Seoul stocks open nearly flat on US inflation data

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Thursday as investors digest high-flying inflation data in the United States, a factor that could hasten the Federal Reserve's tapering. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 1.08 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,973.56 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a muted start as the US consumer price index showed a 7 percent increase in December, the highest on-year jump in almost four decades. Overnight, the t

MarketJan. 13, 2022

Genesis eyes 10% increase in global sales this year

Genesis, the luxury brand of Hyundai Motor Co., said Thursday it targets a 10 percent on-year increase in sales this year spurred by new models. Genesis aims to sell 220,000 units globally this year, up from 200,000 sold last year, Hyundai Motor President and Chief Executive Chang Jae-hoon told reporters on the sidelines of the G90 sedan's launching event.  "Helped by improved product lineup and increased SUV models, Genesis already made it to the top 10 luxury brands, beating (Hon

IndustryJan. 13, 2022

S. Korea to spend W6.3tr for corporate investment in vaccine development

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday the government plans to spend 6.3 trillion won ($5.3 billion) to support corporate facility investment in vaccine development by 2024. The move is aimed at nurturing the vaccine industry as a key sector at a similar level to the semiconductor industry as South Korea seeks to foster new industries to secure engines of growth, according to the finance minister. Hong said the government will continue to support the development of homegrown COVID-19 vacci

EconomyJan. 13, 2022

Import prices down for 2nd month in Dec. on lower oil, raw material costs

South Korea's import prices fell for the second straight month in December from a month earlier as the costs of importing oil and other raw materials declined, central bank data showed Thursday. The import price index dropped 1.9 percent last month from November, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. This marked the second on-month decline following a 1 percent contraction in November. The December decline is attributed to lower costs of purchasing energy-related products

EconomyJan. 13, 2022

4 companies to recall more than 4,200 vehicles over faulty parts

BMW, Mercedes-Benz and two other companies will voluntarily recall more than 4,200 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers operating in South Korea due to problems with vehicle components. The four companies, including Audi-Volkswagen Korea and Porsche Korea, are recalling a combined 4,247 units of 12 different models, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. The problems i

IndustryJan. 13, 2022

CJ Olive Young bets big on North America for global expansion

Korea’s top health and beauty retailer CJ Olive Young said Wednesday it aims to land a million customers overseas with the US and Canada being the target markets.  The firm said its online platform Olive Young Global, launched in 2019, now ships Korean beauty products to some 150 countries around the world. Over the past six months alone, sales from the platform posted an almost 20-fold surge, the firm said without offering specific figures. Membership also soared to some 300,000 use

BusinessJan. 12, 2022

510,000 jobs disappeared in food-lodging, wholesale-retail since COVID-19

SEJONG -- The number of employed people increased the most in seven years in 2021 on the back of the base effect after the coronavirus pandemic dealt a severe blow to the hiring market in 2020, state data showed Wednesday. But the number of jobs in sectors such as wholesale-retail and food service-lodging continued to decline last year, following the previous year. About 516,000 jobs disappeared in these four sectors during the period of 2020-2021. According to Statistics Korea, the number of

EconomyJan. 12, 2022

Posco succeeds in producing neon gas for chips

South Korea’s top steel maker Posco said Wednesday that it has succeeded in producing neon, a rare gas mainly used for making chips, at its Gwangyang steel mill, becoming the first Korean firm to do so. “It is very meaningful to achieve the complete localization of neon, which was a long-cherished task in the industrial gas market, in cooperation with TEMC, a small but strong Korean company,” Vice President Yoo Byung-ok said during the ceremony. “Through ESG business

IndustryJan. 12, 2022

Naver, Kakao share dip shocks young investors

For Lim Ji-soo, a 30-year-old retail investor living in Seoul, Kakao and Naver shares account for 80 percent of her spare money and most of her stock portfolio. “I wish I’d found a more appropriate timing to purchase the stocks – I didn’t know they’d fall like this,” she said Wednesday. Lim is one of the growing number of “young Korean investors” in their 20s and 30s who believe that saving monthly wages is no longer the answer to their personal

MarketJan. 12, 2022

Seoul stocks jump 1.5% after Fed chief's inflation comments

South Korean stocks closed sharply higher Wednesday, as the US Fed chief's comments about inflation were largely within market expectations. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) gained 4.51 points, or 1.54 percent, to close at 2,972.48 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 506 million shares worth some 10.8 trillion won ($9.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 730 to 140. Institutions bought a net 607 billion won and

MarketJan. 12, 2022

[Battery+] China’s cut on EV subsidies a boon for Korean battery makers

As China plans to phase out subsidies for electric vehicles by 30 percent by the end of 2022 and completely eliminate them starting 2023, South Korean battery trio -- LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On -- are bracing for potential impact. According to industry sources Wednesday, China’s U-turn on EV subsidies indicates its confidence about the local EV market‘s ability to survive without state support and its determination to sort out low-quality EV battery manufacturers.

