Hanshin E&C cements foothold in Southeast Asia

With decades of know-how in the infrastructure building business, Hanshin Engineering & Construction is taking a big leap by tapping deeper into the Southeast Asian market and diversifying its business portfolio. Hanshin E&C Chairman Choi Yong-sun singled out Indonesia and Ukraine as the builder’s “future markets.” “Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest economy and has a high demand for infrastructure construction and urban development. Hanshin E&C purs

IndustryFeb. 6, 2024

Moody's ups ratings of Hyundai Motor, Kia, Hyundai Mobis to 'A3'

Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the credit ratings of Hyundai Motor, Kia and Hyundai Mobis to "A3" from "Baa1" on their improved competitiveness, their parent company said Tuesday. It marks the first time the three companies have received A ratings from the global credit appraiser, according to Hyundai Motor Group. Moody's also changed their outlooks from "stable" to "positive," heralding a possible ratings upgrade down the road. "A

MobilityFeb. 6, 2024

LIG Nex1 bags $3.2bln missile interceptor deal with Saudi Arabia

South Korean defense firm LIG Nex1 has clinched a US$3.2 billion deal to export mid-range surface-air-to missiles (M-SAM II) to Saudi Arabia, Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday. LIG Nex1 inked the contract with the Saudi defense ministry to sell Cheongung M-SAM II in November, the ministry said. It marks LIG Nex1's second overseas sales of Cheongung-II following a deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January 2022. The hit-to-kill missile system is capable of intercepting in

IndustryFeb. 6, 2024

Woori mulls acquiring Korea Foss Securities

Woori Financial Group is actively considering the acquisition of local online brokerage firm Korea Foss Securities, in a move to add a missing puzzle piece -- a securities arm -- as a leading banking giant. "We are reviewing all potential companies (for acquisition) to make inroads into the (securities) industry, with the brokerage mentioned among them," the group's Chief Financial Operator Lee Sung-wook said Tuesday during the company's conference call. Speculation about the

IndustryFeb. 6, 2024

Hanwha Ocean propels Navy with stealth submarines, frigates

Hanwha Ocean, the South Korean maritime defense systems provider, is playing a vital role in modernizing the nation’s naval prowess by providing advanced stealth submarines and multi-purpose warships. For more than four decades, the company has been building vessels for the Navy, with the most recent deliveries including KSS (Korean Submarine-III) submarines, KDX-III (Korean Destroyer-III) destroyers and FFX (Future Frigate eXperimental) Batch-II frigates, with more advanced vessels in the

IndustryFeb. 6, 2024

From bees to polar bears, Korean banks' love of animated characters

Top financial groups here have put forward animated characters as their faces in a bid to woo a wider range of customers. Woori Financial Group has recently brought back its band of animated characters, WiBee Friends, pulling them out of a six-year hiatus. Woori Bank CEO Cho Byung-kyu pushed for the return of the characters, seeing the need to appeal to customers with a softer, friendlier image, according to the firm. With Woori jumping on the bandwagon, all four of Korea’s top financial g

IndustryFeb. 6, 2024

Seoul shares down for 2nd day on Powell's comments on rate cuts

South Korean shares closed lower for a second consecutive day Tuesday amid US rate woes prompted by the Federal Reserve chair. The local currency slightly gained ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 15.11 points, or 0.58 percent, to close at 2,576.20. Trade volume was heavy at 404.4 million shares worth 10.1 trillion won ($7.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 613 to 265. Foreign investors scooped up a net 338.1 billion won worth of shares,

MarketFeb. 6, 2024

The Korea Herald, iStaging team up for VR technology in new media

The Korea Herald and iStaging inked a memorandum of understanding to foster a cooperative relationship in the realm of new media, particularly leveraging virtual reality technology. iStaging is a Taiwanese company that specializes in virtual reality solutions. The company has developed virtual reality content for over 100,000 corporate clients, including LVMH, YSL, Toyota, ASUS and Mercedes-Benz. Virtual reality content created by iStaging includes virtual showrooms, virtual exhibitions, virtual

CompaniesFeb. 6, 2024

High foreign reservations buoy Seollal tourism boom

The upcoming Seollal holiday is expected to see a significant rise in foreign tourists visiting Korea, prompting travel agencies and relevant tourism industries to prepare for a mass travel rush. According to global travel service provider Trip.com's report on Tuesday, reservation rates for foreign travelers between Feb. 9 to 12 have surged by approximately 40 percent, compared to the previous holiday season. The increase encompasses various regions, with Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailan

