PH129 claims most expensive apartment in S. Korea

The most expensive apartment sold this year was in The Penthouse Cheongdam, a luxurious residence also known as PH129, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed on Monday. One unit with an exclusive use area of 273.96 square meters on the 14th floor of the 20-floor building was sold for 11.5 billion won ($9.79 million) in March. Another unit of the same size on the sixth floor was traded at 10 billion won. The apartment, located in southern Seoul‘s Gangnam Dis

MarketAug. 23, 2021

Samsung Electro-Mechanics retries to sell Wi-Fi module biz

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., a major electronics parts maker in South Korea, is seeking to sell its Wi-Fi module business again, a company official said Monday, after its previous deal collapsed in May. "We are in talks with a potential buyer over the sale of our Wi-Fi module business," the official said on condition of anonymity. "The Wi-Fi module business is operating normally. So far, nothing has been confirmed about the deal." Samsung Electro-Mechanics reportedly put

IndustryAug. 23, 2021

Un-real estate: Young Koreans look to make real money from virtual land

Park Seol-min, 28, half-jokingly tells his friends that he bought a 10-square-meter plot in the wealthy Gangnam area of Seoul for less than 40,000 won ($34). As you might expect, given that apartments in the area trade for more than 30 million won per square meter, there’s a catch: The plot only exists in a virtual, computerized world.  Park is one of a growing number of “virtual homeowners,” who spend real money on real estate in metaverse platforms such as Earth 2, w

MarketAug. 23, 2021

Hyundai slips to 6th place in global EV market in H1: data

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co.'s electric vehicle (EV) sales increased in the first half of the year compared with a year ago, but its global market share fell in the face of toughening competitions with Chinese rivals, industry data showed Monday. Hyundai Motor was in sixth place in terms of global EVs sales in the January-June period, one notch down from the fifth position a year ago, according to the data by industry tracker SNE Research. The automaker's global EV sales jumped 75.

IndustryAug. 23, 2021

Manufacturing sentiment drops for 5th month in August: poll

South Korean manufacturers' business confidence fell for the fifth consecutive month in August due to the economic fallout from the prolonged virus pandemic, a poll showed Monday. The country's professional survey index (PSI) for the manufacturing sector's business conditions came to 109 this month, down from 114 in July, according to the poll carried out by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET). A PSI reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The survey

EconomyAug. 23, 2021

AMRO ups 2021 growth outlook for S. Korean economy to 3.9%

The ASEAN-sponsored economic research agency on Monday raised its 2021 growth forecast for the South Korean economy to 3.9 percent, citing solid recovery in exports and facility investment. The projection by the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) marks an increase from its March estimate of 3.2 percent. The agency forecast Asia's fourth-largest economy would expand 3 percent next year. The Singapore-based organization was established in 2011 to promote macroeconomic and financial sta

EconomyAug. 23, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on strong export data

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, helped by robust economic data that fueled optimism for a quick economic rebound from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 19.61 points, or 0.64 percent, to 3,080.12 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a bullish start as South Korea's exports jumped 40.9 percent on-year in the first 20 days of August on high demand for chips, autos and petroleum goods. Top cap Samsung Electronics added 0.6

MarketAug. 23, 2021

Samsung Heavy wins W461b order for 2 LNG carriers

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday it has signed a 461 billion won ($392 million) order to construct two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. Under the deal with an Oceanian shipper, Samsung Heavy will deliver the vessels by September 2024, the shipbuilder said. With the latest order, the shipbuilder has attained 78 percent of its annual order target of $9.1 billion won, winning orders for 54 ships worth $7.1 billion won. The shipbuilder narrowed its net loss in the second quarter from

IndustryAug. 23, 2021

Exports soar 41% in first 20 days of August

South Korea's exports jumped 40.9 percent on-year in the first 20 days of August on the back of robust demand for chips, autos and petroleum products, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $32.2 billion in the Aug. 1-20 period, compared with $22.9 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports soared 52.1 percent on-year to $35.8 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $3.5 billion during the cited period, the data showed.

