Seoul stocks open higher as US Treasury yields fall

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight Wall Street advances amid a fall in US Treasury yields. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.74 points, or 0.49 percent, to 3,050.2 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.23 percent, as the yield on the US 10-year Treasury fell, easing investor concerns over earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics gained 0.

MarketMarch 23, 2021

Samsung Display expects more low-power OLED panel supply to global smartphone makers

Samsung Display Co., the world's largest smartphone panel supplier, said Tuesday it expects to ship more low-power OLED displays to global smartphone manufacturers amid rising demand from Chinese players. Samsung Display said Oppo, which has risen to become China's largest smartphone manufacturer, uses its OLED panel with adaptive frequency technology for the company's flagship smartphone lineup, the Find X3. The use of such a panel cuts the total power consumption of Oppo's premium smartpho

TechnologyMarch 23, 2021

S. Korea to build 2 hydrogen repository facilities

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to build two facilities that collect by-product hydrogen and transport the resource in an effort to further boost the country's green energy drive. The country will spend 6.3 billion won ($5.59 million) on the project, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. While sites for the construction have not yet been selected, the ministry plans to find suitable locations by May.   A shipping center reserves by-product hydrogen produced fr

EconomyMarch 23, 2021

S. Korea to take 'timely' actions to stabilize bond market if necessary: official

South Korea will take actions to stabilize the bond market in a timely manner if market volatility increases amid concerns over rising US bond yields, a senior government official said Tuesday. First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said financial authorities will flexibly adjust the sale volumes of Treasury bonds. "If volatility increases, the government will focus on stabilizing the bond market by taking timely actions through close cooperating with related agencies," Kim said a

MarketMarch 23, 2021

Samsung to provide 5G network solutions to Japan's NTT Docomo

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it has signed a deal with Japan's largest mobile operator NTT Docomo Inc. to provide 5G network solutions as the South Korean tech giant tries to further expands its presence in the 5G infrastructure market. Samsung said it will support Docomo with its advanced 5G technology, including open radio access network (O-RAN) compliant solutions, to help the Japanese telecom firm deliver better 5G services to its customers. Docomo provides wireless network servi

TechnologyMarch 23, 2021

S. Korea's biz confidence gains for 9th month in Feb.: OECD

South Korea's business confidence climbed for the ninth consecutive month in February amid growing hopes of an economic recovery, a poll by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed Tuesday. The OECD business confidence index (CSI) came to 99.5 for Asia's fourth-largest economy last month, up 0.3 point from the prior month, according to the survey by the group of 37 mostly rich and advanced nations. The OECD index for South Korea has been on the rise since June wh

EconomyMarch 23, 2021

ESG becoming mainstream in insurance market

Environmental, social and corporate governance issues are gaining momentum in the local insurance sector as insurers increasingly follow the global ESG trend. In one of the latest moves, Samsung Fire and Maritime Insurance, the insurance arm of the nation’s largest conglomerate, set up a committee charged with making business decisions regarding ESG matters on Monday. The new committee will enable the insurance firm to swiftly respond to demand for ESG, the company said. “The c

MarketMarch 22, 2021

Lotte to acquire stake in bio venture: report

South Korea’s retail-to-construction conglomerate Lotte is considering acquiring a significant stake in Enzychem Lifesciences to become its second-largest shareholder, a local newspaper reported Monday. The group’s de facto holding firm Lotte Holdings and Lotte Chemical would jointly buy the shares, the report said, which would be the conglomerate’s first attempt at a biotech business. The group is also eyeing a joint venture with Enzychem to further its interest in the f

TechnologyMarch 22, 2021

Oriental Brewery to raise prices of some beers next month

Oriental Brewery, South Korea's largest brewer, plans to raise prices of some beers next month because of a rise in beer tax, a company official said Monday. The prices of its major beer products, including Cass Fresh and Cass Light, will go up by an average of 1.36 percent from April 1, according to the OB official. Under the new policy, the factory price of a 330-milliliter bottle of Cass Fresh will rise from 845.97 won ($0.75) to 857.90 won. OB, which accounts for about 60 percent of the

IndustryMarch 22, 2021

‘NAND flash could go higher than 600 layers’: SK hynix CEO

NAND flash chips could have more than 600 layers as memory technologies evolve, SK hynix CEO Lee Seok-hee said at a global forum on Monday. During a keynote speech at the International Reliability Physics Symposium hosted by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Lee said, “In both DRAM and NAND areas, the company is working to improve not only materials of memory semiconductors but also design structures and reliability to raise the technological value.” “If

