Central bank digital currencies, crypto will coexist: experts

Government-backed coins and private cryptocurrencies will coexist for a while, despite rising regulatory walls set by the government to counter virtual coins, experts at a global webinar session said Thursday.　 Noting that cryptocurrencies and digital currencies by governments are “two different animals,” they will coexist for now partly because current cryptocurrencies are not actually solving payment problems. “How many of them (cryptocurrencies) are solving actual paym

EconomyJuly 22, 2021

Hyundai, Kia achieve record Q2 sales from recovering demand

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors under Hyundai Motor Group posted all-time high sales in the second quarter this year amid rapidly recovering demand for cars after the COVID-19 outbreak. In a regulatory filing, Hyundai Motor said it raked in 30.3 trillion won ($26.36 billion) in sales in the second quarter of this year, a 38.7 percent jump from the same period last year. The operating profit reached 1.88 trillion won, increasing 219.5 percent on-year, according to the automaker. It is the first

MobilityJuly 22, 2021

Naver posts all-time high quarterly earnings in Q2

South Korea‘s top internet portal operator Naver reached all-time highs in the second quarter this year, backed by improved performances of the company’s new businesses. According to Naver, the company’s sales in the April-June period reached 1.66 trillion won ($1.44 billion), increasing 30.4 percent from 1.2 trillion won from a year earlier. In the second quarter last year, Naver’s sales totaled around 1.9 trillion won, but 680 billion won of the total sales was from

TechnologyJuly 22, 2021

KakaoBank’s blockbuster IPO draws record-breaking bid

KakaoBank, South Korea’s largest internet-only bank, set a record Thursday in the initial public offering market history here, having attracted keen attention from investors both at home and abroad ahead of its market debut on the country’s main board Kospi next month. The banking arm of mobile giant Kakao wrapped up its book-building process Wednesday. While institutional investors placed their bids to obtain new shares for the IPO, a total of 1,667 domestic and offshore instituti

MarketJuly 22, 2021

Kia Q2 net jumps more than 10-fold on base effect, SUVs

Kia Corp., South Korea's No. 2 carmaker, said Thursday its second-quarter net profit soared more than 10-fold from a year earlier on a low base effect and strong sales of sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Net profit in the April-June period stood at 1.34 trillion won ($1.2 billion), skyrocketing 963.2 percent from a year earlier when its sales slumped amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the automaker said in a regulatory briefing. Operating profit shot up 924.5 percent on-year to 1.5 trillion won in the

IndustryJuly 22, 2021

Merck starts mass production of OLED material for smartphones

Merck, the cutting-edge material developer from Germany, said Thursday the company has started mass production of hole transport materials for organic light-emitting diode displays used in smartphones. Better known as HTM, the material is applied to common layers of OLED panels, and helps improve the efficiency and lifespan of panels, the company said. Merck, which has been supplying the material for Korea’s largest OLED panel maker LG Display for large-size displays, will expand its

TechnologyJuly 22, 2021

Posco Chemical sees operating profits jump 774% in Q2

Posco chemical’s operating profit in the second quarter jumped a whopping 773.9 percent to 35.6 billion won ($30.9 million) on-year, the company announced Thursday. The refractory and secondary battery materials making unit of South Korean steel giant Posco not only logged record quarterly results in operating profit, but also in revenue, enjoying 480 billion won, a 41.1 percent surge in the same period. Posco Chemical is the country’s only firm that manufactures both cathodes

IndustryJuly 22, 2021

Seoul stocks snap 4-day losing streak on earnings hope

South Korean stocks snapped their four-day losing streak Thursday, as hopes for robust second-quarter earnings boosted investor sentiment despite the surge in new virus cases. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 34.3 points, or 1.07 percent, to close at 3,250.21 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 701 million shares worth some 12.8 trillion won ($11.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 537 to 289. Foreigners

MarketJuly 22, 2021

Telcon RF obtains approval for safety test of Humanigen's COVID-19 treatment

Telcon RF Pharmaceutical has received approval to carry out a phase 1 clinical study of Humanigen‘s COVID-19 treatment lenzilumab in South Korea, the company said Thursday. Lenzilumab is a monoclonal antibody drug developed by Humanigen for treating hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Telcon RF and its parent company KPM Tech are responsible for gaining regulatory approval and commercialization authorization of lenzilumab in South Korea and the Philippines, under the licensing transact

TechnologyJuly 22, 2021

[Herald Interview] Group14 CEO eyes batteries of tomorrow

What battery manufacturers want is simple: to make their batteries more powerful. To this end, battery makers are taking various efforts to innovate their recipes, including putting more nickel inside cathodes or silicon in graphite anodes. They also form technological partnerships, and the latest example is the joint venture created by SK Materials and Group14 Technologies. On Monday, SK Materials, SK Group’s industrial gas manufacturing arm, announced its $52 million investment i

