Seoul stocks rally for 2nd day on strong foreign buying

South Korean stocks rallied for second straight session Thursday on the back of strong foreign buying. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 45.55 points, or 1.57 percent, to close at 2,945.27 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 523 million shares worth some 11.8 trillion won ($10 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 756 to 139. Foreigners bought a net 886 billion won, while retail investors sold 915 billion

MarketDec. 2, 2021

[Battery+] 2nd urea crisis? Four metals China can weaponize to sink S. Korean EV battery firms

The ongoing urea solution shortage in South Korea is just a trailer. The real movie hasn’t even started yet. China can always send another wave of supply chain crises to Korea, and next time, the electric vehicle battery industry could be the target. According to Hana Financial Investment Thursday, electric vehicle batteries manufactured in South Korea by LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On are heavily dependent on Chinese metals. “The three companies source 71 percent

IndustryDec. 2, 2021

Korea to foster 89,000 more software talents by 2025

South Korea will foster 89,000 more people specialized in software technology by 2025 to cope with a shortage of digital talent in the future, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday. Unveiling the government’s plan to support younger generations in times of digital transformation, the ministry said a total of 413,000 software professionals will be supplied over the next five years. The government’s original plan was to raise 324,000 software talents, but the expected demand

TechnologyDec. 2, 2021

More listed units of biz groups adopt e-voting for small shareholders

More listed units of South Korea's major business groups have adopted electronic voting and other types of voting this year than a year earlier in a bid to promote small shareholders' rights, the country's antitrust regulator said Thursday. As of May, 78.8 percent of 274 listed affiliates of the country's 62 major conglomerates, or 216 firms, had introduced at least one out of cumulative, written or e-voting systems, the Fair Trade Commission said in a report on large business groups' governanc

IndustryDec. 2, 2021

Doosan Robotics launches unmanned modular robot cafe

Doosan Robotics Co. said Thursday it has produced an unmanned modular robot cafe in cooperation with Folletto Robotics, a local unmanned beverage manufacturing system maker. Doosan Robotics is a subsidiary wholly owned by Doosan Corp., a holding company of Doosan Group, South Korea's 15th largest conglomerate by asset. The unmanned modular robot cafe is a kind of collaborative robot, which refers to a robot that can work with a human. The unmanned modular robot cafe can be manufactured by put

IndustryDec. 2, 2021

Hyundai Rotem wins W219b tram cars order in Canada

Hyundai Rotem Co., a South Korean railway system and plant equipment maker, said Thursday it has received a 219 billion won ($186 million) order to supply tram cars to Canada. Under the deal, Hyundai Rotem will supply tram cars for the Valley Line West to be built between the downtown of Edmonton, Alberta, and the western part of the city by June 2027, the company said in a statement. The company didn't provide the volume of tram cars. Hyundai Rotem beat rivals such as Germany's Siemens AG,

IndustryDec. 2, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on virus woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street that stemmed from worries about the global outbreaks of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.42 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,890.3 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came off to a weak start, led by foreign and institutional sell-offs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 1.34 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite de

MarketDec. 2, 2021

Inflation growth hits 10-year high in Nov. amid rising oil prices

South Korea's consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in nearly 10 years in November due to surging energy costs and high prices of farm products, data showed Thursday, underscoring a build-up in inflationary pressure amid economic recovery. The consumer prices increased 3.7 percent in November from a year earlier, accelerating from a 3.2 percent on-year gain in October, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Consumer inflation rose 0.4 percent in November from a month ago. It m

EconomyDec. 2, 2021

Hyundai, Kia's US sales fall 13% on chip shortage

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Thursday their combined sales in the United States fell 13 percent last month from a year earlier amid the global chip shortage. Hyundai and Kia sold a total of 89,663 vehicles in the world's most important automobile market in November from 103,068 units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data. Hyundai's US sales fell 20 percent to 44,345 units from 55,171 over the cited period, while Kia's declined 5.4 percent to 45,318 from 47,

IndustryDec. 2, 2021

S. Korea's Q3 economic growth unchanged at 0.3%: BOK

South Korea's economy grew at the same pace as earlier forecast in the third quarter of the year despite better-than-expected private consumption and robust exports, central bank data showed Thursday. The country's gross domestic product adjusted for inflation grew 0.3 percent in the July-September period, compared with three months earlier, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This is the same as the earlier estimate the central bank announced in late October. Annual

