Asiana deal at critical juncture, leaning toward collapse

Creditors of embattled Asiana Airlines Co. are drawing up a set of countermeasures against the potential rupture of a deal to sell the country's No. 2 carrier, as local property developer Hyundai Development Co. is leaning toward withdrawing from the 2.5 trillion-won ($2.1 billion) deal, industry sources said Sunday. The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) last week warned that HDC should proceed with the deal to buy Asiana Airlines, rejecting HDC's request for another round of due diligenc

MobilityAug. 9, 2020

Next year's budget forecast to rise 8% to W550tr

The government is drawing up a budget for next year, with its size likely to top 550 trillion won ($463 billion), up 8 percent from this year's, as the country is drumming up efforts to boost the pandemic-hit economy, sources said Sunday. According to the sources, the finance ministry is set to report next year's budget draft to President Moon Jae-in this week. This year's budget was set at 512.3 trillion won, but the government has drawn up three rounds of supplementary budgets to shield Asi

EconomyAug. 9, 2020

Seoul stocks set for further gains this week, stimulus packages in focus

South Korean stocks have room to rise further this week, helped by ample liquidity and expectations that the US stimulus package is nearing a deal. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,351.67 points on Friday, up 4.55 percent from 2,249.37 points a week ago. The last session marked the highest reading in nearly two years since Sept. 27, 2018. The index gained every session this week, largely on US stimulus hopes and estimate-beating earnings by Kakao, SK Telec

MarketAug. 9, 2020

[Weekender] Investing in stocks? Why not sneakers?

Even non-sneakerheads are realizing the lucrative nature of sneaker resale these days. O Jee-ye had never been much interested in expensive shoes. Shoes kissed ground-level microbes. They wore out much quicker than other items of clothing. What shoes are for, O thought, was for protection. They were good if breathable, durable, didn’t give her blisters and matched the day’s outfit. It was a shock for O when she learned through a close friend of hers that he easily makes 300,000 w

IndustryAug. 8, 2020

Hanjin KAL to buy new shares of Jin Air in Nov.

Hanjin KAL Corp. said Friday it will spend 53.6 billion won (US$45.2 million) to buy new shares to be issued by its low-cost carrier Jin Air Co. Earlier in the day, the board of directors of Hanjin KAL, the parent of Jin Air, decided on the purchase of Jin Air's 7.36 million new shares, Hanjin KAL said in a regulatory filing. After the purchase slated to take place in November this year, Hanjin KAL's stake of Jin Air will be lowered to 56.38 percent from the current 60 percent, Hanjin KAL

IndustryAug. 7, 2020

Hanwha Q Cells to buy US energy software company

Hanwha Q Cells, a leading solar power solutions provider, said Friday that it will buy US energy software company Geli to further its standing in the industry. The energy business arm of Hanwha Solutions said it plans to acquire a 100 percent stake in the American company, with the entire deal to be completed within the year. The process involves getting the go-ahead from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the company said. Geli, also referred to as Growing Energy Labs,

IndustryAug. 7, 2020

KT’s Q2 operating profit jumps on improved B2B business

Korean telecom giant KT said Friday its operating profit increased by 18.6 percent though its sales dropped during the same period in the second quarter this year. Operating income of KT in the second quarter reached 207.6 billion won ($175 million), compared to 203 billion won last year, according to a regulatory filing Friday. Sales of KT during the same period dropped 3.6 percent to 5.8 trillion won, the regulatory filing also showed. Improved earnings from business-to-business units he

TechnologyAug. 7, 2020

Genexine’s COVID-19 drug to begin phase 1 trial in Korea

　Genexine‘s COVID-19 treatment candidate GX-17 was given the Korean drug authority’s grant to proceed to phase 1 human trials, Friday. 　GX-17 is a protein drug recombining human IL-7 and hybrid Fc (hyFc) that the company had been developing as an anti-cancer treatment. It is a T-Cell growth factor that proliferates a patient‘s immune cells, by which it slows the progression of an illness and hastens recovery. 　With the addition of GX-17, South Korea now has 13 treatment resea

IndustryAug. 7, 2020

Daewoong fights for continued availability of Jeuveau in US

Daewoong Pharmaceutical on Friday accused the US’ International Trade Commission’s decision to put a 10-year sales ban on its botulinum toxin product of “lacking evidence” and being “biased and distorted.” Daewoong said it has filed a detailed complaint to the USITC for its “significant errors.” Daewoong has been enwrapped in legal battles in Korea and in the US against Medytox for nearly five years over an alleged theft of trade secrets by a for

IndustryAug. 7, 2020

Celltrion operating profit rises 118% to it new record

Celltrion posted a record-setting second quarter report on Friday, citing Truxima’s rapid market uptake in the US and increased productivity at its reinforced plant No. 1 in Songdo, Incheon. Celltrion’s second quarter revenue reached 428.8 billion won ($361.7 million), up 82.5 percent on-year, and operating profit hit 181.8 billion won, up 118 percent on-year. Both are the highest numbers Celltrion has reported in any quarter. The company is confident it has ample power to generate

