Samsung SDI spends record high of over w810b in battery R&D in 2020

Samsung SDI Co., South Korea's No. 2 battery maker, said Tuesday it spent a record high of 808.3 billion won ($703.2 million) in research and development activities last year to develop advanced battery technologies. Samsung SDI's R&D spending accounted for 7.2 percent of its 2020 sales, according to its annual report. The company has been working on rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles (EV) that cost less, last longer and charge faster to meet growing demand from global automake

IndustryMarch 9, 2021

FSC extends eased liquidity rules for banks amid pandemic

South Korea’s financial regulator said Tuesday it has decided to further ease local lenders’ obligations to pile up liquid assets until September, in a move to encourage them to prop up the real economy reeling from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.  The liquid coverage ratio, or LCR, is the proportion of necessary assets held by financial institutions, which serves as a key indicator for a bank’s financial soundness.  Under the current LCR regulation designed to c

MarketMarch 9, 2021

Samsung aims to boost Bespoke sales to 80% in Korea, expand overseas

Samsung Electronics has an aim to boost its sales of customizable Bespoke products to 80 percent of total consumer electronics sales, the company’s president said Tuesday. During an online press conference held to announce the new Bespoke Home products, Lee Jae-seung, president of Samsung’s consumer electronics business, said the company will expand the Bespoke lineup further both at home and abroad. “The company aims to expand the Bespoke sales to account for 80 percent of

TechnologyMarch 9, 2021

Daewoong’s migraine treatment to enter phase two trial in US

Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s partner company in the US is to begin a phase two study of using botulinum toxin complex injections as a preventive treatment for migraines, according to the South Korean firm Tuesday. AEON Biopharma, a California-based private clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has licensed the ABP-450 injection from Daewoong Pharmaceutical and has exclusive development and distribution rights for ABP-450 in the US, Canada and the European countries. Last year, the US

TechnologyMarch 9, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 4th day on inflation concerns

South Korean stocks slumped for a fourth consecutive session Tuesday amid growing concerns over post-pandemic inflation. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 19.99 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,976.12 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.5 billion shares worth around 18 trillion won ($15.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 570 to 276. Foreigners sold a net 642 billion won, while retail investors pur

MarketMarch 9, 2021

Samsung dominates 2020 foldable smartphone market: report

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest smartphone vendor, was the dominant player in the global foldable smartphone market last year, a report showed Tuesday, with its leading status expected to continue through 2021. For the whole of 2020, Samsung logged an 87 percent share on a unit basis in the global foldable smartphone market that was estimated at 2.2 million units, according to market tracker Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC). "The Z Flip was the No. 1 model with nearl

TechnologyMarch 9, 2021

Two weeks into opening, the Hyundai Seoul makes a splash in sales

Seoul’s newest and biggest department store, the Hyundai Seoul, is enjoying immense popularity, in what industry insiders hope to be a sign of a revival of consumer sentiment amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. According to industry analysts on Tuesday, the shopping mall in the office district of Yeouido, central Seoul, is estimated to have recorded sales of 37.2 billion won ($32.6 million) in its first week of business, since pre-opening on Feb. 24. Some 1.5 million people are esti

ConsumerMarch 9, 2021

Korea's final coal power project faces renewed scrutiny

South Korea’s last coal power project in Gangwon Province is facing renewed scrutiny as civic activists called for a state audit against Korean financial institutions for allegedly overlooking and condoning risk factors in financing the private-led project, dubbed Samcheok Blue Power Plant.  The targets are seven financial companies, including the Korea Development Bank, the Industrial Bank of Korea and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, according to Korea’s civi

MarketMarch 9, 2021

Korea floats W12.9tr ESG bonds in first 2 months

South Korean companies have issued a combined 12.9 trillion won ($11.3 billion) worth of green, social and sustainability bonds from January to February, data showed Tuesday. In the first two months of 2021, social bonds accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total issuance of bonds aligned with ESG factors, followed by green bonds and sustainability bonds -- a hybrid of green and social -- according to data by the Korea Financial Investment Association. In February alone, Korean firms floate

MarketMarch 9, 2021

Inter-family asset inheritances, gifts jump to W113tr

The amount of lineally inherited and gifted assets has reached nearly 113 trillion won ($99 billion), surging about 42 percent in the last five years, according to data compiled by the National Tax Service Tuesday. The report, submitted to Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the ruling Democratic Party, showed that the accumulated amount of inter-family asset inheritances and gifts came in at 112.98 trillion won in 2019. It was up by 33.27 trillion won or 41.8 percent from some 79.68 trillion won marked in

