Seoul stocks slump amid spiking COVID-19 cases

South Korean stocks finished lower Monday as investors remained wary of the country's spiking new coronavirus outbreaks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 7.86 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 2,762.2 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 16.8 trillion won ($15.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 577 to 276. Foreigners sold a net 360 billion won, while retail investors

MarketDec. 14, 2020

Retail investors rush to buy soaring Samsung Electronics shares

South Korean retail investors last week injected over 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion) to buy Samsung Electronics shares that touched the 70,000 won mark for the first time earlier this month, data showed Monday. During the five trading sessions, small domestic investors scooped up nearly 1.26 trillion won of the blue chip shares, while foreign and institutional investors offloaded a net 1.07 trillion won and 286.4 billion won worth of the shares, respectively, according to the Korea Exchange da

MarketDec. 14, 2020

US expressed concerns over S. Korea’s efforts to curb Google: lawmaker

The US government has expressed worries over South Korean lawmakers’ move to block a new pricing policy of US platform giant Google, a lawmaker claimed Monday. According to Rep. Jeon Jae-soo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, multiple government ministries and agencies received a letter from the Korean Embassy in the US that summarized a phone conversation between the embassy’s official and the deputy United States trade representative. The discussion, classified as confid

TechnologyDec. 14, 2020

LG CNS wins W100b project digitalizing Indonesia’s tax system

LG CNS has clenched a contract worth 100 billion won ($92 million) to digitize Indonesia’s national tax administration system, the information and communication technology solutions provider said Monday. LG CNS, a LG Group company, was the only South Korean firm among the seven bidders for the project, which included IBM and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone. Under the deal, LG CNS will digitize Indonesia‘s tax administration system, used by the nation’s 42 million taxpayers

TechnologyDec. 14, 2020

NH-Amundi's ESG-oriented equity fund raises W100b

NH-Amundi Asset Management said Monday that its equity fund dedicated to environmental, social and governance factors in investment decisions has surpassed 100 billion won ($91.7 million) by the size of assets it was managing, indicating South Korean retail investors’ appetite for the green theme. The product, dubbed NH-Amundi Century Enterprise Green Korea Equity Fund, was launched on Sept. 3. It has attracted 60 billion won worth of retail investment, while 40 billion won stemmed from

MarketDec. 14, 2020

'Decentralization to unfold in Seoul office market'

South Korea is expected to witness a decentralization of the office market in its capital city Seoul over the next few years as major tenants are planning to relocate and new submarkets emerge, a report showed Monday. Chaebol tenants such as Samsung, Doosan, Hyundai Heavy, LG are planning relocations within the Greater Seoul area, while banking group Hana Financial Group and public institutions are considering moving out of Seoul, leading to a “great reshuffling” of the Seoul offic

MarketDec. 14, 2020

Woori Bank ditches postal notification service to go paperless

Major South Korean lender Woori Bank said Monday it is set to launch a mobile-based notification service on Tuesday to replace its current postal delivery of documents regarding customer banking activities. After completing a personal identification process in the bank’s mobile application, its users will receive e-notifications of 21 pieces of banking information on deposits or loans, including repayment due dates, which previously have been mailed to their home address.  Marking

MarketDec. 14, 2020

S. Korea's Nafabeltan gets clinical approval for COVID-19 treatment in Australia

South Korean drug firm Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp. said Monday that it has won approval from Australia's drug authorities to begin a phase three clinical trial for coronavirus treatment with its acute pancreatitis drug. The drug, Nafabeltan, will be administered to patients as part of the Australian government-led clinical study to find a COVID-19 treatment. The drug is currently used as a blood anticoagulant and acute pancreatitis treatment. The Australian COVID-19 Trial, also known a

IndustryDec. 14, 2020

[News Focus] COVID-19 'star' Seegene posts tenfold jump in revenue

South Korean diagnostics company Seegene is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global COVID-19 crisis. On Monday, the molecular biotech firm announced that its aggregate revenues so far this year topped 1 trillion won ($916.3 million) on the back of strong demand for COVID-19 test kits and diagnostic machines. That is nearly 10 times larger than the 122 billion won reported for all of 2019. “The COVID-19 pandemic has raised public trust in Seegene’s molecular diagnostics rea

IndustryDec. 14, 2020

[Herald Interview] What COVID-19 means for vaccine makers

The aphorism that a crisis can be an opportunity has never struck home so much as it has for vaccine companies in the era of COVID-19. Not only has the pandemic raised awareness of the role of vaccines in health care, but it also expedited crucial advances in innovative vaccine technologies such as messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA, vaccines. Heightened public interest in individual vaccine firms is another plus. Speaking to the media for the first time since assuming his role on Aug. 25, v

