ID :
61324
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 16:07
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/61324
The shortlink copeid
Number of bankruptcies falls for 4th month in April
SEOUL, May 19 (Yonhap) -- The number of South Korean corporate bankruptcies
declined in April for a fourth month thanks to a set of economic stimulus
measures and liquidity supply, the central bank said Tuesday.
Business failures totaled 219 last month, down four from the previous month,
according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The country's corporate bankruptcies
declined since hitting a near four-year high in December, it added.
"Amid some signs of an economic recovery and a set of actions by the government
and the central bank -- liquidity supply, credit guarantees and rate cuts -- had
positive effects on the economy," said Lee Bum-ho, an official at the BOK.
"Given the ongoing corporate restructuring drive, it is too early to say that the
figure represents a downward trend. But it is fair to say that the number of
business failures will likely not return to the level seen a few months ago."
Last month, parliament approved a record 28.4-trillion-won extra budget aimed at
generating jobs and boosting domestic demand.
In an effort to stimulate the economy, the BOK cut its key rate six consecutive
times totaling 3.25 percentage points to a record low of 2 percent until
February.
The number of start-ups, meanwhile, rose by 474 to 5,038 in April, hitting a
15-month high. The ratio of start-ups to business failures reached 32.9, hitting
the highest level since July 2008 when the rate was 34.1, the BOK said.
The default rate of corporate bills -- bonds, checks and promissory notes --
reached 0.03 percent last month, down 0.02 percentage point from the previous
month, it added.
The South Korean economy narrowly averted a recession, or two straight quarters
of contraction, in the first quarter by growing 0.1 percent from three months
earlier, due largely to rate cuts and the government's economic pump-priming
measures.
The BOK predicted that Asia's fourth-largest economy will contract 2.4 percent
this year, the worst performance in 11 years, due to falling exports and sluggish
domestic demand.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
declined in April for a fourth month thanks to a set of economic stimulus
measures and liquidity supply, the central bank said Tuesday.
Business failures totaled 219 last month, down four from the previous month,
according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The country's corporate bankruptcies
declined since hitting a near four-year high in December, it added.
"Amid some signs of an economic recovery and a set of actions by the government
and the central bank -- liquidity supply, credit guarantees and rate cuts -- had
positive effects on the economy," said Lee Bum-ho, an official at the BOK.
"Given the ongoing corporate restructuring drive, it is too early to say that the
figure represents a downward trend. But it is fair to say that the number of
business failures will likely not return to the level seen a few months ago."
Last month, parliament approved a record 28.4-trillion-won extra budget aimed at
generating jobs and boosting domestic demand.
In an effort to stimulate the economy, the BOK cut its key rate six consecutive
times totaling 3.25 percentage points to a record low of 2 percent until
February.
The number of start-ups, meanwhile, rose by 474 to 5,038 in April, hitting a
15-month high. The ratio of start-ups to business failures reached 32.9, hitting
the highest level since July 2008 when the rate was 34.1, the BOK said.
The default rate of corporate bills -- bonds, checks and promissory notes --
reached 0.03 percent last month, down 0.02 percentage point from the previous
month, it added.
The South Korean economy narrowly averted a recession, or two straight quarters
of contraction, in the first quarter by growing 0.1 percent from three months
earlier, due largely to rate cuts and the government's economic pump-priming
measures.
The BOK predicted that Asia's fourth-largest economy will contract 2.4 percent
this year, the worst performance in 11 years, due to falling exports and sluggish
domestic demand.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
