Japan Facing Pressure From Asia-Pacific Ministers Over Yen Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Finance Minister Koji Omi is
likely to face pressure over the value of the yen from economies as
diverse as South Korea and New Zealand at a meeting of 21 Asia-
Pacific policy makers in Australia starting today.

Money borrowed in Japan, where the benchmark interest rate is
0.5 percent, is being invested in economies offering higher returns.
New Zealand, where the key rate is 8.25 percent, has seen its
currency driven to a 22-year high by the so-called yen carry trade.
Thailand's baht has surged to its highest since the Asian financial
crisis a decade ago, as has the South Korean won.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Cattle Futures Climb Fifth Straight Week on Exports; Hogs Futures Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Cattle futures rose to a three-month
high in Chicago, capping their fifth-straight weekly gain, on
expectations that U.S. beef exports will increase. Hog prices
also advanced.

U.S. beef shipments to Japan and South Korea have risen
since both countries lifted bans imposed in December 2003 after
a mad-cow disease outbreak. Japan bought $1.4 billion of U.S.
beef in 2003 and South Korea bought $814 million worth.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

South Korea's Kospi Index Falls Most in Four Months; Lotte Shares Decline

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's Kospi index fell the
most in four months as investors judged excessive the rally that
this week drove the Kospi index above 2,000 for the first time.
Samsung Electronics Co. led the decline.

``Today's loss is because of profit-taking,'' said Kim Ki
Bong, who oversees $2 billion at CJ Asset Management Co. in
Seoul. ``Shares have become more volatile of late as people are
quicker to sell if the market turns down and buy more heavily
during the rallies.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

South Korean Won May Drop on Concern Central Bank Will Sell Its Currency

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won may fall for the
first time in five days on concern the central bank will sell it
to prevent the currency's advance to a seven-month high from
eroding exporters' profits.

A stronger won reduces the foreign-exchange earnings Korean
exporters get from their dollar revenue. Finance Minister Kwon
Okyu on July 9 said authorities will ``actively respond'' to
gains in the won when necessary.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

EU offers to cut import duties from South Korea

(Reuters) - The European Union has offered to cut all its import duties on goods from South Korea as part of a free trade deal on condition that Seoul opens its economy to European investments, the EU executive said on Sunday.

EU and South Korean negotiators will hold on Monday in Brussels their second round of talks on a deal that could significantly boost their 60 billion euro bilateral trade.


Read more at Reuters Africa

South Korea's Stocks Gain for Second Day; Samsung and Posco Lead Advance

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's benchmark stock index,
the Kospi Index, rose 2.15 percent at 9:05 a.m.

The index of 729 companies traded on the Korea Exchange rose
41.06 to 1,950.81. Among the stocks in the index, 528 rose, 47
fell and 156 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Asian Shares Rise, Led by BHP Billiton, Posco, on Metals Prices, Takeovers

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks climbed, led by BHP
Billiton Ltd., on higher commodity prices and speculation of
further takeovers in the metals industry.

Rio Tinto Group, the world's third-largest mining company,
rose to a record after the Times of London said it's set to bid
for Alcan Inc. South Korea's Posco paced a rally in steelmakers
after Chaparral Steel Co. agreed to be bought for $4.22 billion.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

South Korea's Kospi Index Climbs; Samsung Electronics, Posco Lead Gains

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks advanced. Samsung
Electronics Co. gained after Korea Investment & Securities Co.
raised its price estimates for chipmakers, saying demand for
memory will rise.

Posco rose after Daishin Securities Co. lifted its price
estimate, citing a possible rebound in steel prices.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Morgan Stanley to buy $1 bln Seoul office building

(Reuters) - SEOUL, July 9 - Morgan Stanley will buy a
Seoul office building from South Korea's Daewoo Engineering and
Construction Co. for $1 billion in the Wall Street
bank's latest big deal in the booming Asian property market.




Morgan Stanley has joined a slew of foreign investors buying
Asian property assets, which are yielding stable returns on the
back of tight supply in a region which has been chalking up
blistering economic growth.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

S.Korea raises 2007 export, import growth forecasts

(Reuters) - South Korea lifted its forecast for exports on Sunday, expecting annual growth of 12.8 percent in 2007 thanks to overall healthy expansion in the global economy, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The ministry also raised its forecast for imports growth to 13.9 percent and predicted this year's trade surplus would exceed $15 billion, narrowing from $16.1 billion recorded last year.


Read more at Reuters Africa

LG hopes to sell C-C Amatil unit shrs to Coca-Cola

(Reuters) - South Korean online news provider EDaily quoted an LG
source as saying later in the day that the company was planning
to sell some shares in the unit to Coca-Cola, once the deal
closed, to secure basic liquids from the U.S. company.




