Weak earnings, coronavirus fears weigh on Korean firms’ credit

Korean companies are facing imminent threats of credit downgrades, as they face a double whammy of weak 2019 earnings and novel coronavirus fears weighing on the global economy. Some of the firms have already experienced credit rating downgrades by agencies in the past week. Seoul-based NICE Investors Service last week downgraded credit ratings of panel maker LG Display and retailer E-mart by one notch each, as their business prospects are clouded and they are shouldering increased debt. LG

MarketFeb. 18, 2020

On brighter chip prospects, market cap of Samsung up 10%

After a strong performance by technology-related stocks such as semiconductors and secondary batteries, the top three Korean conglomerates -- Samsung, LG and SK Group -- saw their market capitalization figures rise this year, data showed Tuesday.   According to financial market tracker FnGuide, the combined market cap of Samsung’s 16 listed subsidiaries jumped nearly 10.18 percent from end-December last year to Friday, to about 524.2 trillion won ($440.9 billion), further solidifying

MarketFeb. 18, 2020

[Monitor] South Korea remains world’s 7th largest automobile producer

Although the number of automobiles manufactured in South Korea dropped below 4 million units last year, its global market share in car production increased slightly, data by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association showed. The number of cars produced dropped 1.9 percent from 2018, but the market share in car production increased by 0.1 percentage point. The association pointed out that Korea failed to see a more significant improvement due to prolonged conflicts and strikes at major aut

MobilityFeb. 18, 2020

Virus games buoyed by coronavirus pandemic

Virus-related games are gaining popularity amid the ongoing COVID-19 spread. Plague Inc., launched in 2012 by London-based company Ndemic Creations, especially enjoyed a spike in its daily user rate, sitting atop the charts of the respective Apple App Store in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, France and the UK, as of Tuesday, boasting unusual prominence for an 8-year-old game. In Korea, China and the US, the game is variably either first or second on the charts. “Can you infect the world?

IndustryFeb. 18, 2020

Jeonbuk Bank’s Cambodian subsidiary posts record-high net profit in 2019

Jeonbuk Bank’s Cambodian subsidiary logged record-high annual net profit last year, marking it as one of the most successful Korean banks operating in the Southeast Asian country, the bank’s holding group JB Financial said Tuesday. Phnom Penh Commercial Bank’s net profit for fiscal 2019 jumped 40.5 percent on-year to 20.7 billion won ($17.4 million), according to JB Financial. PPC Bank was the only commercial lender in Cambodia to post an annual net profit of over 20 billio

MarketFeb. 18, 2020

Anti-chairman coalition falters at Hanjin with withdrawal from director candidate

Kim Chi-hoon, a former Korean Air executive director who was proposed as one of the inside directors for Hanjin Group, said Tuesday he was voluntarily resigning from the candidacy. His withdrawal deals a blow to a coalition formed by Hanjin Group heiress Cho Hyun-ah to counter her brother, Chairman Cho Won-tae, as Kim had been recommended by them. Kim reportedly said that he was “against what the coalition intends to do,” according to Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Hanjin Group

MobilityFeb. 18, 2020

South Korea’s environment-monitoring satellite Chollian 2B awaits countdown

South Korea’s environment-monitoring satellite Chollian 2B will lift off Wednesday morning as scheduled, the government-led aerospace project team said Tuesday. The Chollian 2B, a twin satellite of the Chollian 2A launched in 2018, is the world’s first geostationary satellite to be used in observing air conditions from 36,000 kilometers above the Earth’s equator. “The only thing that is left at the current moment is the countdown,” said Choi Jae-dong, director of

TechnologyFeb. 18, 2020

Sales growth of Korean firms slows, market share in China declines

Only eight companies, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor, have been ranked among Korea’s top 50 listed companies in revenue for 35 consecutive years. Seventy percent of the largest companies were found to have lost their ranks or changed ownership, data showed Tuesday. Local research firm Sustainable Growth Institute surveyed sales data of the nation’s 50 largest companies by revenue between 1984 and 2018. The surveyed companies are in the manufacturin

IndustryFeb. 18, 2020

[Advertorial] LG Chem aims to double revenue by 2024

LG Chem said Tuesday it aims to double its revenue by 2024. The South Korean chemical giant ranked 10th among the global top 50 chemical companies in 2018 in an annual survey by Chemical and Engineering News, published by the American Chemical Society, last year. The company aims to double its current revenue of around 30 trillion won ($25.6 billion) to 59 trillion won and to secure double-digit operating margin by 2024. It has set 2020 as the “Year of Execution” and vowed to r

IndustryFeb. 18, 2020

LG Group chief visits R&D center, emphasizes design

The chief of LG Group on Tuesday emphasized design quality for its electronic products, saying that design is a factor that can deliver a differentiated customer experience. Koo Kwang-mo, who leads South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, visited LG Electronics Inc.'s research and development (R&D) campus in Seoul and checked the company's products. "It is design that gives the first impression of our products and delivers this sense of feeling that this product is worth buying,&q

