FDI pledges made to S. Korea hit all-time high in 2021

Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges made to South Korea surged 42.3 percent in 2021 from a year earlier to reach an all-time high, data showed Monday. Foreigners pledged to invest $29.51 billion in South Korea in 2021, compared with $20.7 billion a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The 2021 figure hit an all-time high, beating the previous record of $26.9 billion logged in 2018, it added. The amount of investment that actually arrived in So

EconomyJan. 10, 2022

LX International to bring in 1,100 tons of urea from China this week

LX International Corp., the general trading arm of LX Group, said Monday 1,100 tons of urea will arrive in South Korea from China this week. The shipment -- the first batch from an import contract with China for 10,000 tons of urea -- will arrive in the southeastern port city of Busan on Tuesday, LX International said. In November, the trading company secured the amount in a move to help address a supply crunch of urea solution, a key fluid needed in diesel cars to cut emissions. The firm sai

IndustryJan. 10, 2022

Seoul stocks open lower on US rate hike worries

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as investors took to the sidelines in the wake of the US Federal Reserve minutes last week that signaled possibilities of aggressive tapering policy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 24.17 points, or 0.82 percent, to 2,930.72 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.96 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.01 percent amid concerns that the Fed may push harsher-than-expe

MarketJan. 10, 2022

Foreigners continue to be net buyers of S. Korean securities in December

Foreigners continued to be net buyers of South Korean stocks and bonds in December, data showed Monday. According to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), foreigners picked up a net 4.36 trillion won worth of stocks listed on the Kospi and secondary Kosdaq markets last month. Foreigners continued to buy more shares than they sold for the second straight month since November. As of end-December, foreigners owned 785.23 trillion won worth of local stocks, which accounted for 28

MarketJan. 10, 2022

[CES 2022] SK to launch Sapeon Inc. for AI chip supremacy

LAS VEGAS – SK Group’s three tech units, SK hynix, SK Telecom and SK Square, have teamed up to launch a new ICT technology development and investment body, called SK ICT Alliance. Their first project will be Sapeon Inc. where the three firms will make co-investments in the US to target the burgeoning AI chip market, the group said. During a press conference held on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show 2022 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Thursday, top executives, inclu

TechnologyJan. 10, 2022

[CES 2022] Hyundai Mobis to focus on enhancing software power

LAS VEGAS -- Software development is no longer a priority for only IT companies, but also for carmakers. “The car industry itself is transitioning from being manufacturing-based to digital-based, meaning that software is becoming important than ever. Hyundai Mobis is trying to combine the mechanical strength it has with software to provide a better service,” said Cheon Jae-seung, head of the Fundamental and Advanced Lab of Hyundai Mobis, speaking to reporters at the Consumer Electro

IndustryJan. 9, 2022

[CES 2022] Hyundai Motor aims for chip self-reliance in long run

LAS VEGAS -- Seeking control of its own destiny, Hyundai Motor is making efforts to be self-reliant in automotive chips, its US chief told reporters at CES 2022 on Thursday. “Definitely, as one of the big OEMs, we cannot be dependent on external factors to try to have control of your own destiny, right? So all OEM groups are making efforts to be self-dependent. And this is not an exception for us,” said Jose Munoz, Hyundai Motor’s global chief operating officer and president

IndustryJan. 9, 2022

Hyundai: half of its US sales will be eco-friendly cars by 2030

Hyundai Motor Co. said it aims for half of its US vehicle sales to be environment friendly models by 2030 while planning to produce electric vehicles in the world's most important automobile market, a company executive has said. Jose Munoz, Hyundai's global chief operating officer, made the comments in an interview with a group of Korean reporters on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show 2022. The South Korean carmaker is fully prepared to raise the proportion of eco-frie

IndustryJan. 9, 2022

SK becomes No. 2 shareholder of US Center for Breakthrough Medicines

SK Inc. has invested $350 million (421.4 billion won) in the Center for Breakthrough Medicines, a Philadelphia-based cell and gene therapy firm, to become the second largest shareholder, SK Group’s holding company said Sunday. With the investment, SK Inc. has secured a strong foothold in the US cell and gene therapies market. The transaction came nine months after the holding company acquired Yposkesi, a French developer and manufacturer of cell and gene therapy products, in March. As a

IndustryJan. 9, 2022

Experts divided on timeline of BOK's first rate hike of the year

Experts remain divided over whether Korea’s central bank will carry out a rate hike at its first rate-setting meeting of the year set for Friday. The upcoming monetary policy board meeting comes as the Korean economy continues to struggle with high inflationary pressure and the US Federal Reserve’s recent signal of a sooner-than-expected rate hike. A majority of experts see a rate hike coming Friday or next month, and the Bank of Korea is expected to raise its benchmark interest

