KakaoBank becomes S. Korea’s top financial firm with market debut

KakaoBank became the largest financial company in South Korea by market capitalization with its market debut Friday, although its share price failed to meet expectations of hitting the daily upper limit. Shares of the country’s biggest mobile-only bank began trading at 53,700 won ($46.98), 37.7 percent higher than its initial public offering price of 39,000 won. It later rose a further 26 percent to 68,000 won during the morning trade, far less than the market expectation of reaching t

MarketAug. 6, 2021

LG Uplus Q2 net up 40% on 5G, new biz

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean mobile carrier, said Friday its second-quarter net profit grew 40 percent thanks to the continued growth of 5G mobile subscriptions and its business infrastructure division. Net profit in the April-June period stood at 210.5 billion won ($184.2 million) on a consolidated basis, compared with 150.6 billion won the previous year, according to a company statement. Operating profit rose 12 percent on-year to 268.4 billion won in the second quarter, while sales

IndustryAug. 6, 2021

Hanwha Corp. sees 53.4% spike in operating profit in Q2

Hanwha Corp.’s operating profit surged 53.4 percent on-year to 769 billion won ($672.8 million) in the second quarter, backed by an earnings surprise from its affiliates, the company said Friday. According to the holdings firm of South Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate, Hanwha Group, its revenue jumped 15.2 percent to 12.6 trillion won and its net profit rose 63.1 percent to 572.1 billion won. “Hanwha Solutions’ chemical division logged 2.8 trillion won in revenue

IndustryAug. 6, 2021

Korea Shipbuilding wins W660b offshore facility order in US

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., the world's biggest shipbuilder by order backlog, said Friday it has received a 660 billion-won ($578 million) offshore facility order in the United States. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., main affiliate of the shipbuilder, will build a semi-submersible floating production system (FPS) for a US-based oil-developing company by Sept. 28, 2024, Korea Shipbuilding said in a statement. The offshore oil production facility will be installed in Shenand

EconomyAug. 6, 2021

Samsung's presence in Middle East, Africa smartphone market falls in Q2: report

Samsung Electronics Co. saw its market share decline in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) smartphone market in the second quarter of the year, a report showed Friday, as Chinese brands expanded their presence. The South Korean tech giant was the leading smartphone vendor with a 16 percent share in the April-June period, but its market share was down from 20 percent a year earlier, according to the latest report from industry tracker Counterpoint Research. "The company boosted market spendi

IndustryAug. 6, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, tracking overnight rallies on Wall Street that stemmed from optimism over jobless data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 6.6 points, or 0.2 percent, to trade at 3,282.73 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Kospi got off to a solid start on bio and financial gains. Overnight, the S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent to close at a record high, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite both

MarketAug. 6, 2021

Samsung to capture 88% share of foldable smartphone market this year: report

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to dominate the foldable smartphone market this year with an 88 percent share, a report showed Friday, as the tech giant prepares to unveil its new foldable devices next week. The global foldable market is estimated to triple from a year earlier to reach around 9 million units in 2021, and Samsung, the world's largest smartphone vendor, is projected to represent 88 percent of them, according to market tracker Counterpoint Research. "Although the market

IndustryAug. 6, 2021

S. Korea logs current account surplus for 14th month in June on robust exports

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the 14th straight month in June as exports remained solid amid the global economic recovery, the central bank said Friday. The current account surplus reached $8.85 billion in June, compared with $10.76 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. The current account has been in the black since the country suffered a deficit of $3.33 billion in April last yea

EconomyAug. 6, 2021

[News Focus] Samsung’s edge in memory chips threatened?

Amid the global chip race, news that Micron and SK hynix have developed the most advanced memory chips and are ready for their market debut have given rise to concern here that Samsung Electronics may be losing its leading edge in its core business. Responsible for nearly 70 percent of its revenue, memory chips are the mainstay of Samsung, which alone account for about 70 percent of all operating profits earned by the country’s top 10 sales firms. While Samsung stayed quiet on its te

TechnologyAug. 5, 2021

TDL rolls out 80MW solid-state battery production line in Naju

TDL has established a solid-state battery production line with an annual production capacity of 80 megawatts in Naju, South Jeolla Province, the company said Thursday. According to the South Korean industrial material company, the pouch-type 2-ampere-hour solid-state batteries will be mounted on small-sized energy storage systems with the capacity of 1 to 5 kilowatts. Lithium-ion batteries are filled with an inflammable liquid solution called electrolytes. Solid-state batteries replace the

