DSME wins W1.1tr offshore facility order

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, one of South Korea’s major shipbuilders, said Monday that it has won a trillion won unit order to build an offshore crude oil storage facility. The latest order marked the first offshore facility order for DSME in three years as well as the first trillion won unit order in seven years, officials said. The company obtained the order from Brazil’s largest energy firm, the state-owned Petrobras, to construct a floating production storage

IndustryJune 14, 2021

KDB chief says SsangYong Motor's ‘cost-saving’ scheme not enough

South Korea’s financially ailing carmaker SsangYong Motor’s decision last week to send its employees on rotating unpaid leave for up to two years may not be sufficient enough to catch the eyes of new buyers, the chief of the Korea Development Bank said Monday. “I would like to thank SsangYong Motor’s leadership and its union on their agreement on the company’s latest self-rescue action focused on sending its employees on rotating unpaid leave –- it’s a

MarketJune 14, 2021

Celltrion proves efficacy of COVID-19 antibody treatment in phase 3 trial

South Korean pharmaceutical firm Celltrion announced Monday that its COVID-19 antibody treatment has significantly shortened the recovery time and rate of progression for severe symptoms. The firm disclosed top-line results from a global phase 3 clinical study of Regkirona, or CT-P59, which was conducted with 1,315 patients from 13 countries around the globe between January and April. Celltrion found Regkirona reduces the risk of cases progressing to severe COVID-19 by 70 percent. Among high

TechnologyJune 14, 2021

SKT buys into ViveStudios to enhance metaverse service

In an effort to lead the emerging era of the metaverse, SK Telecom has made a strategic equity investment in ViveStudios, a producer of virtual content, it announced Monday. The two sides did not disclose details of the deal, including the size of stake to be purchased or the agreed price. ViveStudios, based in Seoul, is recognized for its international award-winning virtual reality movie “Volt.” The producer is well known for superb 3D computer-generated images and visual ef

TechnologyJune 14, 2021

KB Asset Management launches first metaverse fund

KB Asset Management announced Monday that it has launched the industry’s first metaverse fund. KB Asset Management said it will invest in 30 to 50 stocks after considering 200 to 300 stocks in South Korea, the US, China and Japan that meet the investment conditions. The US stocks will account for 70 percent, the highest proportion of any country, while hardware and platforms will make up 30 percent each. The fund will be investing in Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Autodesk, NVDIA, Unity So

MarketJune 14, 2021

No. of passengers on ‘flights to nowhere’ close to 16,000-mark

Nearly 16,000 people have enjoyed international “flights to nowhere” offered by South Korean airlines to boost revenue during the prolonged pandemic last year, the customs office said Monday. A total of 15,983 passengers boarded 152 international sightseeing flights between December last year and May this year, according to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. The planes, which took off from Korea, entered airspace above other countries without stopping at any overseas destin

EconomyJune 14, 2021

South Korea’s financial system at risk over fast-growing household debt

South Korea’s household debt is inviting concerns about the country’s economic resilience as its accumulated debt has grown more, relative to income, than that of any other economy. Asia’s fourth-largest economy continues to see a rapid rise in household debt, largely due to increased borrowing to make ends meet in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and to fund real estate purchases and stock investments amid record-low interest rates. As of the end of March, outstandin

EconomyJune 14, 2021

[Herald Interview] Eve: making inclusive condoms for everyone

It is not so often that companies in South Korea go out of their way to cater to the LGBTQ community. Eve, however, is not afraid to embrace everyone. With its gender-neutral models and simple product packaging, the sexual health brand is a far cry from the heteronormative narrative that has dominated the condom industry for years. “While everyone who is sexually active is our potential target, it is true that the condom industry has heavily relied on sex appeal and focused on heterosexu

ConsumerJune 14, 2021

Seoul stocks hit all-time high amid expectation of dovish stance from US Fed

South Korean stocks closed at an all-time high Monday as investors expect the US Federal Reserve to reiterate its support for accommodative policies in this week's monetary policy meeting. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kopsi) rose 2.81 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 3,252.13 points, marking the highest closing ever. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 15 trillion won ($13.4 billion), with losers

MarketJune 14, 2021

Hanwha Systems to develop underwater drone swarms for search and rescue missions

Hanwha Systems said Monday that it will develop autonomous underwater drone swarms for search and rescue missions by 2025. According to the defense business unit of Hanwha Group, it has formed a consortium with partners including the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology for the 25 billion-won project ($22.4 million) commissioned by the Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion. “In bad weather conditions, human divers can’t be deployed due to poor