EconomyAug. 23, 2021

Kyobo Life minority shareholders deny collusion with accountants

Minority shareholders of Kyobo Life Insurance denied having colluded with the company’s accountants to influence the pricing of shares as they sought to exit the company after its failed attempt to go public, one of its shareholders, Affinity Equity Partners, said Sunday. Legal representatives of the investor consortium led by the Hong Kong-based private equity firm argued in a statement that it abided by South Korea’s rules when estimating the strike price with the accounting firm

MarketAug. 22, 2021

[Advertorial] LG Energy Solution continues to focus on research

Building on its leadership in lithium-ion batteries, widely used in cars, phones and other electronic devices, LG Energy Solution is accelerating its research for next-generation cells, with an aim of debuting solid-state batteries and lithium-sulfur batteries by 2027. The company said Sunday it also will increase its presence in the global battery market via expanding overseas manufacturing facilities. A wholly owned subsidiary of LG Chem in South Korea, the battery maker has been researchi

TechnologyAug. 22, 2021

KH Group vows to turn Alpensia resort into global attraction

KH Group, which last week signed a deal to take over the alpine resort Alpensia, vowed to turn the main venue of the 2018 Winter Olympics into a bustling global tourist attraction by building new facilities. “The due diligence and term negotiations went smoothly and we finally inked the asset takeover deal,” said Han Woo-geun, CEO of KH Gangwon Development, a special-purpose company created for the bid. “On top of the existing resort facilities, we will build new multiuse c

IndustryAug. 22, 2021

Specter of labor strike grows at HMM

Unionized longshore workers at South Korea’s largest shipper, HMM, began voting Sunday on whether to go on strike after three rounds of wage negotiations failed. Should they vote in favor of the collection action, it will mark the first strike at the shipper since its establishment in 1796. The longshore workers’ union has around 450 members. Results are scheduled to come out Monday afternoon. The motion is likely to pass, according to local media reports, as the labor union an

MobilityAug. 22, 2021

Cash-rich Hyundai Engineering makes case for IPO at W10tr valuation: analysis

South Korean builder Hyundai Engineering’s anticipated initial public offering will bring its equity value to over 10 trillion won ($8.5 billion), as its market debut plan is considered a critical step for a full-fledged family business succession in Hyundai Motor Group. A booming housing construction market coupled with its net cash -- amounting to 2.3 trillion won as of end-June -- make the case for the 10 trillion-won mark in equity value of the company, analysts said. The company, d

MarketAug. 22, 2021

[ESG Talk] Embedding ESG into M&A strategy for post-COVID era

The year 2021 is seen as a period of transition as markets recover in the post-COVID rebound. Among the areas that will see an economic boost is the mergers and acquisitions market. What companies must recognize is that the M&A market in the post-COVID era is likely to unfold a slightly different reality than in the past. There will be a more explicit and extensive embodiment of environmental, social, and governance values in M&A deals. ESG and its impact on M&A The COVID-19 pande

MarketAug. 22, 2021

Foreigners’ net sale of Seoul stocks worth W31tr so far in 2021

While foreign investors extended their selling spree of South Korean stocks, the amount of massively offloaded shares by them so far in 2021 has already surpassed last year’s figure during the pandemic-hit market, data showed Sunday. Offshore investors sold a net 30.73 trillion won ($26.15 billion) worth of local stocks from the calendar year to Friday, according to data compiled by the Korea Exchange. It marked nearly a 25 percent increase from 24.71 trillion won in net selling for the

MarketAug. 22, 2021

Floating solar power to quadruple by 2025: report

The global market for floating solar panels is set to more than quadruple by 2025, a recent report has revealed. The report published by Korea Energy Economics Institute on Sunday estimates that the total power generation capacity of floating solar farms around the globe had surpassed 3 gigawatts as of October 2020. By 2025, the volume will grow by another 10 GW, the institute said, citing data from market researcher Fitch Solutions. The findings come as the Korean government announced the G

IndustryAug. 22, 2021

Korean companies more vulnerable to ESG risks: report

South Korean companies, many of them in the manufacturing industry, face bigger environmental, social and corporate governance risks than their service-heavy European counterparts, the Federation of Korean Industries warned on Sunday. Compared to companies located in countries like France or the UK, those based in South Korea, China, and India are more vulnerable to risks stemming from global ESG trends, the FKI said in a report. ESG first gained traction among risk-conscious investors and are

IndustryAug. 22, 2021

Samsung’s new foldable phones draw strong preorders: reports

Samsung’s new smartphone models -- Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3 -- have not been launched yet but preorder figures suggest they are likely to be a super hit. The two models are estimated to have logged a combined 450,000 preorders as of Sunday, according to local media reports that cited unnamed industry sources. Advance orders, which began Aug. 17, are to end Monday. Total preorders could reach at least 600,000 units, they said. If sales of unlocked phones, or phones not locked

TechnologyAug. 22, 2021

Second-tier banks urged to tighten lending amid soaring household debt

South Korea’s financial watchdog has called on second-tier banks to tighten lending standards on their extension of personal unsecured loans, as part of a move to curb ballooning household debt, industry sources said Sunday. The Financial Supervisory Service had sent a message to the Korea Federation of Savings Banks on Friday urging its member companies, including savings banks and mutual financial cooperatives, to keep the maximum amount of credit loans allowed for individuals below th

MarketAug. 22, 2021