CJ O Shopping to grow on overseas sales: Nomura

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korean home shopping channel CJ O Shopping Co. will perform stronger next year on increasing overseas sales in China and other nations, investment bank Nomura Group said Thursday.Selecting the TV shopping channel operator as a top pick in the South Korean retail sector, Nomura said CJ O Shopping has secured a solid base to grow overseas, despite some domestic hurdles including fees to be paid to cable television system operators.“We expect a significant decline in

Dec. 13, 2012

Eurozone finally releases rescue funds for Greece

BRUSSELS, (AFP) --Much-needed rescue funds for Athens "will be flowing to Greece as early as next week," the head of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday.Juncker spoke at a news conference after finance ministers of the 17-nation eurozone agreed to release a first 34.3 billion euros of aid to Greece, part of a rescue package held up for months due to worries over economic reform delays.

Dec. 13, 2012

STX mulls sale of stake in shipping unit

South Korean shipbuilding and shipping conglomerate STX said Wednesday that it is considering selling a stake in its key affiliate STX Pan Ocean Co. as part of efforts to improve its financial health.“We are working to improve the group’s overall financial standing through sales of stakes in affiliates,” said an official at the group. Selling a stake in STX Pan Ocean “is one of our options now under consideration.”STX Group has been seeking to sell units or list them on the local stock market as

Dec. 12, 2012

China expected to tighten monetary policy: SC Bank

China will have to tighten its monetary policy toward the end of next year to curb inflation and clean up mounting local government debts, Standard Chartered Bank’s head of research for Korea said Wednesday.Inflation in China, which is currently in the 2-percent range, is expected to rise to an average of 4 percent, or even to 5 percent on a monthly basis, next year, SC Bank economist Oh Suk-tae told reporters.“Beijing will have to do something about the local governments’ sour loans, and will s

Dec. 12, 2012

LG Electronics to launch new LTE phone in Japan

South Korean handset maker LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it plans to roll out a new long-term evolution smartphone in Japan as it moves to strengthen its foothold in the neighboring country.LG Electronics plans to start receiving pre-orders for the “Optimus Life” phone via Japan’s top mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. on Friday and release the LTE device on Dec. 21, the company said in a press release.The 4.5-inch smartphone, available in three colors, is designed for Japanese consumers with l

Dec. 12, 2012

Malaysian oil giant to open R&D centers in Korea

Petronas, the state-run oil and gas company in Malaysia, will open two research and development centers in Korea early next year, an official from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said on Tuesday. “Petronas has an interest in creating partnerships with Korean companies and academies in offshore-related business and its delegation visited Korea today to see local governments to decide where to house its first R&D center in Korea,’’ the official said. The Malaysian oil company also has

Dec. 11, 2012

Big companies brace for limited power supply

Big companies are bracing for a possible limit in the power supply as the government is struggling to increase its power reserves to avoid blackouts.The government issued the “watch” warning across the nation on Tuesday morning as the nation’s power reserve dropped below 4 million kilowatts due to a surge in electricity consumption caused by cold temperatures. It is the fourth-highest level warning after seriousness, vigilance and attention.The companies’ move came after the Ministry of Knowledg

Dec. 11, 2012

Samsung dominates global LTE market

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top smartphone maker, claimed the biggest share in the global market for long-term evolution (LTE) devices for the fifth straight quarter, data showed Tuesday.The company topped the LTE market with a 40 percent share in the third quarter, but its stake slipped from 50.9 percent in the previous quarter amid growing competition, according to the data by research firm Strategy Analytics.Handset makers have been racing to roll out LTE devices betting on the fast-

Dec. 11, 2012

Korea’s trade volume tops $1tr for 2nd year

South Korea’s exports and imports exceeded $1 trillion on Monday, breaching the $1 trillion mark for the second consecutive year, the government said.“The trade volume came to over $1 trillion as of 11:06 this morning,” Kwon Pyung-oh, a spokesman for the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, told reporters.Exports have so far amounted to $512.8 billion with imports coming to about $487.2 billion as of Monday, according to the ministry.The country’s trade volume topped $1 trillion for the first time in

Dec. 10, 2012

Shares almost flat amid U.S. fiscal cliff woes

South Korean stocks closed flat Monday as investors took to the sidelines amid the prolonged concerns on the U.S. fiscal cliff, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished down 0.03 points to 1957.42. Trading volume was light at 361.6 million shares worth 3.6 trillion won ($3.3 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 460 to 364. “Shares trading remained weak as investors took a wait-and-see approach following the protra

Dec. 10, 2012

Manufacturing sector at its worst in three years

Production growth in Korea’s manufacturing sector slowed to near zero, its worst since more than three years ago when the nation was hit hardest by the global financial crisis.Output growth of small and medium-sized companies turned negative for the first time since then. The worldwide economic slowdown, led by the fiscal crisis in the eurozone, discouraged production at Korean SMEs pushing down their plant operation rate to its lowest level in three years. The entire manufacturing sector’s outp

Dec. 9, 2012

Trade in 2013 sees mixed outlook

The export-driven Korean economy is expected to set another record in trade early this week as the nation’s trade volume will reach the $1 trillion mark again this year for the second consecutive year. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy has anticipated the milestone since the start of this month as the nation’s outbound and inbound shipments hit $503.2 billion and $476.4 billion, respectively, as of the end of November. Exports of oil and petrochemical products have led exports this year, contrib

Dec. 9, 2012

Financial firms face bumpy road amid low growth

South Korea’s financial firms are expected to fare poorly next year and possibly for some years to come as the economy is experiencing a low-growth trend with a low-rate policy, the financial regulator said Sunday.The Financial Supervisory Service forecast that financial companies here will likely underperform in 2013, with a substantial number of players to swing losses in the following years should the low-growth and low-rate pattern continue.“The financial sector grew at 6 percent in 2010 and

Dec. 9, 2012

Shares likely to inch up this week

South Korean stocks are likely to edge up this week on hopes that the United States could reach a compromise to avert the fiscal cliff of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts.South Korea’s key stock index, the KOSPI, finished at 1,957.45 on Friday, up 1.27 percent from a week earlier, as a management reshuffle in Samsung Group, South Korea’s biggest family-owned conglomerate, generated optimism and China reaffirmed its stance of stable economic growth.Local investors, in addition, are likely to

Dec. 9, 2012

SKT sees sharp rise in iPhone 5 subscribers

South Korea’s top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. saw the net number of subscribers sharply rise on the first day that Apple Inc.’s iPhone 5 made its debut in Korea, industry data showed Sunday.Apple’s iPhone 5 made its belated debut in South Korea on Friday with SK Telecom Co. and KT Corp., Korea’s two biggest mobile carriers, kicking off the release of the first iPhone that runs on the Long Term Evolution network.SK Telecom lured a net 9,555 subscribers on Friday while its rivals KT Corp. and LG

Dec. 9, 2012

Government likely to cut 2013 growth outlook

The South Korean government is likely to cut its 2013 estimate for economic growth to the 3-percent range as downside risks at home and abroad will weigh on the economy, officials said Sunday.The government earlier forecast that Asia’s fourth-largest economy would grow 4 percent next year, much rosier than outlooks presented by the central bank and private think tanks.“I think that we have to consider the weak growth in the third quarter (in adjusting the growth forecast). The government is taki

Dec. 9, 2012