Korea Exchange Bank and its biggest shareholder Lone Star Funds lost an international suit filed by Olympus Capital, the formerly second-largest shareholder of KEB’s credit card affiliate. 　The International Court of Arbitration of Singapore, in its recent verdict, ordered KEB, Lone Star and three other parties to pay Olympus Capital $37.3 million (43 billion won) with arrear of interest of 5 percent per annum.　The equity fund Olympus Capital had argued that KEB breached its contract with the th

Dec. 21, 2011

The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il could make it tough for local banks and firms to sell foreign currency-denominated bonds due to heightening geopolitical risks, a report showed.In particular, the sale of Samurai bonds denominated in the Japanese currency could be affected as Japanese investors may be more cautious about developments in their neighboring country, according to a report by the Korea Center for International Finance.“The sale of Samurai bonds has been brisk this year, bu

Dec. 21, 2011

Korea will inject a record $11.8 billion in overseas resources development next year in a bid to slake its ever-growing thirst for energy and rare earth minerals, the government said Wednesday.Of the total, $7.8 billion, or 66 percent, will come from state coffers and the remainder from the private sector, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said. The sum also reflects a 34 percent jump from last year’s estimated $8.8 billion.Under the plan, the government aims to nearly double its self-sufficienc

Dec. 21, 2011

Businesses more concerned about effects from eurozone debt crisisMajor listed companies in South Korea saw North Korea as less of a risk than the European debt crisis for their business next year, despite concerns of instability in Pyongyang following Kim Jong-il’s death.South Korea’s top 20 listed businesses in terms of aggregate market value said they were much more perturbed by the fiscal predicaments in Europe than they were by North Korea. They were, however, worried about currency exchange

IndustryDec. 21, 2011

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Chery Automobile Co., China’s seventh-largest automaker, said Wednesday it has jointly built a laboratory with South Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom Co., in a bid to boost their competitiveness in the vehicle networking technology. A trend has been growing recently in the automobile industry toward developing in-vehicle data transmission and communications between vehicles and the outside world.After three years of coordination, the two companies recently laun

IndustryDec. 21, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s top memory chipmaker, is also becoming a major supplier of laptop computers, more than quadrupling its global market share in just four years, market observers said.The company’s global market share rose from 1.4 percent in 2007 to 6.5 percent in the third quarter of this year, they said.The third-quarter figure is the world’s seventh largest, placing Samsung ahead of other major suppliers including Japan’s Sony Corp. and United States’ Apple Inc.Samsung’s do

TechnologyDec. 21, 2011

Hyundai Motor Co.’s Eon and Verna small-size cars have been respectively named the “best cars of the year” in their segments in India, industry sources said Wednesday.The Eon, Hyundai’s hatchback city car, has been named the micro-mini car of the year by the Overdrive automotive review program aired on CNBC-TV18, according to the sources.The model made by South Korea’s largest carmaker features an 800cc engine, and was launched in the local market in October, with sales hitting 7,418 units last

MobilityDec. 21, 2011

Gold prices in South Korea have climbed following the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as worries over heightened geopolitical uncertainties and a strengthening greenback prompted investors to stack up the safe-haven asset, data showed Wednesday.The retail price of 1 don of pure gold in South Korea stood at 238,000 won ($205.99) as of Tuesday, rising the most in five days since 241,000 won on Dec. 14, according to the Korea Gold Exchange.The don (3.75 grams) is a Korean unit used to meas

Dec. 21, 2011

Korea Life Insurance Co., South Korea’s second-largest life insurer, said Wednesday it will launch a joint venture in China in a bid to tap into the world’s second-largest economy.Korea Life Insurance signed an agreement Tuesday with China’s state-run fund provider Zhejiang International Business Group Co. to set up a joint life insurer in Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang, the Korean insurer said in a statement.The 50-50 joint venture will be capitalized at 500 million yuan ($78 mill

Dec. 21, 2011

Up to 30,000 French women and perhaps tens of thousands more around the world may have to have defective breast implants removed after several suspicious cases of cancer, officials said Tuesday.A decision on whether to order the removal of the implants, produced by the Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) co

TechnologyDec. 21, 2011

A European Union design Apple Inc. (AAPL) used to win a sales ban on Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy 10.1 tablets may be of limited value after new evidence was introduced in an appeal of the decision, a German court said. Samsung introduced as evidence a U.S. utility patent using a type of flat sc

TechnologyDec. 21, 2011

SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top memory chipmaker, is also becoming a major supplier of laptop computers, more than quadrupling its global market share in just four years, market observers said Tuesday.The company's global market share rose from 1.4 percent in 2007

TechnologyDec. 20, 2011

South Korea will lower tariffs on a total of 103 products next year in a bid to help stabilize prices of goods frequently consumed by ordinary citizens, farmers and small enterprises, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.The items, whose tariffs will be temporarily lowered or removed throughout next year under the tariff quota system, will include raw sugar, pork, garlic and butter, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. There will be less products than the 112 imports that were eligibl

Dec. 20, 2011