[Newsmaker] SK hynix posts surprise Q4 profit, signaling chip recovery

SK hynix will upgrade its legacy chip fab in China to produce high-value-added products to enhance profitability and meet the demand for recovery, the company said on Thursday. In its regulatory filing on the same day, the world's second-largest chipmaker reported an earnings surprise for the October-December period in 2023, marking a turnaround after struggling from losses for four straight quarters earlier. "Unlike in the past, we will focus our investment decisions to deliver value

IndustryJan. 25, 2024

Hyundai takes earnings crown after profit surge

Hyundai Motor Group pulled in an all-time high annual operating profit of 26.7 trillion won ($20 billion) last year, outpacing Samsung Electronics, which held the No. 1 position among the listed companies in Korea for 14 consecutive years, for the first time. Hyundai Motor Company saw a 15.1 trillion won record profit in 2023, a 54 percent jump from the earlier year with a 9.3 percent operating profit margin, while its sales revenue surged 14.4 percent to 162.7 trillion won, the company’s

MobilityJan. 25, 2024

Korean tech is what world needs: Banga

World Bank President Ajay Banga stressed that South Korea can play a pivotal role in leading other developing countries with its experience in growth and development, during a media briefing Thursday as part of his visit to Seoul. "What Korea did in 30 years -- to go from being an underdeveloped, challenged country, to having come through a crisis to come out like this -- was quite remarkable,” he said at the Global Knowledge Exchange & Development Center in northern Seoul. &ldquo

EconomyJan. 25, 2024

Inshorts introduces AI-based product placement for K-drama

South Korean advertisement company Inshorts has applied its "AI digital product placement solution" to promote products in the popular tvN drama "Maestra," marking the first time an AI-based technology has been used for product placement in the country. Samsung's "Bespoke Rug" and Wakti's "SW19 Hand Cream" were featured as part of the embedded marketing in a recent episode of the series aired via Disney+, tvN and Tving. The items, however, were i

IndustryJan. 25, 2024

LG Energy Solution invests in US lithium-metal battery firm

LG Energy Solution on Thursday announced a strategic equity investment in Sion Power, an Arizona-based battery technology developer, in a bid to take the lead in next-generation lithium-metal battery technologies. Established in 1994, the US battery technology firm boasts over 470 international patents, particularly in pioneering core technologies needed for lithium metal batteries. One of the company's advanced technologies includes a dendrite-resistant system that protects lithium metal a

IndustryJan. 25, 2024

[Photo News] Hyundai-SK partnership

SK Enmove CEO Kim Wone-kee (left) and Hyundai Motor Company President Yang Hee-won attend a partnership signing ceremony for the development of next-generation vehicle refrigerants at the SK Building in central Seoul on Thursday. The two companies agreed to develop refrigerants for electric vehicles and enhance readiness for tighter emissions rules in key markets. (SK Innovation)

IndustryJan. 25, 2024

[Photo News] S-Oil sharing

S-Oil CEO Anwar A. Al-Hejazi (left) poses for a photo with Kim Byong-joon, chairman of Community Chest of Korea, to deliver a donation of 3 billion won ($2.24 million) to the charity at CCK’s headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. The donation will be used to help underprivileged households and social workers, especially in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan where the refiner aims to build the nation’s largest petrochemicals plant by 2026. S-Oil has joined CCK’s sharing cam

IndustryJan. 25, 2024

LX Hausys eyes bigger footing in North American flooring market

Korean building materials company LX Hausys said Thursday it is joining the International Surface Event 2024, the largest flooring trade show in North America, in a bid to secure a bigger footing in the all-important market. More than 700 companies specializing in flooring, tiles and other building materials are expected to participate in the TISE 2024, which takes place in Las Vegas this week until Friday. The company’s exhibition booth, themed “Stage for Life," features a rang

IndustryJan. 25, 2024

Seoul shares open lower on Tesla's weak earnings

Seoul shares opened lower Thursday, tracking an overnight fall on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.58 percent, or 14.42 points, to 2,455.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent to 37,806.39, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.4 percent to 15,481.92. Tesla reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, which dragged down EV battery makers here. In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed. Mark

MarketJan. 25, 2024

[Photo News] US Congress Rep gets Korean name

Korea International Trade Association Chairman Koo Ja-yeol (right), who doubles as LS Group's chairman, shakes hands with Joe Wilson, the US representative for South Carolina, after their meeting on ways to boost economic cooperation in supply chains between the two countries at the Trade Tower in Seoul, Wednesday. During the meeting, Koo gifted Rep. Wilson a name card engraved with the Korean name Cho Il-seon, which sounds similar to his English name and has the meaning of the "front