BusinessDec. 2, 2021

Posco Chemical enters US EV battery market via GM joint venture

Posco Chemical and General Motors will form a joint venture and build a factory in North America to locally produce key electric vehicle materials, the two companies announced Thursday. Once completed in 2024, the new facility will produce and supply cathodes to Ultium Cells, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution, which is building two EV factories in Ohio and Tennessee. Though size and location remain unclear, this is Posco Chemical’s first expansion to the US. Cathodes a

IndustryDec. 2, 2021

Kakao to acquire live commerce firm Grip for W180b: sources

Kakao Corp. will acquire a majority stake of live commerce startup firm Grip Co., according to sources Wednesday. The South Korean tech giant plans to acquire a 48 percent stake of the company for 180 billon won ($152.5 million), sources familiar with the deal said. Established in 2018, the company currently operates its namesake live commerce mobile application, which allows users to sell products online. The number of sellers on Grip stood at some 12,000 as of April, and the volume of tr

TechnologyDec. 1, 2021

OECD maintains Korea’s 2021 GDP forecast at 4%

SEJONG -- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has maintained its outlook on the South Korean economy this year, while revising down its growth predictions for major countries. In a report released Wednesday, the Paris-based organization maintained its earlier forecast in September of a 4 percent growth in gross domestic product for Korea this year. “The Korean economy continues to recover following the COVID-19 shock, propelled by strong export growth, improving bu

EconomyDec. 1, 2021

Pressure builds on stock market over omicron variant, Fed warning

Growing fear over the omicron variant and sooner-than-expected tapering by the US Fed are weighing on the South Korean stock market, analysts said Wednesday, although some say it will take longer to gauge how the impact will play out here. The nation’s main bourse Kospi hit the lowest mark of the year on Tuesday, as short sellers dumped about 1 trillion won ($848 million) on the Kospi and the junior, tech-heavy Kosdaq in their second largest sell-off this year. Stocks rebounded Wednesd

MarketDec. 1, 2021

Posco mulls holding company structure: sources

  South Korean steelmaker Posco Group is pushing to establish a holding company to make a breakthrough in business expansion and eventually to boost its market valuation, industry sources said Wednesday. Posco, the country’s sixth-largest conglomerate in terms of assets, has been drawing a downward graph in stocks despite its record-high business result this year due to the booming steel industry during pandemic.  According to sources, Posco Group will table the issue of an es

IndustryDec. 1, 2021

KB picks young CEO to lead flagship bank

South Korea’s KB Financial Group said Wednesday it has tapped a 55-year-old sales executive to head its flagship KB Kookmin Bank, reflecting the financial giant’s drive to seek transformation in business and target younger people. Lee Jae-keun, KB Kookmin Bank’s current senior executive vice president of the sales division, will become the youngest current CEO in the nation’s banking industry. Lee’s two-year term starts in January once his nomination is approved a

MarketDec. 1, 2021

Monthly exports break $60b-mark for first time

SEJONG -- South Korea’s monthly exports surpassed $60 billion last month for the first time on the back of the brisk outbound shipments of semiconductors and petrochemicals. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, exports posted an all-time high of $60.4 billion in November, up 32.1 percent from a year earlier. “After initially surpassing $50 billion in October 2013, the monthly export volume topped the $60 billion mark in 97 months,” said the ministry. &ldqu

EconomyDec. 1, 2021

[Herald Interview] For Porsche, synthetic fuel is key for carbon neutrality

Porsche is not ready to let go of combustion engines. Engines are what make a Porsche a Porsche, an executive told The Korea Herald while visiting Seoul for a motor show. And in order to keep that forte while complying with the green agenda, the German carmaker is developing eFuel, a climate-neutral fuel produced with the help of electricity from water and CO2 from the air. “The market is full of combustion cars and they will continue to be made and driven in 2030,” said Thomas F

MobilityDec. 1, 2021

Samsung, Ministry of SMEs team up to support smaller tech firms

Samsung Electronics and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a 30 billion won ($25.4 million) fund supporting smaller tech firms here. Samsung and the ministry are contributing 15 billion won each with the aim of supporting research work for locally-developed materials, parts and equipment for the next five years between 2022 and 2026. “In order to respond to changes in this new normal era, innovation should occur not at a compa

IndustryDec. 1, 2021

Government-led consumer finance data service kicks off

A government-led program that aims to give consumers more information and control of their personal finance data was officially launched Wednesday, allowing customers to manage their lives more efficiently. The program dubbed “MyData” allows customers of 53 government-approved financial institutions to receive personal, customized and comprehensive finance data of their spending, all bank account balances, loans, insurance and more from the choice of their firm. The services will b

MarketDec. 1, 2021