IndustryAug. 5, 2021

FSC, FSS leadership picks signal focus on stability, rather than reform

South Korea’s top two financial regulators are set to go through leadership changes simultaneously, with longstanding bureaucrats being assigned to lead them Thursday. In an apparent attempt to win back public trust on dealing with economic woes before his term ends in May 2022, President Moon Jae-in tapped Koh Seung-beom, one of the Bank of Korea’s seven-member monetary policy board and a former Finance Ministry official, to lead the Financial Services Commission. Current FSC Ch

EconomyAug. 5, 2021

FTC to decide on Google’s alleged Android abuse next month

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission will hold a final review on Sept. 1 on allegations that Google had exploited its market dominance to coerce Korean device manufacturers and wireless carriers to use its Android operating system, shutting out rivals, the state antitrust watchdog said Thursday. It will be the third full-member meeting that the commission holds on the issue. At the Sept. 1 session, commissioners are expected to finalize whether to penalize the US firm, and if so, the co

IndustryAug. 5, 2021

'Baby Shark' creator awarded for 50m YouTube subscribers

Pinkfong, the creator behind the globally popular “Baby Shark” videos, received the Ruby Play Button from YouTube for notching over 50 million subscribers, the South Korean firm said Thursday. The Ruby Play Button, which is awarded to YouTubers with over 50 million subscribers, is custom-made instead of the usual plaque design for lower milestones. Pinkfong, which produces animated movies and clips featuring various children‘s songs, received an award shaped like a column of

IndustryAug. 5, 2021

Aekyung Group to merge three chemical units

South Korean cosmetics-to-health care conglomerate Aekyung Group said Thursday it has decided to merge its three chemical businesses into one entity tentatively named Aekyung Chemical. The merger of Aekyung Petrochemical, AK ChemTech and the current Aekyung Chemical is subject to approval by the respective company’s board and shareholders and a review by authorities. The new entity, expected to launch by November, would have 1.7 trillion won ($1.4 billion) in combined revenue this ye

IndustryAug. 5, 2021

6 of 10 parents willing to have children vaccinated: survey

More than 6 out of 10 South Korean parents are willing to have their children vaccinated, a local survey has found. A research team at Busan National University Hospital published the findings Thursday after it had surveyed 343 individuals across the country between May 25 and June 3. A total of 226 of those polled were parents with children under 18, while the rest were children and adolescents between the ages of 10-18. The survey was conducted when the inoculation age limit was 16, the r

TechnologyAug. 5, 2021

[Newsmaker] Jackpot or bubble? KakaoBank IPO sizzles

South Korea’s largest mobile-only bank, KakaoBank, will have its much-anticipated initial public offering Friday, seeking to raise 2.55 trillion won ($2.23 billion) on the country’s main bourse. Its market debut has been drawing excitement from investors who expect the mobile banking arm of Kakao to hit the jackpot, but skeptics warn of risks that there will be “too many” stocks available right after its IPO, as well as its heavy reliance on retail banking in a heavily re

MarketAug. 5, 2021

S. Korea to beef up critical metals stockpile

South Korea will drastically increase its strategic stockpiles of nickel, cobalt and other critical metals, in a bid to ensure a stable supply of raw materials vital to key industries including electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy, the government said Thursday. National stockpiles of 35 rare metals -- designated by the government -- will increase to cover 100 days from the current 57 days, it said. New facilities will be built while some existing ones will be expanded and the stat

IndustryAug. 5, 2021

Nexon looks beyond game; aims for 10 ‘super’ global intellectual properties

South Korea’s largest game developer Nexon will break the conventional boundaries of games and develop 10 “super” intellectual properties, or IPs, to appeal to a global audience, its chief executive said Thursday. During an online media showcase, Lee Jung-hun stressed that the firm will only regress should it stick to the gaming business, as increasingly more new forms of entertainment are replacing games and carving out people’s time. “The pandemic totally ch

IndustryAug. 5, 2021

Seoul stocks snap 3-day winning streak on bio, tech losses

South Korean stocks snapped a three-day winning streak Thursday on investors attempted to lock in profits from the recent gains. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slipped 4.25 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 3,276.13 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 671 million shares worth some 11.7 trillion won ($10.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 518 to 308. Foreigners bought a net 70 billion won, while retail in

MarketAug. 5, 2021

Insurance companies roll out products targeting young Koreans

Insurance companies, typically some of the most conservative firms in finance, are rolling out subscription services and setting reasonable payment terms to meet the needs of young Koreans in a bid to secure future customers. Hanwha Life Insurance said Thursday it has launched three subscription insurance products. Unlike other insurance products that dole out money only when customers are deceased, injured or hospitalized, the company offers benefits related to daily consumption. “The

MarketAug. 5, 2021