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

Foreigners' net buying of Korean stocks hits nearly 7-year high in Nov.

Foreign investors' net purchase of South Korean stocks reached a near seven-year high in November, with Britons emerging as the biggest buyers, data showed Monday. Foreigners bought a net 6.1 trillion won ($5.6 billion) worth of local stocks in November, the largest monthly net tally since September 2013, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Britons were the biggest net buyers of South Korean equities with 2.2 trillion won last month, which accounted for 36 perce

MarketDec. 14, 2020

[Women in Finance 3] Women who broke the glass ceiling

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of special reports on the glass ceiling in the financial industry, focusing on South Korea’s market compared with other major economies. Funded by The Korea Press Foundation, the series will evaluate where Asia’s fourth-largest economy stands in terms of gender equality, will reflect on changes being made and will explore ways to boost inclusion in the sector. -- Ed. Looking back at her 41-year career in South Korea’s finance sector, Soh

MarketDec. 13, 2020

LG Chem’s cathode plant in Wuxi, China, to run 100% on reusable energy from 2021

LG Chem is taking steps to carry out its pledge to create no more carbon emissions by 2050. Starting 2021, the company’s cathode material plant in Wuxi, China, will run entirely on reusable energy provided by the local Leyou New Energy Materials, LG Chem said Sunday. Carbon emissions reduction from the change is expected to be 100,000 tons a year. This has the effect of planting 1.7 million trees every year, the company said. Leyou New Energy Materials generates reusable energy using w

IndustryDec. 13, 2020

Tesla accident: Faulty vehicle or bad driving?

South Korean police are investigating a Tesla crash that killed one person and injured two others last week, to see if defects in the vehicle could have played a role. The Yongsan Police Station said Sunday that the vehicle has been delivered to the National Forensic Service for a forensic investigation, after the Seoul Western District Court issued a search and seizure warrant Friday. The vehicle, a Tesla Model X produced this year, caught fire after crashing into a wall late Wednesday as i

MobilityDec. 13, 2020

Hyundai Motor Group acquires US robotics firm

Hyundai Motor Group is taking the first major step toward transforming into a smart mobility solution provider, acquiring the world’s leading robotics firm, Boston Dynamics. The Korean conglomerate announced late Friday its agreement with SoftBank to acquire a controlling interest in the mobile robot firm, valued at $1.1 billion. Under the agreement, three Hyundai Motor companies and group Chairman Chung Euisun will together hold 80 percent of the firm’s shares, while SoftBank r

MobilityDec. 13, 2020

Woori Financial vows to go carbon neutral by 2050

Woori Financial Group vowed Friday to go carbon neutral by 2050 in line with South Korea’s vision of becoming a net zero carbon society, the group said Sunday. The first steps towards the goal would be achieving and implementing “coal-free finance,” launching a special team for environmental, social and governance tasks and establishing a committee formed of subsidiaries to discuss ESG-related strategies. The chief executives of Woori’s subsidiaries have decided to hal

EconomyDec. 13, 2020

Hopes pinned on COVID-19 treatments, not vaccines, in Korea

With the daily number of new COVID-19 cases surpassing 1,000 for the first time Sunday, South Korea’s bet on the most feasible exit plan from the mayhem is treatments, not vaccines. While both vaccines and treatment may be needed to extinguish the pandemic for good, so far for Korea, treatments are making quicker advances to actual use on people here. National household names Celltrion and GC Pharma are inches away from acquiring conditional use permits from local health authorities, ac

IndustryDec. 13, 2020

Online gift-giving catches on amid COVID-19 woes

As giving gifts in person is harder to do this year amid calls to reduce human contact to stop the spread of the coronavirus, online gift-giving is enjoying a surge in popularity, industry sources indicated Sunday. SSG.com, retail giant Shinsegae Group’s online shopping platform, said sales generated from its gift service saw a 64.6 percent year-on-year increase between January and November this year, citing internal data. Among the brands available on the website, it was coffeehouse cha

ConsumerDec. 13, 2020

[Time to Play] Despite its pay-to-win system, WeMade’s Mir 4 is irresistible

When it comes to pricing, luxury fashion and games may not be so different. As long as there are consumers willing to pay extra for a premium experience, it is that perceived value that could determine the price of a product. WeMade’s Mir 4, despite its notorious pay-to-win system, may prove just that in the local gaming industry. With an intricate storyline and superb graphics, the game is simply irresistible to avid players. Launched on Nov. 25 in South Korea by local game developer

IndustryDec. 13, 2020

Posco to step up hydrogen production capacity by 2050

South Korean steelmaker Posco said Sunday it will expand hydrogen production capacity in the next three decades to meet growing demand for the clean energy source and foster new growth drivers. Posco, the world's fifth-largest steelmaker by output, said it will produce up to 5 million tons of hydrogen by 2050 to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy sources. The company plans to launch a hydrogen business unit next month and collaborate with research agencies

