank of Korea reveals July gold purchase
Korea adds hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of gold to reserves in July; FX reserves swell by $1.97 billion to $314.35 billion
Central Bank of Chile paper discusses adaptations to macro-prudential policy
Research highlights importance of considering non-core bank liabilities in setting macro-prudential policy; suggests levy on such liabilities would have counter-cyclical benefits
Bank of Korea finds slight increase in North Korean GDP for 2011
Estimates by Bank of Korea suggest North Korean GDP grew by 0.8% in 2011; represents first year of positive growth since 2008
Bank of Korea governor on adaptation to global environment
Choongsoo Kim delivers speech arguing that central bank must adapt to global economic environment; highlights importance of growing policy interdependence
Bank of Korea to invest in renminbi in 2012
Head of reserve management Heung Sik Choo confirms Bank of Korea will make first investments in Chinese renminbi this year
Korean government issuers unlikely to benefit if sovereign is upgraded – Moody's
Government-related issuers not likely to be upgraded alongside Korean sovereign as rating agencies place more weight on underlying credit fundamentals
Korea braces for higher oil prices
Bank of Korea governor holds economic review with leading academics and others; group discusses rising oil prices
Asean+3 safety net needs more firepower
The regional liquidity safety net in Asia created via the Chiang Mai Initiative is still small and needs a more aggressive pre-emptive mandate if it is to head off crises before they occur
Asia to develop emergency financial stability safety net
Charles Adams and Lei Lei Song chart the development of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization and explain three ways to develop Asia’s liquidity support mechanism
Bank of Korea announces new policy board members: reports
Reports say Park Won-shik, a deputy governor at the Bank of Korea, is the first new member of the monetary policy board; several more to come
Central banks bought close to 440 tonnes of gold in 2011
World Gold Council unveils report showing large central bank gold purchases in 2011; emerging economies lead the way in rebalancing their reserves to include more of the precious metal
Financial taxes can bolster macro-prudential policy, says IMF paper
Fund study shows counter-cyclical tools should be incorporated to enrich the broader macro-prudential policy framework in Korea
South Korean won slips following Kim Jong-il’s death
Death of North Korean leader causes South Korean won to hit two-month low against dollar and sterling; world waits to see how youngest son will handle succession
South Korea takes heed of US sanctions on Iran
US Senate passes bill containing strict new sanctions affecting Central Bank of Iran; South Korea government warns businesses of implications
European uncertainty reflected in central bank decisions worldwide
Germany, Austria, India and South Korea lower growth estimates as a slew of countries hold interest rates; world looks on and waits to see if Europe can agree a solution to the sovereign debt crisis
FSB Asia Regional Consultative Group holds first meeting
Asian regional consultative group gathers in Korea to exchange views on key financial stability issues
Industry praises expansion of South Korea’s currency swap arrangements
Senior executives of large enterprises praise Bank of Korea for expanding currency swaplines with Japan and China; industry concerned about slowdown caused by eurozone crisis
Korea governor selection process under fire
Politician takes on president’s ability to choose governor of the central bank board; wants to see candidates face parliamentary confirmation hearings
Price stickiness reduces productivity gains and job creation: Bank of Korea paper
Bank of Korea says less rigid prices and more elastic demand can heighten effects of productivity on job creation