Korea’s first virtual reality cafe to open in Gangnam

[THE INVESTOR] The first virtual reality cafe in the country will be set up in Gangnam, a posh shopping and business district in southern Seoul.Named VR Plus Show Room, the cafe will open on July 22. It will be fitted with 102 desktops, four Oculus Rifts, and four HTC Vibes.A private firm called VR Plus will run the cafe, and is expected to offer a range of virtual reality content free of charge for an unspecified period of time.“I hope the first VR cafe will become a venue where users and virtu

July 21, 2016

LG Chem to acquire adhesive business from LG Hausys

[THE INVESTOR] LG Chem, the chemicals and battery-making unit of LG Group, said on July 21 it has decided to acquire the adhesive film business from LG Hausys, a sister firm specialized in construction materials. The purchase price is 80.5 billion won (US$70.70 million) and the final deal will be signed on Aug. 31. LG Chem currently produces some adhesive products that are used to stick polarizers to display panels. With the latest deal, the company said it aims to diversify its business areas i

July 21, 2016

LG joins Samsung to develop foldable smartphone: report

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics, which has struggled to elevate its smartphone sales for years, is said to have recently jumped into developing foldable display possibly to adopt it for its future mobile devices. The Electronic Times reported on July 21 that LG Display, the Korean tech giant’s sister display-making unit, has started its own foldable display development following last year’s setting up of a related task force team. LG Display’s foldable display technologyCiting unnamed sources, the

July 21, 2016

LG Electronics, Display release sustainability reports

[THE INVESTOR] LG Group’s two key affiliates LG Electronics and LG Display released their sustainability reports on July 21.In the latest annual reports, the companies provide the details of their current business operations, on-going and future efforts to reduce greenhouse gasses, and corporate social responsibility activities.LG Electronics said in its press release that the number of executives and employees participating in CSR activities increased from 27,888 in 2005 to 93,659 in 2015 and r

July 21, 2016

Korea to develop world’s first 3-D map for drones

[THE INVESTOR] The Korean government said on July 21 it will develop the world’s first 3-D map exclusively dedicated to flying drones. According to the Ministry of Land and Transportation, the programmed route will be helpful for it to control safety of drones and prevent accidents as they are expected to be widely adopted by diverse areas such as logistics, disaster relief and agriculture in the coming years. A 3-D mapping concept for dronesThe ministry said it will be coming up with a new 3-D

July 21, 2016

LG Chem Q2 net profit jumps 9.3% on petrochemicals sales

[THE INVESTOR] LG Chem, the battery and chemicals unit of LG Group, said on July 21 its net profit soared 9.3 percent in the second quarter largely due to improved petrochemicals margins on falling oil prices. Net income came in at 386 billion won (US$338 million) on a consolidated basis in the April-June period, compared with a profit of 353 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Operating income advanced 9.3 percent on-year to reach 616 billion won, while sales gai

July 21, 2016

Telecom firms expected to post strong Q2 earnings

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s three largest network operators are expected to post relatively strong earnings for the April-June period thanks to their reduced marketing costs, according to market research firm FnGuide on July 21.The combined revenues of the three companies -- KT, SK Telecom and LG Uplus -- are expected to come in at 12.6 trillion won (US$11 billion) on average.The sales figure increased 2.3 percent from the same period of 2016 and 1.4 percent from the previous quarter.KT, which

July 21, 2016

LG completes Europe HQ relocation to Germany

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean tech giant LG Electronics has recently completed the relocation of its European headquarters from London to Germany’s Eschborn, an official from the tech firm said. “LG has already completed the relocation process of the European head office to Germany,” Cho Joong-kwon, an LG Electronics spokesperson, said, denying recent news reports that the company is moving its Europe headquarters out of London in the wake of "Brexit."“Related discussions were underway before the

July 21, 2016

Growing signage market boon for Samsung, LG

[THE INVESTOR] The growing global digital signage market is becoming a new battlefield for Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, each vying to gain the upper hand.The shipment volume of digital signage displays in the global market is forecast to grow from 4.4 million in 2015 to 7.7 million units by the year of 2020, according to a recent report by market research firm IHS.The signage market will grow 8.3 percent per year on average, the market researcher forecast. Samsung E

July 20, 2016

China to review safety of Samsung, LG batteries

[THE INVESTOR] The Chinese government has recently decided to review the safety of nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide batteries, or NMC, that are produced by leading battery-makers like Samsung SDI and LG Chem. Industry watchers say it is highly likely that the decision is politically motivated to offer benefits to China’s less experienced battery-makers that are still focusing on lithium-ion-phosphate batteries, or LFP.The NCM manufacturing improves battery life and performance but requires more adv

July 20, 2016

LG to see W4tr in automotive parts sales by 2018

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics, which is making a big push on automotive parts business, is forecast to increase the sales to about 4 trillion won (US$3.5 billion) in the next two years, according to analyst estimates on July 20. The company’s auto parts business division is expected to post more than 600 billion won in sales in the second quarter. Last year’s sales reached 1.8 trillion won. A see-through image of GM’s upcoming full-electric Bolt. LG Electronics will supply 11 key parts, includin

July 20, 2016

[INTERVIEW] LINE eyes B2B, smart portals as post-IPO strategies

[THE INVESTOR] The much-publicized initial public offering of Line Corp. -- the world‘s seventh-most used messaging app -- has finally happened.Owned by South Korean Internet giant Naver and based in Japan, Line went public on the New York Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange on July 14 and July 15, raising $1.3 billion in the biggest IPO of the year in the local tech sector.But the IPO marks only one of the steps Line has been taking to maximize profit and strengthen its identity as a global

July 20, 2016