Seoul shares gain 0.74 percent on institutional buying

South Korean stocks closed 0.74 percent higher Thursday as investors hunted for bargains following a recent plunge, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 13.16 points to 1,782.47. Trading volume was moderate at 398.9 million shares worth 3.63 trillion won ($3.16 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 502 to 3

July 26, 2012

LG Display posts fourth quarterly loss on price-fixing settlement

LG Display Co., the world's No. 2 maker of liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, said Thursday it stayed in the red for the fourth straight quarter as a one-off payment for a price-rigging settlement outweighed recovering profitability.Net loss came to 112.3 billion won ($98 million) in the April-June period, shifting to negative territory from the previous year, the company said in a regulatory f

IndustryJuly 26, 2012

Ssangyong Motor Q2 loss narrows on lower costs

Ssangyong Motor Co., the smallest automaker in South Korea, said Thursday that its net loss narrowed in the second quarter from a year earlier mainly due to decreased costs.Net loss came to 20.9 billion won ($18.23 million) in the April-June period, compared with a loss of 34.9 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales fell 2.3 percent on-year to 712 trillion won. T

IndustryJuly 26, 2012

Seoul shares turn lower after strong start

South Korean stocks turned lower after a strong start on Thursday as poor U.S. corporate earnings raised concerns over a global economic downturn, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 2.24 points, or 0.13 percent, to trade at 1,767.07 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market heavyweights traded mixed, with top-cap Samsung Electronics rising 0.35 percent and f

July 26, 2012

SK Hynix posts fourth straight quarterly loss in Q2

SK Hynix Inc., the world's No. 2 memory chip maker, said Thursday it logged a net loss for the fourth straight quarter as weak cheap prices and currency losses ate into its profit.Net loss reached 53.3 billion won ($46.4 million) in the April-June period, a sharp turnaround from a 473 billion won profit a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales slipped 4.6 percent on-year to 2.

IndustryJuly 26, 2012

Korean economy grows 0.4 percent on-quarter in Q2

The quarterly growth of the South Korean economy more than halved in the second quarter from three months earlier as the persisting eurozone debt crisis eroded exports, the central bank said Thursday.Asia's fourth-largest economy grew 0.4 percent in the April-June period, slowing from a 0.9 percent on-quarter expansion tallied in the first quarter, according to an advance estimate by the Bank of K

July 26, 2012

Foreign firms unhappy with tax burden: KCCI

Nearly seven in 10 foreign companies in Korea said they would consider withdrawing from the country if their tax burden continued to grow, a poll showed Wednesday.According to a survey of 158 foreign businesses conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 69 percent of the respondents said “withdrawal could seriously be contemplated” if the nation chooses to levy heavier taxes.The KCCI reported that most of the respondents expressed unease about the nation’s corporate tax environment

IndustryJuly 25, 2012

Hansae donates 3,000 clothes to Indonesia

Hansae, a top global exporter of clothing, celebrated Indonesia Children’s Day by giving away some 3,000 articles of clothing to the local needy children in South Jakarta on July 14. The donation event was sponsored by the international humanitarian and development NGO Good Neighbors. The celebration saw over 600 participants, ranging from the local children to Indonesia’s Child Protection Commission, company officials said. Entertainment was provided by the young recipients, who delighted in pr

July 25, 2012

KT, Yonsei tie up on smart health care

KT, Korea’s second-largest mobile carrier, and Yonsei University Health System have launched a joint venture in healthcare IT business named H∞H Healthcare.H∞H, or “Hooh,” refers to the infinite value of human and health, KT said.The two sides invested 1 billion won ($869,000) in the joint venture with a 49 percent stake owned by KT, while Yonsei holds a majority 51 percent in the new entity.The board members will consist of two executives from KT and three from Yonsei University Health System.T

TechnologyJuly 25, 2012

Electricity consumption hits record highs: KPX

The state-run supervisor of electricity supply and consumption warned on Wednesday that power consumption nationwide has been hitting new records in the past couple of days, mostly due to the scorching summer heat. The Korea Power Exchange reported on Wednesday that the maximum consumption rate hit 73.3 million kilowatts between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., slightly higher than the day before. Between these hours, the average temperature nationwide reached 33 degrees Celsius, or 91.4 Fahrenheit. According

July 25, 2012

International air passenger traffic jumps 14.6% in H1

Korea’s international air passenger traffic jumped 14.6 percent on-year in the first half due to a sharp rise in foreign visitors and more Koreans traveling abroad, the government said Wednesday.The number of international air passengers came to 22.87 million, the highest number ever for the six-month period, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.The previous first-half record was reached in January-June of last year, when numbers hit 19.95 million.The ministry said c

July 25, 2012

Korea aims to export method for four-river project to Thailand

Government-led consortium will join race to participate in Thailand’s water management projectA government-led consortium plans to jump into an international bidding war to participate in a large-scale water management project in Thailand, which Seoul officials say could become the first case of exporting Korea’s own four-river restoration project. The Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs said Wednesday the consortium, named “Dream Team,” will join the first-round bidding to par

IndustryJuly 25, 2012

Consumer group prepares class action suit over rate fixing

A Korean consumer advocacy group said Wednesday that it is preparing for a class action suit against banks’ alleged collusion to rig key money-market rates, as suspected rate fixing is presumed to add to households’ debt burden.The Fair Trade Commission, the country’s anti-trust watchdog, last week launched an investigation into major local banks and brokerage houses over their suspected involvement in rigging rates on the 91-day certificate of deposit, or the benchmark for bank lending rates.Th

July 25, 2012

Tax agency, hotels team up to promote traditional liquor

The National Tax Service said on Wednesday it has teamed up with five-star hotels across the country to boost sales of traditional liquor such as makgeolli.Sixty-eight hotels agreed to sell traditional liquor in their Japanese and Chinese restaurants as well as Korean restaurants, in addition to providing storytelling booklets on the history of traditional liquors, regions where they are produced and how they are made. Forty-two hotels in Seoul, Busan and Jeju started traditional liquor sales on

IndustryJuly 25, 2012

KB Financial decides not to bid for Woori

Woori sale hangs in air as strong potential bidder backs outThe sale of Woori Finance Holdings hangs in the air once again as KB Financial Group decided not to make a bid, two days ahead of the deadline for preliminary bidding. Board directors of the nation’s largest financial group concluded in a meeting on Wednesday that they will not take part in the preliminary bidding for Woori Finance.Ten board directors including KB Financial chairman Euh Yoon-dae, KB Kookmin Bank chief executive Min Byon

July 25, 2012