Huawei to stay committed to Korean business despite uncertainties

Despite the global supply disruption due to a chip shortage and supply bottleneck, coupled with sanctions imposed by the United States, Huawei Technologies will continue to stay committed to its South Korean partners, executives of the Chinese tech giant in Seoul said Wednesday evening. “While there are still many uncertainties on the road ahead of us, Huawei will remain open and collaborative,” Karl Song, the vice president of Huawei in charge of corporate communications, in a prer

TechnologyDec. 9, 2021

EcoProBM to build W970b EV battery material plant in Hungary

EcoProBM, an electric vehicle battery material supplier for Samsung SDI and SK On, said Thursday it will build a cathode plant in Hungary worth 970 billion won ($825 million). The Hungarian plant, which is to be EcoProBM’s first overseas investment, will churn out 108,000 tons of cathode material per year once it goes fully operational in the second half of 2025. The production output would be enough to produce batteries for 1.35 million electric vehicles, the company said. Cathodes

IndustryDec. 9, 2021

Ex-Burberry chief designer named new creative designer for LF Daks

South Korean fashion retailer LF Corp. said Thursday that it appointed Luc Goidadin, the former chief design officer of British fashion behemoth Burberry, as the new creative director of its luxury brand, LF Daks. With Goidadin at the helm, LF Daks will be under an overall restructuring process for a higher brand value, LF said. Since 1983, LF has been operating LF Daks through a licensing contract with British-heritage luxury fashion house Daks. Under Goidadin's leadership, LF Daks plans t

IndustryDec. 9, 2021

Foreigners turn net buyers of local stocks in November

Foreign investors purchased a net of about $2.52 billion worth of shares on South Korea's stock market in November as they picked up chips and other related tech shares, central bank data showed Thursday. That marked a turnaround from the previous month's net selling of local stocks by foreign investors valued at $2.65 billion, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. The net purchase was mostly driven by increased investment in chipmakers and related tech firms amid expectations their ov

EconomyDec. 9, 2021

BOK to adjust loose monetary policy amid worries over inflation, pandemic

South Korea's central bank said Thursday that it will adjust the extent of its loose monetary policy stance "appropriately" in consideration of inflation, the pandemic and monetary policy directions of major economies. In a monetary policy report to lawmakers, the Bank of Korea (BOK) cited uncertainty linked to global supply disruptions, the resurgence of the coronavirus and the emergence of the omicron COVID-19 variant as major risk factors that could weigh on the economy. "As

EconomyDec. 9, 2021

Jungheung inks Daewoo E&C takeover deal, vows managerial independence

Jungheung Group said on Thursday it has signed a binding sales and purchase agreement contract with KDB Investment to acquire a controlling 50.75 percent stake in Daewoo Engineering & Construction. With the contract, Jungheung looks to complete the takeover of Korea’s sixth-largest construction company by Feb. 15 next year, following an antitrust review of the deal to be filed before year-end. The proposed acquisition price was not disclosed. The South Korean builder group with 9.2

IndustryDec. 9, 2021

Bond issuance in S. Korea edges down in Nov.

Bond issuance in South Korea inched down in November from the previous month amid rising interest rates, data showed Thursday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 65.8 trillion won ($56.1 billion) last month, down 200 billion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Last month's decrease compares with an 8.4 trillion won on-month jump recorded in October. Sales of financial bonds declined by 2.5 trillion won

EconomyDec. 9, 2021

S. Korea begins procedures to ratify Cape Town Agreement on fishing vessel safety

South Korea has begun domestic procedures to ratify the Cape Town Agreement on the safety of fishing vessels, the oceans ministry said Thursday. The agreement, adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2012, is meant to enhance safety onboard fishing vessels, including vessel construction and safety equipment, to prevent illegal fishing and to ensure the long-term sustainability of the fishing industry. South Korea, along with dozens other nations, vowed in 2019 to bring the

IndustryDec. 9, 2021

Car-sharing app SoCar to launch integrated mobility services

SoCar, a South Korean car-sharing company, said Thursday it aims to launch an integrated mobility services that connects all transit options in one app next year. The envisioned "super app" will allow users to find multiple modes of transit, such as car-sharing, buses, trains, and electric bikes, to reach their destinations in the fastest and most effective manner, the company said in a statement. "The super app users can book an electric bike to reach a SoCar zone, a SoCar ve