IndustryJune 14, 2021

SK Inc.’s French bio arm sets to facility expansion

SK Inc.’s French bio subsidiary Yposkesi is set to build a second commercial bioproduction site in an effort to expand its footprint in the global biopharmaceutical market, officials said Monday. The French company has announced the launch of project SKY, a plan to inject some 58 million euros ($70 million) in the construction of its new manufacturing plant. Slated for completion by 2023, the forthcoming facility will be one of the largest advanced therapy medicinal product, or ATMP, fac

IndustryJune 14, 2021

Hana Financial to launch asset manager in Singapore

Hana Financial Group said Monday that it has obtained a preliminary license from Singapore’s financial authorities to open an asset management company in the Southeast Asian country. The Monetary Authority of Singapore granted the partial approval Friday, though it hasn’t notified the banking giant when a final business license will be issued, officials said. Hana Financial’s attempt to make inroads into Singapore’s promising asset management market is part of the group

MarketJune 14, 2021

Debt-laden SsangYong Motor's workers to take unpaid leave for two years

Half of SsangYong Motor Co.'s workers will go on unpaid leave for two years beginning next month as part of self-help measures as the debt-ridden automaker is striving to speed up its sales process, the company said Monday. SsangYong said its management and labor union inked a deal on the corporate restructuring plan and will carry out the measures in July after ironing out the details. Over half of SsangYong workers last week voted for the company's proposal of a two-year unpaid leave to ha

IndustryJune 14, 2021

Smaller firms demand 1-year more grace period for 52-hour workweek

South Korea's smaller firms on Monday called for a further delay in enforcing the 52-hour workweek system for them set to take effect next month amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic.   In a joint statement, the country's business lobby groups, such as the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Korea Enterprises Federation, called on the government to allow companies with a workforce of fewer than 50 people more time to prepare for the 52-hour workweek amid the prolonged fallou

IndustryJune 14, 2021

Over three-fourths of S. Korean exporters to China hit by pandemic: poll

More than three-fourths of South Korean exporters to China have suffered damage from the coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed Monday. The survey of 540 exporting companies, taken by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), showed 75.7 percent of the respondents saying their businesses in the world's No. 2 economy have been hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. Nearly 38 percent replied that they have suffered severe damage, while about 7 percent answered their Chinese businesses have benefited

EconomyJune 14, 2021

Insurers' risk-based capital ratio down for 2nd quarter in Q1

Insurance firms in South Korea saw their risk-based capital ratio fall for the second straight quarter in the first quarter of this year amid rising market interest rates, data showed Monday. The risk-based capital (RBC) ratio of local insurance firms stood at 256 percent at end-March, down 19 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The fall in the RBC ratio came as a hike in bond yields incurred valuation losses from the

EconomyJune 14, 2021

AsianInvestor to hold virtual forum on trends among Korean investors

AsianInvestor, a Hong Kong-based publication dedicated to the investment activities of Asian asset owners, said Monday that it planned to offer a glimpse of the latest trends among Korean investors at a virtual event June 21-25. Institutional Investment Week Korea, the 14th event of its kind for Seoul investors, will focus on how Korean investors can rebalance their portfolios and build resilience into their investment strategies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual event was canceled last y

MarketJune 14, 2021

Chips, displays continue to boost S. Korea's ICT exports in May

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products rose around 30 percent last month, data showed Monday, thanks to strong demand for semiconductors, displays and mobile phones amid signs of a global economic recovery from the pandemic-induced slump. Outbound shipments of ICT products were tallied at $17.73 billion in May, up 27.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The latest figure marked the second-largest amou

IndustryJune 14, 2021

SK's French bio subsidiary breaks ground for 2nd plant

SK Inc.'s European bio subsidiary Yposkesi has begun the construction of its second drugmaking plant in France to ramp up its manufacturing capacity, the holding firm of South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate SK Group said Monday. In March, SK acquired a 70 percent stake in Yposkesi, a France-based Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) specializing in cell and gene therapies, to expand its presence in the burgeoning biologic CMO market. The latest deal is SK Inc.'s third acqui

IndustryJune 14, 2021

Celltrion's COVID-19 antibody treatment shows efficacy in phase 3 trial

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. said Monday that its COVID-19 antibody treatment has sharply reduced recovery time and the chance of a severe case. Celltrion announced top-line results from a global phase three clinical study of Rekirona, a pivotal part of the study to obtain more comprehensive safety and efficacy results. Rekirona won the South Korean drug safety agency's conditional approval in February, becoming the first locally made treatment for COVID-19. Rekirona is a

IndustryJune 14, 2021