Kia unveils hybrid car, eco-friendly sub-brand
Eco Dynamics is a sub-brand that represents ecology and economics and the company`s aim of developing environmentally friendly automotive technologies, the logo for which will be used on hybrid, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen-powered vehicles to be launched in the future.
The hybrid Forte is equipped with a 1.6-liter LPG engine and an electric motor to support the internal combustion engine during acceleration and when the vehicle is started.
The vehicle`s maximum power output is 114 brake horsepower and fuel economy comes in at 17.2 kilometers per liter of LPG fuel, which is equivalent to 21.5 kilometers per liter fuel economy in terms of gasoline, the company said.
In terms of running costs, over the distance of 20,000 kilometers, the fuel costs of an LPI hybrid Forte is 980,000 won ($709) lower than that of the gasoline-powered model.
The LPI hybrid Forte is the world`s first hybrid vehicle to be fitted with a lithium-ion polymer battery, which is lighter and smaller but has higher output than nickel-metal hydride batteries. The company also altered the exterior and interior design of the hybrid Forte to set it apart from the normal version of the vehicle. The company said that it plans to develop a distinct tune that will be played when the hybrid Forte is started to further differentiate the car from conventional vehicles and use the tune in advertising campaigns.
The hybrid Forte will also be shown at the Seoul Motor Show that opens on April 2.
The company also revealed the hydrogen fuel cell version of the sport utility vehicle Mohave for the first time in Korea yesterday. The car is the first to have the fuel cell stack positioned on the floor of the vehicle. The hydrogen-powered Mohave has a driving range of 750 kilometers and can achieve speed of 160 kilometers per hour.
According to the company, the core components used in the vehicle were developed indigenously, allowing the company to reduce materials costs by about 50 percent.
By Choi He-suk
(cheesuk@heraldm.com)
Korea, Cambodia set up bourse
The Cambodian government will own 55 percent of the proposed exchange, with Korea Exchange Inc. holding the remainder under the agreement signed on Monday, the Korean bourse operator said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
To have the stake, the Southeast Asian nation will provide the site and building for the exchange, while its Korean partner will offer information technology systems, the statement said. Financial terms of the agreement weren`t provided.
The Korean exchange is seeking more alliances to help its local companies expanding into these markets. The bourse is planning a similar agreement in Laos and may upgrade the information technology system for the Mongolian exchange. (Bloomberg)
Seoul to allow stock trading with credit cards
The Financial Supervisory Services, the nation`s top financial regulator, is likely to allow in June card companies to introduce products in affiliation with securities firms.
This means that credit cards would get new features such as transactions involving cash management accounts, equity funds, bonds, stocks, equity-linked securities and other products that brokerages service.
"The envisioned product will be a combination of a conventional credit card and a brokerage account debit card, offering holders purchases on credit, card advance services and trading of stocks," a brokerage official said.
"Major securities companies are already working together with card issuers to launch products," he said.
Stock trading using credit cards has been prohibited on grounds that allowing stock investment on credit could result in the rise in credit delinquents, incurring losses to card firms.
But the authorities now view that card firms should cope with the risk themselves, by setting aside enough money in bad-loan provisions and strictly review credit records of card applicants when issuing the envisioned product.
Securities companies in Korea have been allowed to offer new services under the Financial Investment Services & Capital Markets Act which became effective early last month.
They are now permitted to directly engage in retail payment services, which have been an exclusive domain of banks. This means that customers are able to pay public fees, insurance premiums and many other bills directly from their brokerage accounts.
By Lee Sun-young
(milaya@heraldm.com)
Korea`s extra spending is appropriate, Moody`s says
"It`s an appropriate response to the crisis and it could cushion the recession," Thomas J. Byrne, a Moody`s senior vice president, said in an interview from Seoul. "If it`s a one-time fiscal stimulus as the government notes, we think it doesn`t pose a risk on the long-term creditworthiness of South Korea."
Moody`s raised its rating on the nation`s long-term foreign-currency debt to A2, the sixth-highest investment grade, in July 2007. It has a "stable" outlook on the rating.
"We see signs the government is improving its policy responses and they`re becoming more cohesive," Byrne said. "In April, we`ll see whether it actually will be passed by parliament and implemented."
"We think Korea has the strength to get through this crisis," Byrne said.
As well as attempting to revive growth, the Korean government is stepping up measures to aid the financial system by replenishing banks` capital and encouraging lending.
"Our opinion is that the banking sector will be under stress but that`s not our foremost concern," Byrne said. "It`s interesting to see the government is taking the preemptive measures against possible stresses in the banking system."
The financial regulator said on March 13 it will create a 40 trillion won fund to buy distressed corporate bonds and assets from financial companies. Korea has set up a 20 trillion won fund to provide banks with capital as bad loans increase.
(Bloomberg)
Global rally, budget plan lift market mood
The local currency strengthened against the dollar, boosted by a global weakness of the greenback and a buoyant mood in the Korean financial markets. The won closed at 1,383 per dollar, down 0.63 percent from the previous day.
The benchmark stock index KOSPI rose to 1,221.70 points, moving closer to this year`s high of 1,228.56. The measure was up 1.85 percent or 22.2 points from a day earlier. Tech-loaded Kosdaq inched 3.17 percent up to 413.4 points.
Foreign investors bought more shares than they sold for the sixth consecutive session, as good news from the United States lifted the mood in Seoul.
On Monday, Washington announced a new bank rescue plan, which envisions the authorities providing private investors with financing to buy illiquid loans and securities held by banks. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 6.84 percent on the announcement and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 6.76 percent.
Providing a further boost was the Korean government`s announcement of a plan to spend a record 17.7 trillion won in cash handouts, cheap loans, infrastructure and job training to stop its economy from slipping into its first recession in more than a decade.
The stimulus package will boost economic growth by 1.5 percentage points and help create 552,000 new jobs, the Finance Ministry said.
Also, Korean banks are preparing to launch a so-called "bad bank," which is expected to help the lenders clean up their balance sheets by allowing them to unload toxic assets into a separate institution.
"Stocks are likely to maintain their upward momentum, as measures from governments around the world gather pace," Shin Jae-yup, a researcher at Meritz Securities Co. in Seoul.
BNP Paribas said earlier this week that the KOSPI may rise to 1,450 in the next 12 months as stocks benefit from a strengthening won and the government`s fiscal stimulus. It`s previous estimate was 1,100 points.
The won is also expected to strengthen. The currency has appreciated about 10 percent against the dollar in the last two weeks since touching a low of 1,574 won per dollar.
"Direction-wise, we are quite confident that the won is toward appreciation, but the magnitude is questionable," Morgan Stanley`s Sharon Lam said in a report.
"Although our year-end won-dollar rate forecast is 1,250 won per dollar, we believe the appreciation path could be volatile with full-year average likely in the 1,300s, which is not offering too much appreciation from today`s level."
By Lee Sun-young
(milaya@heraldm.com)
