Hyundai’s mobility service venture Mocean Lab teams up with car rental association

Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday its affiliate Mocean Lab has joined hands with the country’s car rental business association to develop a mobility service ecosystem in the rental car market. The mobility service venture set up by the parent group of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Rental Car Business Association for collaboration in the future mobility business. The association is the country’s largest group of car rent

MobilityDec. 26, 2019

[Graphic News] Demand for luxury cars increasing in S. Korea: data

　The demand for luxury cars in South Korea increased sharply in 2019 from a year prior, data showed, despite the overall decrease in sales of imported cars here.　Sales of imported luxury cars with price tags of 300 million won ($258,000) or higher reached 360 units over the January-November period, posting threefold growth on-year, according to data compiled by the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association. (Yonhap)

IndustryDec. 26, 2019

KB Kookmin Bank to acquire Cambodian lender for $603.4m

South Korea’s commercial lender KB Kookmin Bank said Thursday its board has agreed to acquire a 70 percent stake in Cambodia’s lender Prasac Microfinance Institution for $603.4 million from Sri Lanka-based nonbanking lender LOLC Holdings.Prasac Microfinance is the No. 1 microfinance deposit-taking institution, taking up over 40 percent of market share in Cambodia with 177 branches.KB Kookmin will close the deal within three months, after a due diligence and approval from financial au

MarketDec. 26, 2019

No spat at upcoming CES 2020?

While the market was anticipating another face-off between Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show 2020, it now seems highly unlikely.According to industry sources, the Consumer Technology Association, which organizes the world’s largest annual tech event in Las Vegas, has specific terms in the exhibit space contract that prevent companies from giving presentations on products of rival firms, as well as from displaying offensive and inappropriate co

TechnologyDec. 26, 2019

South Korea’s mobile carriers seek opportunities at CES 2020

South Korean mobile carriers SK Telecom and LG Uplus are ramping up efforts to find new business opportunities at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show 2020 that kicks off in Las Vegas on Jan. 7.Their participation in the world’s largest annual tech event is largely in line with their parent groups’ involvement in the show. Yet, the growing importance of 5G network in the electronics and smart mobility sectors is also an important factor, according to industry sources.The capabiliti

IndustryDec. 26, 2019

BOK warns of household debt rise amid heated housing market

South Korea’s monetary authorities on Thursday reiterated their warning against increasing household debt especially for the elderly as the heated real estate market continues to attract liquidity.According to a report released by the Bank of Korea, the outstanding household debt, including credit spending, came to 1,572.7 trillion won ($1.35 trillion) as of end-September. The figure, which has gained 3.9 percent on-year, marks the lowest growth since the second quarter of 2004, when the h

EconomyDec. 26, 2019

Number of private money lenders slightly down in H1

The number of private money lenders in South Korea edged down 0.2 percent in the first half of the year from six months earlier, data showed Thursday. The number of registered private money lenders and brokers reached 8,294 as of the end of June this year, down 16 from six months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.The total amount of outstanding loans by private lenders was 16.7 trillion won ($14.3 billion) at the end of June, down from 17.3 trillion won six mo

EconomyDec. 26, 2019

[Monitor] Companies increase R&D investments by W4tr

Despite seeing a drop in revenue this year, South Korean companies increased their investment for research and development by nearly 4 trillion won combined, data by CEO Score showed this week.Internet and IT companies were among the most active in research investments, as were pharmaceutical firms.(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

TechnologyDec. 26, 2019

NH Investment & Securities launches hedge fund firm

NH Investment & Securities, the country’s second-largest securities firm by net assets, launched a hedge fund company as its own subsidiary, the company said Thursday.NH Hedge Asset Management will be led by CEO Lee Dong-hoon, the former head of the hedge fund division at NH Investment & Securities.In August 2016, the securities firm launched the hedge fund division and has operated the NH Absolute Return Fund worth 700 billion won ($603 million) and NH Pre-IPO Mezzanine Fund worth

MarketDec. 26, 2019

Kosdaq to outperform Kospi in Jan.: analysts

South Korea’s secondary bourse Kosdaq is expected to enjoy the “January effect” in 2020, as it has historically performed strongest in the first month of the year, analysts said Monday. According to stock market operator Korea Exchange, the increase rate of Kosdaq’s index in January has been seven times that of the main bourse Kospi since 2010. In January 2018, the Kosdaq index surged 14.42 percent, while Kospi increased 4.01 percent on-year. In January 2014, Kosdaq rose

