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Due to continued weakening of the Korean won since the onset of the global economic crisis, the exchange loss incurred by Korea¡¯s 30 largest companies reportedly exceeded W10 trillion by the end of September.
According to chaebul.com, which specializes in information on Korea¡¯s big conglomerates, on Sunday, 164 affiliates of the top 30 conglomerates listed on the stock market, with the exception of financial institutions, recorded W10.71 trillion losses from currency depreciation by the end of September this year. This roughly translates into W330 billion of loss per conglomerate.
This is due to the crashing value of Korea¡¯s currency, which has snow-balled the debts of companies that received loans or issued bonds in U.S. dollars or Japanese yen. At the beginning of the year, US$ 1 equaled W930 but is now worth around W 1,400. Likewise, JPY 1 was about W 850 at the beginning of 2008, but is now around W1,500.
The exchange loss includes the actual loss incurred from selling company assets in foreign currency and debts, which mounts to W1.501 trillion, and the loss recorded in the account book, which is around W 8.56 trillion. Last year, thanks to a stable currency, the top 30 conglomerates benefited to the tune of W123.5 billion in exchange gains from Jan. to Sep. 2007.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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