The Korea Herald

Han named new head of Invest Korea

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency named financial expert Han Ki-won on Monday, commissioner of Invest Korea, the agency’s foreign investment promotion arm. The 53-year-old is highly experienced in the investment field, and is proficient in Korean, English and Japanese, KOTRA said. “We rarely get a candidate who suits the post better than he does,” a KOTRA spokesperson said. “He had a 10-year investment banking career in Japan and another 15 years in Europe and Asia. Han is a top-notch

April 2, 2012

Samil PwC chairman’s term extended

Ahn Kyung-tae, chairman and territory senior partner of Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, will serve as the chief of the accounting firm for five more years.The nation’s largest accounting firm’s panel, composed of 13 executives, endorsed Ahn’s consecutive terms at a board member meeting last Friday.Ahn was initially appointed to top post of the Korean network firm of U.S.-based PwC in 2003, following the retirement of Suh Tae-sik, who founded Samil Accounting Corp. in 1971. Ahn, a certified public

April 2, 2012

Ecowin to sell pesticides in Turkey

Ecowin Co, a venture firm specializing in eco-friendly pesticides, said it has entered the Turkish market by setting up a joint venture with Fipa Ekolojik. Under the deal, Ecowin will provide organic fertilizer technologies to the Turkish firm in return for a 50 percent stake in the joint venture firm, which will open up a crucial channel to the regional market. The joint venture will manufacture environment-friendly pesticides based on Ecowin’s core technologies. The Korean company, founded in

IndustryApril 2, 2012

Moody’s raises Korea’s outlook to positive

Moody’s Investors Service on Monday raised Korea’s sovereign credit outlook to “positive” from “stable,” placing the country right below Japan and Taiwan for strong fiscal fundamentals and resilience in external financing. “Korea’s fiscal fundamentals are very well-placed among its like-rated advanced and emerging economy peers. Its fiscal fundamentals have withstood the global financial crisis, as well as the ongoing eurozone crisis and the drag in global growth,” the credit rating agency said

April 2, 2012

Financial chief promises measures to boost foreign currency deposits

Minister Bahk says Korea-U.S. FTA a ‘third opening’ in bilateral relationsSouth Korea will soon announce a set of measures to encourage saving in foreign currencies, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said, announcing a plan to boost the private sector buffer against possible capital flight.Detailing the need for a stronger firewall on top of the central bank’s $306.4 billion in foreign exchange reserves, Bahk told The Korea Herald that the ministry would announce a set of incentives for depositors t

April 2, 2012

Financial chief promises measures to boost foreign currency deposits

S. Korean households' debt service burden jumps in 2011

The debt service burden of South Korean households rose sharply last year, as their debt payments increased amid high inflation, the country's central bank said Monday.The so-called household debt service ratio (DSR), an estimate of the ratio of debt payments to disposable personal income, stood at 12.9 percent last year, compared with 11.4 percent a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (B

April 2, 2012

Moody's raises S. Korea's rating outlook to 'positive'

Moody's Investors Service upgraded its outlook Monday on South Korea's sovereign credit rating to "positive" from "stable," citing the country's improving fiscal status and solid economic growth, the finance ministry said.The move came after the credit rating agency raised the government bond rating of South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, from A2 "stable" to A1 "stable" in April 2010."The c

April 2, 2012

Food exports to reach $30b by 2020: minister

This is the fifth of a series of interviews with top officials and trade-related association chiefs on FTAs in light of the Korea-U.S. FTA taking effect. ― Ed. Despite the expected blow to Korea’s agricultural industry in the wake of its free trade pacts with the United States and the European Union, the nation’s food exports will top $30 billion by 2020, the agriculture minister said.Listing the fresh wave of K-pop as a major potential boost to the industry, Agriculture Minister Seo Gyu-yong ex

April 1, 2012

Food exports to reach $30b by 2020: minister

LG throws Cinema 3-D promotional event

LG Electronics Co. held a promotional event for its 3-D televisions and other gadgets at the Lotte World ice rink in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul, over the weekend.Tens of thousands of visitors experienced LG’s 3-D technology at the two-day “LG Cinema 3-D World Festival” on the carpeted ice rink. The company put about 300 Cinema 3-D televisions, laptops and home theaters on display and offered some 30,000 Cinema 3-D eyeglasses to allow visitors to view the 3-D content ranging from broadcasts, movi

IndustryApril 1, 2012

March’s trade volume marks first fall since late 2009

South Korea’s exports and imports fell for the first time in two and a half years in March, due mainly to weak overseas demand for Korean ships and commodities, a government report showed Sunday.Despite the first negative trade growth since October 2009, the country’s trade balance remained in the black to the tune of $2.33 billion, according to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.The country’s exports reached $47.36 billion in March, down 1.4 percent on-year, with imports contractin