IndustryFeb. 18, 2020

Imports of Japanese consumer goods down for 7th month amid boycott

South Korea's imports of key consumer goods from Japan fell for the seventh consecutive month in January as a boycott of Japanese goods has dragged out amid their monthslong feud over their shared wartime history, data showed Tuesday. Imports of consumer goods from Japan dipped 35.9 percent from a year earlier in January to $193.6 million, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service and released by Rep. Kim Chung-woo of the ruling Democratic Party.  A growing number of

IndustryFeb. 18, 2020

Hyundai Motor again halts assembly line in S. Korea over parts shortages

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, on Tuesday suspended one of its five main assembly plants in Ulsan due to a lack of parts from China amid the spreading coronavirus outbreak. Hyundai said the No. 1 assembly plant in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, is set to be closed until Thursday, a move that will disrupt production of the Veloster subcompact and the Kona subcompact SUV. The latest halt came five days after Hyundai Motor resumed operations at the assembl

MobilityFeb. 18, 2020

LG unveils new budget smartphones with quad rear camera setup

LG Electronics Inc. on Tuesday unveiled new budget smartphones, each with a quad rear camera setup, in the hope that the latest handsets will help its struggling mobile business. LG introduced three new K series models -- K61, K51S and K41S -- that will be launched in Europe, Central and South America in the second quarter. The company did not disclose the prices of the new handsets, but industry observers expect them to be sold for around US$300. The new K series smartphones come with fou

TechnologyFeb. 18, 2020

KB Card launches debit card featuring Pengsoo

Credit card issuer KB Card said Monday that it has rolled out a debit card featuring Pengsoo, a popular penguin character. The newly launched card comes in two designs — one with Pengsoo saying “Peng-ca,” and the other with the character trying out different fashion items. Peng-ca comes from the giant penguin’s signature line, “Peng-ha,” meaning “Pengsoo says hi.” As part of its marketing efforts, KB Card will give out stickers of the character

MarketFeb. 17, 2020

Bithumb agrees partnership with Chinese peer BitMax

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb said Monday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese crypto exchange firm BitMax to roll out new crypto services and to tap into global markets together. They also agreed to jointly develop blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies and infrastructure. Founded in 2018 by CEO George Chao, Bitmax has attracted a number of Wall Street financial engineers who used to work for global financial firms, such as Barclays and Deutsche

MarketFeb. 17, 2020

NHN‘s Payco available on Apple platforms

Internet services provider NHN said Monday that its easy-to-use mobile payment service Payco was now available on US tech giant Apple’s platforms, including Apple Store, Apple Music and iCloud. Under the partnership, users can simply link their Payco accounts with their Apple ones via the Apple ID settings, the company said. Once their payment data is registered on one of their Apple devices, Payco subscribers can make online purchases across different iOS-powered gadgets, including t

MarketFeb. 17, 2020

UAE approves operation of Arab’s first nuclear plant built by Kepco

The United Arab Emirates has approved the operation permit of the Barakah nuclear power plant, which is being built by Korea Electric Power Corporation, reports said Monday. This is the first nuclear power plant exported by the Korean firm. The license granted to the plant’s operator Nawah Energy Company will be for 60 years, Hamad al-Kaabi, deputy chairman of Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, was quoted as saying by Reuters. Nawah can now start preparing for commercial operatio

IndustryFeb. 17, 2020

Lime investors face tough compensation fight

Investors in beleaguered hedge fund Lime Asset Management are facing a bumpy road to get compensation for their losses. By no later than Friday, every investor in the hedge fund is expected to find out their confirmed individual losses in their combined 1.7 trillion-won ($1.4 billion) investment made under the convoluted master-feeder fund structure -- involving four master funds and 173 feeder funds as of end-2019. The losses of Lime Asset’s feeder funds may vary, but in some cases be

MarketFeb. 17, 2020

[Monitor] Six out of 10 Korean firms anticipated worsened business from coronavirus

Six out of 10 Korean companies expect their business to worsen due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, a survey released by the Korea Economic Research Institute showed. The survey, conducted by Mono Research on the top 1,000 companies by revenue, showed that 61.8 percent of them said the outbreak will hamper their overall revenue and exports. Among those with production facilities in China, 83.9 percent said they will be hurt by the virus. A prolonged pandemic will hurt the auto industry the

IndustryFeb. 17, 2020

SsangYong’s Rexton Sports logs 40,000 units of annual sales for 2 years

SsangYong Motor’s flagship sports utility vehicle Rexton Sports has sold more than 40,000 units annually for the second year in a row, the carmaker announced Monday.  This is the first time Ssangyong has sold over 40,000 units of an SUV brand two years in a row, the company said.  SsangYong Motor said 41,717 Rexton Sports vehicles were sold in 2018, accounting for 99.2 percent of the total number of pickup trucks sold in Korea that year. In 2019, a total of 41,328 Rexton Sport

MobilityFeb. 17, 2020