Foreigners net sellers of Korean stocks in Jan.

Foreigners were net sellers of Korean shares in January, ending their buying spree in December last year as investor appetite soured on signals from the US Federal Reserve that it was accelerating its policy tightening measures, data showed Monday. In January, foreigners offloaded a net 1.6 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in shares, having bought 629 billion won in the benchmark Kospi market while shedding 2.3 trillion won in the junior Kosdaq. They purchased bonds of 3.6 trillion won in the same p

MarketFeb. 14, 2022

GM Korea adds Traverse High Country model to its SUV lineup

GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., said Monday it has added the Traverse High Country sport utility vehicle to its lineup to boost sales amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic. The Traverse SUV's top trim model is being manufactured in GM's Lansing Delta Township plant in Michigan and has been shipped to Korea for local sales. In 2019, GM Korea introduced the Traverse's US-built lower-trim models to strengthen its imported SUV lineup, separately from the locally assembled mo

MobilityFeb. 14, 2022

SK Bioscience secures $31m chickenpox vaccine deal with Pan-America

SK Bioscience has signed a $31 million (37 billion won) order to ship out its chickenpox vaccine Sky Varicella to the Pan American Health Organization, the company said Monday. The PAHO, along with the UNICEF, has one of the largest demand for vaccines in the world as it is responsible for supplying mass-scale vaccines on behalf of countries in the central and southern American regions. According to SK Bioscience, the order marked the first time the company succeeded in winning a bid with PAHO

IndustryFeb. 14, 2022

Watchdog to intensify oversight of foreign currency liquidity, real estate lending

South Korea's financial watchdog vowed Monday to keep closer tabs on financial institutions' management of foreign currency liquidity and real estate lending this year in a move to better respond to potential risks amid growing market uncertainties. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) made the plan for the new year amid major countries' monetary tightening to rein in inflation pressure, the prolonged pandemic and concerns over the instability of the Chinese property market. According to the

EconomyFeb. 14, 2022

[Graphic News] Exports of red pepper paste surge 63% in 4 years on K-pop popularity

　South Korean exports of red pepper paste soared nearly 63 percent in the past four years thanks to the global popularity of Korean pop culture, data showed. 　Overseas shipments of red pepper paste, called “gochujang” in Korean, came to $50.93 million in 2020, up 62.6 percent compared with 2016 and 35.2 percent from 2019, according to the data from Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. and the Agriculture Ministry. 　Exports of red pepper paste seem to have soared in recent y

BusinessFeb. 14, 2022

Foreigners turn net sellers of S. Korean stocks in Jan.

Foreign investors turned net sellers of South Korean stocks in January, but their net investment in local bonds continued to expand, data showed Monday. Foreigners sold a net 1.68 trillion won ($1.4 billion) worth of local stocks last month, compared with their net purchase of 4.36 trillion won in December, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). It represented offshore investors' first net selling of South Korean stocks in three months. Investors from the United Stat

MarketFeb. 14, 2022

Bank holding firms' interest income soars 15% in 2021 amid rising rates

Four financial holding firms in South Korea saw their interest income surge nearly 15 percent in 2021 thanks to rising lending rates, industry data showed Monday. The combined interest income of the four holding companies -- KB Financial Group Inc., Shinhan Financial Group Co., Hana Financial Group Inc. and Woori Financial Group Inc. -- came to some 32.3 trillion won ($26.9 billion) last year, up 14.9 percent from a year earlier. KB Financial led the pack with an interest income of slightly over

EconomyFeb. 14, 2022

Celltrion's Remsima logs record high sales in US in 2021

Sales of the biosimilar Remsima by Celltrion Inc. reached an all-time high last year in the United States, the company said Monday. Sales of the biosimilar drug to treat autoimmune diseases jumped 13 percent on-year to $385 million in 2021, Celltrion Healthcare said, citing industry data. Remsima references Janssen Biotech Inc.'s Remicade and is effective in treating various diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to Crohn's disease. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. is responsible for sales of the b

IndustryFeb. 14, 2022

[Market Eye] SoftBank-backed Naver, Coupang sparkle in Japan

Japan has long remained an untapped market for Korean firms, where even the likes of Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor have almost no presence. Currently, Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, has a tiny 5 percent market share there. Not to mention the soured relationship between Seoul and Tokyo over wartime history and trade disputes in recent years. Japanese consumers have remained loyal to local brands such as Sony and Toyota that compete head-on with their Korean rivals

IndustryFeb. 13, 2022

S. Korean car exports to Australia shows recovery

South Korean car exports to Australia are booming with the Australian economy, thanks to Australia’s recovery course from COVID-19, and companies’ local marketing strategies. According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on Sunday, a total of 137,547 domestic cars were exported to Australia last year, showing a 19.3 percent increase from 2020. By brand, Hyundai Motor’s exports increased by 11.1 percent on-year to 66,846 units in 2021, and Kia’s increased b