TechnologyMarch 22, 2021

Civic group to file class action suit over ‘poor’ 5G services

A group of 5G mobile network subscribers in South Korea are pushing for a class action lawsuit against the country’s three telecom companies over the quality of the services. Calling themselves “Victims of 5G,” the group aims to attract 1 million individuals to join the action to seek compensation of an amount not immediately known. The suit is to be filed through joint litigation platform called “Angry People,” it said. “Nationwide establishment of 5G n

TechnologyMarch 22, 2021

August IPO likely for Kakao Pay despite MyData hiccups

The much-anticipated listing of Kakao Pay, the financial technology arm of mobile giant Kakao, could come as early as August, according to industry sources on Monday, despite recent hiccups in securing a license for personal data integration services, called MyData, from financial authorities. Kakao Pay was not included when the Financial Services Commission announced a list of 28 companies granted approval for MyData business. Kakao Pay’s rival Naver Financial and Viva Republica were

MarketMarch 22, 2021

HMM deploys 2 new ships to cope with soaring freight rates

South Korea's leading shipper, HMM Co., said Monday it has deployed two additional ships to cope with soaring freight costs amid the new coronavirus pandemic. HMM will operate two additional 16,000 twenty-foot-equivalent unit (TEU) ships, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. TEU is a measure used for the capacity of container transportation. The launch came around a month earlier than the original schedule of April. South Korea earlier announced a plan to add eight shipping vess

IndustryMarch 22, 2021

Korean midsized satellite launched into space

A South Korean midsized observation satellite was successfully launched into space Monday, the Korean government announced. The Ministry of Science and ICT in Seoul said the 540-kilogram satellite, loaded on Russia’s Soyuz-2.1a rocket, lifted off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, around 50 days after the satellite arrived at the launch site. 　 The ICT Ministry added that the ground station made its first contact with the satellite 102 minutes after the launch and a

TechnologyMarch 22, 2021

Samsung launches new high-resolution monitors

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday launched its 2021 lineup of high-resolution monitors as the South Korean tech giant eyes to increase sales amid the rising trend of remote working and distance learning.  Samsung said 12 different monitors across three series -- the S8, S7 and S6 -- are released globally, with all models offering more than 1 billion colors, a 178-degree wide viewing angle and enhanced High Dynamic Range 10 technology. In South Korea, 10 models are available with price t

TechnologyMarch 22, 2021

[Advertorial] LG Energy Solution widens battery ‘super gap’ through technology dominance

LG Energy Solution is widening a “super gap” with its competition based on know-hows accumulated throughout 30 years of battery business. According to South Korea’s leading battery firm, it poured more than 5.3 billion won ($4.6 billion) into research and development over the past decade and secured 23,610 battery patents as a result, which is at least 10 times as many as that of a leading Chinese battery player as of last year. Equipped with more than 2,500 R&D perso

IndustryMarch 22, 2021

Hanwha secures Korea’s first mixed hydrogen combustion tech

Hanwha General Chemical said Monday that it had become the first South Korean company to own mixed hydrogen combustion technologies. Mixed hydrogen combustion burns natural gas together with hydrogen to generate electricity. This method of generating electricity can cut carbon emissions by more than 30 percent, according to Hanwha Group’s chemicals unit, and can significantly reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, which cause fine dust issues. “Hanwha General Chemical acquired a 100

IndustryMarch 22, 2021

European firms ‘optimistic’ about doing business in Korea: survey

European companies operating here are generally optimistic over Seoul’s growing importance as business venue but also pointed out the rigid regulatory environment, the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea said Monday. According to the Business Confidence Survey 2020, 51 percent of respondents said that South Korea’s strategic importance is increasing, while 41 percent replied that its importance remains the same as before. A year earlier, only 34 percent recognized the country&rsq

IndustryMarch 22, 2021

ViGenCell plans IPO in Q3

Biotech firm ViGenCell plans to list its shares on the local bourse in the third quarter of this year in an initial public offering, the company said Monday. Commissioned by the bourse operator Korea Exchange, two independent expert groups have recently conducted a review of the company’s biotech assets, growth potential and business operations and have cleared it for the flotation, ViGenCell said. Following the initial approval, the company plans to apply for the Korea Exchange&rsquo

TechnologyMarch 22, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 2nd day amid bond yield woes

South Korean stocks lost for the second consecutive session Monday as investors' concerns about the increase in bond yields reduced their appetite for risky assets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.07 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 3,035.46 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 903 million shares worth some 13.1 trillion won ($11.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 456 to 389. Foreigners sold a net

MarketMarch 22, 2021