Woori Financial to acquire Aju Capital for W572.4b

Woori Financial Group said Friday its board of directors agreed to buy a controlling stake in nonbanking lender Aju Capital from private equity firm Well to Sea Investment for 572.4 billion won ($507.2 million). The move heralds the move of South Korea’s fourth-largest banking group to enhance its nonbanking business and diversify its business portfolio. According to the filing Friday, Woori’s board agreed to acquire 42.6 million common shares, or a 74.04 percent stake, in the co

MarketOct. 23, 2020

S. Korea’s remdesivir-themed stocks surge amid US FDA approval

Remdesivir-related South Korea’s bio firms’ stocks skyrocketed Friday, after the US Food and Drug Administration approved Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug as a treatment for the coronavirus overnight. Shares of Pharmicell on the nation’s main bourse Kospi closed at 18,700 won ($16.50), up 2,600 won, or 16.15 percent, from the previous session’s close. The stock price once peaked at 20,150 won during early afternoon trading hours. The bio firm produces nucleoside, w

MarketOct. 23, 2020

LG Chem applies for US phase 1 trial for NASH drug pipeline

LG Chem, partnering with Chinese firm TransThera Biosciences, has applied for a phase 1 clinical trial of its nonalcoholic fatty liver disease treatment in the US, the company said Friday. LG Chem’s pipeline TT-01025 is an investigational new drug for NASH, short for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, which is a chronic dysfunction of the liver that can lead to cirrhosis or cancer. “With close collaboration with TransThera Biosciences, we expect to enter clinical trials more quickly t

IndustryOct. 23, 2020

Business leaders pick AI as catalyst for innovation: GE survey

A majority of business leaders who participated in the 2020 GE Global Innovation Barometer report acknowledged artificial intelligence as a catalyst for innovation, GE said Friday. The GE Global Innovation Barometer is an opinion survey that has been annually commissioned by GE since 2011 to identify changing perceptions of innovation among business executives around the world. This year, 2,307 executives from 22 countries and 1,004 science and engineering students from 10 countries participa

IndustryOct. 23, 2020

Posco returns to profit in Q3

South Korean steelmaker Posco and its affiliates posted an operating profit of 666.7 billion won ($588.6 million) in the third quarter, down 35.9 percent from the same time a year earlier. The total revenue reached 14.26 trillion won in the same period, down 10.8 percent on-year, and the net profit stood at 514 billion won, up 3.5 percent, the company said. While the quarterly performance stands short of the year before, the operating profit still jumped 297.5 percent on-quarter. Looking at

IndustryOct. 23, 2020

Seoul stocks rebound on Q3 earnings hopes

South Korean stocks rebounded after a choppy session Friday, buoyed by optimism for improved corporate earnings in the third quarter amid the pandemic. The Korean won closed unchanged to the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.76 points, or 0.24 percent, to close at 2,360.81. Trading volume was moderate at 874 million shares worth 10.5 trillion won ($9.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 436 to 408. Foreigners bought a net 37 billion won, while r

MarketOct. 23, 2020

Audio equipment tops overseas online shopping list for electronics

Audio equipment has topped the overseas online shopping list among South Korean shoppers who recently purchased electronics. In tandem with such a rise, the number of complaints over the shopping experience has grown, a survey showed Friday. The Korea Consumer Agency said that its survey revealed audio equipment such as wireless earphones, headphones and speakers was the most popular electronics category to be ordered online from another country. PCs and PC peripherals came second. The survey

ConsumerOct. 23, 2020

Samsung heir hints at visiting Japan soon

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong will likely soon visit Japan to meet with major business partners, according to the conglomerate heir on Friday. Lee had just returned to Seoul after meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi on Tuesday and visiting Samsung’s manufacturing facilities in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday. He didn’t comment on reporters’ questions at Gimpo Airport upon arrival on his response to the Vietnamese prime minister&rsq

TechnologyOct. 23, 2020

Hyundai Glovis Q3 net income up 257.5% to 162.2b won

Hyundai Glovis Co. on Friday reported its third-quarter net profit of 162.2 billion won ($143.1 million), up 257.5 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 161.4 billion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 260.6 billion won a year ago. Revenue fell 22.8 percent to 3.66 trillion won. The operating profit was 2.1 percent lower than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News

EconomyOct. 23, 2020

SK hynix to benefit from Intel deal in long term: analysts

SK hynix Inc.'s acquisition of Intel Corp.'s NAND memory business will bring positive results to the company, analysts here said Friday, as it can beef up profitability and technological prowess in the sector. South Korea's No. 2 chipmaker on Tuesday announced a 10.3 trillion-won ($9 billion) deal to buy Intel's non-volatile memory unit that includes its solid state drive (SSD) business and a NAND flash chip plant in Dalian, China. Local analysts said the deal will help SK hynix achieve econo

