SK joins consortium for AirAsia’s digital banking business in Malaysia

South Korean conglomerate SK Group’s Southeast Asian investment arm has joined a consortium for AirAsia’s digital bank business in Malaysia, reports said Tuesday. SK South East Asia Investment has participated as a financial investor in a consortium led by the Malaysian budget airline’s financial technology unit BigPay vying for a digital banking license in the Southeast Asian country, according to Malaysian news reports. Due to SK’s nondisclosure agreement with BigPa

MarketJuly 27, 2021

Kakao Bank's IPO subscription draws relatively lukewarm response from retail investors

South Korean internet-only bank Kakao Bank Corp. is set to draw relatively low subscription from retail investors for its initial public offering (IPO), with deposits for the stock offering at a smaller-than-expected 22 trillion won ($19.1 billion) as of 11 a.m., its IPO managers said Tuesday. On the last day of the two-day subscription, retail investors may pour additional deposits to subscribe for one of the largest IPO deals. Kakao Bank's IPO subscription for individual investors closes at

MarketJuly 27, 2021

SK hynix's Q2 sales surpass W10tr

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory provider, surpassed the 10 trillion-won ($8.69 billion) mark in quarterly sales for the first time in three years amid a continuing chip boom. According to the chipmaker’s earnings announcement Tuesday, the company recorded 10.3 trillion won in sales in the April-June period, up 20 percent from the same period last year, owing to the improved conditions in the memory market since early this year. The chipmaker last breached the 10 trill

TechnologyJuly 27, 2021

Samsung's mobile chief vows to widen foldable phone market

Samsung Electronics will take the lead in widening the foldable smartphone market by offering more refined and durable products this year, the company‘s executive in charge of the mobile phone business said Tuesday. Roh Tae-moon, president of Samsung Mobile, pledged to provide improved foldable devices at the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event slated for Aug. 11 through a message posted on the company’s newsroom homepage. “The upcoming Galaxy Z Fold combines the very be

TechnologyJuly 27, 2021

Samsung to launch industry's first Mini LED curved gaming monitor

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday its new curved gaming monitor with Mini LED display will be launched this week. The Odyssey Neo G9 will hit the shelves in South Korea on Thursday with a price of 2.4 million won ($2,085). It will be globally available by Aug. 9, according to the tech giant. The latest product is the industry's first curved gaming monitor with Mini LED display, Samsung said. It uses the Quantum Mini LED light source that is 1/40 the height of a conventional LED, which is al

TechnologyJuly 27, 2021

Nearly 7 in 10 senior citizens want to work until 73: survey

Nearly 7 in 10 South Korean senior citizens want to keep working until the age of 73 amid a rise in life expectancy, a survey showed Tuesday. The survey by Statistics Korea showed 10 million, or 68.1 percent, of the 14.76 million South Koreans aged between 55 and 79, said in May they want to continue to work in the future, up 0.7 percentage point from a year earlier. The elderly said they want to keep working until an average of 73, unchanged from the previous year. As for the main reasons fo

EconomyJuly 27, 2021

Finance chief to issue public message over housing market

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki plans to issue a public message about the housing market Wednesday, the finance ministry said Tuesday, as the government seeks to stabilize high-flying home prices. Hong plans to hold a press briefing Wednesday to explain the government's assessment of the current housing market and state its housing policy goal, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Hong has repeatedly warned that housing prices could fall at any time as prices of apartments in the gre

EconomyJuly 27, 2021

Retail sales up 12% in H1 as consumers return to stores

Retails sales in South Korea rose 12 percent in the first half of 2021 from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, as consumers were fatigued by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and became less reluctant to visit supermarkets and department stores. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers reached 75 trillion won (US$64.9 billion) over the January-June period, up from 67 trillion won posted in 2020, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The rebound mainly came

EconomyJuly 27, 2021

Samsung expands royalty-free program for small firms

South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. will open another batch of royalty-free technologies in line with the government's efforts to promote shared growth among conglomerates and small and medium-sized firms, the industry ministry said Tuesday. Under the move, the world's top memory chip maker will allow 99 businesses to use its 172 cases of patents without paying royalties. The latest step will raise the number of patents shared by Samsung since 2015 to a whopping 784. Since 201

IndustryJuly 27, 2021

S. Korea, ASEAN to upgrade their FTA

South Korea's trade ministry said Tuesday it has launched talks with ASEAN to update their free trade agreement (FTA) and further lower trade barriers, as the country seeks to diversify its trade portfolio and expand its presence in Southeast Asia. Officials from the two held a virtual meeting to discuss ways to expand their bilateral economic ties, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Asia's No. 4 economy and ASEAN implemented their FTA in 2007. ASEAN currently stands as

