Hyundai, Kia sales in U.S., China surpass home market in first half

The United States and China surpassed Korea as the largest markets for cars made by Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. in the first half of 2012, industry sources said Thursday.Combined sales of Korea’s top two carmakers in the home market stood at 567,251 in the January-June period, while numbers for the U.S. and China reached 645,376 and 593,896 each.The tally marks the first time that sales to individual foreign countries have surpassed the number for the domestic market. Both Hyundai and

MobilityJuly 19, 2012

Energy imports increase 14.6%

Korea’s energy imports posted solid gains during the first half of this year as costs of purchasing crude oil and natural gas jumped, customs data showed Thursday.South Korea imported $81.5 billion worth of crude oil, natural gas and coal during the January-June period, up 14.6 percent in value from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service. The increase is attributed to a spike in average import prices of crude oil and natural gas, which jumped 11.3 percent and 26.2 per

July 19, 2012

POSCO buys stake in Slovakian firm

POSCO, South Korea’s leading steelmaker, said Thursday that it has bought a stake in a Slovakian firm in a bid to beef up its sales in eastern Europe, it said Thursday.The steelmaker and its affiliate Daewoo International Corp. signed a deal this week to buy a combined 10 percent of Trancerie Emiliane (TE) Slovakia, an affiliate of the Italy-based motor core manufacturer TE Group.POSCO did not reveal financial terms of the deal.“This is the milestone of POSCO and TE, which have been forging ties

July 19, 2012

Korean shipbuilders keep global dominance in H1

Korea’s shipbuilders continued to lead the global market in the first half of the year despite a large drop in overseas orders caused by sluggish economic conditions, the government said Thursday.In the January-June period, the world’s total orders for new ships plunged 58 percent from the same period a year earlier to 8.77 million compensated gross tons, a drop largely caused by “years of oversupply and the European financial woes,” the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a press release.Kore

IndustryJuly 19, 2012

Hyundai Glovis inks F-15K deal with Boeing

Hyundai Glovis Co., a local logistics service provider, signed a deal with U.S. defense contractor Boeing Co. on Thursday to help maintain the operational readiness of South Korea’s F-15K multirole fighters.The performance-based logistics program calls for Hyundai Glovis to manage inventories of parts and components used by the planes and ensure timely delivery to military maintenance personnel so they can be kept combat ready.Under the arrangement, Hyundai Glovis will receive payments for servi

IndustryJuly 19, 2012

Lotte fined for unfair intra-group transactions

The nation’s antitrust watchdog said Thursday that it fined Lotte PS Net, an automated teller machine operator of Lotte Group, 649 million won ($569,000) for offering favors to its sister company Lotte Aluminum. According to the Fair Trade Commission, Lotte PS Net used to purchase ATMs directly from local manufacturer NeoICP.However, from 2009, the company started purchasing the same NeoICP machines at higher prices through Lotte Aluminum, with the aim of providing commission to then-financially

IndustryJuly 19, 2012

Renault Samsung to produce Nissan cars

Japanese vehicles to be assembled in Korea for first timeRenault-Nissan Alliance chairman & CEO Carlos Ghosn will make public the auto giant’s strategy to roll out Nissan models at Renault’s Korean unit at a news conference, slated for Friday, sources in Seoul said on Thursday.This will mark the first time that Seoul-based Renault Samsung Motors, whose parent group is Paris-based Renault, takes on production of Japan-based Nissan cars.“Apart from Renault Samsung, no Japanese car model has been p

IndustryJuly 19, 2012

PC DRAM price fall to curb SK Hynix earnings: report

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― SK Hynix Inc., the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, will see its earnings restrained by weakening prices of dynamic random-access memory used in manufacturing PCs, a report said Thursday.Macquarie said in the report that it is downgrading its rating on SK hynix by one notch to “neutral” from “buy,” saying the company’s operating profit will be affected by the delayed recovery of the PC DRAM market. It also slashed its target price for the South Korean firm to 21

TechnologyJuly 19, 2012

Listed firms cut dividend payouts on uncertainties

Korean listed firms sharply reduced their cash dividends paid out to their shareholders this year as growing economic uncertainties have led them to secure capital amid a dim earnings outlook, data showed Thursday. The combined interim cash dividends of six local listed firms that logged their dividend payouts in the regulatory filings stood at 118.4 billion won ($103.6 million) as of June 19, down 57.2 percent from 276.4 billion won a year ago, according to the data compiled by financial inform

July 19, 2012

Korea’s growth could slow to 1 percent range: BOA

Korea’s economic growth rate could drop to the 1-percent range this year if worsening external market conditions make a dent in its exports, a report indicated Thursday.Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecast that Asia’s fourth-largest economy could expand 1.8 percent this year, according to the report compiled by the Korea Center for International Finance. This is much lower than the government’s estimate of 3.3 percent and the Bank of Korea’s 3 percent growth projections. The government and the

July 19, 2012

Shares up 1.56 percent on U.S. recovery hope

Korean stocks closed 1.56 percent higher Thursday as signs of recovery in the U.S. housing market prompted investors to snap up shares following a sharp fall in the previous session, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index jumped 28.05 points to 1,822.96, rebounding from a 1.48 percent decline on Wednesday. Trading volume was moderate at 482.3 million shares worth 4.6 trillion won ($4 billion), with gainers outnumbering de

July 19, 2012

Discount outlet, department store sales tumble

Sales at South Korea’s major discount outlets and department stores fell from a year earlier last month, the government said Thursday, apparently reflecting worsening consumer sentiment amid rising prices.Sales at the country’s three major discount outlet chains dropped 7.2 percent in June from the same period in 2011, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The outlet chains are Lotte Mart, E-Mart and Homeplus.June marked the third consecutive month combined sales of the three outlet ch

July 19, 2012

KT to sell copper cables to focus on faster network operations

KT plans to sell its old copper cables that used to be the main telecommunication lines for telephones and the Internet in the 1990s.With the emergence of smarter devices and demand for faster data, copper cables have gradually been replaced by fiber-optic cables, which are lighter and transmit data faster with greater bandwidth.KT said Thursday that it will sell over 26,000 tons of copper cables via a public auction to waste and recycling companies by the end of August.With the proceeds from th

TechnologyJuly 19, 2012

KCC establishes TV app innovation center

The Korea Communications Commission said Thursday that it has set up a center aimed at supporting developers to create applications for smart TVs.The country’s communications watchdog established the support center in southern Seoul with leading tech and content companies such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and CJ HelloVision.The KCC said the center aims to support and encourage college students, venture tech start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises to develop world-class apps fo

TechnologyJuly 19, 2012

Three of eight pro baseball teams turn profits in 2011: reports

Fewer than half of baseball teams in the nation’s top competition turned a profit last year, reports showed Thursday, despite the sport’s recent run of massive popularity.According to reports by the Financial Supervisory Service and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, three of the eight clubs in the Korea Baseball Organization made profits in the fiscal year 2011. The Lotte Giants made 3.7 billion won ($3.2 million), followed by the Doosan Bears with 2.3 billion won and the Samsung Lion

July 19, 2012

Ewha identifies new rare hereditary disease

A group Korean doctors have identified a new hereditary disease, which has been acknowledged by international academia.Dr. Choi Byoung-ok of Ewha Womans University and others on Wednesday said that the rare breed of a hereditary illness they found for the first time in the world in 2011 was named “Peripheral Neuropathy, Myopathy, Hoarseness and Hearing Loss” by the U.S. National Institute of Healt

TechnologyJuly 19, 2012