Shares dip on currency woes

South Korean stocks inched down 0.8 percent Thursday as the currency volatility in the foreign exchange market continued to weigh down on investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 15.93 points to finish at 1,964.48. Trading volume was high at 551.2 million shares worth 4.46 trillion won ($4.18 billion) with losers far outnumbering winners 518 to 289.“Shares of local carmakers and technology firms traded

Jan. 24, 2013

Shinhan among top global sustainable firms

Shinhan Financial Group ranked among this year’s top 100 global sustainable firms by Corporate Knights, a Toronto-based media agency, at the 2013 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.Shinhan ranked the 86th among the 100 sustainable firms as the only Korean firm, the Korean financial group said. The Canadian media and investment research firm compiles and announces the annual list of “The Global 100,” or top 100 sustainable global companies, to recognize environment-friendly and energy-sav

Jan. 24, 2013

Pension fund to vote against Bacchus spinoff

The National Pension Fund said Thursday that it will vote against Dong-A Pharmaceutical’s plan to spin off its core business unit at the coming shareholders’ meeting on Jan. 28.The pension fund, a main shareholder of the drug producer with a stake of 9.5 percent, pointed to “uncertainty” in terms of securing shareholders’ rights under the possible spinoff.Dong-A Pharmaceutical is seeking to establish a holding company and put its cash cow energy drink business, Bacchus, under an unlisted firm.Th

IndustryJan. 24, 2013

Samsung flat TV retains top spot in U.S. market

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. outperformed its competitors in the U.S. flat panel TV market last year, becoming the biggest seller in the region for the seventh straight year, data showed Thursday.Samsung’s U.S. market share reached a record high of 29.8 percent in 2012, up 1.7 percentage point from a year earlier, according to statistics released by the NPD Group, a leading North American market research company.The company’s market share in the liquid-crystal display and ligh

TechnologyJan. 24, 2013

Korean firms decry U.S. anti-dumping duties on washing machines

Local electronics makers on Thursday vowed to take action against the recent move from the U.S. International Trade Commission to side with a preliminary decision from the U.S. Commerce Department to issue them with anti-dumping duties.The firms claimed that the decision was biased and reflected Washington’s protectionist policies, and that it also would be restricting the choice of U.S. consumers. Wayne Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics USA, said in a statement, “LG respects the work th

IndustryJan. 24, 2013

Hyundai Motor unfazed by weakening yen

Hyundai Motor said Thursday it sees no immediate threat from the weakening Japanese yen, but pledged to toughen its readiness against its Japanese and global rivals as they are expected to ramp up their offensive amid an overall slowdown in car sales this year.“Because we have continued expanding overseas production, the risk from volatile foreign exchange rates has been largely reduced,” said Lee Won-hee, executive vice president and chief financial officer, during an earnings conference call a

IndustryJan. 24, 2013

Early beef talks possible between U.S., Korea: Cutler

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― A top U.S. trade official said Wednesday that the Obama administration may soon renew a push for unfettered access to the South Korean beef market.“It’s possible that in the near future we may decide that it would be useful to have consultations (on the issue),” Wendy S. Cutler, assistant U.S. trade representative for Japan, Korea and APEC affairs, said in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency.South Korea currently imports U.S. beef produced from cattle only u

Jan. 24, 2013

Global currency tension likely to flare up this year: report

The global economy is likely to face intensified currency tension this year as major advanced countries’drive for powerful credit easing would hit emerging nations, a private think tank said Thursday.The Samsung Economic Research Institute said in a report that major advanced economies are pushing for economic policies at the expense of other countries, saying that their push for massive credit easing is putting upward pressure on the currencies of emerging countries.The report said that some de

Jan. 24, 2013

Down jackets from foreign SPA brands lack quality

Down jackets by popular foreign fast fashion brands such as Zara and Mango contained less volumes of down than they claim and their down fill powers fell below the Korean Industrial Standards.Some were heavier and less warm than domestic brands, but were five times more expensive, the Korea Consumer Agency said.A men’s down jacket by local brand Codes Combine turned out to be the warmest and the least costly in the KCA review of 15 products by 10 specialty store retailers of private label appare

IndustryJan. 24, 2013

SME exporters vulnerable to sharp fall in the yen

The recent sharp fall in Japanese yen’s value poses a threat to local small and medium exporters to Japan, due in part to a lack of currency hedging strategy, the Korea International Trade Association said Thursday.“SME exporters tend to be more vulnerable to currency fluctuation than conglomerates simply because local SMEs have made little investment in developing a strategy to lower risk caused by currency volatility,” a KITA official said. “Most conglomerates have dozens of personnel who deal

Jan. 24, 2013

Seoul shares dip 0.8 pct on currency woes

South Korean stocks inched down 0.8 percent Thursday as the currency volatility in the foreign exchange market continued to weigh down on investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 15.93 points to finish at 1,964.48. Trading volume was high at 551.2 million shares worth 4.46 trillion won (US$4.18 billion) with losers far outnumbering winners 518 to 289."Shares of local carmakers and technology fi

Jan. 24, 2013

Hyundai Motor posts record high net profit in 2012

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker, said Thursday that its 2012 earnings reached a record high on robust sales in overseas markets.Net profit reached 9.06 trillion won (US$8.96 billion) last year, up 11.7 percent from 8.1 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Operating profit rose 5.1 percent to 8.4 trillion won in the same period, with sales rising 8.6 percent to 84.5 trillion won, the company said."We continued brisk performance in 2012," Hyundai

Jan. 24, 2013

S. Korea's Naro space rocket set to blast off on Jan. 30

South Korea will again seek to join the elite global space club next week with a third launch of its Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), the science ministry said Thursday.The space rocket, also known as Naro, will be launched Wednesday from the country's Naro Space Center, 480 kilometers south of Seoul, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said in a released statement. The decision came at a meeting of the Launch Preparation Committee."After reviewing launch preparations and wea

TechnologyJan. 24, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.09 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.09 percent lower late Thursday morning due to losses in large-cap exporters, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 1.8 points to 1,978.61 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech giant Samsung Electronics fell 0.61 percent and LG Display, a major screen supplier of Apple, dropped 2.42 percent.Carmakers continued bearish movement amid the yen weakness, with industry leader Hyundai Motor sliding 1.38 percent.However, top steelmaker POSCO rose 1.94

Jan. 24, 2013

U.S. trade body to review Apple-Samsung patent ruling

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has decided to review a judge's ruling that could potentially lead to an import ban on several Samsung Electronics Co. products on rival Apple Inc.'s home turf.In a decision made on Wednesday in Washington, the ITC said it would review the preliminary ruling that found Samsung smartphones and tablet PCs infringed upon four patents held by the iPhone maker.In October, ITC Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pender ruled that Samsung mobile devices infring

IndustryJan. 24, 2013