Industrial loans in S. Korea hit new high on demand from manufacturing, real estate sectors

Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-29 14:18:52|Editor: xuxin
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SEOUL, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Industrial loans in South Korea hit a record high on demand from manufacturing and real estate sectors, central bank data showed Monday.

Such loans amounted to 1,001.7 trillion won (0.9 trillion U.S. dollars) as of end-March, up 16.1 trillion won, or 1.6 percent, from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The industrial loans mean debts owed by industries, which include companies, self-employed, public institutions and the government, to deposit-taking financial companies such as banks, savings banks and mutual credit.

The loans surpassed 1,000 trillion won for the first time since the bank began compiling the data in 2008.

In the past four years, the loan growth got faster as the BOK cut its benchmark interest rate from 3.25 percent in July 2012 to an all-time low of 1.25 percent in June last year.

Loans to manufacturers jumped 6.2 trillion won from three months earlier to 330.5 trillion won as of end-March. The growth was attributable to the investment increase amid an export recovery.

Those to real estate developers expanded 4.8 trillion won to 176.2 trillion won in the cited period, with those to services companies gaining 8.2 trillion won to 577.4 trillion won.

Amid the record-low interest rate, households rushed to purchase new home with borrowed money and helped increase the loans in the real estate sector.

Loans to construction companies rose 1.9 trillion won to 39.5 trillion won in the same period. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1,120.78 South Korean Won)

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