EconomyMarch 9, 2021

Samsung to reclaim No. 1 spot in Q1 smartphone production: report

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to recapture the top spot in global smartphone production in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Tuesday, with the release of its new flagship smartphone. The South Korean tech giant is estimated to produce 62 million smartphones in the January-March period and account for 18.1 percent of global smartphone production, according to market researcher TrendForce. "Moving to the first quarter of 2021, Samsung has released the new lineup of its

TechnologyMarch 9, 2021

Rising US bond yields could pull down asset prices: vice minister

The recent surge in the US Treasury yields, if prolonged, could lead to a decline in asset prices, South Korea’s Vice Finance Minister said Tuesday, saying that the government would keep an eye on market volatilities. “If the US bond yields continue to rise, volatilities including change in asset prices over avoidance of risky investments and an outflow of emerging market capitals could materialize,” Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said during a macroeconomics meeting. &

EconomyMarch 9, 2021

Bond issuance soars in Feb.

Bond issuance in South Korea rose by more than 11 trillion won in February from the previous month due mainly to increased state and corporate debt sales, industry data showed Tuesday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 75.2 trillion won ($65.9 billion) last month, up 11.3 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Sales of government bonds increased by 5.5 trillion won, and the issuance of corporate

MarketMarch 9, 2021

Sluggish job market weighs on S. Korea's economic recovery: KDI

South Korea's economic activity remains stagnant as the country has continued to suffer heavy job losses despite improving consumption and robust exports, a state-run think tank said Tuesday. Revived consumption of durable goods and solid exports have provided some defense against the economic slowdown, according to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). "The Korean economy continues to be sluggish with rapidly contracting employment due to COVID-19

EconomyMarch 9, 2021

S. Korea to revitalize agricultural segment by lifting set of regulations

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to lift a set of regulations in the agricultural sector to harness more state-of-the-art technologies and foster new growth engines for the industry. Under the blueprint, South Korea will establish new smart farming clusters for a wider scope of areas covering livestock, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The country previously focused on adopting the solution for greenhouses. The concept of smart farming centers on the applicat

EconomyMarch 9, 2021

Samsung Heavy bags w794b order for 5 container ships

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday that it has obtained a 794 billion-won ($695 million) order from an Asian company. Under the deal to build five 15,000-twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU) container carriers, Samsung Heavy Industries will deliver the vessels by January 2024, the shipbuilder said. The company said the five vessels will be propelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG). With the latest deal, Samsung Heavy Industries has won orders worth $2.4 billion to build 19 ships in tota

IndustryMarch 9, 2021

Korea Shipbuilding wins w835b orders for 8 ships

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Tuesday that it has signed a combined 835 billion won ($731 million) worth of orders from Liberia, Oceania and Europe to build eight ships. The orders include four container carriers and three liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers, Korea Shipbuilding said. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a unit of Korea Shipbuilding, will build four 15,900-twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU) container carriers and deliver them to buyers from the second half

EconomyMarch 9, 2021

Samsung expands customizable home appliance lineup

Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday said it will expand its lineup of customizable home appliances that allow consumers to better reflect their lifestyles as the South Korean tech giant aims to boost sales amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend. Samsung said its concept of BESPOKE will be applied to all of its home appliance products as it introduced BESPOKE HOME solutions designed to help consumers decorate their entire home space with various customizable products. BESPOKE is a concept

IndustryMarch 9, 2021

January tax revenue up w2.4tr

South Korea's tax revenue rose 2.4 trillion won ($2.1 billion) in January from a year earlier due largely to an increase in the collection of capital gains taxes, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The country collected 38.8 trillion won in taxes in January, compared with 36.5 trillion won the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The rise in tax revenue was mainly attributable to an increase in capital gains tax income from housing transactions and fund investments.

EconomyMarch 9, 2021

[Graphic News] Carmakers’ Feb. sales rise 4.8% on SUVs

　South Korean carmakers’ sales rose 4.8 percent last month from a year earlier helped by strong demand for SUVs amid the COVID-19 pandemic, industry data showed Tuesday. 　The five carmakers in South Korea – Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. – sold a combined 544,823 vehicles in February, up from 520,095 units a year ago, according to data from the companies. 　Their domestic sales jumped 24 percent to 101,356 u

BusinessMarch 9, 2021