KT gearing towards globalization of NFC service

Firm jointly features NFC roaming coupon service with DoCoMo in BarcelonaBy Cho Ji-hyunKT Corp. announced Tuesday that it will launch the near field communication roaming coupon service for the first time together with Japan’s NTT DoCoMo beginning in April.Demonstrating the NFC coupon service at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the firm said owners of its NFC mobile phones will be able to download discount coupons by placing their handsets on smart posters or reading the QR codes displaye

IndustryFeb. 28, 2012

Samsung’s biosimilar joint venture officially takes off

Samsung Group said Tuesday that a joint venture has been established between its affiliate Samsung Biologics and U.S.-based Biogen Idec to develop, manufacture and market biosimilars.Named Samsung Bioepis Co., the new company will be headed by Samsung’s Ko Han-sung, who served as the senior vice president of Samsung strategic business development unit.With Samsung Biologics investing 85 percent for the joint venture and the remaining amount injected by its U.S. partner firm, the research and dev

IndustryFeb. 28, 2012

Investments in overseas securities down 16%

Korean investments in overseas securities dropped around 16 percent in 2011 from a year earlier as overseas stock investments by asset managers declined amid increased market instability, the central bank said Tuesday.Institutional investors’ stakes in foreign stocks, bonds, and so-called Korean Paper reached an outstanding $58.2 billion as of the end of last year, down $11.4 billion from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.Korean Paper refers to foreign-currency-denominated securitie

IndustryFeb. 28, 2012

DSME wins offshore platform order

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a South Korean shipbuilder, said Tuesday that it has won a $560 million deal to build a part of an offshore oil production platform.Under the contract with Dong E&P A/S of Denmark, Daewoo Shipbuilding will deliver the topside of the platform by April 2014, the company said in a statement.Daewoo Shipbuilding said France’s Technip will also participate in the project.So far, Daewoo Shipbuilding has won deals valued at around $760 million to build nine

IndustryFeb. 28, 2012

Samsung Engineering bags Thail facility order

Samsung Engineering Co., a leading South Korean industrial plant builder, said Tuesday that it has won a $60 million order to build an industrial facility in Thailand.The contract reached with the state-run Public Company Ltd. calls for Samsung Engineering to build an electricity and steam supply unit for a gas ethane separation plant at Rayong’s Map Ta Phut industrial complex in the eastern part of the country. Under the deal, the South Korean company will set up a 25 megawatt gas turbine gener

IndustryFeb. 28, 2012

Hyundai’s Sonata sees steady sales in China

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Korea’s leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday sales of its YF Sonata sedan are growing steadily in China, boosted by rising demand for mid-size cars in the world’s No. 2 economy.Hyundai Motor said 8,006 units of the YF Sonata were sold in China last month, becoming China’s sixth-most-sold intermediate sedan. A total of 72,065 units of the YF Sonata were sold in China last year, topping the 70,000-mark in eight months of its April release. It was comparable to

IndustryFeb. 28, 2012

KESI checks elevator safety at Indian plant

The Korea Elevator Safety Institute said it had conducted an elevator safety check-up at the 1.5 trillion won ($1.2 billion) thermal power plant under construction by Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction in India.The inspection in India’s western port town was completed Tuesday.The institute is also running elevator safety projects with Russia, Germany, China, Vietnam and Mongolia.“India is the world’s second largest elevator market,” said KESI president Kong Chang-seug.“Starting the Indian pr

IndustryFeb. 28, 2012

Banking sector dominated by a few players: data

Korea’s banking industry is dominated by the country’s top five banking groups as they fiercely vie to inflate their assets through a series of mergers and acquisitions, industry data showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service, the country’s top five players ― Woori Finance Holdings Co., KB Financial Group Inc., Hana Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, and National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Nonghyup) ― accounted for 71.4 percent of the ban

Feb. 28, 2012

KEPCO completes coal plant in Jordan

Korea Electric Power Corp. has completed its coal-fired power plant in Jordan with a capacity of 373 megawatt, the state-run utility said Tuesday.A consortium led by Korea’s sole power grid operator in July 2008 grabbed the deal worth $460,000, the company’s first in the Middle East. Under the contract, KEPCO will keep a 25 percent stake in the facility for the next 25 years and its affiliate Korea Southern Power will maintain and operate it. The Jordanian government will provide a payment guara

IndustryFeb. 28, 2012

Asan Nanum launches venture capital fund

The Asan Nanum Foundation, a charity set up by Hyundai Heavy Industries and its affiliates, said it launched on Tuesday a venture capital fund to help young entrepreneurs.Hyundai Heavy and its affiliates together will channel an additional 100 billion won ($88.8 million) into the fund, the shipbuilder said. Three companies ― KCC, Korea Flange and Hyundai Department ― have joined the initiative. The fund will be operated in consultation with industry experts and angel investors, the company added

IndustryFeb. 28, 2012

Shares up 0.63 percent on chipmakers, shipbuilders

Korean stocks rose 0.63 percent Tuesday, boosted by a rally in chipmakers and shipbuilders, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI advanced 12.53 points to end at 2,003.69. Trading volume was moderate at 599 million shares worth 6.26 trillion won ($5.57 billion) with decliners leading gainers 383 to 450.“Concerns over rising oil prices eased ... and chipmakers rallied on hopes that they will benefit down the road with increased market shares,” said Kim

Feb. 28, 2012

Agency organizes team to track down tax evasion

The National Tax Service said Tuesday that it has created a team of 219 officials to tackle wealthy individuals evading taxes. The team, divided into 17 lots across the country, is tasked with tracking down those suspected of illegal wealth transfers and dodging taxes by hiding funds in tax haven countries. The formation of the new team is a follow up measure after NTS last year proclaimed that 2011 will be a year of investigating tax evasion.“However they try to conceal their wealth we will tra

Feb. 28, 2012

Card firms to challenge fees bill in court

Controversial law may pass National Assembly ahead of April electionsCredit card firms are considering filing a petition with the Constitutional Court to ban lawmakers from providing the government with the right to lower the services fees on card payments.A revision of the Credit Finance Business Act allows the government to set the rates of credit card service fees charged on retailers.Ahead of the April 11 general elections, the bill has been pushed by a dominant number of ruling and oppositi

Feb. 28, 2012

Conglomerates encroach on SME biz areas: report

Korea’s large family-owned conglomerates encroached on business areas fit for small and medium enterprises, a report by the country’s corporate watchdog said Tuesday.The Fair Trade Commission report showed 74 affiliates of 22 conglomerates doing business in such areas as retails, import and distribution, and so-called maintenance, repair and operations.It said of these companies, 17 were owned or managed by the children of the business groups such as Samsung, Lotte and Shinsegae.The antitrust co

Feb. 28, 2012

iPad 3 price hike is rumored

SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) -- The upcoming iPad 3 -- expected to be announced in a little more than a week-- could carry a $70-$80 price hike over its iPad 2 predecessor, analysts say.The MacRumors Web site posted an image Monday of a purported pricing sheet found on the popular Chinese microblogging site

TechnologyFeb. 28, 2012