Citibank Korea committed to supporting ESG drive in corporate sector

Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup, has ramped up efforts to gain an upper hand in sustainable financing, focused on environmental, social and governance factors, to support local companies’ ESG management, the lender said Sunday. Sustainable financing refers to a bank’s financial services, ranging from loans to bonds, designed to provide financial support for sustainable economic activities and projects of private companies or public entities. The prolonged COVID-19

MarketNov. 7, 2021

[Feature] Digital rush triggers war over developers

As artificial intelligence, big data and digital technologies emerge as the forces driving change in many traditional industries, companies that previously did not need many IT workers are hiring tech talent. But digital skills are in such a short supply nationwide there is a war for talent. One company feeling the talent crunch is Ably, a fast-growing online fashion platform that currently consists of more than 200 employees among which some 20 percent are software engineers or developers.

TechnologyNov. 7, 2021

LG TVs get top scores in 14 countries

South Korean electronics giant LG Electronics said Sunday that its premium OLED TV lineup had aced recent evaluations conducted by consumer magazines from 14 countries. In particular, the OLED evo introduced this year was recognized for its outstanding performance, earning the best score from consumer outlets in seven European countries, it said. French consumer magazine Que Choisir gave LG’s OLED evo a score of 16.2, the best among the 264 TVs it reviewed. The magazine said the prod

TechnologyNov. 7, 2021

Overseas travel demand picking up, mostly to tourist spots

As overseas tourism slowly resumes with travel bubble programs and a rise in vaccination rates, travel to Saipan logged a sharp increase last month, data showed Sunday. According to the Transport Ministry data, passengers going to Saipan from Incheon surged 178.5 percent in October to 3,900 passengers from 1,400 passengers in September. Travel to Saipan also spiked in July when South Korea launched the travel bubble with the country, exempting fully vaccinated people from mandatory quarantin

MobilityNov. 7, 2021

Senior GM official to visit S. Korea this week

A senior official of General Motors will visit South Korea this week, sources said Sunday, raising expectations he could unveil new production plans for the Korean unit of the US carmaker. Steven Kiefer, president of General Motors' international operations, will arrive in South Korea on Monday for a five-day stay, according to the sources from the labor union of GM Korea. Kiefer is expected to visit GM Korea's plants, including those in Bupyeong and Changwon, and meet officials of the state-

IndustryNov. 7, 2021

Urea crisis not over; battery, chip supply chains at mercy of China

While desperately searching for alternative sources of urea, a key ingredient for a liquid solution essential for diesel vehicles, South Korea is forced to reexamine its reliance on China for other materials and realize the need to preemptively respond to supply chain risks. The country’s supplies of diesel exhaust fluid are currently at dangerously low levels after Chinese authorities last month imposed a de facto export ban on DEF, an emissions control solution without which diesel c

IndustryNov. 7, 2021

Banks in Korea to see mass voluntary retirement this year

South Korea’s banking sector is expected to no longer guarantee job security the way it once did. This year, the industry is seeing a mass exodus of its workforce, with lenders offering lucrative early retirement packages to accelerate digitalization of banking services and trim down their physical operations for the transition, data showed Sunday. The Korea Herald looked at individual employment data from six banks released this year. Along with Citibank Korea shutting down its consume

MarketNov. 7, 2021

[ESG Talk] ESG and communication risks: Coloring too much?

Green washing refers to abusive marketing activities that exaggerate, misrepresent and mislead about the company’s eco-conscious behavior, products or financing. The tendency of companies to oversell is expanding from environmental to social areas and coining new color-themed names. It is true that false ESG communication could happen unintentionally. Companies must carefully pick the words they use in communicating corporate sustainability practices because inspectors and civil society ar

EconomyNov. 7, 2021

Blockbuster IPO shares fear price fall this week as lockups expire

Stocks that began trading through blockbuster initial public offerings this year might see a downturn in stock prices as lockup periods that hindered large shareholders from selling expire this week, according to market insiders Sunday.　 A stock lockup is a device to prevent large shareholders from selling their shares too quickly and causing a sudden change in stock prices after a company goes public. Institutional investors are expected to trade roughly 11 trillion won ($9.3 billion) worth o

MarketNov. 7, 2021

Why are NFTs more disruptive than cryptocurrencies?

