Weaker won, rising fuel price knock airlines’ confidence in recovery

Rising fuel prices and a weak local currency are dampening the mood for South Korea’s aviation industry, which has pinned hopes for recovery on travel bubbles and the easing of social distancing rules. The jet fuel price stood at $94.60 per barrel, as of Oct. 8, up 5.8 percent compared to the previous week, according to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association. Averaging $73.90 per barrel this year, the price as of early this month was also up 17.5 percent compar

MobilityOct. 18, 2021

LG Energy Solution, Stellantis team up for joint battery factory in US

LG Energy Solution and global automaker Stellantis said Monday they will form a joint venture in the United States to target the fast-growing North American electric vehicle market. The partnership will break ground on a new EV battery manufacturing facility in the second quarter next year. Scheduled for commercial operation by the first quarter of 2024, the new factory is to churn out 40 gigawatt-hours of EV batteries annually. “The name and the location of the joint venture haven&rsq

IndustryOct. 18, 2021

Hana partners with Hyundai, Kia for connected car financial services

South Korea’s Hana Bank on Monday said it has teamed up with the nation’s top automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia alongside fintech startup Finda to develop financial services and products tied to connected car technologies. A connected car refers to a car equipped with internet access, usually a wireless local area network. This allows the car to share internet access and data with other devices inside and outside the vehicle. Though details are currently in the works, Hana plans to

MarketOct. 18, 2021

247,000 self-employed people lost job in past year: report

Some 247,000 sole proprietors have lost jobs amid prolonged social distancing regulations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Monday. According to Yonhap News Agency’s analysis, 247,000 people who were self-employed in mid-September last year lost their jobs and fell into the category of the unemployed and economically inactive within the past 12 months. The report defines unemployed as those who are able and willing to work and who have been in search of a job but unable

IndustryOct. 18, 2021

[Herald Interview] Rethinking emissions as investing opportunities

The world has been witnessing deadly catastrophic events like wildfires and heat waves over the past couple of years, and climate change is considered a major culprit behind them. Such extreme weather events show no signs of abating despite decreased greenhouse gas emissions due to COVID-19 pandemic since last year, which signals that climate change is a problem of the present, not a problem of the future. Addressing the urgency of the matter, Je Hyun-joo, managing partner at impact investment

MarketOct. 18, 2021

Korea Shipbuilding grabs W416b order for 2 container carriers

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Monday it has signed a 416 billion-won ($350.4 million) deal to build two container carriers. Under the deal with a shipping company in the Marshall Islands, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. will build the vessels and deliver them by April 2024, the shipbuilding holding company said in a regulatory filing. KSOE, the subholding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH), has three shipbuilders -- Hyundai Heavy Industries

IndustryOct. 18, 2021

Paris Baguette franchise to launch in Indonesia

SPC Group’s bakery chain Paris Baguette will enter Indonesia, opening its first franchise store in Jakarta next month, it said Monday. According to the South Korean food and bakery maker, it has has set up a joint venture with Indonesia’s Erajaya Group for the purpose. The joint entity will operate Paris Baguette bakeries in Indonesia. Following the November opening of the first store in the capital, more Paris Baguette stores will be added in major cities like Bali and Medan, SP

ConsumerOct. 18, 2021

Samsung Heavy wins $1.7b order for 7 shuttle tankers

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday that it has signed a $1.7 billion order to provide design, parts and blocks for seven shuttle tankers. Under the deal with a company in Eurasia, Samsung Heavy Industries will supply design, parts and blocks for the vessels by January, 2027, the company said in a regulatory filing. Shuttle tankers refer to oil tankers plying between offshore oilfields and oil plants on land to transport crude. With the latest order, the shipbuilder has won a combined $1

IndustryOct. 18, 2021

S. Korea, Sweden to hold forum on joint responses to illegal fishing

Around 100 South Korean and Swedish maritime officials and experts will gather this week for a forum to explore ways to curb illegal fishing, South Korea's oceans ministry said Monday. During the four-day forum set to kick off Tuesday, officials from the governments and major international organizations, such as the International Maritime Organization and the Food and Agricultural Organization, and maritime experts will discuss ways to better implement international agreements on illegal, unrep

IndustryOct. 18, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on profit-taking

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as investors attempted to cash in gains from the key stock index's three-day advance. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 22.9 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,992.16 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Kospi got off to a lackluster start amid sell-offs in most sectors. In Seoul, Samsung Electronics lost 0.86 percent to 69,500 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix retreated 1.42 percent to 97,000 won. Top automaker Hyundai

