S.Korea's retail companies jump on modest minimum wage hike

BGF Retail

12/07/2019 01:51

** Shares of South Korea's retail companies gain after the
country's Minimum Wage Commission says it has agreed to raise
next year's hourly minimum wage by 2.9% to 8,590 won ($7.30),
the weakest hike since 2010 
    ** South Korea's labor minister will confirm and notify the
decision by Aug. 5, the ministry says in a statement 
    ** The committee has raised mandatory minimum wage by 16.4%
for 2018 and 10.9% for 2019, after labour-friendly President
Moon Jae-in took office 
    ** Shares of GS Retail  007070.KS  and BGF Retail
 282330.KS  jump as much as 4% and 8%, respectively 
    ** Offline retailers' payroll cost burden would be reduced
considerably, particularly for convenience stores and
discounters, Lee Jin-hyeob, an analyst at Yuanta Securities
Korea, says in a note
    ** The wholesale & retail sub-index  .KS45  was one of the
biggest percentage gainers in early trade by climbing 0.9% 
    ** The broader KOSPI market  .KS11  was trading flat
    
    ($1 = 1,177.2700 won)

 ((hayoung.choi.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))