Weekly Economy Bulletin
Issued by Ministry of Strategy & Finance - Financial Services Commission - Bank of Korea
Week Ending January 4, 2009
MAJOR NEWS AND EVENTS
[MOSF] KRW1,500 Billion Cash Injection into 5 State-run Financial Institutions: Government’s First Budget Execution in 2009 (January 2)
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance planned to inject KRW1,500 billion in cash into five state-run banks with a view to overcoming the economic crisis as early as possible. Following the KRW1,650 billion in-kind investment in 2008, the cash investment in 2009 will be carried out swiftly by providing liquidity to small- and medium- sized enterprises and exporting firms, purchasing non-performing loans and offering support for residence stability.
[MOSF] Average Consumer Price Index of 2008 (December 31)
The 2008 average consumer price index rose 4.7 percent year on year due to sharp increases in the prices of international oil and grain.
The December consumer price index went up 4.1percent, showing a slowdown in the increase rate for five consecutive months thanks to declines in the prices of international raw materials.
[MOSF] Public Enterprises to Increase Investments to Overcome Financial Crisis at an Early Stage (December 30)
Of the thirty-four major public enterprises which jointly presented their 2009 business plans to the President, twenty-five major public firms, excluding nine financial institutions, will increase their 2009 investments by KRW9,000 billion to KRW57,000 billion. Sixty-one percent of the total budget of those firms will be executed during the first half of 2009, a seven percent point increase from 2008. The nine financial institutions including the Korea Development Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea allocated KRW25,000 billion more in 2009 than in 2008 to support lending itself, and KRW55,000 billion more to provide lending guarantees and export insurance.
[FSC] Public Financial Institutions’ Budget Plan for 2009 (December 30)
Five public financial institutions under the control of the FSC (the Korea Development Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea Asset Management Corporation, Korea Housing Finance Corporation and Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation) plan to provide a total of KRW 69,700 billion to the market: KRW28,700 billion for liquidity supply and KRW41,000 billion for infrastructure investments. The five institutions set aside KRW12,400 billion to provide guarantees, making the total of 2009 guarantee provision reach KRW37,600 billion.
KRW10,200 billion have been earmarked to improve financial soundness of the market.
[FSC] Exemption Given to Financial Firm Employees (December 30)
The government plans to temporarily grant exemption to employees of financial firms to create an environment where financial firms can actively provide capital to corporations amid the global financial crisis. The temporary exemption can be applied to loans made by December 31 2009. Detailed guidelines will be laid out by the Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service soon.
[BOK] Monetary and Credit Policies for 2009 (January 2)
Monetary and credit policies in 2009 will focus on supporting economic recovery and improving capital flow, as prices are expected to stabilize. The BOK will establish a market focused monitoring system and strengthen cooperation with the government and central banks of other countries to stabilize the financial market.
[MOSF]
Job Creation through the Korean New Deal (Release Date: January 5)
KDI Economic Trends: Jan. 2009 (Release Date: January 7)
Current Economic Trends: The Green Book (Release Date: January 8)
[FSC]
Plans to Recruit Interns for Financial Firms (Release Date: January 5)
2008 SME Lending and 2009 Plans to Support SMEs (Release Date: January 7)
Public Fund Operation as of Late November 2008 (Release Date: January 8)
[BOK]
BOK Surveys on Lending Practices of Financial Institutions (4th quarter of 2008 and 1st quarter of 2009) (Release Date: January 6)
Financial Markets of December 2008 (Release Date: January 8)
Monetary and Liquidity Aggregates of November 2008 (Release Date: January 8)
Domestic Economic Development of November 2008 (Release Date: January 9)
Monetary Policy Decision (Release Date: January 9)
ANNOUNCEMENT ON UPCOMING RELEASES
For further inquiries:
Ministry of Strategy and Finance (http://english.mosf.go.kr/) : Rim, Jin Hong [email protected] +822 2150 2450 Financial Services Commission (http://www.fsc.go.kr/eng/): Byun, Young Han [email protected] +822 2156 9541 Bank of Korea (http://www.bok.or.kr/eng/engMain.action) : Kim, Seong [email protected] +822 759 4028