IndustryFeb. 6, 2024

Samsung Heavy Industries bags W4.6tr LNG carrier order

Samsung Heavy Industries scored a 4.57 trillion won ($3.43 billion) order with a Middle Eastern shipowner -- the single largest contract in its history -- to build 15 liquefied natural gas carriers, the South Korean shipbuilder said Tuesday. The 174,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers will be delivered to the shipowner in phases through October 2028. The previous record for the single biggest contract was the 3.96 trillion won deal signed with Taiwan-based shipping company Evergreen Marine for 16 metha

IndustryFeb. 6, 2024

[Photo News] Korean defense firms target Middle East

At the 2024 World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia on Monday, Hyundai Rotem's defense solutions business unit head, Lee Jung-yup (eighth from left), and LIG Nex1’s overseas business manager, Lee Hyun-soo (ninth from left), formalized a defense export cooperation agreement aimed at the Middle East market. This collaboration targets surging demand for modernized defense capabilities in the region, strengthening the global footprint of Korean defense technologies. Hyundai Rotem has showcased

IndustryFeb. 6, 2024

SK hynix to increase use of recycled materials to 30% by 2030

SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, on Tuesday announced that it would increase its proportion of materials accounted for by recycled materials to over 30 percent by 2030. The target, as part of the company’s carbon neutrality goal, is the first of its kind set by a semiconductor maker. Under the plans, the company aims to first increase recycled material usage to 25 percent by 2025. The company said the target is a part of its plans to implement its carbon neutral

TechnologyFeb. 6, 2024

[Photo News] Forex roadshow in London

South Korean First Vice Finance Minister Kim Byoung-hwan (second from left at table) speaks during an investor relations session in London on Monday about the current status of the South Korean economy and the country's economic policy plans. Ten global investment banks, including JP Morgan, Fidelity, Wellington, UBS and Morgan Stanley, attended the session to introduce Korea's new policies to boost accessibility for the country's foreign exchange market. (Ministry of Economy and

EconomyFeb. 6, 2024

Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street losses

Seoul shares opened lower Tuesday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 7.74 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,583.57 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.71 percent lower after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made remarks that suggested rate cuts may come later than anticipated. In Seoul, large caps traded mixed. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics advanced 0.13 percent, while the w

MarketFeb. 6, 2024

OECD cuts S. Korea's 2024 growth outlook to 2.2%

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development revised down its outlook for South Korea's economic growth this year to 2.2 percent, Seoul's finance ministry said Monday. The figure marked a 0.1 percentage-point fall from its projection of 2.3 percent made in November, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The projection was on par with that of the South Korean government, though the Bank of Korea presented a 2.1 percent growth outlook for this year. The Internati

EconomyFeb. 5, 2024

Court clears Samsung chief of all charges

A Seoul court acquitted Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong of all charges related to a 2015 merger fraud case on Monday, clearing the path for the country's biggest tech giant to push forward with investment for future technologies. In the final verdict handed down at 2:55 p.m., judges at the Seoul Central District Court found Lee and 13 other defendants -- former executives of Samsung -- all not guilty. The court dismissed the allegations proposed by prosecutors, who claimed that Lee and

IndustryFeb. 5, 2024

[Gadget Review] Real-time call translation: SKT A. vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra

More and more artificial intelligence services are becoming available for use in daily life, and one of the breakthrough applications is set to come in real-time translation built into phone calls. In its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung Electronics presented its Live Translate feature for the first time. This feature competes directly with SK Telecom's A., a mobile app developed by the mobile carrier to allow iPhone users in Korea to explore real-time translation

IndustryFeb. 5, 2024

Hyundai Motor India to go public this year: reports

Hyundai Motor India, South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group’s local subsidiary, is planning to float its shares in an initial public offering on the Indian stock market before the end of this year, according to reports Monday. Citing unnamed sources, The Economic Times reported that a group of global investment banks including Goldman Sachs, Citi, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Bank of America, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and UBS came to Seoul last week to present their IPO proposals to Hyundai

MobilityFeb. 5, 2024

KCC chief reiterates call to abolish handset subsidy ban

Broadcasting watchdog chief said Monday that scrapping the controversial handset subsidy ban can provide "greater benefits" to consumers as the removal would boost competition among mobile carriers to lower smartphone prices to sell more. "The Mobile Device Distribution Improvement Act was legislated in 2014 to resolve excessive competition. As time passed, however, the act limited the local telecom carriers' competition and caused the cost of smartphones to become even more

IndustryFeb. 5, 2024

GNT Pharma partners with Pfizer for animal drug development

GNT Pharma said Monday that the company has signed an agreement with Pfizer's contract manufacturing arm for overseas production of the company’s veterinary medication GedaCure. Under the recent agreement, Pfizer CentreOne, which has production facilities in around 30 countries, will provide GNT Pharma with CDMO services in the countries, including the US and Europe, where GNT Pharma launches GedaCure. GedaCure is a chewable tablet of crisdesalazine and the world’s first multi-t

IndustryFeb. 5, 2024