HD Hyundai Marine Solution seals $60m European vessel service deal

HD Hyundai Marine Solution, the ship maintenance unit of HD Hyundai, announced Monday that it has secured a record $60 million maintenance deal with a Euro-based vessel company. The company said it recently signed a Long Term Service Agreement with a European company, without further elaborating on the company name or other details due to the deal conditions. Under the terms of the deal, HD Hyundai Marine Solution will provide parts and equipment for 38 vessels until 2029, along with skilled eng

IndustryJuly 29, 2024

LIG Nex1 acquires 60% stake in Ghost Robotics

Korean defense firm LIG Nex1 said Monday that it had acquired a 60 percent stake in Ghost Robotics, a leading US quadruped robot maker, in partnership with Korea Investment Private Equity. LIG Nex1 finalized all investment steps, including approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, Friday. The acquisition, valued at approximately 332 billion won ($240 million), secures LIG Nex1 a 60 percent share of Ghost Robotics. Founded in Philadelphia in 2015, Ghost Robotics is k

IndustryJuly 29, 2024

Industry minister vows to expand free trade portfolio for export target of $700b

Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun on Monday pledged to make efforts to secure additional free trade agreements with more partners to achieve the annual export target of $700 billion, and offer tailored support for key products including chips and automobiles. Ahn made the remarks during a meeting of the parliamentary committee on trade, industry, energy, SMEs and startups, noting that such measures will help the country enhance its economic security. "We will expand the export market for South

EconomyJuly 29, 2024

Hanwha Ocean spurs innovation for greener shipbuilding

As the maritime industry navigates towards a greener future, the demand for vessels meeting stringent carbon reduction regulations is increasing in line with the International Maritime Organization's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. With over 100,000 vessels collectively emitting nearly a billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, the call to action is more urgent than ever. In South Korea, Hanwha Ocean, a major shipbuilding and offshore company, is at the forefront of this environme

IndustryJuly 29, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on hope for US rate cut

Seoul shares opened higher Monday on hope for the US Federal Reserve's rate cut and earnings releases of major tech firms this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 27.62 points, or 1.01 percent, to 2,759.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading. All eyes are on the US central bank's policy decision and earnings results by Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. The Fed is expected to cut rates as early as in September. In Seoul, tech and auto stocks l

MarketJuly 29, 2024

Qoo10 pressured to secure cash for troubled Korean units

While the nation’s two online shopping platforms Tmon and WeMakePrice struggle with an ongoing liquidity crisis, their Singapore-based parent company, Qoo10, is said to be securing cash worth about $50 million through an overseas affiliate, according to industry sources Sunday. The new funding scheme reportedly came as the South Korean authorities were demanding the platform operators to come up with relief measures for the snowballing complaints made by both vendors and buyers on the plat

IndustryJuly 28, 2024

[Test Drive] Kia EV3 takes regenerative braking to next level

Kia is going all-out to turn around the slowing growth of electric vehicles with the launch of its latest all-electric vehicle EV3 as the Korean automaker has developed an affordable, all-around EV. The Korea Herald got to check out the Kia EV3 long-range model with 17-inch wheels for a test drive last week. The 201-kilometer course included city drive, highways and winding roads between Seoul and the eastern city of Sokcho in Gangwon Province. Categorized as a subcompact crossover sports utilit

MobilityJuly 28, 2024

Can Samsung adapt to being a latecomer in HBM sector?

High bandwidth memory chips are becoming a headache for Samsung Electronics, as the world's No. 1 memory chip maker is months behind its crosstown rival SK hynix in supplying the profitable components to Nvidia, the dominant player in the burgeoning AI market. Samsung’s fourth-generation HBM3 chips have reportedly been cleared for use by Nvidia recently, but SK hynix, the No. 2 in the memory chip market, has supplied it with more advanced fifth-generation HBM3E chips since March this

IndustryJuly 28, 2024

Korea should seek out resource opportunities in Mongolia, experts say

While raw materials and rare metals are becoming increasingly significant to the South Korean economy, experts suggest Asia’s fourth-largest economy expand its cooperation on future energy and key mineral sources with Mongolia. Jung Tae-yong, a professor at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies, and Kang Sung-jin, an economics professor at Korea University, held a roundtable meeting last week to explore Mongolia’s growth potential and Korea’s busine

IndustryJuly 28, 2024

HD Hyundai Electric expands Alabama plant for better efficiency

HD Hyundai Electric, an energy solution provider under Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai, said Sunday that it has expanded the storage capacity of its manufacturing plant in Alabama to meet growing orders and improve operational efficiency. The expansion adds 12,690 square meters to the existing storage facility, which can house up to 60 power transformers. With the expansion, the plant will elevate production efficiency while reducing external storage and transportation costs. "The new