April 1, 2012

March’s trade volume marks first fall since late 2009

STX OSV wins W240b order for specialized offshore vessels

STX OSV said Sunday it had won an order to build two high value-added offshore specialized vessels worth 240 billion won ($200 million) for Norway’s Farstad Shipping.The multifunctional vessels, which can transport oil field development platforms and fix them in deep waters, cost more than double the usual amount for offshore specialized vessels.STX OSV plans to build the hulls of the ships in a shipyard in Romania’s Tulcea and complete the rest of the work in Norway’s Langsten shipyard for deli

IndustryApril 1, 2012

Peach may ignite airline price war

Budget carrier to run cheap flights between Incheon and OsakaKorea’s low-cost airlines are girding for fierce competition in the skies as Peach Aviation is racing to launch a new route to Seoul, seeking a slice of a budget travel boom in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. With the number of cost-conscious tourists surging, budget carriers are increasingly steering abroad in a bid to offset high jet oil prices and prop up their balance sheets. Osaka-based Peach is the latest in a string of no-frills

IndustryApril 1, 2012

Lotte, Shilla to cut duty-free commission fees

The nation’s top two duty free chains Lotte and Shilla have agreed to lower their commission fees for vendors by 3-11 percentage points from April, the Fair Trade Commission said Sunday. Early this year the antitrust watchdog found that major travel retailers had charged some 30 percent of local vendors more than 55 percent of their profits as fees for using their floor space. Even considering the 15 percent brokerage commission for travel agencies and guides, the rate was higher than the averag

IndustryApril 1, 2012

Samsung Electronics to issue first U.S. dollar-dominated bonds since 2004

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of computer memory chips, plans to issue its first U.S. dollar-denominated bonds since 2004 to expand production of processors used in mobile devices including Apple Inc.’s iPhone. The company has sent requests for proposals to banks to borrow as much as $1 billion to expand production capacity at its factory in Austin, Texas, James Chung, a Seoul-based spokesman for Samsung, said.Samsung Electronics sold $100 million of floating-rate three-year

April 1, 2012

Gap between inward and outward FDI widens: report

South Korea’s outward foreign direct investment continues to rise while the inflow of such funds remains sluggish, data showed Sunday.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in a report that OFDI has climbed at an annual average of 24 percent since 2000 but inward foreign direct investment has grown at a mere 3 percent during the same period. The net outflow of foreign direct investment is expected to continue as Korean companies invest more in foreign markets. In contrast, the inflow of forei

April 1, 2012

Trade rules with ASEAN to be simplified: Finance Ministry

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Sunday the certificate of origin documentation for trade between Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations would be simplified. “Despite the increase in trade volume with ASEAN, Korean firms have been underutilizing the FTA due to the complicated procedures concerning the certificate of origin,” the ministry said in a statement. “The government has agreed to revise the related rules in a recent negotiation with ASEAN partners.”Current rules st

April 1, 2012

‘Fisheries should be excluded from China FTA’

The chief of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives said fisheries should be excluded from the free trade agreement negotiations to cut tariffs between Korea and China.The duties on fish must be retained to protect the troubled local fishing industry, Lee Jong-koo said in an interview with Yonhap news agency.Whereas Korea imports frozen fish from the United States and Chile, large amounts of fresh fish can be brought in from China due to its proximity, possibly dealing a blow to the d

IndustryApril 1, 2012

‘Fisheries should be excluded from China FTA’

Honda prices Acura ILX to attract buyers from BMW

Honda Motor Co., seeking a 46 percent jump in U.S. Acura brand sales this year, priced a new “near premium” compact sedan to attract car buyers in their 30s and keep them out of competing BMW and Audi models. The 2013 ILX, which goes on sale in May, starts at about $27,000. It’s aimed at older “Generation-Y” customers who aspire to own a luxury vehicle and have limited income, Jeff Conrad, vice president of Honda’s Acura unit, said this month. Honda’s U.S. sales target is 40,000 annually of the

MobilityApril 1, 2012

Honda prices Acura ILX to attract buyers from BMW

Automakers battle weak demand for hybrids

Hyundai, Kia struggle to catch up with Toyota’s PriusHybrid cars of Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors have yet to gain popularity among domestic consumers.The affiliated automakers saw lethargic sales of the fuel-efficient vehicles, such as the Sonata hybrid and K5 hybrid, last year. Yearly sales of Hyundai’s Sonata hybrid and Kia’s K5 hybrid stood at 7,193 and 5,279 units, respectively.The figures indicate that the companies’ daily sales of the two eco-friendly sedans in Korea average

MobilityApril 1, 2012

Automakers battle weak demand for hybrids

Heo Min-heoi named new CEO of CJ Foodville

CJ Foodville has named the current chief operating officer Heo Min-heoi as a new chief executive officer of the franchise unit of CJ Group. The former vice president at CJ Group has served as acting president for CJ Foodville since December. “We have named him for his experience and expertise in the food industry and related services as well as his business mentality and leadership,” the company said. “I’ll help CJ Foodville realize CJ’s dream and vision of globalization of Korean dining based o

IndustryApril 1, 2012

Heo Min-heoi named new CEO of CJ Foodville