S. Korean commercial real estate to prolong boom in 2020: CBRE

Investment in South Korean commercial real estate will remain upbeat this year, with total transactions exceeding 10 trillion won ($8.4 billion), according to leading US-based commercial real estate service provider CBRE on Tuesday. This anticipated yearly figure falls lower than the record-high 16 trillion won seen in 2019, but was on a par with the country’s five-year average. “Record-low interest rates and global economic instability are leading individual investors to focus

MarketFeb. 4, 2020

[Monitor] South Korea’s debt-GDP ratio rises at 2nd-fastest pace

Household debt in South Korea equaled 95.1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product as of the third quarter last year, up 3.9 percentage points from a year earlier, data from the Institute of International Finance showed earlier this week. The debt-to-GDP ratio was growing at the second fastest pace among the surveyed 33 countries and eurozone, the data also showed. Corporate debt totaled 101.6 percent of the GDP, rising by 6.3 percentage points from the previous year. It was the

IndustryFeb. 4, 2020

Danaher ordered to offload assets for GE biopharma unit acquisition

Ahead of Danaher’s acquisition of General Electric’s biopharmaceutical unit for $21.4 billion, South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday ordered either of the two firms to divest certain assets in its conditional approval. The latest decision, according to the antitrust watchdog, is meant to thwart monopoly in Korea’s bioprocessing market. The order forces either Danaher or GE’s biopharma unit to sell off the entire eight bioprocessing product assets in Kore

MarketFeb. 4, 2020

[News Focus] Breaking down rumors about Samsung Galaxy S20, Galaxy Z Flip

Rumors about specifications of upcoming mobile devices by Samsung Electronics usually turn out to be true at the firm’s annual unveiling event in February. The same may be true for the debut of the Samsung Galaxy S20 and the special foldable device Galaxy Z Flip, slated to be unveiled Feb. 11 in San Francisco, as rumors have been rampant among tech aficionados for weeks. Samsung will unveil four devices at its Galaxy Unpacked event held on the turf of US archrival Apple. Three of th

TechnologyFeb. 4, 2020

S. Korea set to approve tougher penalties against hoarding of protective masks

South Korea is set to approve tougher penalties Tuesday against those who engage in hoarding of protective masks, as China's coronavirus outbreak has sparked a sharp rise in demand for such masks, officials said.  Under the tougher penalties, a person who engages in hoarding of protective masks will face a prison sentence of a maximum two years or a maximum fine of 50 million won ($42,108), the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. Such penalties will go into effect Wedne

EconomyFeb. 4, 2020

[News Focus] Watchdog’s final approval of sanctions puts Woori, Hana in tight spot

South Korea’s banking groups accused of misselling high-risk derivative products were treading on thin ice Tuesday, as they seek the best course of action to protect their governance against the financial watchdog’s decision to penalize top executives. Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Yoon Suk-heun on Monday gave his final seal of approval to the sanctions committee’s decision to impose “reprimands and warnings” on Woori Financial Group Chairman and Woori Bank

MarketFeb. 4, 2020

Hana Bank considers acquiring stake in local bank in Myanmar

Hana Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in South Korea, said Tuesday it is considering acquiring a stake in a local bank in Myanmar. The Southeast Asian nation has recently started allowing foreign financial companies to run operations, to a limited extent. “While having applied at the local financial authorities in Myanmar for launching a branch in the local market, Hana Bank is also considering to acquire a stake in a major local bank,” said a spokesperson from Hana Fi

MarketFeb. 4, 2020

Credit card firms vigilant over fear of new coronavirus spread

Responding to the quick spread of the new coronavirus, South Korea’s credit card issuers are running a hotline with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according the Credit Finance Association Tuesday. Through the emergency communication line, the KCDC makes real-time requests to card companies for payment records to identify the places visited by the infected -- both Korean citizens and foreign nationals. Health authorities are allowed to access the payment informat

MarketFeb. 4, 2020

Hyundai Motor halts production at local plants on parts supply disruption

The nation’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor confirmed Tuesday it will suspend all production lines at local plants in phases due to the disruption of parts supplies from China. The decision follows three-hour talks between the labor union and management, and the suspension is expected to last until around Monday. The production shutdown is due mainly to the inventory shortage of wiring harnesses, which are mostly produced in China. Handmade wiring harnesses need to be laid on the fl

IndustryFeb. 4, 2020

Banks’ private equity funds sold to investors dip 37%

Amid the ongoing controversy regarding the improper sales of derivative-linked products by Korean commercial banks, investors in local lenders’ private equity funds have dipped nearly 37 percent, data compiled by a market operator showed Tuesday. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the number of private equity fund accounts sold by local commercial banks tallied 37,409, as of end-December last year. The figure was down 37.1 percent from six months prior. Since July

