S. Korean chipmaker Magnachip to be sold to Chinese PEF for $1.4b

South Korean chipmaker Magnachip Semiconductor Corp. has said it will be sold to a Chinese private equity fund for about $1.4 billion. Magnachip, listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), recently announced that it has signed an agreement with Wise Road Capital Ltd. and its partners to sell its entire shares. "Magnachip's management team and employees are expected to continue in their roles, and the company will remain based in Cheongju, Seoul and Gumi, South Korea," the company

IndustryMarch 29, 2021

Hyundai Construction Equipment wins W250b in orders from China

South Korean construction equipment maker Hyundai Construction Equipment Co. said Monday it has bagged orders worth 250 billion won ($221 million) to provide excavators and loaders to China. The orders, the largest ones since the company began making inroads into China in 1995, include 2,200 pieces of construction equipment, such as 5.5- to 8.5-ton excavators and wheel loaders, the company said. They accounted for about 30 percent of its entire sale of about 7,800 units last year in China. Th

IndustryMarch 29, 2021

Korean shippers, shipbuilders sailing well amid Suez blockage

Shares in South Korea's shipbuilders and shippers have enjoyed decent increases in the past weeks, but this time, they are again on a rising track on expectations for a further climb in freight rates and demand for ships amid the unprecedented blockage at the Suez Canal. HMM Co., South Korea's largest shipper, saw its shares jump 15.96 percent to close at a record high of 34,150 won Friday, though it traded 5.86 percent lower as of 10:50 a.m. Monday in the face of profit-taking. Pan Ocean Co.,

EconomyMarch 29, 2021

Biz sentiment down for April on uncertainties: poll

South Korea's business sentiment slightly fell for April on increased uncertainties in the electronics and auto manufacturing industries, a local think tank said Monday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales reached 106 for next month, down 3.2 points from March, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. But the index for April stayed above 100 for the second straight month after its March reading exceeded 100 for the first time in

EconomyMarch 29, 2021

Galaxy S21 smartphone sales top 1m units in S. Korea

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday that domestic sales of its new flagship smartphone series, the Galaxy S21, surpassed 1 million units last week. The South Korean tech giant said the S21, which was released here on Jan. 29, achieved the milestone 57 days after its launch, about one-month faster than its predecessor the S20. But the pace of S21 sales was slower than the S10, which topped the 1 million mark in 47 days in 2019. Samsung has been introducing new Galaxy S devices in mid-February

TechnologyMarch 29, 2021

[Graphic News] Number of stock accounts tops 40 million

　The number of stock trading accounts in South Korea has risen sharply over the past year to surpass the 40 million mark amid a buying craze by retail investors, industry data showed. 　Active stock accounts in Asia‘s fourth-largest economy numbered 40.07 million as of March 19, up from 35.48 million at the end of last year. 　It marks the first time that the country’s number of active stock accounts has exceeded the 40-million level. 　The number has increased by approximately 1

BusinessMarch 29, 2021

Samsung maintains top spot in Gulf smartphone market in Q4: report

Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its leading position in the smartphone market of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region in the fourth quarter of 2020, a report showed Monday, although its gap with Apple Inc. has narrowed. The smartphone shipments in the Gulf region grew 2.3 percent on-quarter to 4.26 million units in the last three months of 2020, and Samsung accounted for 42 percent of them, according to market tracker International Data Corp. (IDC). Samsung's market share was down from

TechnologyMarch 29, 2021

Seoul stocks open nearly flat amid virus woes

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday amid concerns over rising new coronavirus cases around the world. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.69 points, or 0.02 percent, to 3,040.32 points in the first 15 minutes of trading amid foreign and institutional selling. Investor concerns grew as US COVID-19 cases moved back up, with the third wave of the virus spreading in Europe. New COVID-19 infections topped 126 million over the weekend around the world, with the death tol

MarketMarch 29, 2021

Samsung reclaims No. 1 spot in Feb. smartphone sales: report

Samsung Electronics Co. reclaimed the top spot in global smartphone sales in February, a report showed Monday, after it narrowly beat Apple Inc. on the back of the early release of the Galaxy S21 series. Samsung shipped 24 million units of smartphones for a 23.1 percent market share last month, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics, outpacing Apple which sold 23 million units for a 22.2 percent share. China's Xioami came in third with an 11.5 percent share, followed by Vivo with 10

TechnologyMarch 29, 2021

S. Korea's exports predicted to rise 18.3% in March: poll

South Korea's exports are expected to rise 18.3 percent in March from a year earlier to extend the gains for the fifth consecutive month, led by strong demand for chips and automobiles, a poll showed Monday. Outbound shipments are expected to reach $54.6 billion this month, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was conducted on eight brokerage houses. Imports are estimated to rise 17.8 percent over the period to reach $49.2 billion wo

