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| Economy |
| Seoul to suspend sale of dollar-denominated state bonds |
| 2009-10-11 |
| SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will refrain from selling dollar-denominated state bonds for the time being, officials at the finance ministry said Sunday, reflecting concerns that the local currency has strengthened excessively against the greenback. South Korea suffered from a severe dollar shortage last year, hit by the global financial meltdown, which prompted the government to announce a plan to issue a record US$6 billion in currency stabilization bonds in 2009. Seoul has sold $3 billion worth of the bonds so far this year. But as the global credit crunch has eased and local banks and companies have become more able to borrow dollars from abroad, the government has decided to put additional dollar-denominated bond issuance on hold, ministry officials said. "Currently, the government is considering scaling back or stopping the sale of currency stabilization bonds, and instead issuing non-dollar state bonds. The government is open to all options," said a senior official at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The Korean won has gained about 35 percent to the greenback since March, raising concerns that the sharp gain may hurt exports, the backbone of the local economy. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 The Korean won has gained about 35 percent to the greenback since March, raising concerns that the sharp gain may hurt exports, the backbone of the local economy. If you have been eye'ing that Samsung LCD widescreen for Christmas, now is probably a good time to buy it. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-10-11 09:06 |