IndustryDec. 14, 2020

Sales of S. Korean firms edge up in 2019, but operating profits tumble

South Korean companies saw their combined sales inch up in 2019 but their operating profits tumble amid a trade spat between the United States and China, as well as weak demand for semiconductors, government data showed Monday. The combined sales of 752,675 companies reached 4,987 trillion won ($4.52 trillion) last year, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Their operating profit slipped 22.7 percent on-year to 220 trillion won in 2019, the da

EconomyDec. 14, 2020

S. Korea vows more emergency steps over winter wave of virus infections

South Korea's top financial regulator said Monday that his agency will take more emergency steps, if necessary, as health authorities struggle to contain a winter wave of coronavirus infections. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo made the remarks a day after the nation reported its highest one-day increase of 1,030 infections. In the span of the past 10 days, the nation recorded about 7,500 confirmed infections, bringing the total caseload to 43,484 on Monday. "As

EconomyDec. 14, 2020

Hyundai tops global hydrogen auto sales through Sept.

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. topped the global hydrogen vehicle sales in the first nine months of the year on rising demand for the Nexo model, data showed Monday. In the first nine months, Hyundai Motor sold a total of 4,917 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, accounting for 74 percent of the global hydrogen car market, according to data from local market research firm SNE Research. Toyota Motors Corp. ranked second with a share of 11.5 percent, or 767 vehicles, while Honda Motor Co. ran

MobilityDec. 14, 2020

Banks' loan delinquency rate inches up in October

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans edged up in October from the previous month, but remained stable, the financial regulator said Monday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.34 percent at the end of October, up 0.04 percentage point from September, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the bank loan delinquency rate was down 0.12 percentage point. The delinquency rate for corporate loans ros

EconomyDec. 14, 2020

Korea Shipbuilding wins W400b order from Europe

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Monday that it has signed a 400 billion won ($367 million) deal to build four crude carriers with a European company. The 300,000-ton vessels to be built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., a unit of Korea Shipbuilding, will be delivered starting in May 2022, the company said. The company hinted at obtaining additional orders till the end of the year, saying, "There have been constant inquiries about various kinds of ships includin

IndustryDec. 14, 2020

Asiana decides on capital reduction to improve financial status

Asiana Airlines Inc. said Monday it will cut its capital base to improve its financial status amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Shareholders approved a 3:1 capital reduction plan as the airline's capital erosion rate reached 56.3 percent at the end of June, a company spokesman said. "The company made the decision to avoid being designated as issues for administration or having its credit rating downgraded," he said over the phone. After the reduction, the number of Asiana's overall stocks

MobilityDec. 14, 2020

Auto exports dip 10% in Nov. amid virus jitters

South Korea's auto exports dropped 10.2 percent on-year in November, falling at a faster pace compared with the previous month, amid the global resurgence of new coronavirus cases. Local carmakers shipped a combined 190,657 units of automobiles overseas last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports rose 2.1 percent to $3.9 billion. During the January-November period, the country sold 1,714,702 units of cars overseas, down 2

EconomyDec. 14, 2020

Seoul stocks open tad higher on tech gains amid COVID-19 concerns

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Monday on the back of strong tech and pharmaceutical gains, but investors remain wary of the country's spiking new coronavirus outbreaks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 3.96 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,774.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Contact-free shares, such as giant chipmakers, drugmakers and online platform operators, advanced as South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases broke the 1,000 mark for the first tim

MarketDec. 14, 2020

Kia workers continue strike for higher pay amid pandemic

Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp. will extend their partial strike this week to demand higher wages and bonuses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the union said Monday. Daytime and night-duty workers will hold a four-hour strike daily at Kia's three domestic plants in Gwangmyeong and Hwaseong, both near Seoul, and Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, from Monday to Thursday and stage a six-hour walkout in the plants Friday, a union spokesman said. Kia workers already have held a partial strik

EconomyDec. 14, 2020

Retail investors swoop on Samsung Electronics amid price surge

South Korean retail investors loaded up on shares of top-cap Samsung Electronics Co. last week amid a surge in its share price, data showed Monday. Individual investors bought a net 1.26 trillion won ($1.15 billion) worth of Samsung from Monday to Friday, their top pick among local companies, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. In contrast, foreign investors and local institutions sold a net 1.29 trillion won worth of Samsung shares during the five-session period. Individuals' stro

MarketDec. 14, 2020