An experimental vaccine developed by a Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) unit and the U.S. military protected monkeys against an animal version of the AIDS virus, a study found. Monkeys that got the vaccine were as much as 83 percent less likely than those that got a dummy shot to become infected with simian

TechnologyJan. 5, 2012

Oriental Brewery, Korea’s No. 2 beer maker, topped its bigger rival Hite-Jinro for the first time in 15 years as its market share shot up last year, thanks to the growing popularity of its new products. Industry data showed on Wednesday that OB’s share in the local beer market by shipment volume topped 50.2 percent in the first 10 months of 2011, surpassing Hite-Jinro by a hair’s breadth ― 0.4 percent. Their race had been nip-and-tuck throughout last year as OB accelerated to taper the once doub

IndustryJan. 4, 2012

South Korean stocks edged down 0.49 percent Wednesday as investors took profits following a bullish run on the previous session, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI lost 9.19 points to 1,866.22. Trading volume was heavy at 488 million shares worth 4.7 trillion won ($4.1 billion), with losers leading gainers 430 to 395.“Some investors offloaded their shares to take profits as the KOSPI jumped nearly 50 points on the previous day on the back of better

Jan. 4, 2012

Enlisted soldiers will be served with Korean beef at barracks as part of the government’s efforts to keep the price of locally bred cows from further decreasing.The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Wednesday that it has started to secure a budget to replace all imported beef provided in the military with Korean meat. The ministry was also considering offering Korean beef as substitute for more than half the pork that the nation’s 650,000 soldiers consume 60 grams every

IndustryJan. 4, 2012

The National Tax Service said Wednesday it would exempt smaller foreign firms operating in Korea from tax audits as part of efforts to encourage foreign direct investment. Foreign companies whose yearly income is less than 10 billion won ($8.7 million) would qualify for the tax audit exemption. “As with Korean conglomerates, big foreign companies in Korea are subject to regular audits, but smaller foreign units would be excluded from the required audits,” said an official at the NTS.The move cam

Jan. 4, 2012

Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest chipmaker, is seeking to build a new plant in China to produce high-tech NAND flash memory chips, the Seoul government said Wednesday.The move that could lead to technology leaks was filed by Samsung on Dec. 6 and was approved Wednesday by a government committee on industrial technology security, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.“The Ministry of Knowledge Economy made the decision after holding two industrial technology security

TechnologyJan. 4, 2012

PRINCETON, N.J. (UPI) -- It turns out unusual crystals found in Russia weren't formed on Earth, researchers say, but rather came from outer space.The so-called quasicrystals, with an unusual structure somewhere between crystals and glass, had only been previously created in laboratories before they

TechnologyJan. 4, 2012

Prices of dynamic random access memory chips paused their falling trend in December on the back of seasonal demand, snapping a long losing streak, industry data showed Wednesday.According to DRAMeXchange Technology Inc., the average price of the benchmark DDR3 2 gigabit, 256Mx8 1333 megahertz device was set at US$0.88 in the second half of last month, unchanged from two weeks ago.The Taiwan-based company, Asia’s largest operator of a semiconductor spot market, compiles chip prices twice a month.

TechnologyJan. 4, 2012

South Korea will help sustain its economic growth this year by frontloading its budget spending during the first half in the face of tough economic conditions at home and abroad, the finance minister said Wednesday.“We will introduce a plan next week to frontload (this year‘s) fiscal budget in order to systematically support expenditures being pursued by each ministry and agency,” Bahk Jae-wan told a crisis management meeting with other policymakers. “I want you to make sure that the assigned bu

Jan. 4, 2012

Korea’s financial watchdog is moving to reform the country’s banking law, its chief said Wednesday, amid mounting controversy over a U.S. fund’s plan to sell its controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank.The envisioned law amendment revolves around a clause that prohibits a non-financial player from holding more than a 4 percent stake in local commercial banks.“The non-financial player policy was adopted in 2002. Since then, issues (over the policy) have been raised several times,” said Financial

Jan. 4, 2012

Foreign investment banks have painted a rosy picture of the local stock market’s performance this year, citing the country’s strong economic fundamentals, a report showed Wednesday. Citigroup and other IBs also based their optimistic outlook on the undervaluation of the local stock market compared to their counterparts in emerging economies, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance. In addition, the foreign IBs said the Korean government has ample room to take measur

Jan. 4, 2012

Overseas orders for industrial plants won by Korean builders rose to a new all-time high last year on growing demands from developing countries in the Middle East and South America, the government said Wednesday.Local companies clinched $64.98 billion worth of overseas orders in 2011, up from the previous record of $64.48 billion secured a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.The 2011 figure marks a positive growth for eight consecutive years since 2003. The ministry said

Jan. 4, 2012

Lotte Group, Korea’s top retail conglomerate, will set up a mega shopping complex in Incheon by 2015 to cater to the growing population in the area driven by the brisk housing and industrial development. The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority said Tuesday it forged a deal with Lotte Asset Development Co. for the 1 trillion won ($872 million) project. The company plans to break ground in the fourth quarter of the year.The complex will house a department store, a discount supermarket and numerou

IndustryJan. 4, 2012

Korea has been faring relatively well economically, but it still lags behind in terms of social integration, infrastructure and other non-economic areas, a government report showed Wednesday.“Our country is faring well in the economic sector, but we remain weak in terms of social integration, social capital and natural resources,” the finance ministry said in the report that analyzed the nation’s competitiveness in comparison with other advanced countries. “Economic indicators have improved as w

Jan. 4, 2012

Homeplus, the nation’s No. 2 supermarket chain, said Wednesday that it is considering entering the network services market as a mobile virtual network operator or MVNO. The company, owned by U.K. retailer giant Tesco, said it has started negotiations to borrow networks from telecom carriers at wholesale prices so that they can offer mobile services at cheaper rates. “We are gauging contract conditions with SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus,” a Homeplus official said. “If the contract is finalized, we

IndustryJan. 4, 2012