Businesses to have access to forex brokers under bill revision

Non-financial entities, including export companies, will be allowed to make transactions through forex aggregators, a service which has until now been limited to financial firms, according to an announcement from the Finance Ministry on Friday. The reform comes as part of the proposed revision to the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, part of the Korean government's effort to make the local forex market meet the "global standards." Under the reform, forex aggregators will provid

Nov. 10, 2023

Celltrion Healthcare wins Brazil's bid to supply Remsima for 3rd year

Celltrion Healthcare, Korean biosimilar giant Celltrion’s sales unit, announced that the company has won the Brazilian Federal Government’s bid to supply biosimilar infliximab Remsima for the third consecutive year. Under its contract with the Brazilian government, Celltrion Healthcare will ship out all 360,000 vials of Remsima during the first half of 2024, the company said. Celltrion Healthcare is currently the sole infliximab provider for the Brazilian government, whose supply of

Nov. 10, 2023

National Assembly hosts first forum on online liquor sales

Korea's National Assembly on Friday took a significant step in addressing the evolving landscape of liquor sales with its inaugural "National Assembly Discussion Forum on Invigorating e-Commerce for Liquor." Hosted by Rep. Choi Seung-Jae of the People Power Party and organized by the Asia Pacific International Spirits and Wines Alliance, the event marked the first-ever discussion in the National Assembly on the topic of online liquor sales, attracting attention from both domestic

Nov. 10, 2023

HD Hyundai CEO promoted to vice chairman

South Korean shipbuilding and energy conglomerate HD Hyundai promoted Chung Ki-sun, the president and CEO of HD Hyundai, to vice chairman on Friday, as part of a leadership reshuffle that also included promotions for several other executives. Chung Ki-sun's tenure as president was marked by his role in steering the company through economic downturns over the last two years, especially in the shipbuilding sector. He was pivotal in developing ship sales and research initiatives, laying the gr

Nov. 10, 2023

Posco narrowly avoids strike as union accepts wage deal

Posco has avoided the first-ever strike in its 55-year history as its management and union reached an agreement following six months of wage talks. The wage negotiation was concluded as the union voted to accept a tentative agreement made by the two sides on Thursday night. Of 11,245 union members, 10,856 joined the vote, according to Posco. The number of union members who voted in favor of the agreement reached 5,527, accounting for 50.91 percent, while the number of union members who were agai

Nov. 10, 2023

Renault Korea's Busan plant to produce all-electric Polestar 4 from 2025

Renault Korea Motors said Friday it has signed a deal with Swedish carmaker Polestar and China's Geely Holding to produce the all-electric Polestar 4 at its Busan plant from the second half of 2025. Renault Korea has dedicated efforts since 2022 to prepare for the manufacture of high-end mid-size and semi-large electric vehicles. "Kicking off Polestar 4 EV production in Busan is a fresh start for us at Renault Korea Motors, reflecting our pledge to a forward-thinking approach. We'

Nov. 10, 2023

Seoul shares end lower on Fed chief's hawkish comments, Tesla

South Korean stocks finished lower Friday after the US Federal Reserve's chief hinted that interest rates could be raised further and Tesla dropped overnight. The local currency fell against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 17.42 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 2,409.66. Trading volume was slim at 304.12 million shares worth 5.61 trillion won ($4.26 billion). Losers outnumbered gainers 600 to 259. US stocks sagged overnight after Federal Reserve Ch

Nov. 10, 2023

South Korea’s commercial real estate market shrinks in Q3: report

South Korea's commercial real estate market retreated in the third quarter as foreign investments declined due to high pricing, according to a report from market tracker MSCI Real Assets on Thursday. Local commercial real estate transactions in the third quarter stood at $4.6 billion, marking a 34 percent decrease on-year, the report showed. Though South Korea was the top country in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of transaction volume in the previous quarter, it fell to the third-larges

Nov. 10, 2023

Hanlim to debut one-stop real estate service in India

Hanlim Architecture Group, Korea’s comprehensive real estate service company, said Friday that its Indian unit, Hanlim India, inked a partnership deal with India's construction and management company Innovative Construction, as part of its plans to secure a foothold in the country’s burgeoning real estate industry. The agreement was signed earlier this week during an eight-day business trip by Hanlim executives to India’s major cities, including Mumbai and New Delhi. Durin

Nov. 10, 2023

Seoul shares open lower on Fed chief's remark

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday in line with overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 20.68 points, or 0.85 percent, to 2,406.40 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks sagged overnight after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated interest rates may be hiked again if needed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7 percent and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.9 percent. In Seoul, market heavyweights remained weak. Top market cap

