A poster warns about the Wuhan coronavirus and visits to the Chinese city at Incheon International Airport on Wednesday. [YONHAP]Fear of the spread of a new virus from China looms on Korea’s economic landscape, especially among those that remember the last two infectious illness scares: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002-2003 and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2015.Korea has only one confirmed case of the new coronavirus, which infected a Chinese woman traveling from Wuhan, where the human illnesses started.But with the Lunar New Year holidays beginning on Friday - when millions of Chinese will travel domestically and overseas - fears are growing of an economic impact similar to SARS or MERS.The Korea Tourism Organization estimates some 130,000 Chinese people will visit Korea during the holiday season. The SARS outbreak significantly contracted domestic consumption and even exports from Korea, whose biggest trading partner is China. The retail and … [Read more...] about China virus already causing chill
2019 saw 2% growth, says BOK, lowest rate since 2009
The Korean economy expanded at the slowest pace in a decade in 2019, largely weighed down by an extended slump in outbound shipments amid a lengthy trade row between the United States and China, the central bank said Wednesday.Korea’s GDP expanded 2 percent in 2019 from a year earlier, according to advance data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).The figure marks the slowest on-year growth since 2009, when Asia’s fourth-largest economy expanded 0.7 percent in the aftermath of the financial crisis that jolted the global economy the year before.The Korean economy is expected to grow 2.3 percent this year.The BOK partly blamed poor export conditions for the lowest growth in a decade but also what it called a “structural” or fundamental change.The U.S.-China trade dispute and delayed recovery in the global semiconductor market were cited as major reasons for the low growth rate.“The country’s economic growth depends heavily on exports, and the global economic … [Read more...] about 2019 saw 2% growth, says BOK, lowest rate since 2009
Main index closes lunar year up
Investors chat in front of an electronic board displaying share prices at Maybank Kim Eng Securities Company. The VN-Index rose more than five points in the last session of the old lunar year - PHOTO: THANH HOA HCMC – The VN-Index rose for the second consecutive session today, ending the Year of the Pig up 5.09 points, or 0.52%, over the session yesterday at 991.46 points. … [Read more...] about Main index closes lunar year up
U.S. Senate blocks Democratic bids for evidence, witnesses in Trump impeachment trial
McConnell unveiled a plan on Tuesday to give Democratic prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers 24 hours each over three days for opening arguments, easing off an earlier plan to keep them to two days and also allowing the House’s record of the probe to be admitted as evidence.. … [Read more...] about U.S. Senate blocks Democratic bids for evidence, witnesses in Trump impeachment trial
Saltwater intrusion in Mekong Delta to ease by April
HÀ NỘI – Saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta might reduce between late March and June this year, according to Phùng Tiến Dũng, head of the Hydrological Forecasting Department for the Central, Central Highlands and Southern region. … [Read more...] about Saltwater intrusion in Mekong Delta to ease by April