"Once the acquisition is completed and Coca-Cola wants such
a deal, we can consider selling part of the shares," said a
spokesman at LG Household. "We have sought investment by
Coca-Cola from the very initial stage."


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Cattle Gain Most in Nearly Four Months on Asian Beef Demand; Hogs Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Cattle futures rose the most in almost
four months as a weekly export sales report indicated strong
demand for U.S. beef. Hog prices fell.

U.S. exporters reported net sales of 11,300 metric tons of
beef for the week ended June 28, including 1,300 tons for Japan
and South Korea, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Exports to those two nations, largely closed to U.S. beef since
December 2003 over mad-cow disease concerns, indicate longer-term
demand, said Troy Vetterkind, a trader at e-Hedger in Chicago.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 2-LG Household to buy Coca-Cola Amatil Korea unit

(Reuters) - SYDNEY, July 6 - Australian soft drinks firm Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. said on Friday it had chosen LG Household and Health Care Ltd. as the preferred bidder for its South Korean operations.



Amatil, 35 percent-owned by Coca-Cola Co. , said the purchase price would be in the range of A$520 million to A$545 million , including debt, and it expected the deal to be completed in three months.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Korean Won Drops for Third Day as Government Reiterates Concern at Rally

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won rose, reversing
earlier losses, on speculation increasing exports will help
boost growth in Asia's third-largest economy.

The won is set for a fourth weekly gain as equity purchases
by overseas investors helped send the benchmark stock index to a
series of records. The currency opened the day lower on concern
the central bank would sell it after officials this week
stressed they would take action to curb its advance.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

South Korean Stocks Climb for Third Day; Kookmin, Samsung Electronics Gain

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's stocks rose for a third
day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in a news report,
signaled the Communist state is ready to begin dismantling its
nuclear program. Kookmin Bank and Samsung Electronics Co. gained.

``The direct beneficiary will be the Korean market, as
foreign investors may turn more positive,'' said Jo Dong Hyuk,
who oversees $1.9 billion in global equities at Korea Investment
Trust Management Co. in Seoul. ``The geopolitical risk was the
biggest reason for the `Korea Discount.'''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Treasury Notes Decline as Gains in Stocks Reduce Demand for Safety

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. 10-year Treasury notes fell as
the Dow Jones Industrial Average's biggest gain in almost three
weeks reduced demand for the relative safety of government debt.

Bonds snapped a two-day rally after the Nasdaq Composite
Index of shares closed at the highest in six years, overcoming
concern spurred by terrorist plots in the U.K. last weekend. Ten-
year yields climbed above 5 percent as shares also gained in
China, Hong Kong and South Korea.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Korea Deposit Hires Citigroup, Deutsche to Sell Kepco Stake, People Say

(Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG
were among four banks hired by Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. to
sell a $1.43 billion stake in South Korea's largest utility, two
people with knowledge of the matter said.

Woori Investment & Securities Co. and Good Morning Shinhan
Securities Co. will also help arrange the sale of 32.2 million
shares in Korea Electric Power Corp., the people said, declining
to be identified because details aren't public.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Exporters, Shipbuilders, Hyundai, Kia, KT&G: South Korea Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following shares may rise or fall
in South Korea. Prices refer to the previous close. This preview
includes news announced after markets shut yesterday. Stock
symbols are in brackets after the company names.

The Kospi index rose 1.6 percent to 1771.35. The Kosdaq added
0.8 percent to 784.61. Kospi 200 futures expiring in September
advanced 2.1 percent to 226.35, while the underlying index climbed
1.6 percent to 224.75.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

South Korean Won Rises as Export Growth Quickens; Government Bonds Advance

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won had its highest
close since Dec. 14 on speculation growth in Asia's third-
largest economy will accelerate, helped by rising exports.
Government bonds declined.

The won gained for a third day as a government report today
showed exports, which account for about 40 percent of the
economy, grew faster than expected in June. The finance minister
said improving overseas sales will help drive a quicker economic
expansion in the next six months. The currency touched the
highest in almost 10 years against the yen on June 22 and is
trading within 0.3 percent of that level today.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

South Korea's Kospi Index Gains; LG.Philips, Samsung Heavy Lead Advances

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's benchmark stock index,
the Kospi Index, rose 0.07 percent at 9:05 a.m.

The index of 730 companies traded on the Korea Exchange rose
1.20 to 1,744.80. Among the stocks in the index, 365 rose, 213
fell and 152 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News