Cosmetics makers' Q2 profits tipped to have fallen 20% amid pandemic: poll

South Korea's major cosmetics makers are forecast to have seen their operating profits fall nearly 20 percent in the second quarter from a year ago as sales at duty-free shops faltered amid the coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed Thursday. The combined operating profits of Amorepacific, LG Household & Health Care Ltd. and Aekyung Industrial Co. are estimated to have reached 319.2 billion won ($267.4 million) in the April-June period, down 19.3 percent from the previous year, according to t

IndustryJuly 9, 2020

Amid prolonged COVID-19, S. Korea’s ‘untact’ stocks on bullish run

Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, stocks related to untact -- non-face-to-face contact -- businesses continued their bullish run in South Korea on Thursday, as investors attempt to profit from the beneficiary sectors. Shares of Kakao, the operator of the local top mobile messenger, began trading at 328,000 won ($274.80), then soared by 24,500 won, up 7.47 percent in early trading hours. The stock price continuously moved up to close at 355,500 won, reaching its 52-week high. Due to the

MarketJuly 9, 2020

Bio associations to explain support plans for COVID-19 treatment, vaccine developments

Five bio associations in Korea and their 50-something member companies will discuss plans to support ongoing efforts to develop COVID-19 treatments and vaccines in Korea. The talks will be livestreamed on YouTube on Tuesday at 4 p.m. by the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association. The physical event will take place at KPBMA’s auditorium in Seocho-gu, Seoul. The Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization, Korea Biomedicine Industry Association, Korea Medical Devices

IndustryJuly 9, 2020

Moon lauds materials industry progress

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday praised Korean industry’s progress in securing supply independence from Japan, and said he would shift his administration’s policies for the materials, components and equipment industries from a defensive to an aggressive footing in order to stabilize the global value chain. Moon visited the nation’s second-largest chipmaker SK hynix’s plant in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, accompanied by the SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, to review the pr

IndustryJuly 9, 2020

S. Korea, Cambodia agree to launch official FTA talks

South Korea and Cambodia agreed Thursday to launch official negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), paving the way for Asia's No. 4 economy to penetrate deeper into the Southeast Asian market and boost its virus-hit exports. The announcement came more than a year after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen proposed to make preparations for a free trade deal during his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Phnom Penh in March 2019. The two countries have carried out a

EconomyJuly 9, 2020

NPS ups domestic chemical stocks exposure

South Korea’s National Pension Service has bagged more domestic chemical stocks over the course of three months, filings showed Thursday. The world’s third-largest public pension fund increased its exposure to chemical stocks dedicated to second-life electric vehicle batteries -- such as LG Chem, Posco Chemical and Korea Petrochemical Ind. -- from April until Tuesday, according to respective disclosures. LG Chem has been vying to be the world’s top passenger vehicle cell s

MarketJuly 9, 2020

Renault Samsung Motors to export XM3 to Chile

Renault Samsung Motors said Thursday it will export the first batch of 83 units of its sport utility vehicle XM3 manufactured at its Busan plant to Chile, pushing ahead with its overseas expansion. The automaker said the vehicles will be shipped on July 25 to be displayed at showrooms in the South American country, offering test drives for customers.  By the year-end, the company plans to export 57 more units to Chile. The five-seater XM3 was launched in March here, topping the local B-

MobilityJuly 9, 2020

S. Korea to spend W5tr on R&D in new growth-engine sectors

South Korea plans to invest 5 trillion won ($4.2 billion) in research and development for new growth-engine sectors, including semiconductor and biotechnology, the trade ministry said Thursday. The industry ministry also expanded a list of materials, parts and equipment to 338 to reduce the country's reliance on Japanese imports and cope with a change in global supply chains after the coronavirus pandemic. Previously, South Korea had listed 100 local materials, parts and equipment that it a

EconomyJuly 9, 2020

[News Focus] Gasoline prices climb to 3-month high in Korea

SEJONG -- The V-shape rebound in gasoline prices in the local market is emerging as a factor that could restrict the recovery of the sagging economy. Gasoline prices have bounced back rapidly in South Korea over the past two months, in keeping with the normalization of international crude prices. As of July 8, gasoline prices reached 1,359.67 won ($1.16) per liter, which is the highest since 1,362.90 won on April 6. The prices -- which dipped to 1,247.53 won on May 15 amid the COVID-19 pande

EconomyJuly 9, 2020

[Monitor] Samsung remains largest by fair value in Korea

Local corporate tracker CEOScore conducted a survey on changes in assets, market capitalization, performance and financial status of the nation’s top 30 conglomerates over the past 10 years. Samsung ranked first with 59 affiliates and 424.8 trillion won ($355 million) in fair value. The top six groups -- Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, LG, Lotte and Posco -- remained in the first to sixth place, while Hanwha and NongHyup were newly listed in the top 10. GS and Hyundai Heavy Industries fel