MarketFeb. 4, 2020

Tata Daewoo to strengthen truck lineup to boost sales

Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company Ltd., the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Tata Motors Ltd., said Tuesday it will strengthen its truck lineup to revive sales in Korea. Tata Daewoo will launch at least three light truck models weighing 2.5 tons to 3.5 tons per vehicle to achieve a market share of 30 percent in the domestic light truck market in the next five years, Tata Daewoo President and Chief Executive Kim Bang-shin said in a press conference. "We are planning to launch o

IndustryFeb. 4, 2020

KKR to sell its logistics center to Pebblestone Asset Management

Global private equity fund operator Kohlberg Kravis Roberts said Tuesday that it will sell a landmark logistics center to a South Korean real estate asset manager. The US-based company issued a release to confirm that Pebblestone Asset Management is to acquire BLK Pyeongtaek Logistics Center from a KKR-led consortium. The precise amount of the deal was not disclosed. “The rapid growth of e-commerce is transforming South Korea’s logistics sector, creating a growing demand for fully

MarketFeb. 4, 2020

Movie ticket sales fall to 8-year low in Jan.

South Korean movie theaters saw their total monthly admissions for January drop to an eight-year low, data showed Tuesday, amid fears of the rapid spread of the new coronavirus. According to data compiled by the Korean Film Council, a total of 16.8 million people went to theaters over the one-month period. It is the lowest January score since 2012, when the local box office posted 16.6 million in admissions in the month. The decrease came as people have refrained from going to cinemas in the

IndustryFeb. 4, 2020

Coronavirus scare nudges pharmas to scale up telecommuting

Multinational pharma firms in South Korea are scaling up the telecommuting options for their employees -- work from home or remote places -- to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, industry sources said Tuesday. Pharma employees, by the nature of their work, often visit hospitals where they can be exposed to various pathogens. The Korean offices of MSD, Pfizer, Amgen, Novartis, Astrazeneca, BMS, Sanofi-aventis, AbbVie and UCB as of Tuesday have decided to allow their employees to teleco

IndustryFeb. 4, 2020

Google improves weather predictions with AI technology

Google Inc. could greatly improve weather predictions by using machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence technology, a scientist from the company claimed Tuesday. Accurately predicting weather can be particularly challenging for localized events that evolve on hourly timescales, such as thunderstorms. Google, however, said it is currently conducting research into the development of a machine learning model that addresses this challenge by making predictions that are applied to the

TechnologyFeb. 4, 2020

Overseas trip cancellations sharply up in Jan. due to coronavirus outbreak

South Korea's tourism industry is expected to take the hardest hit among local businesses here from the outbreak of a new coronavirus as more citizens cancel their overseas trips out of infection concerns, industry data showed Tuesday. According to the country's largest travel agency HanaTour, a total of 187,000 reservations for overseas trips were made in January, down 49.7 percent from a year earlier. Cancellations for trip programs to China increased by a whopping 62.2 percent compared wi

IndustryFeb. 4, 2020

S. Korea eases working-hour limit on mask producers amid coronavirus

South Korea said Tuesday it will exempt local producers of masks and sanitary products from the 52-hour workweek restriction, as such companies are experiencing an unexpected surge in their workloads amid the fast-spreading new coronavirus. In July 2018, South Korea launched a reduction of the maximum number of weekly working hours to 52, from the previous 68 hours, as part of efforts to help people spend more leisure time with family and friends. Under the system, companies can still request

IndustryFeb. 4, 2020

CJ Logistics launches new headquarters for North America

CJ Logistics, a major South Korean logistics firm, said Tuesday it had launched CJ Logistics America -- a joint operating company of its subsidiaries in the United States and Canada -- and DSC Logistics, to expand the company’s presence in North America. Under the new corporate body, CJ Logistics will operate warehouses of a combined 280,000 square meters in size in the US and Canada, to extend its operating network across North America, the company said. CJ Logistics USA, a subsidiar

MobilityFeb. 4, 2020

Vacation rental management startup snaps up $7m funding

H2O Hospitality, a Korean startup dedicated to vacation rental management in Japan, said Tuesday it has raised $7 million funding from five investors to meet its fast-growing working capital needs on the back of strong growth. Joining the latest round were Samsung Venture Investment, Stonebridge Ventures, IMM Investment, Shinhan Capital and Wonik Investment Partners. The round brought H2O’s total funding to $18 million. The valuation of the firm has jumped threefold since the previous

MarketFeb. 4, 2020

SK batteries to become more ethical

SK Innovation, an energy solution affiliate of SK Group, said Tuesday it has joined the Responsible Minerals Initiative to facilitate ethical sourcing of minerals for its battery production. RMI is a global association established in 2008 that monitors the ethical sourcing of minerals mined in conflict regions including cobalt, a key ingredient for lithium-ion batteries, which are parts for mobile devices and electric vehicles. Other members include Samsung Electronics, Apple and Tesla. T

IndustryFeb. 4, 2020