MarketDec. 26, 2019

[Newsmaker] For college students, Samsung remains most coveted employer

University students in South Korea still view tech giant Samsung Electronics as the most desirable future employer, a local survey showed Thursday. According to the survey of 473 male students and 586 female students conducted by online job portal JobKorea, 10.6 percent chose Samsung Electronics as the company where they would most like to work. The next most popular answer was Korean Air (7.6 percent), followed by food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang (6.7 percent) and the Korea Electric P

IndustryDec. 26, 2019

Hyundai Rotem wins deals worth W243.3b for combat vehicles

Hyundai Rotem Co., a South Korean train and defense equipment maker, said Thursday that it has clinched 243.3 billion won ($209.5 million) worth of orders to build combat engineering vehicles and tanks.Hyundai Rotem is set to deliver combat engineering vehicles and K1E1, an enhanced version of K1 tanks, to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, South Korea's arms procurement agency, by 2020 and 2022, respectively. Hyundai Rotem did not give details on the number of combat engineering ve

IndustryDec. 26, 2019

Arrival duty-free shops to begin selling cigarettes from March

South Korea's finance ministry said Thursday it will allow arrival duty-free shops to sell cigarettes from March, in a move to promote businesses of arrival shops. The nation's first on-arrival duty-free shops opened at Incheon International Airport, the country's main gateway, in May, but the shops had been banned from selling tobacco. After revising an ordinance on customs regulations, one person will be allowed to buy one 10-pack carton of cigarettes at arrival duty-free shops from March next

IndustryDec. 26, 2019

Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo to carry out joint study to address pending issues

South Korea, China and Japan on Thursday agreed to resume their joint research program to resolve shared environment issues, such as fine dust, Seoul's science ministry said Thursday.Top science officials from the three neighboring countries gathered in Seoul to discuss pending issues, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.The trilateral meeting marks the first of its kind since 2012, when science ministers from the three countries gathered. According to the ministry, the three countries

IndustryDec. 26, 2019

Ex-KHNP chief tapped to lead Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems

Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems said Thursday it has appointed the former chief of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power as president and CEO, the first outsider to take the top job.The Korean electrical power equipment provider said new CEO Cho Seok was appointed to replace former chief Chung Myung-lim, who resigned two days ago. The company is an affiliate of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group. Cho, 62, began his career at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy in 1981 after graduating from Seoul

IndustryDec. 26, 2019

[News Focus] Payouts for jobless soared 81% since 2017

SEJONG -- Data provided by a state-funded agency showed that the volume of unemployment benefits paid to the jobless has sharply increased over the past two years.The figures, from the Korea Employment Information Service, suggest that the economic slowdown is forcing more and more people to leave their workplaces or close their businesses.South Korea saw monthly payouts of unemployment benefits reach 704.4 billion won ($605.1 million) in October 2019, compared with 388.8 billion won in October

EconomyDec. 26, 2019

S. Korea emerges as major player in global gaming M&As: report

South Korean companies are increasingly becoming key players of mergers and acquisitions in the global game industry, in pursuit of fresh revenue sources and growth engines, data showed on Thursday.From 2013 to 2018, Korea ranked No. 4 in global M&A transactions in the industry, according to Samjong KPMG in its report titled “Global M&A Trends in Game Industry.”  Of the total 528 deals globally, Korean entities proposed, signed and closed a combined 45 deals, followed by

MarketDec. 26, 2019

Population mobility falls 8% in Nov.

The number of South Koreans who changed residences to a different region fell in November, as tightened regulations aimed at reining in housing prices sapped the country's population mobility, data showed Thursday. The number of people who changed their residences declined 8 percent last month from a year earlier to 566,000, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The population mobility rate -- the number of those changing residences for every 100 people -- fell 1.2 percentage point

EconomyDec. 26, 2019

Banks' loan delinquency rate inches up in October

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans edged up in October from a month earlier due to a slight hike in bad loans extended to firms and households, data showed Thursday.The rate for bank loans more than 30-days overdue stood at 0.46 percent at the end of October, up 0.02 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.But compared with a year ago, the rate was down 0.12 percentage point, it said.The delinquency rate

MarketDec. 26, 2019

Korean firm successfully relocates historical structures in Turkey

CJ Logistics Corp., a major South Korean logistics firm, said Thursday it completed the relocation of historical structures in Turkey to prevent them from potentially being submerged by a dam project.The Hasankeyf project, launched in 2017, involved transporting 23 units of ancient structures aged well beyond 500 years from Hasankeyf in southern Turkey without disassembling them to a safer place where they aren't at risk of being submerged, according to CJ Logistics. The town is well known for i

IndustryDec. 26, 2019