Nov. 10, 2023

AI startup Twelve Labs unveils video language AI foundation model Pegasus-1

Twelve Labs, South Korea's generative artificial intelligence (AI) startup, unveiled its video language foundation model Thursday in a bid to take the lead in the hyperscale large language model market. The model, named Pegasus-1, can accurately summarize long videos into a text and have a chat about the video with its users, offering 61 percent higher performance compared with the existing most advanced video language model, according to Twelve Labs. The company said Pegasus-1 has been tra

Nov. 9, 2023

Lotte Chemical swings to Q3 net profit on narrowed losses in basic chemicals division

Lotte Chemical Corp. said Thursday it swung to a net profit in the third quarter from a year earlier due mainly to narrowed losses in the basic chemicals business division. Lotte Chemical shifted to a net profit of 32.77 billion won ($25 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from a net loss of 31.07 billion won in the same period last year, the company said in a statement. "On top of reduced losses in the basic chemicals division, the bottom line was buoyed by increased sales of high-

Nov. 9, 2023

[From the Scene] HD Hyundai Electric eyes W5tr sales target by 2030

ULSAN -- Right below the world’s biggest shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' shipyard in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan, HD Hyundai Electric is gaining momentum in the energy sector with its advanced transformer manufacturing facility. The electrical equipment maker showcased its 500-kilovolt transformer production line on Wednesday, in which an investment of 80 billion won ($61 million) was made in 2020, during a period of declining profits and challenging market cond

Nov. 9, 2023

[KH explains] End of Chinese tourist boom?

South Korea's tourism and retail industries have long been dependent on China's big spenders traveling to the country in tour groups. So when the Chinese government lifted a travel ban on group tours for its nationals in August, expectations were high about a possible surge in Chinese travelers, the biggest spenders among visitors here, after years of pandemic disruptions. After three months, there is little sign of the so-called “Chinese spending boom.” Experts say that ov

Nov. 9, 2023

SPC Samlip partners with Asian supermarket chain H Mart

South Korean confectionery company SPC Samlip said Thursday that it had signed a partnership with H Mart, the largest Asian supermarket chain in North America, as part of efforts to further increase its global presence. H Mart operates some 120 supermarkets in the US, Canada and the UK. In 2022, it posted 4.3 trillion won ($3.28 billion) in sales. Under the partnership, SPC Samlip will increase its supply of confectionery products to be distributed through H Mart's extensive sales network.

Nov. 9, 2023

Seoul shares end higher on institutional, foreign buying

South Korean ended slightly higher Thursday as foreign investors and institutions snapped up shares following a two-day losing streak. The local currency rose against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 5.46 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 2,427.08. Trading volume was moderate at 388.8 million shares worth 7.13 trillion won ($5.44 billion). Losers, however, outnumbered gainers 444 to 432. The Kospi remained in negative terrain in the morning session with mixe

Nov. 9, 2023

[Photo News] Samsung chief at pacific islands forum

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong (far right) poses with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown (center) and South Korean Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Cho Seung-hwan at the Pacific Islands Forum held on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, Wednesday. The Samsung chief also met with Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka during the event. Lee promoted the tech giant’s corporate social responsibility program and Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo, according

Nov. 9, 2023

KDI slashes 2024 growth to 2.2%

The state-run Korea Development Institute brought down the economic growth forecast for 2024 to 2.2 percent and 1.4 percent in 2023, slashing 0.1 percentage point each from the previous projections made in August, citing slowed growth of private consumption stemming from high rates. The local economy will show a gradual recovery backed by exports next year, yet the pace will be limited due to the slowdown in the domestic consumption growth, following persistently high rates. Korea's gross d

Nov. 9, 2023

Global minimum corporate tax to take effect in Korea next year

Starting from 2024, multinational companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which have overseas factories or subsidiaries, are expected to face increased tax obligations. The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced Thursday that a new law to implement the global minimum corporate tax -- which will require multinational enterprises to adhere to a minimum effective tax rate of 15 percent -- will begin as early as January 2024. Until Dec. 7, the administrative authorities will gather p

Nov. 9, 2023

Kakao CEO apologizes for SM stock manipulation allegations

Kakao CEO Hong Eun-taek apologized Thursday over a recent controversy surrounding alleged stock manipulation in connection with the tech giant’s acquisition of K-pop agency SM Entertainment. “We apologize for causing concern to Kakao shareholders with the negative news that occurred during the process of taking over SM Entertainment's management rights," the CEO said at the company’s third-quarter earnings conference. “We are faithfully (talking) to the investig

Nov. 9, 2023