Shares slip on renewed Greece woes

South Korean stocks shed 0.32 percent Wednesday as eurozone leaders’ failure to sort out a Greece aid plan unnerved investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar. After opening higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 6.14 points to close at 1,884.04, snapping a two-day rally. Trading volume was moderate at 371.6 million shares worth 3.90 trillion won ($3.59 billion), with losers outstripping gainers 545 to 271. “Uncertainties

Nov. 21, 2012

Samsung C&T as prime bidder for Turkey hospital

A consortium led by Samsung C&T Corp., the construction and trading arm of South Korea’s Samsung Group, has been selected as a preferred bidder for a $750 million project to build a large hospital in Turkey, a Samsung official said Wednesday.The order placed by Turkey’s government calls for the construction of a 540,000-square-meter hospital in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep, according to the official.The South Korean builder is expected to win a portion worth $180 million out of the

Nov. 21, 2012

Korea Exchange to launch new stock index next week

South Korea’s stock market operator, the Korea Exchange, said Wednesday it will introduce a new stock index to provide reliable data to investors seeking safer and profitable investments.The index, dubbed the S&P/KRX Dynamic Asset Exchange Index and based on the KOSPI 200 Index and 10-year U.S. Treasuries, is scheduled to be launched at the first trading session of next week, the KRX said. It will be presented from 9:01 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with the base standing at 1,000.000, it added.The KOSPI 2

Nov. 21, 2012

Hyundai Motor tops Australian customer satisfaction survey

Hyundai Motor has recently topped the automotive section of the 2012 Canstar Blue, Australia’s leading customer satisfaction survey across industries, the carmaker said Wednesday. The survey, conducted by a local market research firm Colmar Brunton, questioned 7,500 Australian customers who have purchased a new car over the past three years. Among the seven categories surveyed, Hyundai won a maximum five-star score in overall satisfaction, reliability, value for money and after-sales service. Th

IndustryNov. 21, 2012

BOK chief urges firms to boost investment, jobs

South Korea’s top central banker called for local companies Wednesday to expand investment and create more jobs in a bid to help the economy recover from a prolonged slowdown.Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo said in a meeting with six heads of large firms that companies are facing tough business conditions amid the global downturn, but they should play a key role in helping the Korean economy pull out of the longstanding slowdown.“It may be difficult for companies to make investments under such

Nov. 21, 2012

Car exports to Africa soar on rising demand

Shipments of South Korean vehicles to African countries rose sharply in the first nine months of the year thanks to rising demand with the region’s political situations stabilized, a trade association said Wednesday.According to the Korean Automobile Manufacturers Association, a total of 146,976 cars were exported to Africa through September this year, up 21.4 percent from 121,030 units shipped to the region last year.However, car exports to Asian countries plunged 18.2 percent on-year to 129,07

Nov. 21, 2012

Samsung Card demands more commission from Costco

Samsung Card, the local credit card exclusively used at Costco Wholesale, has demanded higher commission from Costco, industry sources said on Wednesday.Samsung reportedly demanded Costco to double the commission rate to up to 1.9 percent from the current 0.7 percent. The rate imposed on Costco had been significantly lower than the industry average, which is about 1.6 percent, according to the Financial Services Commission. Aside from Costco, Samsung Card notified its decision to raise rates for

IndustryNov. 21, 2012

Hana Bank to raise funds by collecting used cell phones

Hana Bank kicked off on Monday a fundraising event to help out children in impoverished Asian nations by collecting used cell phones. Hana accumulates 1,000 won every time someone donates a used cell phone to the bank. It plans to raise more funds by selling rare metals found in the phones. The raised fund will be used to support children and schools in Asian countries including Vietnam, Myanmar and Mongolia. “It can also support the low-income class as new jobs are created in the process of dis

IndustryNov. 21, 2012

Big-box retailers take on Internet

Big-box retailers are confronting their Internet competition head-on this holiday season.As the peak shopping period kicks off this week, Target and Best Buy will be leading the charge against Amazon and other Internet rivals by matching prices that shoppers find online.“The holiday is evolving,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group. “It’s a paramount issue and retailers had to respond.”The first-time offer is a reaction to the practice known as “showrooming,” in which consume

TechnologyNov. 21, 2012

Samsung’s smartphone shipments forecast to top 60m in Q4

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Samsung Electronics Co.’s smartphone shipments will likely exceed 60 million units in the fourth quarter of this year, proving its prowess in the world’s mobile phone market despite its ongoing patent war with Apple Inc., an investment bank said Wednesday.UBS estimated that Samsung Electronics will sell 61.5 million units of smartphones in the October-December period, up 5 percent from an estimated 58 million in the previous quarter. The number could reach as high as 63

TechnologyNov. 21, 2012

Poll: Entrepreneurs may have better health

U.S. entrepreneurs are less likely to report chronic health problems such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes, a survey indicates. The findings are based on more than 273,175 interviews conducted Jan. 2, 2011, to Sept. 30, 2012, with U.S. adults as a part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Gallup classified 6,896 of these respondents as entrepreneurs if they self-identified themselves as both self-employed and as a business owner.Entrepreneurs report better health habits

Nov. 21, 2012

HP says acquired company lied about finances

NEW YORK (AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday that a British company it bought for $10 billion last year lied about its finances, resulting in a massive write-down of the value of the business.HP is avoiding calling it a fraud, but it said there were ``serious accounting improprieties, disclosure failures and outright misrepresentations at Autonomy Corporation PLC.''HP is taking an $8.8 billion charge in its latest quarter to align the accounting value of Autonomy with its real value. It sai

IndustryNov. 20, 2012