May 11, 1999
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| May 11, 1999 | atimes.com | |
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| The Koreas Finance minister denies overheating of Seoul stock market SEOUL - South Korean Finance and Economy Minister Lee Kyu-sung said Thursday that the bullish stock exchange was backed up by real economic growth, not bubbles, pointing out many rights offerings on the exchange this year. In a speech delivered to the National Defense College in Seoul, Lee denied for the first time that the stock market was overheated. Growth on the stock market has been supported by economic recovery and corporate restructuring to upgrade their operations, not the inflow of funds from banks for higher earnings, he said. The bullish trend is also in line with stock markets around the world, including the New York Stock Exchange, Lee added. ''High expectations on corporate earnings this year have driven up not only stocks but also beneficiary cerfificates by attracting foreign and institutional investors,'' he said. Economic recovery has spread to such key sectors as autos and semiconductors, and the market has received a boost from this real economic progress and rebounded from its plunge last year, he said. The ministry will keep the current bull run going for as long as possible by not altering current economic policies, including those to boost growth. Bank interest rates on retail loans will be pushed down lower to fan consumption along with the extension of temporary exemptions on investment taxes set to expire in June to further fuel investment, the minister said. Lee also denied that the property market is overheated, saying that it is hard to expect the sector's recovery anytime soon. The excess buying spree for apartments has been restricted to certain parts of the country. (Asia Pulse/Yonhap) | |||||||||
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