IndustryJan. 25, 2024

[Photo News] Seollal inflation

Piles of apples are displayed at a large supermarket chain store in Seoul on Wednesday. Ahead of the Lunar New Year’s holiday season next month, grocery prices have soared more than 20 percent compared to a year ago, according to price tracker Korea Price Information on Wednesday. The average price of three apples at a traditional market was 15,000 won ($11.20), a 42.86 percent surge from the same period last year. (Yonhap)

IndustryJan. 25, 2024

[Graphic News] Air traffic in S. Korea’s airspace up 45% in 2023

Air traffic in South Korea’s territorial airspace jumped 45 percent in 2023 from a year earlier on unleashed pent-up demand for travel following years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Transport Ministry said. The number of airplanes that flew over the Korean airspace reached 780,635 last year, up from 539,788 a year ago, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. But last year’s air traffic over Korea’s airspace has yet to recover to pre-pandemic level

IndustryJan. 25, 2024

Chambers call for more incentives, eased regulations in health care, renewables

Korea would be more attractive for global renewable energy and health care companies if they were given higher financial incentives and eased regulations, chiefs of foreign business lobby groups said Wednesday. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held the 2024 Foreign Chamber Day with representatives of foreign business networking organizations to share opinions on difficulties faced by global firms operating here in the fields of economic cooperation, labor, trade and regulatory appr

IndustryJan. 24, 2024

Samsung Biologics' profit exceeds W1tr for 1st time

Samsung Biologics’ annual operating profit topped 1 trillion won ($749 million) last year for the first time, according to the company’s regulatory filing on Wednesday. Its operating profit came to 1.14 trillion won last year, up 13 percent from the previous year. Sales also surged 23 percent during the same period. The sales figure, in particular, exceeded the full-year earnings guidance the company had announced earlier. The company previously anticipated sales to reach 3.60 trilli

IndustryJan. 24, 2024

[KH Explains] Financing limbo threatens W30tr Polish arms deal

South Korea's ambitious multibillion-dollar arms export deals with Poland may be at risk, as the National Assembly continues to sit dormant on a bill that must be passed in order to for the deals to come through. Having signed an initial comprehensive arms export agreement worth 17 trillion won ($12.7 billion) for tanks, howitzers and fighter jets in July 2022, the related Korean defense companies -- Hyundai Rotem and Hanwha Aerospace -- and the Polish government have been negotiating to fo

IndustryJan. 24, 2024

Celltrion, China’s WuXi bolster ties on ADC partnership

Celltrion said Wednesday that the company has signed a business agreement with China’s WuXi XDC to accelerate its development of antibody-drug conjugates. WuXi XDC, a 60:40 joint venture between WuXi Biologics and WuXi STA, is a Chinese pharmaceutical company that provides contract research and development manufacturing organization services, mainly on ADCs and bioconjugates. The latest agreement is an extension of a contract development and manufacturing organization deal signed in Decemb

IndustryJan. 24, 2024

Seoul shares close lower on profit taking ahead of earnings season

South Korean stocks closed lower Wednesday ahead of the release of earnings reports by major firms. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 8.92 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,469.69. Trading volume was low at 381.6 million shares worth 7.17 trillion won ($5.36 billion), with losers far outpacing gainers 608 to 271. Foreigners sold shares worth 24.1 billion won, while retail investors bought a net 103.8 billion won. Institutions sold a net 8

MarketJan. 24, 2024

Hyundai’s $5.5b EV plant may receive fewer incentives in US

Hyundai Motor Group might not receive full tax credits from the US for setting up an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in the state of Georgia, although it made hefty investments in the new production base, media reports said Wednesday. According to the Korea-based news outlet, Seoul Economic Daily, the US Department of Energy is putting off responding to the carmaker’s request to apply the maximum 30 percent tax break for the Georgia plant. Given that the company has vowed to inject mo

MobilityJan. 24, 2024

Homeplus rolls out Lunar New Year gift sets

South Korean discount store chain Homeplus on Wednesday said it will start selling 2024 Lunar New Year gift sets from Saturday through Feb. 11, as the season of gift-giving is once again upon us. During this holiday season, Homeplus offers a curated selection of some 1,060 items at discounts of up to 50 percent. Based on consumer purchase data collected during about three weeks of pre-orders, the retailer has prepared a variety of gift sets, ranging from budget packages to high-end meat or seafo

IndustryJan. 24, 2024

HD Hyundai Oilbank seeks bigger footing in N. America's lubricants market

South Korean oil refinery and petrochemical firm HD Hyundai Oilbank said Wednesday it is making significant inroads into the North American lubricants market by supplying its XTeer products for HD Hyundai XiteSolution's industrial vehicles. The strategic push by the two subsidiaries of HD Hyundai aims to secure a foothold in the lubricants market traditionally dominated by major industry players, where Korean manufacturers currently hold less than a 0.1 percent share. The refinery company&#

IndustryJan. 24, 2024