S. Korea's brokerages see 54 pct drop in 2008 earnings

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- Securities companies in South Korea saw their earnings
more than halve in fiscal 2008 as slumping stock markets reduced their commission
income, the financial watchdog said Monday.
The combined net income of 60 local and foreign brokerages stood at 2.04 trillion
won (US$1.65 billion) in the April-March period, down 53.8 percent from a year
earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said.
The tumble came as falling stock prices last year weighed down their commission
and fee incomes, the FSS said in a report. The key index KOSPI plunged nearly 29
percent in 2008.
Samsung Securities Co. posted the largest net income of 229.7 billion won,
followed by Woori Investment & Securities Co. with 181.8 billion won and Daewoo
Securities Co. with 180.5 billion won.
The companies' total assets expanded 13.7 percent on-year to reach 148.8 trillion
won as of the end of March, the watchdog said.
Their aggregate liabilities stood at 117 trillion won as of the end of March with
total paid-in capital reaching 31.8 trillion won, it said.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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