IndustryDec. 9, 2021

[Interactive] Internet banking users reach record high in H1

South Korea's internet banking services continued to grow in the first half of the year, with the number of users and daily transactions rising to new highs, central bank data showed. The number of internet banking users, including mobile banking, came to 186.5 million as of end-June, up 5.6 percent from six months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. The figure is the simple sum of all registered users of 18 internet and mobile banking service providers in the country, meani

EconomyDec. 9, 2021

Tax revenue down W6.2tr in October

South Korea's tax revenue fell 6.2 trillion won ($5.3 billion) in October from a year earlier as the government delayed the payment of some taxes by small merchants and firms hit by the pandemic, the finance ministry said Thursday. The government collected 32.9 trillion won in taxes in October, compared with 39.1 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Tax revenue increased every month between January and September from a year earlier as corporate tax inc

EconomyDec. 9, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on auto, chemical gains

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher on Thursday, led by advances by auto and chemical stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.28 points, or 0.18 percent, to trade at 3,007.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.64 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1 percent on easing concerns about the omicron variant of the new coronavirus. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.28 p

MarketDec. 9, 2021

5 companies to recall over 4,200 vehicles over faulty parts

Audi Volkswagen Korea, Honda Korea and three 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 five companies, including Volvo Trucks Korea, Stellantis Korea, FMK which sells Ferraris and Maseratis in the country, are recalling a combined 4,282 units in 10 kinds of models, the Ministry of La

IndustryDec. 9, 2021

Stock rebounds signal recovery from omicron scare: analysts

South Korean stocks rebounded Wednesday on foreign buying amid growing hopes that the omicron variant would not derail a global economic recovery. Analysts in Seoul also said that stocks will shake off their pandemic-caused weakness early next year when supply disruptions are resolved. The main benchmark Kospi closed at 3001.80, up 0.34 percent from a day earlier, surpassing the 3,000-mark again for the first time since Nov. 24. The junior tech-heavy Kosdaq closed at 1006.04, up 0.94 percent f

MarketDec. 8, 2021

[Herald Interview] Travel will be back in 2022 but in a different form, says luggage maker exec

Honeymoons were canceled, business trips were pushed back and vacation plans were postponed indefinitely for the past two years as the COVID-19 pandemic forced countries to tighten border control and decimated air travel. As vaccination rates rise and countries slowly open their borders under travel bubble agreements, travel will bounce back in 2022, but will take a different form, says Paul Melkebeke, Samsonite’s president for the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions. “People wi

ConsumerDec. 8, 2021

Posco International sets up holding company in Singapore to expand palm oil business

Posco International, the trading arm of the country’s leading steelmaker Posco, has set up a holding company in Singapore to expand its palm oil business, the company said Wednesday. The trading company is currently seeking to transfer 85 percent of its stake in an Indonesian palm farm to the holding company in the city state. The transfer will be completed by the end of the year, officials in Songdo, west of Seoul, said. The company plans to dispatch professionals next year to expand th

IndustryDec. 8, 2021

Hanmi Global, CIOB to share educational contents

　Hanmi Global said Wednesday it has signed a preliminary agreement with the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) to share educational contents on construction management. 　The construction management company has recently developed an online education platform, tentatively called Global PM University, to foster professionals in project management and offer knowledge on construction to the general public. 　The CIOB, established in 1834, is a global professional body for construction management

IndustryDec. 8, 2021

Busan bar’s ‘No Professor Zone’ poster goes viral

A bar in Busan has declared itself a “No Professor Zone” to create a friendlier environment for student customers. When someone took a picture of the announcement and shared it in a tweet, it went viral. “We profusely apologize. For other customers to enjoy themselves with ease, we are asking full-time professors to refrain from entering our place,” the poster reads. The message appears to target scholars at Pusan National University, which is located near the venue.

ConsumerDec. 8, 2021

[Newsmaker] SK chief says sustainability, not size, priority in chip investment

While Samsung makes a multibillion dollar bet on a new chip fab in the US, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is seeking to chart a different path in the semiconductor business, emphasizing “sustainability” as a prime factor to consider before making major investment decisions. While attending 2021 Trans-Pacific Dialogue held near Washington, DC, on Tuesday, the 61-year-old leader underscored that the key of the chip business is sustainability, not size, when asked of his plan on makin

IndustryDec. 8, 2021

Seoul stocks gain for 6th session on eased virus woes

South Korean stocks advanced for a sixth straight session Wednesday on the back of eased concerns about the omicron variant. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 10.08 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 3,001.8 points. The key index retrieved the 3,000-point mark for the first time in about two weeks. Trading volume was moderate at about 482 million shares worth some 11 trillion won ($9.4 billion), with losers outnumbering g

MarketDec. 8, 2021