IndustryJan. 12, 2022

Samsung dispatches flights to bring back COVID-positive employees from CES

Samsung Electronics dispatched chartered flights to Las Vegas to bring home some 20 staff members and executives who tested positive for COVID-19 at the CES 2022 trade show, according to industry sources Wednesday. The majority of the infected Samsung officials returned to South Korea late Tuesday night, while the remaining officials arrived around noon on Wednesday. Most of the officials reported minor or no symptoms. After arrival, they were transferred to a quarantine facility for medical

IndustryJan. 12, 2022

Posco logs record high earnings in 2021 on robust demand, high prices

Posco, South Korea's top steelmaker, said Wednesday that it logged its largest earnings ever last year on the back of strong demand for key products and high prices. Its operating income stood at 9.2 trillion won ($7.73 billion) last year on a consolidated basis, compared with an operating profit of 2.4 trillion won a year earlier, the company said. Sales amounted to 76.4 trillion won, up 32.1 percent from a year earlier, it added. Posco showed a stellar performance in the second and third qu

IndustryJan. 12, 2022

EU set to veto merger of S. Korean shipbuilders: sources

European Union regulators are set to veto Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.'s proposed acquisition of its smaller rival Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., citing monopoly issues, industry sources said Wednesday. Within this week, the EU's antitrust regulator will likely announce its decision to block the merger of the South Korean shipbuilders, arguing the tie-up could create a monopoly in the LNG ship market amid rising energy prices, a person familiar with the matter told Yonhap New

IndustryJan. 12, 2022

ABL Bio signs $1.06b deal with Sanofi for Parkinson’s disease treatment

ABL Bio has signed a contract worth up to $1.06 billion (1.27 trillion won) with French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi to co-develop ABL301, an antibody treatment candidate for degenerative brain diseases including Parkinson’s disease, the Korean biotech company said Wednesday. ABL Bio will receive $75 million in down payments, according to the deal. The Korean biotech company will also be able to rake in up to $985 million depending on the success of clinical trials, regulatory approval and

TechnologyJan. 12, 2022

Naver invests in e-commerce data startup

Naver D2 Startup Factory has made a follow-on investment in local e-commerce data startup Datarize, the IT giant said Wednesday. Stonebridge Ventures led the series A funding of Datarize with co-investments from Weventures, Korea Development Bank and Mirae Asset Venture Investment. The total funding amounted to 11.5 billion won ($9.6 million). Naver D2 Startup Factory had previously taken part in the seed investment of Datarize in 2020. Datarize developed an all-in-one growth solution for onl

IndustryJan. 12, 2022

Pernod Ricard Korea launches Time Well Spent campaign to solidify local presence

Pernod Ricard Korea’s new “Time Well Spent” campaign will solidify its position as a market leader in the local whiskey market, which is constantly expanding, the liquor firm said Wednesday.  According to Pernod Ricard Korea’s marketing director Kim Kyung-yeon, the domestic imported whiskey market made 58 percent growth compared to 2019. “With increased public interest in whiskey, high-end whiskey categories and the malt whiskey saw significant growth -&ndash

IndustryJan. 12, 2022

Samsung's chip biz faces minimal impact from Xi'an lockdown: analysts

The prolonged lockdown in the Chinese city of Xi'an will have minimal impact on the performance of Samsung Electronics Co., which has a chip fabrication complex there, analysts said Wednesday. Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker, temporarily adjusted operations at its NAND flash chips manufacturing base in the city late last month, following the city's draconian restrictions imposed on Dec. 22, banning its 13 million citizens from venturing out and doing nonessential activities, to s

IndustryJan. 12, 2022

Market cap of top 100 firms gains 10.8% over past year

South Korea's top 100 companies have seen their total market capitalization swell nearly 11 percent over the past one-year period, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. The combined market value of those leading firms came to 2,128 trillion won ($1.78 trillion) as of Jan. 3 this year, up 10.8 percent from a year earlier, according to Korea CXO Institute. The number of listed firms with a market cap of 1 trillion won or more stood at 288, up 54 from a year earlier. Global tech behemoth Samsung E

MarketJan. 12, 2022

LG supplies in-car infotainment system to Mercedes-AMG EQS

LG Electronics said Wednesday it has supplied its premium in-car infotainment system to be featured in the 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS full-electric luxury sedan. LG’s system combines three displays – instrument cluster display, central information display and co-driver display – into a single, panoramic screen that stretches across the entire width of the car’s dashboard. Thanks to the use of a plastic organic light-emitting diode display, the South Korean tech giant said,

TechnologyJan. 12, 2022