Seoul stocks extend gains late Friday morning

Seoul stocks extended gains late Friday morning as investor sentiment was further boosted by reports of an imminent US-China trade deal. The Korean won gained further against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 29.08 points, or 1.4 percent, to 2,166.43 as of 11:20 a.m.  The main index opened higher and gained further for a sixth straight session as the United States and China are reportedly getting very close to signing a trade deal, with US P

MarketDec. 13, 2019

Auto exports down for 4th month on weak demand from Asia

South Korea's automobile exports dropped 8.6 percent in November from a year earlier to extend its on-year drop to a fourth month due to weak demand from Asian countries and decreased shipments of original equipment manufacturing orders, data showed Friday. South Korean carmakers shipped 217,498 units of cars overseas last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, auto exports also moved down 1.4 percent over the period to $3.91 billi

IndustryDec. 13, 2019

Daewoo Shipbuilding bags $200m offshore facility order from Chevron

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., the world's third-largest shipbuilder by orders, said Friday it has received a $200 million offshore facility order from a US oil major.Daewoo Shipbuilding said it will build the hull of a semi-submersible floating production unit for Chevron Corp. and said it is expected to be delivered by 2022, the company said in a statement.  The deal marks the first in five years that the shipyard clinched a contract to build an offshore facility.The of

IndustryDec. 13, 2019

Korea's export prices dip for 3rd month in Nov.

South Korea's export prices fell from a month earlier for a third consecutive month in November, partly due to the strengthening of the local currency against the US dollar, central bank data showed Friday.The export price index, in terms of Korean won, came to 97.11 in the month, down 1.8 percent from the revised 98.87 the month before, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.From the same month last year, the index dropped 6.2 percent, marking a sixth consecutive month of on-year

EconomyDec. 13, 2019

S. Korea warns against e-cigarette use until further notice

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Thursday reiterated its advisory against the use of e-cigarettes, citing recent evidence of carcinogenic ingredients. After reviewing 137 liquid e-cigarettes, authorities concluded that some of the products contained flavorings that cause cancer. Several contained vitamin E acetate, which impairs lung functioning when inhaled.  None of the products, however, contained THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, which also has harmful effects. THC was not

IndustryDec. 12, 2019

Samsung Electro-Mechanics to shut down HDI production unit in China

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., an electronic components maker affiliated with Samsung Electronics, said Thursday it will shut down one of its Chinese units that produces high density interconnect substrates due to low profitability.Kunshan Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. in Jiangsu, China, will halt production and sales, Samsung Electro-Mechanics said, adding that it also plans to sell assets of the Chinese unit. Kunshan Samsung Electro-Mechanics produces HDI, a type of printed circuit board used

IndustryDec. 12, 2019

S. Korea limits sale of equity-linked trusts at banks

South Korea said Thursday that it has decided to allow banks to sell equity-linked trusts worth less than 40 trillion won ($33.7 billion) in total in the latest move to better protect individual investors.The Financial Services Commission said ELTs whose underlying assets should be the KOSPI200, the S&P500 and three other major indices, and which are issued through public offerings, can be sold at banks. Three other stock indices are the Euro Stoxx 50, the HSCEI and Japan's Nikkei 225.

MarketDec. 12, 2019

Coupang offers preorders for Xiaomi Redmi Note 8T

South Korea’s e-commerce platform Coupang said Thursday that it offers a preorder service for Redmi Note 8T, the latest device from China’s cost effective IT brand Xiaomi.Via the platform’s early morning delivery service Rocket Wow, purchasers may receive their newest Xiaomi device by 7 a.m. next Monday, becoming the first users in Korea. The Xiaomi Redmi Note series has gained popularity on the back of its high quality and affordable price -- 239,000 won ($201) in Coupang.The

IndustryDec. 12, 2019

S. Korea to allow visa-less foreigners to stay up to 72 hours at regional airports

South Korea announced a package of policy measures, including the expansion of a visa-free stay program, on Thursday to help the country's flourishing tourism trickle down to smaller regional provinces.The measures were discussed in a government meeting on strategies to promote regional tourism held in the southern city of Cheongju.Presided over by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon, the meeting was attended by the culture, health and transportation ministers as well as vice ministers from the finance,

IndustryDec. 12, 2019

Finance ministry to make preparations for early spending of 2020 budget

The Ministry of Economy and Finance will make preparations to swiftly spend next year's budget to prop up a slowing economy and support the welfare sector, a senior official said Thursday. Vice Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol told a meeting on fiscal spending that the government plans to begin implementing next year's budget from Jan. 1 next year, when the nation's fiscal year starts. Earlier this week, the National Assembly passed next year's state budget of 512.3 trillion won ($431.5 billion),