MobilityFeb. 13, 2022

[Newsmaker] Hana eyes stronger earnings, shareholder value under new leadership

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group announced a record annual net income of 3.5 trillion won ($2.9 billion) for 2021 last week, citing successful portfolio diversification as a driving force behind the banking group’s robust profit. Exceeding market expectations, Hana’s annual net income gained 33.7 percent on-year, driven by a noteworthy increase in earnings of its nonbanking businesses, a regulatory filing showed Thursday. Brokerage arm Hana Financial Investment’s net

MarketFeb. 13, 2022

Pandemic raises importance of restaurant hygiene, survey finds

Cleanliness has risen as a key factor in choosing where to eat out since the pandemic started, a survey showed Sunday. According to data from Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp, 92.1 percent of 1,341 respondents aged between 20 and 69 said they thought restaurants cleanliness was important when choosing where to eat, compared to just 22.7 percent in 2019. The figure was the second most-important factor, behind taste and food quality on 94.3 percent. In 2019, cleanliness ranked fourth, wh

ConsumerFeb. 13, 2022

Emro’s profit soars 39.1% in 2021

South Korean supply chain management solution provider Emro said Sunday its net income surged 39.1 percent for 2021 compared to the previous year thanks to a high demand for its software. The company recorded 5.2 billion won ($4.3 million) in net profit, a consolidated preliminary financial statement showed. The company’s annual revenue came to 47 billion won, up 4.8 percent from a year prior, while its operating profit stood at 6.7 billion won, up 4.1 percent. Emro attributed the perf

IndustryFeb. 13, 2022

Banking giants set to deliver record dividends

South Korea’s four major bank holding firms are expected to hand out record-high dividends for their highest net profits made last year thanks to a pandemic recovery, officials said Sunday. Total dividends from the four companies -- KB Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group and Woori Financial Group -- are estimated to be 3.8 trillion won ($3.1 billion), about 26 percent of the combined net profit of 14.5 trillion won. “We have enough capital flowing in to c

EconomyFeb. 13, 2022

Top talents in Korean chipmakers offered later retirement

Engineers at South Korea’s semiconductor chipmakers are increasingly being offered the chance to put off retirement to a later date. This comes as the memory chip powerhouse, home to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, experiences a talent shortage in the industry. The move will likely be welcome news to the government, which is struggling to find ways to deal with the economic impact of the country’s rapid demographic shift toward an aging population. Starting this year, Sa

TechnologyFeb. 13, 2022

Celltrion’s Remsima records all-time high US sales

Korea’s pharmaceutical giant Celltrion’s Remsima, a biosimilar of autoimmune treatment drug Remicade, has set an all-time high record in sales revenue in the US market, taking a half of the original drug’s share, market insiders said Sunday. Remsima’s sales revenue in the US surged on-year by 13 percent to $385 million as of last year, according to industry sources. Samsung Securities said Remsima’s market shares have increased from 15 percent to 33.7 percent, whi

IndustryFeb. 13, 2022

Jeju Air to introduce cargo plane in first half amid prolonged pandemic

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier, said Sunday it will bring in a cargo plane in the first half of this year to ride out the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Jeju Air signed a lease agreement to begin operating a cargo plane for the first time among local LCCs, the company said in a statement, amid efforts to offset a sharply reduced passenger travel demand amid the pandemic. "We plan to expand our business in cargo transportation to diversify our source of revenue," a

IndustryFeb. 13, 2022

ICT ministry to invest W130b in data projects this year

South Korea's ICT ministry said Sunday it plans to spend 129.8 billion won ($108.2 million) on ramping up data projects this year, including distributing "data vouchers" to support small and medium-sized businesses. The latest investment comes as part of efforts to utilize data collected from the so-called Data Dam project, an initiative that kicked off in 2020 to gather data generated through public and private networks to maximize data utilization. The ministry said it will allocate

TechnologyFeb. 13, 2022

Google, Netflix and 3 other streaming platforms fined over unfair biz activity

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to impose a fine of a combined 19.5 million won ($16,300) on Google, Netflix and three other video streaming services for their unfair business activity over paid subscription. Five over-the-top (OTT) media service providers -- Google, Netflix, KT, LG Uplus and Content Wavve -- hampered paid subscribers' move to end their membership, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). They provided falsified information or did not allow subs

IndustryFeb. 13, 2022

Seoul stocks likely to fluctuate next week on US price pressure concerns

South Korean stocks are likely to fluctuate in a broad range as investors digest the high-flying inflation rates in the United States, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,747.71 points Friday, little changed from 2,750.26 points a week ago. The key stock index on Friday snapped its three-day winning streak from corporate earnings hope due largely to the highest US inflation growth in four decades, released the previous night. Analysts said the h

MarketFeb. 12, 2022