IndustryOct. 23, 2020

Shinhan Bank to issue 200b won in hybrids

Major South Korean lender Shinhan Bank said Friday it will issue 200 billion won ($176 million) worth of hybrid bonds in November to bolster its financial health. The envisioned debt sale will be conducted on Nov. 5 and the amount could rise to 300 billion won depending on the outcome of next week's demand forecasting, the lender said. Hybrid bonds, which combine both debt and equity features, help a bank raise its capital ratio. A call option gives the issuer the right of termination before m

EconomyOct. 23, 2020

Finance minister sees need to cut maximum legal lending rate

SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday there is a need to cut the maximum interest rate that private lenders can charge as part of efforts to ease financial burdens on low-income people. In a parliamentary audit meeting, Hong said the government has reviewed a plan to cut the maximum legal lending rate. In 2018, the government lowered the maximum legal lending rate to 24 percent from 27.9 percent. Hong said the government will review market interest rates and other economic facto

EconomyOct. 23, 2020

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Q3 net profit down 61.6% to 83.8b won

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. on Friday reported its third-quarter net income of 83.8 billion won ($73.9 million), down 61.6 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 139.8 billion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with an operating income of 239.2 billion won a year ago. Sales fell 1.1 percent to 4.04 trillion won. The operating profit was 13.9 percent lower than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Info

EconomyOct. 23, 2020

Hyundai Robotics to step into food-tech market with KFC Korea

South Korea's Hyundai Robotics Co. said Friday it has joined hands with fried chicken franchise KFC Korea Co. to automate the chicken cooking process. Under the preliminary deal with KFC Korea, Hyundai Robotics, a unit of global shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH), will develop the automation process to cook chickens by using robots. KFC Korea will provide its stores and cooking know-how under the deal. Food Tech applying high-end technologies to the food industr

IndustryOct. 23, 2020

[Photo News] Samsung TV-BTS pop up store opens in Garosugil

Samsung Electronics has collaborated with K-pop stars BTS on the opening of a pop-up store for fans at Garosugil in southern Seoul, the company said Friday. The Serif, Samsung’s flagship lifestyle TV model, is installed at the three-floor store, “BTS Pop-Up: Map of Soul,” to display music videos of the idol group. Four Serif TVs could be spotted on each floor. On the second floor of the store, Samsung has installed a 1,200-nit HDR LED display to better support the offl

TechnologyOct. 23, 2020

Government to hold job fair for global financial organization aspirants

South Korea will hold a recruiting fair via teleconference next month for those who aspire to join global financial organizations, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday. The 11 participating organizations are the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asia Development Bank, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, African Development Bank, Central American Bank for Economic Integration, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Global Climate Fund, Global Green Growth Instit

EconomyOct. 23, 2020

LG opens showroom of luxury built-in kitchen appliance brand in Europe

LG Electronics Inc. said Friday it has opened a showroom for its luxury built-in kitchen appliance brand in Europe to better expand its presence there. The first European showroom of LG's Signature Kitchen Suite was opened in Milan, Italy, according to the company. The 1,100-square-meter facility is near the Brera District of Milan, a famous area for fashion lovers with its Design Week event. It is the third Signature Kitchen Suite showroom from LG. The other two are in South Korea and the U

IndustryOct. 23, 2020

[Monitor] More 30-somethings buying apartments in Seoul

According to the Korea Appraisal Board this week, the number of people in their 30s buying apartments in Seoul continued to rise last month. A total of 1,790 transactions involved buyers in their 30s, making up 37.3 percent of the total. Other data has shown a surge in mortgage loans for housing, in step with the trend toward younger people purchasing homes. The Korea Housing Finance Corporation said earlier this month that its flagship “bogeumjari” mortgage loan program designed

IndustryOct. 23, 2020

Retail investors incur big losses from foreign derivative investments in H1

South Korean retail investors' losses from investments in overseas financial derivatives nearly doubled in the first half of the year from a year earlier, data showed Friday. Local individual investors suffered a combined loss of 880 billion won ($775 million) from their exposure to exchange-traded futures, options and other derivatives in the January-June period, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The amount is almost double their 2019 loss of some 416 billion won.

MarketOct. 23, 2020

Seoul stocks open tad higher on earnings improvement hopes

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Friday, buoyed by optimism for improved corporate earnings in the third quarter amid the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 1.31 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,356.36 in the first 20 minutes of trading. Stocks started slightly higher despite lingering uncertainties over the ongoing talks for the new US virus relief package. In Seoul, most large caps traded lower. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics traded fla

MarketOct. 23, 2020