EconomyDec. 12, 2019

Samsung halts planning for 2020 amid legal risks

No one is sure who the top brass of Samsung Electronics will be next year as the company is silent about its annual organizational reshuffle amid ongoing multiple trials involving key executives, according to industry sources Thursday. The South Korean tech giant usually appoints its top executives in early December and personnel shake-up across all affiliates by mid-December. But this year, neither its leadership nor its business divisions have made personnel announcements, making it harder for

TechnologyDec. 12, 2019

QLED-equipped Galaxy laptops to hit market

Samsung Electronics will start receiving preorders for the world’s first QLED display-equipped laptops in collaboration with Intel, from Friday.Presales for the Galaxy Book Flex and Galaxy Book Ion will take place online from Friday through Thursday ahead of their official launch Dec. 20. Unveiled at the Samsung Developer Conference in October, the Galaxy Book Flex and Galaxy Book Ion feature the world’s first QLED display on a laptop. Equipped with Samsung’s proprietary QLED d

TechnologyDec. 12, 2019

K5 preorders set new record for Kia

The number of all-new K5 preorders has set a fresh record of more than 16,000 units sold in just three weeks, Kia Motors said Thursday as it launched the third-generation of the popular sedan officially on the same day. The number of preorders the K5 received is the highest among vehicles launched under the Kia marque, the company said. “Of all customers who preordered the K5, 53 percent of them were in their 20s and 30s, demonstrating overwhelming support and attention from younger genera

MobilityDec. 12, 2019

Hanwha names Lee Tae-kil as new communications head

Hanwha Group named Lee Tae-kil, executive vice president of the group’s compliance committee, as the head of its communications committee in an annual executive reshuffle, officials said Thursday. Lee replaces President Choi Sun-mok, who moves to the committee’s advisory board.  After joining Hanwha Chemical in 1991, Lee climbed the corporate ladder by building his career in compliance and communications.The head of Hanwha’s communications committee oversees both the inter

IndustryDec. 12, 2019

Foreigners’ selling of emerging market stocks highest in S. Korea

Among emerging market stocks, South Korean shares were most offloaded by overseas investors last month as a result of Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s reduced weighting in the Morgan Stanley Capital International emerging markets index, a report by a local brokerage said Thursday.According to Yuanta Securities, foreigners net sold South Korean shares worth nearly $3 billion in November alone, which marked the largest volume among 10 major emerging markets during the same period. 

MarketDec. 12, 2019

SD Biotechnologies launches strategic global brands

Global beauty and health care company SD Biotechnologies is seeking to appeal to global millennial consumers with newly launched SNP mini and SNP prep skincare products, the company said Thursday. SNP mini is a pouch-type skincare set, comprising six items -- cleansing foam, toner, facial essence, serum, eye and facial nourishing cream and tone-up cream. SNP prep is a large-size product line copious enough to apply for both the face and body. The series’ Peptaronic set, a combination of pe

IndustryDec. 12, 2019

More than 40% of newlyweds had no children in 2018

More than 40 percent of newlywed couples had no children last year, reflecting the country's chronically low birthrate and late marriage trend, data showed Thursday.According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, 1.32 million couples got married in the five years up to November 2018, down 4.2 percent from a year ago, with 79.6 percent consisting of first-time brides and grooms.Of that total, 40.2 percent of newlywed couples had no kids last year, up 2.6 percentage points from the previous ye

EconomyDec. 12, 2019

S. Korea to expand financial support for materials, parts, equipment sectors next year

S. Korea to expand financial support for materials, parts, equipment sectors next yearSouth Korea will expand its financial support programs for materials, parts and equipment sectors next year, as it seeks to boost competitiveness in the key industrial sectors, a senior official said Thursday.Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom made the remarks at a meeting with relevant officials earlier in the day amid a trade spat over Japan's export restrictions against South Korea. Kim said the government

IndustryDec. 12, 2019

KT teams up with fire agency, hospital for emergency rescue using 5G-AI

Telecom firm KT said Thursday it will provide an optimal emergency rescue protocol using 5G and artificial intelligence technology by collaborating with the National Fire Agency and Severance Hospital. The triumvirate is jointly devising a new smart emergency response service that embeds 5G network for medical emergencies from the 119 emergency call reception to ambulance transportation and hospital emergency room care. As the first step, KT and the NFA on Thursday launched a 5G-based 119 video

IndustryDec. 12, 2019

US cuts antidumping duty on Hyundai's steel products

The US Department of Commerce has said it lowered its antidumping duty on hot-rolled steel from Hyundai Steel Co., South Korea's second-biggest steelmaker.The department said it "preliminarily" determined that the weighted average dumping margin for Hyundai Steel is 0.94 percent.The figures represent a sharp drop from 5.44 percent in June, according to Hyundai Steel on Thursday. The latest move came a year after the department launched an administrative review of the antidumping duty o

IndustryDec. 12, 2019