Kakao opens blockchain units in Singapore, eyes expansion overseas

Kakao Group, which operates messenger app KakaoTalk, has established two new blockchain entities in Singapore in an effort to expand its blockchain platform abroad and chase after its biggest competitor, Naver. According to local media reports Monday, Kakao recently founded the nonprofit Klaytn Foundation and global accelerator unit Krust in the city-state. With the two at the forefront, the South Korean internet giant will pursue the globalization of its public blockchain project, Klaytn,

TechnologyAug. 16, 2021

HHI to complete payment for Doosan Infracore this week

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group is to complete payment for the acquisition of Doosan Infracore this week, in a deal that would put the ship-focused group atop of the country’s construction equipment industry, according to industry officials Monday. In February, the group’s holdings company formed a consortium with KDB Investment and signed a contract to buy a controlling 34 percent stake in Doosan Infracore, held by Doosan Heavy Industries. It agreed to pay 850 billion won ($730 mi

IndustryAug. 16, 2021

Doosan Heavy consortium wins W180b British deal

The consortium formed by Doosan Heavy Industries's British unit and a British firm has received a 180 billion-won ($155 million) water treatment deal, Doosan said Monday. Doosan Heavy's wholly owned Doosan Enpure joined hands with BAM Nuttall to obtain the deal for the relocation of the Guildford sewage treatment facility from Thames Water, Britain's largest water and wastewater services company, the company said in a statement. "We will complete the construction of a new sewage treatme

IndustryAug. 16, 2021

LG Energy Solution signs battery materials deal in Australia

LG Energy Solution Ltd., South Korea's leading battery company, said Monday it has signed a six-year deal with Australian Mines Ltd. for a stable supply of key battery materials. In the deal that will begin at the end of 2024, LG Energy Solution will receive 71,000 tons of nickel and 7,000 tons of cobalt from the Australian company over six years, the South Korean firm said in a statement. "Securing key raw materials and a responsible battery supply chain has become a critical element i

IndustryAug. 16, 2021

Korean exporters targeted in 225 trade-restrictive measures in H1

South Korean exporters faced a total of 225 trade-restrictive measures in 28 countries as of June this year, amid a continued hold of protectionism, the state-run trade promotion agency said Sunday. In its report assessing global trade environments for local firms in the first six months of this year, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency counted 225 measures in place at 28 countries around the world that target imports of Korean goods. The measures include anti-dumping, countervailin

IndustryAug. 15, 2021

Tesla Korea sales up 300 percent in 2020

Foreign companies doing business in South Korea fared well amid the pandemic last year, with electric carmaker Tesla reporting a whopping 300 percent increase in sales, a report showed Sunday. According to data compiled and released by CEO Score, a local market researcher, the aggregate sales of the top 50 foreign-owned companies in Korea reached 21.8 trillion won ($18.76 billion) in 2020, up 15 percent from the previous year. Operating profits rose 42.2 percent to 1.2 trillion won. The data

IndustryAug. 15, 2021

[Battery+] Batteries will emit 1 percent of world’s carbon. What should be done?

Mix melted butter with minced garlic and parsley, and spread the paste over bread. Heat in the oven and there you have crispy garlic bread. Lithium-ion batteries follow the exact same recipe. Mix toxic liquid called solvent with active materials and spread the slurry over thin metal plates 1.5 meters wide. Put the plates inside a giant, 100-meter-long oven so the solvent evaporates. The coated metal plates are punched into the right shapes and sizes and then stacked like a sandwich or roll

IndustryAug. 15, 2021

What’s Samsung chief’s next move?

All eyes are on Lee Jae-yong’s next move after the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, released from jail on parole on Friday, set about saving the nation’s pandemic-hit economy. Straight from the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, where he served 60 percent of his 2 1/2-year sentence, Lee went to the Samsung headquarters in Seocho, southern Seoul, and stayed there until night. He was reported to have received a briefing from Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman

IndustryAug. 15, 2021

Meet market winners and losers in times of pandemic

By The Investor team 　 The South Korean financial and investment market has been going through probably the biggest and fastest change in its modern history under the COVID-19 pandemic, which still shows no sign of abating. It may not be the case just for Asia’s fourth-largest economy, as global markets as a whole have also been greatly touched by the spread of the virus and a series of expansionary fiscal measures, as well as the lockdowns that followed. What appears to have made the

EconomyAug. 15, 2021

FTC to conclude on price rigging allegation of shippers next month

The Fair Trade Commission is expected to decide next month on punitive actions against major shippers following allegations that shipping lines from both home and abroad have rigged freight charges. According to government sources on Sunday, the FTC plans to hold a full-member meeting to discuss whether the accused 23 companies colluded to raise shipping costs for service on a Southeast Asian sea route. The allegation was first reported to the FTC by importers in the timber industry in 2018.