IndustryJuly 28, 2024

Samsung chief boosts global ties at Paris Olympics

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has embarked on a business trip to Paris to leverage the 2024 Paris Olympics to strengthen ties with key global business partners, political figures and sports leaders, the company said Sunday. Since arriving in Paris last Wednesday, Chairman Lee has engaged in a series of high-level business meetings. This marks his first attendance at the Olympics since the 2012 London Games. His agenda includes discussions with leaders from the semiconductor, IT and a

CompaniesJuly 28, 2024

Daewoo E&C boosts technology portfolio to tackle climate crisis

Daewoo Engineering & Construction is expanding its eco-friendly technology portfolio amid growing calls for green energy solutions to tackle the climate crisis. One of the builder's notable innovations is greenhouse gas reduction technology, called DECO2, a proprietary continuous process for capturing and recycling carbon dioxide, first developed in 2012. This technology captures carbon dioxide and repurposes it into raw materials. By-products from this process can be used immediately a

IndustryJuly 28, 2024

Retail investors pay huge chunk of stock transaction tax in 2023

Retail investors paid 4.57 trillion won ($3.29 billion) in stock transaction tax last year, accounting for 75 percent of the total, industry data showed Saturday. The government collected around 6.06 trillion won in stock transaction tax last year, and foreign investors paid nearly 1 trillion won in the tax last year, according to the Korea Securities Depository on Saturday. The data came as the government is seeking to scrap a capital gains tax on financial investments while cutting the tax o

MarketJuly 27, 2024

SK hynix confirms W9.4tr investment in Yongin Cluster's 1st fab

SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, said it has decided to invest about 9.4 trillion won ($6.77 billion) in building the first manufacturing plant and business facilities of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in a board meeting on Friday. The chipmaker plans to start construction of the first fab in the Yongin cluster in March next year, and complete it in May 2027. The envisioned manufacturing plant will produce next-generation DRAM, including High Bandwidth Memory, a rep

IndustryJuly 26, 2024

Shinhan Financial Group to enhance corporate value by 2027

Shinhan Financial Group on Friday unveiled a corporate value enhancement plan detailing specific targets and strategies to boost profitability. According to the plan, the financial giant aims to achieve a 10 percent return on equity, a 50 percent shareholder return rate and reduce its shares by 50 million by 2027. To reach a 50 percent shareholder return rate, Shinhan plans to decrease the number of shares through ongoing stock buybacks and cancellations. Last year, the company's shareholde

IndustryJuly 26, 2024

Kia posts record operating profit in Q2

Kia logged another record profit in the second quarter on Friday, driven by an enhanced product mix, higher average selling price and favorable exchange rates. During the April-June period, Kia achieved two new records -- 3.64 trillion won ($2.63 billion) in operating profit and a 13.2 percent operating profit margin -- in second-quarter earnings, continuing to break records for two straight quarters. The automaker’s quarterly operating profit increased by 7.1 percent in comparison to the

MobilityJuly 26, 2024

Hana chief cleared of severe punishment in DLF crisis

After a four-year legal battle, Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo has escaped regulatory punishment imposed for internal control failure involving the misselling of derivatives-linked funds. On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the appellate court's decision to cancel the major disciplinary action taken by financial authorities on Ham over the losses from the overseas interest rate-linked derivative fund incident in 2019. The top court confirmed the lower court’s ruling, wh

IndustryJuly 26, 2024

Cash-crunched Tmon begins refund process for customers

Tmon, an online marketplace platform owned by Singapore-based e-commerce company Qoo10, on Friday, started issuing refunds to customers who did not receive their products purchased on the platform hit by a liquidity crisis. This move comes a day after the CEO of WeMakePrice, another affiliate of Qoo10, offered an apology and began issuing refunds as hundreds of consumers visited the headquarters of the online marketplace platform. Tmon and WeMakePrice, which were acquired by Qoo10 in 2022 and 20

CompaniesJuly 26, 2024

Seoul shares snap 2-day fall on large cap gains

South Korean shares closed sharply higher Friday, ending a two-day losing streak on large cap gains led by financial firms and shipbuilding companies. The local currency fell slightly against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 21.25 points, or 0.78 percent, to close at 2,731.90. Trading volume was moderate at 504.7 million shares worth 12.8 trillion won ($9.24 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 594 to 288. Institutions purchased a net 394 billion won wor

MarketJuly 26, 2024

Posco threads new life to old uniforms for Philippine communities

Posco Group announced Friday that it donated 30,000 uniforms that no longer serve its employees to be upcycled for communities in the Philippines affected by disasters. After introducing new uniforms in February, Posco sought ways to utilize the former ones. This latest effort brings their total number of donated uniforms to 100,000, following previous donations to vulnerable groups in Mongolia and Madagascar. The company collaborated with non-governmental organizations active in international r

IndustryJuly 26, 2024