EconomyMarch 29, 2021

Number of top 10 groups' units soars 17.5% over 5 years

The number of subsidiaries belonging to South Korea's top 10 conglomerates has jumped nearly 18 percent over the past five years to nearly 700, data showed Monday. No. 1 conglomerate Samsung and nine leading business groups had a combined 699 listed and unlisted companies under their wings as of end-December 2020, up 17.5 percent, or 104, from five years earlier, according to the data based on their business reports filed with the Financial Supervisory Service. SK Group and six other conglomer

IndustryMarch 29, 2021

[Herald Interview] IBK Securities eyes bigger opportunity, market trust as SME-specialized investor

IBK Securities, the brokerage arm of the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea, aims to cement its position as a leading medium-sized company by securing 1 trillion won ($886 million) of its own capital and expanding financial flow between SMEs in Korea and investors. CEO Suh Byung-ki, entering his second year this month, said in an interview that its goal of securing 1 trillion won of capital may lead the way for the company to raise its credit rating and its reputation as a trusted company in th

MarketMarch 29, 2021

Corporate direct financing jumps 29% in February

South Korea's corporate direct financing jumped 29 percent in February from the previous month due to a modest rise in bond sales, data showed Monday. Local companies raised a combined 19.9 trillion won (US$17.6 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, up 4.4 trillion won from a month ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Corporate stock sales plunged 64.2 percent on-month to 684.6 billion won, with the value of initial public offerings dipping 43.9 p

EconomyMarch 29, 2021

[News Focus] Seoul mayoral by-election campaign revolves around real estate plans

Real estate development schemes have taken center stage in the ongoing Seoul mayoral race, with candidates churning out a series of plans to woo voters angry about the central government’s strict regulations that have failed to curb soaring housing prices in the capital. Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party said last week that he would lift restructuring and redevelopment regulations within a week if he is elected as Seoul mayor. He also pledged to supply 360,000 housing u

MarketMarch 28, 2021

Hankook Tire builds excellence in high performance tires

Hankook Tire & Technology, the world‘s sixth-largest tiremaker by sales, has spent time and resources in research and development of high performance tires in order to sharpen its competitive edge over global rivals. That investment seems to have paid off, as the firm has landed a series of original equipment tire supply deals for some of the finest cars in the world. According to the Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province-based firm, Hankook’s tires have been chosen for the most advan

MobilityMarch 28, 2021

Are LFP batteries really safer than high-nickel batteries?

Public distrust is running high over the safety of high-nickel lithium-ion batteries after a series of electric vehicle recalls by renowned automakers including Volkswagen, BMW, Renault, General Motors, Ford and Hyundai Motor. Amid growing concerns, lithium iron phosphate batteries -- LFP batteries, which use iron instead of nickel -- have emerged as a safer alternative, though they are less powerful than high-nickel batteries. But despite the widespread belief that high-nickel batteries a

IndustryMarch 28, 2021

Family, business community mourn late Nongshim Group chairman

Local business leaders and mourners paid tribute on Sunday to the founder of Nongshim Group, Shin Choon-ho, who died of chronic illness on Saturday at the age of 92. Shin led the country’s major food conglomerate and leading instant noodle producer for 56 years. The late chairman was born in Ulsan in 1930 and was the younger brother of the late Shin Kyuk-ho, who founded South Korean retail conglomerate Lotte Group. At the funeral altar at Seoul National University Hospital on Sunday

ConsumerMarch 28, 2021

BMW Korea to introduce new cars, service centers to improve customer satisfaction

BMW Group Korea will introduce 10 new cars to local customers this year, including electric vehicles and new Mini models, and will expand its facilities here, adding new service centers, showrooms and expanding its existing logistic center to improve customer satisfaction, the automaker said Sunday. In its first launch this year, the automaker in February rolled out the second-generation BMW 4 Series, to which the brand’s new “design language” has been applied. The renewed

MobilityMarch 28, 2021

[#WeFACE] For Posco, ESG is all part of ‘corporate citizenship’

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews with executives of South Korea’s leading corporations on their response to environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, issues, which have become central factors globally in measuring the sustainability of an investment or business decision. -- Ed.  Handling with the uncertainties and anxiety rising from the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses here and abroad have found themselves swept away by burgeoning ESG calls over th

IndustryMarch 28, 2021

More Koreans inclined to invest in stocks in wake of COVID-19: survey

More South Koreans are becoming inclined to stock investing as they seek to take advantage of a turnaround from the COVID-19 financial market crisis, a survey showed Sunday. Of 1,000 respondents aged between 19 and 59, 67.8 percent said they were interested in investing via stocks, according to a survey conducted in February by Seoul-based market research firm Macromill Embrain Trend Monitor. Among them, 52.7 percent said they had begun to take an interest in stock investing since January 2020

MarketMarch 28, 2021