MarketOct. 18, 2021

S. Korea to actively respond to US info-sharing request on chipmakers: minister

South Korean Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Monday the country plans to closely cooperate with local chipmakers to respond to the US' latest request for them to share information on their supply chains. The US Department of Commerce has recently asked global chipmakers, including Samsung Electronics Co., to share information on inventories, demand and other details by Nov. 8 to "help improve trust and transparency within the supply chain." The request spawned concerns about the lea

IndustryOct. 18, 2021

Major tour agencies forecast to swing to profit in 2022

South Korea's major travel agencies are expected to recover from the prolonged fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and swing to a profit in 2022 on growing demand for overseas travel, a market tracker said Monday. Local brokerage houses have projected that industry leader HanaTour could register a consolidated operating income of 3.9 billion won ($33 million) in the coming year, a sharp turnaround from an operating loss of 114.9 billion won last year, according to financial information provider Fn

IndustryOct. 18, 2021

S. Korea to soon decide whether to join CPTPP: finance minister

South Korea plans to decide whether to join a mega Asia-Pacific free trade agreement involving 11 nations as early as this month in an effort to diversify its export portfolio, the country's finance minister has said. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks during his meeting with reporters Thursday (local time) in Washington, D.C. after attending the Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors. South Korea has been "actively" reviewing the joining of th

EconomyOct. 18, 2021

Countdown on for S. Korea's self-developed satellite launcher Nuri

South Korea will test its first domestically-developed satellite launch vehicle this week, which, if successful, will mark a major step forward in the country’s space program. The three-stage liquid fuel rocket, also known as Korean Space Launch Vehicle II or the Nuri, will lift off at 4 p.m. on Thursday from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, carrying a 1.5-ton dummy payload. If all things go well, the payload will enter into low orbit 600 to 800 kilometers above

TechnologyOct. 17, 2021

S. Korea’s car production drops in Q3 on global chip shortage

South Korea’s car production in the third quarter this year dropped, marking the lowest level since the 2008 global financial crisis, according to a local industry report, Sunday. According to Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association’s report, the combined number of automobiles domestically manufactured during the July-September period reached 761,975, down 20.9 percent on-year. The figure was the lowest since 2008, when local carmakers’ production reached 760,121 during

TechnologyOct. 17, 2021

Boxed-in Kospi leads to surge in forced liquidations

As South Korea’s benchmark Kospi plunged below 3,000 points last week for the first time in nearly seven months, the daily volume of forced selling of stocks by local brokerages reached a 14-year high. The daily average amount of forced liquidations marked 26.5 billion won ($22.4 million) from Oct. 1 to Thursday, according to data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association. It marked the highest level since April 2007, when the daily average volume came to 29 billion won. The

MarketOct. 17, 2021

[Law Talk] Trademark issues in the world of the metaverse

The word “metaverse,” a portmanteau of the prefix “meta” (meaning beyond) and “universe,” is typically used to refer to a communal and interactive cyberspace where content, commerce and networking exist with increasing permeability with the real world. With new technical capability and accelerated cultural shift to online due to the COVID-19 crisis, the metaverse is creating innovation that transcends time and space in all areas of industry and society. In par

EconomyOct. 17, 2021

More firms ease virus rules as vaccination speeds up

South Korean companies are ending strict pandemic-era rules and restrictions, resuming overseas trips and in-person meetings, as offices prepare to gradually shift to the “living with COVID-19” phase set to start next month. The move is also in line with rising vaccination rates across the country.  According to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, 78.7 percent of the population had completed at least a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 64.6 perce

IndustryOct. 17, 2021

Tightened credit lending continues despite eased rules on housing loans

South Korea‘s major banks are set to loosen control on extension of “jeonse” loans for homes, but their tightened grip over personal credit loans will continue under pressure from financial authorities, industry sources said Sunday. Jeonse is a housing lease system unique to Korea whereby tenants pay a lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent on a two-year contract. NH NongHyup Bank, which in August decided to temporarily stop offering jeonse loans until Nov. 30, will resume

MarketOct. 17, 2021

Homegrown private equity firm STIC Investments to go public in December

South Korean private equity firm STIC Investments is poised to carry out a backdoor listing to start trading on the domestic stock market in December, a filing showed Sunday.  Following the move, STIC Investments will become the first Seoul-based private equity investment manager to be listed in three years. Seoul is home to high-profile buyout powerhouses including MBK Partners, Hahn & Co. and IMM Private Equity -- none of which are listed on the stock market. According to the f

MarketOct. 17, 2021