EconomyJan. 9, 2022

Lotte E&C and Hyundai Engineering win orders to build giant chemical complex in Indonesia

Lotte Engineering & Construction Co. and Hyundai Engineering Co. said Sunday they have signed $2.39 billion deals to construct a giant petrochemical complex in Indonesia. Under separate deals with Lotte Chemical Corp., Lotte E&C and Hyundai Engineering will build the complex in Cilegon, a coastal industrial city about 90 kilometers northwest of Jakarta, by 2025. Lotte E&C's stake is $1.63 billion while Hyundai Engineering's stake is $757 million. The complex will have an annual ca

IndustryJan. 9, 2022

S. Korea's kimchi exports hit new high in 2021

South Korea's exports of kimchi hit an all-time high last year thanks to its growing popularity, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments of the spicy Korean traditional side dish came to a record $159.9 million in 2021, resulting in a trade surplus of $19.2 million in the sector, according to the data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It is the first time in 12 years that South Korea registered a surplus in the kimchi trade. Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish norm

EconomyJan. 9, 2022

S. Korean economy faces heightened downside risks: KDI

The South Korean economy faces heightened downside risks, as the country has tightened antivirus measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 cases and the global economic recovery has slowed down, a state-run think tank said Sunday. Since December, the recovery of private spending has been constrained by tighter social distancing measures to tackle the spike in COVID-19 infections, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in a monthly economic assessment report. "On the external side, globa

EconomyJan. 9, 2022

Seoul bourse to provide capital market info in English

South Korea's bourse operator said Sunday that it will launch a domestic capital market information portal in English this week to provide more information to foreign investors. The service, dubbed Market Data System, will be provided through the website (http://global.krx.co.kr) starting Monday, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said. The KRX said the website will improve information accessibility and convenience for foreign investors whose influence in the domestic capital market has continuously inc

EconomyJan. 9, 2022

Hyundai set to sell over 3m in cumulative eco-friendly car sales in H1

Hyundai Motor Group is expected to achieve 3 million units in accumulated environment-friendly vehicle sales in the first half, driven by new models, industry sources said Sunday. The South Korean automotive group, which has Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. under its wing, sold a cumulative 2.53 million eco-friendly vehicles as of November last year, according to industry people. From January to November, the two carmakers sold a combined 656,479 eco-friendly models in global markets, higher th

IndustryJan. 9, 2022

GS launches its venture capital for investment in promising startups

South Korean conglomerate GS Holdings said Sunday that it has set up a corporate venture capital (CVC) firm to invest in promising startups. GS Ventures plans to invest in local startups that focus on the new growth industries, such as bio, climate change, resource recycling, retail and renewable energy, GS Holdings said. Heo Jun-nyeong, vice president at GS Holdings who is a merger and acquisition expert, was named the first chief executive officer of GS Ventures. GS Holdings holds a 100 per

IndustryJan. 9, 2022

Seoul stocks may come under selling pressure next week: analysts

South Korean stocks are likely to come under downward pressure next week amid concerns that the US Federal Reserve's tapering policy may be harsher than expected, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,954.89 points Friday, down 0.76 percent from last Thursday, the final session of last year. Stocks traded bearish this week, as investors are worried that the Fed's latest minutes supported aggressive rate hikes and a contraction of its balan

MarketJan. 8, 2022

[Market Eye] Samsung-Hyundai auto chip alliance? It's more complicated than you think

South Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor, like other major carmakers around the world, suffered big from global semiconductor shortages last year, despite wide growing demand for new vehicles.  Deliveries of preordered vehicles have been delayed for months, not because of Korea‘s notorious labor strikes or price hikes in materials, but because of the tiny missing auto chips, which are essential for their digitized auto control system. Not just sharing common roots as Kor

IndustryJan. 7, 2022

Chaebol groups sell shares in subsidiaries over strengthened intercompany trade measures

Descendants of South Korea's chaebol founders have recently sold their stakes in spin-offs in an apparent move to avoid the antitrust watchdog’s tougher intra-group trade scrutiny based on the revised fair trade act.  The Korea Fair Trade Committee’s revised fair trade act came into effect on Dec. 30, expanding the list of target companies in order to prevent chaebol family owners from fattening their wealth through affiliates in family business. Previously, the regulation ta

IndustryJan. 7, 2022

[From the Scene] CES vs. COVID vs. My safety

LAS VEGAS – With just one more day to go, the Consumer Electronics Show 2022, though requiring attendees to be fully vaccinated, is a potential incubator of next variant of you-know-what thanks to people without masks spread out all over town. An unpleasant experience began right after touching down at McCarran Airport on Sunday. Paul, a Lyft driver who gave a brief tour of the Strip throughout the ride to the Westgate Hotel, wasn‘t wearing his mask. Vaccinated or not, Lyft manda

IndustryJan. 7, 2022