EconomyJuly 27, 2021

Regulator OKs takeover of Doosan Infracore by Hyundai Heavy

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has approved a deal by an affiliate of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH) to buy Doosan Infracore Co., the country's largest construction equipment maker. In February, HHIH inked a deal to acquire a 35 percent stake in Doosan Infracore for 850 billion won ($735 million) from its cash-strapped parent, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. In April, Hyundai Genuine Co., a wholly owned unit of HHIH, took over the parent's stake

EconomyJuly 27, 2021

Seoul stocks post strong opening on earnings hope

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investor sentiment improved over optimism for strong corporate earnings. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23.62 points, or 0.73 percent, to 3,248.57 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks rebounded after the KOSPI closed down nearly 1 percent the previous session on market jitters about China's clampdown on education tech firms and its property market. Local large caps of various sectors continued to report

MarketJuly 27, 2021

Hyundai's Xcient fuel cell trucks to hit the road in California

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday its fleet of 30 Xcient fuel cell trucks will hit roads in California by early 2023, which will be the largest deployment of zero-emission commercial vehicles in the United States. Hyundai Motor said it will team up with public and private partners to deploy 30 Xcient heavy-duty trucks for regional freight distribution in Northern California by the second quarter of 2023. A consortium jointly led by the Center for Transportation and the En

IndustryJuly 27, 2021

S. Korea's economy grows 0.7% in Q2, on track for 4% growth this year

South Korea's economy grew at a solid pace in the second quarter and is on track for a 4 percent expansion this year estimated by the central bank thanks to a strong recovery of domestic demand and robust exports, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday. Gross domestic product increased 0.7 percent on-quarter in the April-June period, after a 1.7 percent expansion in the first quarter. The nation's economy grew 5.9 percent on an annual basis, marking the fastest expansion in a decade. The gro

EconomyJuly 27, 2021

Korean companies jump onto NFT bandwagon

A growing number of South Korean companies are rushing to join the fledgling digital blockchain market based on nonfungible tokens, as artists, museums and diverse digital asset holders are exploring the potential of the new segment. 　 An NFT, a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, is gaining popularity as a way for people and companies to use the blockchain technology to buy and sell the ownership of digital assets, ranging from works of art to games and videos. Korean companies with a

TechnologyJuly 26, 2021

Emart in talks to take full control over Starbucks Korea

Retail giant Shinsegae Group’s affiliate Emart, which holds a 50 percent stake in Starbucks Korea, is in talks to buy the remaining 50 percent held by the headquarters of the global coffee chain, the company said Monday. Shinsegae’s hypermarket chain unit Emart is reportedly seeking to raise its stake in the Korean unit of Starbucks from the current 50 percent to 70 percent while Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC will buy a 30 percent stake. While revealing the ongoin

MarketJuly 26, 2021

Seoul stocks sink almost 1% on virus woes, China risk

South Korean stocks retreated nearly 1 percent Monday as investors remain cautious about the local resurgence of the new coronavirus and uncertainties from China's clampdown on tech firms. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 29.47 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 3,224.95 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 813 million shares worth some 12 trillion won ($10.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 662 to 212.

MarketJuly 26, 2021

Celltrion pushes for COVID-19 treatment against delta variant

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion has submitted for global review the results of an animal study which it said suggested the efficacy of its COVID-19 treatment Regkirona against the delta variant, the firm said Monday. It also added that its US partner tasked with developing an inhaled version of the monoclonal antibody treatment also known as CT-P59 or regdanvimab has secured a $7 million funding from the US Army Medical Research & Development Command. According to the compan

TechnologyJuly 26, 2021

Krafton aims to expand globally via W4.31tr IPO

Krafton, the South Korean game maker behind global smash hit PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, said Monday that it looks to expand its foothold in the global market through its market debut on the nation’s main board Kospi early next month. “Our goal is to attain a leadership position preemptively in high-growth emerging markets such as India and the Middle East. Krafton’s strategy (for the goal) is expanding content to nongaming media and platforms by utilizing our intelle

MarketJuly 26, 2021

AfreecaTV sees operating profit jump 97% in Q2

AfreecaTV’s operating profit in the second quarter surged 97 percent on-year to 21.5 billion won ($18.6 million), the company announced Monday. The revenue of South Korea’s biggest livestreaming platform jumped 44 percent to 65 billion won while net profit shot up 85 percent to 18.9 billion won buoyed by robust advertising sales. “AfreecaTV Ads Manager, the firm’s newly launched advertising platform, propelled the strong advertisement sales. The beginning of new sea

IndustryJuly 26, 2021