IndustryAug. 15, 2021

Samsung Electronics' market presence at lowest in 23 months

Giant chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co. saw its presence on the main bourse drop to the lowest in 23 months in terms of market capitalization amid a sharp drop, data showed Sunday. The tech behemoth's value stood at some 444 trillion won ($400 billion) as of Friday, or 19.43 percent of the KOSPI's total market value of 2,285 trillion won. It is the first time that the bellwether's weighting against the total market cap fell below the 20-percent mark since September, 2019. The figure marks a s

IndustryAug. 15, 2021

Regulator set to take measures against shippers' alleged price fixing

South Korea's antitrust regulator will soon decide on punitive actions against the country's leading shipper, HMM Co., and other shipping lines over suspected price fixing, government sources said Sunday. Since 2018, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has been looking into allegations that HMM and others colluded to fix higher freight rates for a Southeast Asian sea route. After expanding its investigation into foreign firms, the regulator informed 23 shippers at home and abroad in May tha

EconomyAug. 15, 2021

S. Korea reviewing 2022 national budget of some W600tr

South Korea is seeking to draw up a national budget of around 600 trillion won ($513.3 billion) for next year in a bid to maintain expansionary fiscal spending amid the pandemic, government sources said Sunday. If confirmed, this would mark a 7.5 percent on-year increase from this year's national budget of 558 trillion won, according to sources at the finance ministry and the National Assembly. The government is seeking to keep the on-year growth pace of the 2022 budget in the 7-percent range,

EconomyAug. 15, 2021

[Anniversary Special] Living with economic uncertainty: How COVID changed Korea’s investment landscape

Monetary easing policies have been carried out primarily to counter the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, but brought significant changes in South Koreans’ economic lives, pushing many to jump into markets under inflationary pressure. For Koreans, living in an era of ample liquidity has been considered a window of opportunity. So much so that it could be considered foolish not to take out loans with ultralow interests to invest in real estate and stocks. An abundance of cash combined with a

EconomyAug. 14, 2021

[Anniversary Special] S. Korea’s pharmaceutical industry grows through COVID-19, prepares for post-pandemic future

The pandemic has opened up a window of opportunity for South Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies to advance to the global stage. Several local players posted strong earnings by exporting self-developed test kits to foreign countries and secured contract manufacturing deals for COVID-19 vaccines. As a result, the number of pharmaceutical and biotech firms with sales exceeding 1 trillion won ($860.2 million) has increased to nine in 2020 from six a year earlier. Contract development

TechnologyAug. 14, 2021

GS Retail-led consortium acquires No. 2 delivery app, Yogiyo

A consortium led by GS Retail Co., the supermarket operating unit of GS Group, has acquired Yogiyo, the No. 2 online food delivery app in South Korea, for 800 billion won ($684.3 million), the retailer said Friday. The consortium, including Affinity Equity Partners and Permira, has reached the deal with Germany's Delivery Hero for the acquisition of a 100 percent stake in Yogiyo, according to the retailer. GS Retail said it will take over 30 percent of the share worth 240 billion won and pay

ConsumerAug. 13, 2021

HMM sees operating profit jumps tenfold during Q2

South Korea’s top shipping company HMM’s operating profit rose to a record high during the second quarter on the back of growing shipping costs and strong demand. The company racked up 1.38 trillion won in operating profit, a regulatory filing released on Friday revealed, up over 900 percent compared to the same time one year ago. The figure also surpasses its performance during the first quarter, which stood at 1.19 trillion won in operating profit. Revenue rose 111 percent to 2.

MobilityAug. 13, 2021

Samsung SDI may build an EV battery plant in Illinois : news reports

Samsung SDI may build a battery plant in central Illinois, according to a report by Reuters on Friday. The news came after Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said in a press conference that there were discussions to bring in a “major Samsung battery facility” during their meeting with South Korean delegations this week. While the decision has not been finalized, said Durbin, the facility will possibly be next to electric-vehicle start-up Rivian, which said in April it would source EV batt

TechnologyAug. 13, 2021

Celltrion's Q2 operating profit falls 10.2% on-year

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion on Friday said the company’s operating profit fell 10.2 percent in the second quarter through an earnings report. The firm’s operating profit stood at 163.2 billion won during the April-June period, down 10.2 percent from the same period last year. Its sales inched up 0.7 percent to 431.8 billion won. The company said its second-quarter revenue went slightly up, backed by increased overseas sales of the company’s infliximab bios

TechnologyAug. 13, 2021

KIC divests all Alibaba stake, mixed on other Chinese tech stocks

South Korea‘s sole sovereign wealth fund, Korea Investment Corp., divested the entirety of 2.9 million shares in Alibaba Group Holding -- the 25th-biggest United States-listed stock it was holding earlier this year -- during the second quarter of this year, a filing showed Friday. The quarterly report, submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, also indicated that its positions toward US-listed Chinese technology stocks were mixed at the end of June, before Beijing’s sw

EconomyAug. 13, 2021