TechnologyJuly 22, 2021

Daewoo E&C to strengthen global presence after bumper year

Engineering and construction company Daewoo E&C is aiming at expanding its global footprint by taking part in more overseas projects, the company said, as it hopes to keep their momentum rolling from last year’s successful performance. Earlier this year, the company announced it had secured a contract for multiple projects worth 2.9 trillion won ($2.52 billion) to build the Grand Port of Al Faw in Iraq -- a major state initiative by the Iraqi government with plans to make it a global

IndustryJuly 22, 2021

LG Household & Health Care Q2 net hits record high on robust sales

South Korean household goods and cosmetics maker LG Household & Health Care Ltd. said Thursday its net profit surged to a record high in the second quarter this year, thanks to robust sales of luxury-brand cosmetics in China. In the April-June period, the company's net income expanded 10.6 percent on-year to 226.4 billion won ($196.8 million), the company said in a statement posted on its website. Its operating profit increased 10.7 percent on-year to 335.8 billion won, with sales growing

IndustryJuly 22, 2021

Posco surpasses W2tr in quarterly operating profit for first time

South Korea’s leading steelmaker Posco saw its best-ever performance in the second quarter this year, the company announced Thursday, surpassing the 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) mark in quarterly operating profit for the first time since the company opened up earnings to public in 2006. Posco and its affiliates posted a combined operating profit of 2.2 trillion won in the second quarter this year, achieving a whopping 1,212.2 percent on-year increase. The combined sales stood at 18.3 t

IndustryJuly 22, 2021

Hyundai Motor Q2 net nearly quadruples amid pandemic

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Thursday its second-quarter net profit nearly quadrupled compared with a year earlier on strong demand for its vehicles that offset output disruptions by chip shortages. Net profit for the April-June quarter jumped to 1.52 trillion won ($1.3 billion) from 377.27 billion won in the same period last year, the company said in a statement. "Robust sales of high-end vehicles in the domestic and US markets helped offset sales decline in ot

IndustryJuly 22, 2021

Volkswagen Korea cuts prices for latest SUV

Hoping to see more imported cars running on the streets in South Korea, German carmaker Volkswagen decided to lower the prices for its latest sport utility vehicles, the company said Thursday. Through an online press conference, Volkswagen Korea’s Managing Director Stefan Krapp announced the launch of The New Tiguan and introduced the automaker‘s “democratization” strategy. “We want to be the most accessible, most affordable, premium brand for Korean customers

MobilityJuly 22, 2021

Authorities to tighten grip on unregistered overseas crypto exchanges

South Korea‘s top financial regulator is considering disciplinary measures against overseas cryptocurrency exchanges that are not registered with the nation’s anti-money laundering body, according to the National Assembly‘s National Policy Committee on Thursday. “Business activities carried out by overseas cryptocurrency exchanges targeting local customers without reporting to the Financial Intelligence Unit -- an anti-money laundering unit under the Financial Services C

MarketJuly 22, 2021

Growth of S. Korea's national assets slightly slows in 2020

South Korea's overall wealth grew at a slightly slower pace in 2020 on-year, central bank data showed Thursday, amid the COVID-19 pandemic that took a heavy toll on the nation's economy. The country's national assets came to 17,772.2 trillion won ($15.45 trillion) as of the end of last year, up 6.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the national balance sheet from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The rise marks a slight slowdown from a 6.7 percent on-year increase in 2019. The sluggish growth

EconomyJuly 22, 2021

Baemin Hyundai Card attracts 100,000 users

Baemin Hyundai Card, a food delivery-focused private label credit card product, has attracted over 100,000 users in eight months since the launch in November, card issuer Hyundai Card said Thursday. The cardusers are to redeem reward points in the form of “Baemin points,” which can be used like cash exclusively for food delivery orders through Baemin, South Korea‘s largest food delivery app. Baemin Hyundai Card users have food delivered through the Baemin app an average of 9

MarketJuly 22, 2021

SK Telecom eyes sharing 3G network with rival carrier

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top wireless carrier, is reviewing measures to share its 3G network with a rival carrier amid declining users on the aging service, a company report showed Thursday. The carrier said in its annual sustainability report that it is considering measures to share its 3G network with a "competitor" as a way to offset operating costs amid a declining user base. "Demand for 3G is declining while network operating costs for 3G remain still," its Englis

TechnologyJuly 22, 2021

Nonghyup Bank sells $600m in social bonds

Major South Korean lender Nonghyup Bank said Thursday it has issued $600 million in social bonds to overseas investors to help support the vulnerable. The bank said it has floated $300 million worth of three-year bonds with an annual interest rate of 0.926 percent, with the remaining $300 million maturing in five years and carrying an interest of 1.325 percent. Nonghyup Bank said the lender has been able to reduce the spread by 0.25-0.3 percentage point as it has attracted bids worth $2.2 bill

MarketJuly 22, 2021