IndustryAug. 7, 2020

LG U+ Q2 net profit soars, fastest growth for third consecutive quarter

Korea’s third-largest mobile carrier LG U+ said the company’s operating profit in the second quarter increased by 59.2 percent on-year, the fastest growth rate for three consecutive quarters among local mobile carriers. In the meantime, quarterly sales for LG U+ went up by 5.1 percent on-year to reach 3.2 trillion won ($2.7 billion) during the April-June period, the company added. Since the fourth quarter last year, quarterly operating profit for LG U+ has increased by 75 percent,

TechnologyAug. 7, 2020

Enzychem Lifesciences’ COVID-19 drug proceeds to phase 2 trial

Enzychem Lifesciences’ COVID-19 treatment candidate EC-18 was granted by the US’ Food and Drug Administration to carry out phase 2 clinical trial on confirmed patients, the company said Friday. In this phase 2 clinical trial, Enzychem Lifesciences will confirm the therapeutic effects of EC-18 for acute respiratory distress syndrome prevalent in COVID-19 patients with pneumonia. EC-18 is a novel drug candidate that had been in phase 2 clinical trials for chemoradiation-induced oral

IndustryAug. 7, 2020

Naver’s online cartoon service posts W3b daily sales

Naver on Friday said that its online cartoon business is posting 3 billion won ($2.5 million) in average daily gross sales as of Aug. 2, up from 2 billion won in August last year. Naver contributed the growth to the increased number of monthly active users. Active users in July surpassed 650 million worldwide, increasing by more than 1 million over the last two months. Revenues also started to increase as the number of users in foreign nations saw a rapid surge, according to the firm. Sales

TechnologyAug. 7, 2020

S. Korea to face mounting public debt next year: IMF

South Korea’s public debt is expected to surge until next year due to aggressive government spending to revive the sluggish local economy, according to the International Monetary Fund on Friday.  The IMF said the country’s general government debt-to-gross domestic product ratio -- an indicator of economic health and sustainability of government borrowing -- will surpass 46 percent this year, up 5.5 percentage points from 40.7 percent estimated last year. The pace of the ri

EconomyAug. 7, 2020

Seoul stocks bask in week-long gain to hit nearly 2-year high on stimulus hope

South Korean shares extended gains to a fifth session on Friday, as expectations for a US stimulus package underpinned investor sentiment. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 9.06 points, or 0.39 percent, to close at 2,351.67. The reading marks the highest since Sept. 27, 2018.  Trading volume was high at about 802 million shares worth some 17.3 trillion won ($14.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 382 t

MarketAug. 7, 2020

First five star hotel in Gangnam up for sale

Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam Hotel, the first five-star hotel in Seoul’s posh district of Gangnam, is up for sale again after a sales deal earlier this year fell through due to the new coronavirus pandemic, according to reports Friday. Seojoo Industry Development, a local developer and the current owner of the high-end hotel, has reportedly appointed local brokerage Samsung Securities and real estate services firm CBRE Korea as lead managers of the planned deal. The local developer

MarketAug. 7, 2020

Mirae Asset launches two ETFs for chips and AI in Hong Kong

South Korean asset management company Mirae Asset Global Investments said Friday that two new exchange traded funds focused on semiconductors, robots and artificial intelligence businesses in China have been listed on the Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing, the sole securities and derivatives exchange in Hong Kong. The Chinese chip sector has been fast growing in recent years in tandem with the growth of IT and internet platform businesses in the local market. Many Chinese companies, especially

MarketAug. 7, 2020

Asiana Airlines turns to surplus in earnings surprise

Asiana Airlines posted an operating profit over 100 billion won ($84 million) in the second quarter, for the first time in six quarters, according to the firm’s regulatory filings Friday.  The nation’s flag carrier said its operating profit was tentatively estimated at 115.1 billion won in the April-June period. Quarterly sales fell 44.7 percent to 818.6 billion won year-on-year. Net profit turned to a surplus of 116.2 billion won. Similar to Korean Air, the cargo sector led

MobilityAug. 7, 2020

LG Chem shares surge on rosy EV outlook, ranks third on Kospi

Share prices of LG Chem, Korea’s leading battery maker, jumped nearly 10 percent on Friday on expectations of rising demand for electric vehicles, ranking third in market capitalization in the nation’s securities market.  　 LG Chem shares rose 9.71 percent from the previous trading day to close at 746,000 won ($629). 　 At one point during the day, the price rose 11.47 percent to 758,000 won from a day earlier, hitting another record high. LG Chem’s market value has su

TechnologyAug. 7, 2020

[Monitor] SKT’s 5G fastest: ministry

The Ministry of Science and ICT of South Korea on Wednesday reported its assessment of 5G networks provided by the nation’s three largest mobile carriers. According to the assessment conducted in Seoul and six other major cities in Korea, the average upload and download speeds of 5G networks reached 64.16 megabits per second and 656.56 Mbps, respectively. SK Telecom’s 5G network boasted the fastest speed among telecommunications firms, while that of LG U+ was listed as the to

TechnologyAug. 7, 2020