Nonfungible tokens, otherwise known as NFTs, are more disruptive than cryptocurrencies because of its potential to be applied to a plethora of sectors, blockchain experts said last week. “At the moment, the cryptocurrency market, which is a fungible market, outscales the NFT market, but the cryptocurrency market still falls within the realm of conventional finance. On the other hand, NFTs present an unlimited potential to expand beyond existing conceptions of financial assets,” Kim

MarketNov. 7, 2021

Instant noodle prices up 11%, sharpest gain since 2009

Prices of instant noodle products rose 11 percent from a year ago in October, the largest jump since 2009, leading an overall increase in food prices, government data showed Sunday.  According to the state-run Statistics Korea, ramen prices reached the highest on record last month, growing by the largest margin since February 2009, when the country saw a 14.3 percent growth in instant noodle prices.  The market’s four main players -- Nongshim, Ottogi, Samyang and Paldo --have a

IndustryNov. 7, 2021

About 90% of firms undecided on 2022 investment plans amid pandemic-caused uncertainty: poll

About 90 percent of firms in South Korea are undecided on their investment plans for next year amid lingering uncertainty despite the country's move back to normalcy under the "living with COVID-19" scheme, a poll showed Sunday. According to the poll conducted on 316 firms by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), 56.2 percent said they have not drawn up investment plans for next year. Of those surveyed, 32.1 percent said they are currently reviewing such plans. Only 11.7

IndustryNov. 7, 2021

3 transport firms fined W4.9b over price fixing

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to impose a combined fine of 4.9 billion won ($4.1 million) on three transport companies for colluding to fix bidding prices. Sejoong Co. and two other companies colluded to fix their quotations to win  shipping engine transport and other bids that were put forward by Doosan Engine, the predecessor of HSD Engine, between 2008 and 2016, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). They colluded to set Sejoong as the prosp

IndustryNov. 7, 2021

Recovery momentum 'feeble' due to manufacturing slowdown: KDI

South Korea's economic recovery momentum has weakened due to the slowdown in the manufacturing sector amid a global supply chain shortage and energy crisis, a state-run think tank said Sunday. "The recovery in manufacturing weakens as global supply chains remain clogged, since an improvement of external conditions lost steam," the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in a monthly economic assessment report. The manufacturing firms' shipments have fallen, while the inventory-to-ship

EconomyNov. 7, 2021

Exports of fishery goods up over 20% through October: data

South Korea's exports of fishery products grew 20.5 percent on-year in the first 10 months of this year, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments of fishery products reached $2.24 billion during the January-October period, compared to $1.86 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Exports to China rose 48.1 percent to reach $540 million, and those to the United States and the European Union surged 24.2 percent and 39.4 percent, respectively.

EconomyNov. 7, 2021

With assessment of NFTs done, financial companies actively seek opportunites

Rather than discussing the question of whether non-fungible tokens are a fad, traditional financial institutions are instead asking how they can be incorporated within their business models, according to speakers from major financial firms who gathered at a three-day conference on NFTs. The tokens are digital counterparts of real-world assets, largely visual art and music. More importantly, each NFT is unique, with ownership being traced and protected through blockchain technology. Given that

MarketNov. 6, 2021

KOSPI likely to move in tight range next week on policy uncertainties

South Korea's benchmark stock index is likely to move in a tight range next week, although volatility may increase due to policy uncertainties, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (closed at 2,969.27 points Friday, nearly unchanged from 2,970.68 points a week ago. The KOSPI fluctuated as investors waited and digested the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting results, particularly its stance over potential rate hikes. According to the FOMC meeting results, the US central b

MarketNov. 6, 2021

S. Korea calls for cooperation with global companies on climate goals

South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo proposed Friday that South Korean and global companies join hands to address climate challenges as he met with leaders of major businesses, his office said. Yeo made the call at a meeting of the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, a platform under the World Economic Forum, in Glasgow, Scotland. The meeting brought together dozens of top officials of multinational firms and government officials who sought ways to help accelerate the transition to a net-zero

IndustryNov. 5, 2021

KKR closes W2.4tr deal to invest in SK E&S in eco push

US investment firm KKR & Co. said Friday it has acquired newly issued redeemable convertible preferred shares of South Korean energy company SK E&S for 2.4 trillion won ($2 billion). The investment, via KKR‘s Asia Pacific Infrastructure Fund, will provide KKR with an opportunity to receive cash or in-kind redemption for repayment in the future, as well as an opportunity to convert the securities into common shares of SK conglomerate’s natural gas arm, according to KKR. The

MarketNov. 5, 2021

Mamamoo’s agency aims to morph into global content provider via IPO

Rainbow Bridge World, the South Korean entertainment agency behind girl group Mamamoo, said Friday that it is looking to spur growth globally by raising funds through its initial public offering scheduled for later this month.  “We will further accumulate experience in producing high-quality content by making active investments (after the IPO). We are poised for a leap in the global market as an integrated content provider,” Kim Jin-woo, co-chief executive officer at Rainbow Br

MarketNov. 5, 2021