S. Korean biz failures dip to record low in Aug.

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- The number of South Korean corporate bankruptcies
declined to an all-time low in August, the central bank said Sunday, underpinning
growing prospects for an economic recovery.
Business failures totaled 110 last month, down 19 from the previous month,
according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure was the lowest level since
January 1990, when the BOK began to compile related data.
"The number of business failures continued to be on a downward trend mainly due
to state-led credit guarantees and rollovers of bank loans for smaller firms," a
BOK official said.
The number of corporate failures declined for the sixth straight month in June
before slightly rebounding in July. The previous record-low for business failures
was 125 recorded in June, the BOK added.
The number of start-ups, meanwhile, fell by 934 on-month to 4,567 in August. In
July, the number of newly-established companies rose to a near seven-year high.
The default rate of corporate bills -- bonds, checks and promissory notes --
reached 0.02 percent last month, unchanged from the previous month.
A batch of economic data are stoking optimism that the Korean economy is emerging
from its worst downturn in more than a decade. Asia's fourth-largest economy grew
2.6 percent in the second quarter from three months earlier on the back of
massive economic stimulus packages.
The government and the BOK have been scrambling to boost the slumping economy by
unveiling large-scale fiscal spending and trimming the policy rate. The BOK cut
its key rate by 3.25 percentage points to a record low of 2 percent between
October and February.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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