IndustryDec. 13, 2020

Starbucks has over 1,500 stores in S. Korea

Starbucks has opened seven new stores in South Korea, bringing the total number of outlets that the US coffee giant has launched since its debut here 21 years ago to 1,503 amid a coffee craze among locals, industry sources said Sunday. Five of the seven new outlets opened Tuesday are drive-thru stores, the sources said. As social distancing guidelines for COVID-19 require coffee shops to adopt tougher virus measures, Starbucks has increased drive-thru outlets to allow customers to buy coffee w

IndustryDec. 13, 2020

S. Korea's trade minister meets with USTR nominee

South Korea's Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee has met with US President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for US trade representative, the trade ministry said Saturday. Yoo discussed pending trade issues with Katherine Tai, the chief trade counsel for the US House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee, during her four-day trip that ended on Friday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, without elaborating. The meeting came before media reports that Biden nominated Tai, a China trade exp

IndustryDec. 12, 2020

Seoul shares likely to further advance next week; vaccinations in focus

South Korean stocks are likely to further rise next week despite some correction, as investors pin high hopes on a quick economic recovery from the pandemic's fallout. Despite a surge in new daily COVID-19 cases, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at an all-time high of 2,770.06 points Friday, up 1.41 percent from a week ago. The KOSPI moved like roller coaster on vaccination reports, rising more than 2 percent Wednesday on the world's first mass COVID-19 vaccination in Britain. The

MarketDec. 12, 2020

Posco chief tapped for second term

Posco CEO Choi Jeong-woo has been chosen for a second term, the company said Friday. The steelmaker’s board of directors unanimously decided to reappoint Choi, whose term expires in March. The appointment is subject to final approval at the company's shareholders’ meeting, slated for March. Choi took office as the company’s ninth CEO in July 2018. It is customary for Posco CEOs to serve consecutive terms.  By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com) 　 　

IndustryDec. 11, 2020

Hyundai Motor to acquire 80-pct stake of Boston Dynamics from SoftBank

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group said Friday its affiliates and its chairman will buy an 80-percent stake, worth up to 900 billion won ($828 million), in US robotics firm Boston Dynamics Inc. in the latest move to propel its future mobility business. The board of directors at Hyundai Motor and its two affiliates, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis, approved the plan to acquire the controlling stake in Boston Dynamics from Japanese investment firm SoftBank Group, Hyundai Motor said in a regulator

MobilityDec. 11, 2020

Mirae Asset's Korean New Deal-themed ETFs top W700b in NAV

Mirae Asset Global Investments said Friday its five exchange-traded funds investing in stocks dedicated to batteries, biotechnology, internet and gaming sectors have topped 700 billion won ($642 million) in their combined net asset value as of Thursday, two months after their listing. The ETFs are its signature Tiger suite of products -- Tiger KRX BBIG K-New Deal ETF, Tiger KRX Bio K-New Deal ETF, Tiger KRX Secondary Battery K-New Deal ETF, Tiger KRX Internet K-New Deal ETF and Tiger KRX Game

MarketDec. 11, 2020

Fidelity unloads W111b Hyundai Marine & Fire stocks since Oct.

US-based investor Fidelity Management & Research has offloaded common shares of Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance worth 111.6 billion won ($102.2 million) on the local stock exchange since October, filings showed Friday. Before the transactions, Fidelity was the third-largest shareholder of Hyundai Marine & Fire, listed on South Korea‘s main stock bourse Kospi, holding 11 percent of its voting rights. That followed Chairman Chung Mong-yoon’s 24.65 percent and the National

MarketDec. 11, 2020

Disney+ to heat up video streaming competition in S. Korea

Walt Disney Co. has said it will launch its flagship streaming service Disney+ in South Korea next year, a move that could intensify competition between local and global streaming giants in the country. Disney said in a tweet for its investor day presentation on Thursday that South Korea is among the major markets, including Eastern Europe and Hong Kong, in which Disney+ will roll out next year. Disney+ has seen rapid growth since its launch in November last year, and the latest announcement f

TechnologyDec. 11, 2020

Celltrion Healthcare's adalimumab biosimilar in last step before EC approval

Celltrion announced Friday that the company’s adalimumab biosimilar candidate CT-P17 has received a positive opinion for marketing authorization from the Committee for the Medicinal Products for Human Use under the European Medicines Agency. Celltrion’s CT-P17 is a biosimilar of Humira, a treatment for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis and psoriasis. The CHMP’s positive assessment will be soon reviewed by the European Commi

TechnologyDec. 11, 2020