Korean banks begin yuan lending for trade settlements

The Bank of Korea said Sunday that it has allowed 12 local commercial banks, beginning with Korea Exchange Bank, to extend renminbi-denominated loans to Korean traders for the first time.This comes as Korea’s central bank and the People’s Bank of China agreed to let their companies settle trade bills with their respective currencies using part of the two sides’ currency swap deal worth 64 trillion won or 360 billion yuan.Korean importers would be able to borrow from their local lenders that will

Jan. 27, 2013

Kyobo Life not to go public in 2013: sources

Kyobo Life not to go public in 2013: sourcesKyobo Life Insurance Co., South Korea’s second-largest life insurer, is unlikely to seek an initial public offering (IPO) this year due to worsening market conditions at home and abroad, industry sources said Sunday.Citing no need to raise funds and a global economic slowdown, Kyobo Life Insurance has decided not to list its shares on the domestic stock market, according to the sources.It marks the second consecutive year that Kyobo Life Insurance has

IndustryJan. 27, 2013

Samsung becomes top global mobile phone seller in 2012

 South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. sold more than 400 million mobile phones last year, outstripping Nokia Corp. as the world's leading handset vendor, an industry report showed Sunday.   According to the latest report by International Data Corp., Samsung's shipments of smartphones and other handsets jumped 22.7 percent on-year to 407 million in 2012, taking up 23.7 percent of the global cellphone market.   In comparison, last year's top global vendor Nokia saw its sales tumble 19.5

TechnologyJan. 27, 2013

Heavy industries' market cap tumbles on weaker yen

South Korea's listed heavy industry companies saw their market capitalization plunge by 34 trillion won ($32 billion) in the last four months, hit by the Japanese yen's rapid descent, industry data showed Sunday.    The combined market cap of local heavy industry firms, including automakers and shipyards, tumbled 19.2 percent to 142.8 trillion won as of last Friday, compared with the 176.8 trillion won tallied on Sept. 17, 2012, the highest number recorded for the second half of last year, accor

IndustryJan. 27, 2013

STX unit wins W200b deal for four bulk carriers

STX Group, a South Korean shipping and shipbuilding conglomerate, said Friday its Chinese unit has clinched a 200 billion won ($187 million) deal to build four bulk carriers.Under the deal with a European shipping firm, STX Dalian Shipbuilding will build the vessels at its yard in Dalian, a port city in northeastern China, and deliver them by the first half of 2015, the group said. The group did not reveal the name of the buyer.A group official said STX Dalian Shipbuilding, based on its strong c

Jan. 25, 2013

Hyundai’s Santa Fe named safest car in Europe

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co.’s sports utility vehicle Santa Fe has received top scores to be named the safest car in its segment by a European car assessment program, the company said Friday.At the latest test by the European New Car Assessment Program, the Santa Fe garnered 96 percent in adult occupant protection and 89 percent in child occupant protection categories, which measure how stable the passenger compartment remains in the case of frontal impact.The Hyundai SUV also earned

IndustryJan. 25, 2013

Korea to develop leading indicator for trade

SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea is considering developing a new leading indicator for trade conditions this year to better predict the economic trends of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, officials said Friday.Statistics Korea said the government is thinking of developing an indicator that would measure economic outlooks by tracking the trends of the country’s exports and imports.The index will be made by calculating an on-month growth rate of customs-cleared exports and imports, according to of

IndustryJan. 25, 2013

KOGAS gains license from Cyprus for gas search

An international consortium, including Korea Gas Corp., or KOGAS, signed a joint exploration and production contact with the Cyprus government to search for gas in three offshore blocks, KOGAS said. “The consortium is composed of KOGAS and Italy’s ENI. KOGAS secures a 20 percent stake in the consortium, while ENI holds the remaining 80 percent stake,” a KOGAS official said Friday. “Operations for gas search on blocks 2, 3, 9 off the east Mediterranean island will be led by ENI for the next three

IndustryJan. 25, 2013

Hyundai E&C net drops 18 percent in 2012

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., South Korea’s leading builder, said Friday that its 2012 earnings dropped 18 percent from a year earlier.Its consolidated net profit came to 560 billion won ($521 million) last year, compared with 685.1 billion won in 2011, the company said.Sales, however, jumped 11.8 percent on-year to 13.3 trillion won in 2012, and operating profit increased 3.4 percent on-year to 760 billion won. (Yonhap News)

IndustryJan. 25, 2013

Kia sees fall in Q4 profit on stronger won

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, said Friday that its 2012 earnings climbed 9.8 percent from a year earlier thanks to steady sales in overseas markets.Net profit reached 3.86 trillion won ($3.6 billion) last year, compared with 3.52 trillion won for a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales rose 9.4 percent on-year to 47.2 trillion won in 2012, and operating profit also climbed 0.7 percent to 3.5 trillion won.For the fourth quarter of last year, Kia’s

MobilityJan. 25, 2013

Financial groups’ profit likely to fall

Four major financial groups are estimated to see their collective earnings in 2012 drop by 25 percent, or about 2.6 trillion won ($2.4 billion), from a year earlier, according to researchers’ forecast data.FnGuide, an online financial data provider, predicted Friday that the four groups ― Woori, KB, Hana and Shinhan ― will post 7.8 trillion won in their combined net profit, down from 10.4 trillion won in 2011.All four groups are scheduled to make public their 2012 earnings on Feb. 7.Shinhan Fina

Jan. 25, 2013

Shares fall on foreign selling

South Korean stocks fell 0.91 percent Friday as foreign investors dumped large caps amid poorer corporate earnings and a gloomy outlook for this year, analysts said. The local currency fell sharply against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 17.79 points to finish at 1,946.69. Trading volume was light at 395.9 million shares worth 4.97 trillion won ($4.63 billion) with losers outnumbering winners 497 to 308.“The poorer-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings of aut

Jan. 25, 2013

Samsung posts record Q4 earnings

Samsung Electronics said Friday its 2012 fourth-quarter operating profit jumped 89.4 percent from a year before on strong exports of its Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 smartphones. Its net profit grew 75.6 percent on-year to 7.04 trillion won ($6.59 billion) in the three months to December, the company said in a regulatory filing.The world’s top smartphone maker achieved its largest-ever quarterly sales of 56.1 trillion won, up 18.51 percent from a year earlier, and operating profit of 8.84 trillio

IndustryJan. 25, 2013

FSS levies fines on 3 foreign brokerages

The Financial Supervisory Service imposed on three foreign-owned brokerage firms ― Deutsche Securities Korea, Credit Suisse’s Korean operation and CLSA Korea ― fines worth 37.5 million won ($35,000) each for breaching real-name account rules. They were also issued a caution.A foreign securities firm has expressed unease about the nation’s financial regulator’s recent sanction on them for leaking customers’ information abroad.An executive from one of the three firms, who declined to be named, sai

Jan. 25, 2013