IndustryJuly 9, 2020

Samsung to support 12 research projects for future science tech

Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's leading tech firm, said Thursday it has selected 12 research projects to help the country's efforts to secure future science technologies. Samsung said it will provide 12.35 billion won ($10.3 million) to 12 research projects in six areas. Since 2014, the company has been naming research themes that require more research for South Korea's technological competitive edge. This year, the selected research fields include disruptive semiconductor technologie

TechnologyJuly 9, 2020

Celltrion chief enjoys biggest gain in stock value in H1

The chief of the pharmaceutical group Celltrion saw the value of his stock holdings rise the most among the heads of South Korea's major business groups in the first half, data showed Thursday. Seo Jung-jin held 5.85 trillion won ($4.9 billion) worth of listed shares in group flagship Celltrion Inc. and other affiliates as of end-June, up 116.4 percent from the start of the year, according to the data from market researcher CXO Institute. Seo also became the third-richest stockholder in South

IndustryJuly 9, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday, apparently tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.93 points, or 0.60 percent, to 2,171.81 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Global recovery hopes boosted investor sentiment, leading to general gains on the US stock indices. The NASDAQ Composite jumped 1.44 percent Wednesday (New York time), setting another record at 10,492.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.68 percent, w

MarketJuly 9, 2020

Air Busan to resume flights to China next week

Air Busan Co., the budget carrier unit of Asiana Airlines Inc., said Thursday it will resume flights to China next week upon quarantine approval from China. Air Busan plans to begin offering one flight per week on the Incheon-Shenzhen route on Fridays from July 17, the company said in a statement. "The company is targeting to increase the number of flights on the route to Shenzhen depending on the Chinese authorities' guidance. And it aims to restart services on the Incheon-Ningbo route

MobilityJuly 9, 2020

Celltrion says new antibody treatment effective in tests with mutated type of new coronavirus

Celltrion, a leading pharmaceutical firm in South Korea, said on Wednesday that its new antibody treatment showed some promise in treating a mutated version of the new coronavirus in recent tests. The company said the new drug successfully neutralized the "G614" type of the virus. It was 10 times more effective in treating the G614 type than the original virus, the company said.  The test was conducted last month by the state-run Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

IndustryJuly 8, 2020

STX Offshore urges workers to stop strike

Mid-sized shipbuilder STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. called Wednesday on its unionized workers to stop their general strike.  The shipbuilder's unionized workers went on general strike starting on June 1, calling for a stop to six-month unpaid furloughs, which half of about 500 unionized workers have taken in rotation since June 2018.  Due to the strike, operations at the company's shipyard in Jinhae, 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, are being suspended from June 17 till

IndustryJuly 8, 2020

SkyLake signs MOU to buy Doosan’s EV battery foil arm

Debt-ridden Doosan Group’s holding firm said Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with local private equity firm SkyLake Investment to sell a majority stake in its battery foil maker unit. “Doosan Corp. has signed an MOU with SkyLake Investment with regards to the sale of Doosan Solus,” the construction-to-energy conglomerate said in a filing. “The company will immediately disclose the details of the stake transaction once the terms are finalized.”

MarketJuly 8, 2020

KB Financial chief to discuss post-COVID-19 measures

KB Financial Group is scheduled to hold an online workshop of executives and board members led by Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo on Friday to discuss plans for the post-virus era and digital innovation, sources close to the matter said Wednesday. Yoon is expected to adjust the time frame and specific plans for the banking group’s goals for this year including expansion of business and digital innovation. The local banking groups’ initial plans and time frame for this year –- includi

MarketJuly 8, 2020

Games exports outstrip K-pop 10 times over: report

The South Korean game industry propelled the nation’s content exports last year, clocking $6.9 billion, more than 10 times that of the music industry’s $640 million, according to a report released by the Ministry of Culture and Korea Creative Content Agency on Tuesday. The report noted that the Korean game industry’s exports grew 8.9 percent on-year last year, commanding 67.2 percent of the nation’s total content exports of $10.3 billion and topping 10 other industries.

IndustryJuly 8, 2020

Netmarble launches 3-inning mobile baseball game

Netmarble on Wednesday launched the three-inning mobile baseball game Magumagu 2020 on Google Play and Apple’s App Store, targeting local baseball fans staying home due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. According to the Korean game publisher, Magumagu 2020 -- a mobile version of the company’s 15-year-old PC game Magumagu -- consists of only three innings and takes about 10 minutes per game, offering swift gameplay for mobile users. The launch came at a time when the COVI

IndustryJuly 8, 2020