Default rate of S. Korean corporate bills inches up in January

The default rate of corporate bills in South Korea inched up in January on a growth in delinquent bills by bankrupt companies, central bank data showed on Monday.

The rate of corporate bills, which failed to be redeemed in maturity, gained 0.02 percentage points from a month earlier to 0. 19 percent in January, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The rise came on the back of an increase in bankrupt bills from bankrupt companies rather than a hike in the number of bankrupt companies.

The number of companies, which went belly-up, was 67 in January, unchanged from the previous month.

The number of manufacturers going bankrupt increased from December's 20 to 25 in January, with the number for service companies rising from 33 to 34 in the same period. The figure for construction firms reduced from nine to five in the cited period.

Companies, which failed to redeem promissory notes and checks, trended down from 2013 because banks turned generous toward small firms in terms of loans.

The number of newly established corporate entities reached 8, 070 in January, marking the second only to the record high of 8, 129 tallied in July 2014.

The new corporate entities stayed at a high level as retired baby-boomers are rushing to launch businesses under the regulatory and financial assistance from the government. Endi