Sales of Hyundai cars in U.S. up 30.6% in March

LOS ANGELES (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday that sales of its cars and those of its sister company Kia Motors Corp. showed signs of recovery in the United States last month.Hyundai Motor sold 68,306 vehicles in the United States in March, up 30.6 percent from a month ago. Kia Motors sold 49,125 units in the U.S. last month, up 18.4 percent from a month ago.Still, the two carmakers, the flagship companies of Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth-largest

April 3, 2013

LG Electronics to sponsor LA Dodgers

South Korean electronics giant LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it will sponsor the Los Angeles Dodgers, a U.S. Major League Baseball team, as part of its marketing strategy.The Los Angeles-based club signed South Korean left-handed pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin in December. It is also familiar to South Koreans for being the team that pitcher Park Chan-ho, who retired in November, played for the longest during his MLB career.As part of the sponsorship, LG Electronics plans to set up product showrooms a

April 3, 2013

Hyundai E&C bags $1.89b deal from UAE

Hyundai Engineering & Construction, South Korea’s top builder, said Wednesday that it has clinched a $1.89 billion contract to build facilities in an oil field in the United Arab Emirates.Under the contract with state-owned Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company on Monday, Hyundai E&C will build facilities on two artificial islands to gather and distribute crude oil produced in Sarb oilfield, 120 kilometers northwest of Abu Dhabi.The South Korean builder also said it will build facilities on nearby

April 3, 2013

Moody's says S. Korea's credit remains strong despite military tensions

North Korea's bellicose rhetoric has highlighted geopolitical risks but stopped short of undermining South Korea's credit fundamentals, Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday.It cited defense commitments by the U.S. and optimism over South Korea's new government in terms of economic policy."North Korea's rhetoric highlights long-standing geopolitical event risk which, however, has not had material, adverse affects on market sentiment in Seoul or on South Korea’s economic fundamentals -- this i

April 3, 2013

S. Korea's foreign reserves stay almost flat in March

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves stayed almost flat in March from the previous month as higher investment profits overshadowed the lower dollar conversion value of non-dollar assets, the central bank said Wednesday.The country's foreign reserves reached US$327.41 billion in March, up $10 million from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The FX reserves reached $327.4 billion last month, the first fall in nine months after hitting a record high of $328.91 billion in Jan

April 3, 2013

Korea’s heavy reliance on trade persists

Trade continued to surpass 100 percent of Korea’s gross national income for the third straight year, making the country vulnerable to external macroeconomic factors.Trade in proportion to GNI, the total value of income generated by Korean nationals domestically and abroad, stood at 112.7 percent in 2012, similar to 112.9 percent in 2011, according to data by the Bank of Korea and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.In 2010, the ratio reached over 105 percent.This led to Korea becoming the

April 2, 2013

HR management in low-growth period

Concerns are rising that low global economic growth will persist for a long time. Even if a lengthy trough does not materialize, a robust rebound cannot be expected soon. Under these circumstances, corporate management is under heavy pressure to keep costs in check, raise productivity and secure new growth engines. For Korean companies, where labor productivity is just 49 percent of that of the U.S., these tasks are especially challenging. To succeed, they will need to reshape how they handle th

April 2, 2013

Daewoo International to invest in shale gas

Daewoo International, the nation’s biggest trading company, will make equity investments in shale gas fields overseas from this year, the company said Monday. “The company has secured 200 billion won ($180 million) in funds to buy a stake in unconventional gas fields in the U.S. and Canada,” the company said. The company, an affiliate of POSCO, specializes in exploring and developing resources overseas. The company, however, dismissed as groundless rumors that the company’s lucrative gas project

April 1, 2013

KOMIPO signs MOU with Indonesia for hydropower

Korea Midland Power Co. said it inked a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian government to construct and operate a large-scale hydroelectric power plant with the capacity of 284 megawatts in the Murung Raya region of Kalimantan Island, Indonesia. The Muara Juloi hydropower plant will require a four-year construction period and $400 million project investment. KOMIPO will have operating rights for 30 years after construction of the plant. KOMIPO, one of six power generation subsidiarie

April 1, 2013

Korea’s trade surplus widens to $3.35b in March

South Korea’s trade surplus widened sharply in March from a year earlier as exports inched up while imports dwindled, the government said Monday.The country chalked up a trade surplus of $3.35 billion last month, compared with $2.28 billion a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Exports gained 0.4 percent on-year to $47.49 billion, while imports dropped 2 percent to $44.14 billion. March marked the 14th consecutive month the country’s trade balance stayed in the

April 1, 2013

Korea-Turkey FTA to take effect May 1

The Korea-Turkey Free Trade Agreement will enter into force officially on May 1, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Monday. “Once the FTA takes effect in May, Korea and Turkey will eliminate tariffs on all industrial goods within seven years,” a ministry official said. The trade deal was officially signed on Aug. 1, 2012, but its implementation had been delayed until its approval by Turkey‘s parliament. South Korea’s National Assembly ratified the bilateral FTA late last yea

April 1, 2013

S. Korea's consumer prices grow 1.3 pct on-year in March

South Korea's consumer prices increased at a slower pace in March, keeping its on-year growth in the 1-percent range for the fifth straight month, a government report showed Monday.The country's consumer prices index rose 1.3 percent on-year in March, slowing from a 1.4 percent gain in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. From a month earlier, it dropped 0.2 percent.The on-year figure represents the fifth straight month since November that the price growth has stayed

April 1, 2013

Seoul warns against ‘fiscal cliff’ risk

The Seoul government said its revenue this year will fall about 12 trillion won ($10.8 billion) short of an earlier estimate due to slowing economic growth, and warned that this could lead to a possible “fiscal cliff” situation similar to that of the U.S. in the second half of this year. “Drastic government spending cuts amid a prolonged period of low growth and a weak base for economic recovery could cause the economy to crash in the latter half of this year,” top presidential aide for economic

March 29, 2013