Celltrion to merge with sales unit to enhance synergy

South Korean pharmaceutical company Celltrion said Thursday it will merge with its sales unit, Celltrion Healthcare, next month to enhance business synergy and operational efficiency. “The boards of both companies have approved the merger proposal,” Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin said during a livestreamed online briefing later in the day. “The merger will be completed by Dec. 28.” According to the company, for every 1 share, Celltrion Healthcare's shareholders will

Aug. 17, 2023

Swapping apples for mangoes: Korea eyes more tropical fruits

Seasonal fruits in South Korea could become vastly different in the following decades, as warmer temperatures will gradually reduce cultivable areas for popular fruit crops here. Apples, grapes and pears could slowly fade into the background, while tropical fruits such as mangoes and passion fruit take center stage. “We may not be able to see the change immediately. But, fruit crops that we will see at discount stores and traditional markets may change in the future. What we call seasonal

Aug. 17, 2023

Fila’s Acushnet posts record quarterly sales on upbeat US sales

South Korean fashion company Fila Holdings Corp. said Thursday its US subsidiary Acushnet posted record sales of 906.01 billion won ($675.42 million) in the April-June period this year, up 9.3 percent from a year ago. Acushnet is a golf equipment and apparel company that owns the leading golf brands including Titleist and Footjoy. Currently, Fila controls about 50 percent of stakes in the company. Fila attributed the company’s record earnings to the boosted demand for Titleist golf balls a

Aug. 17, 2023

Lotte donates $100,000 to Hawaii wildfire victims

South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate Lotte Group said Thursday it made donations worth $100,000 in a bid to help Hawaii cope with the aftereffects of devastating wildfires that recently demolished the island of Maui. Lotte said the donation will be sent to Friends of Hawaii Charities -- a public charity organization founded in 1998 with an aim to support Hawaiian women, children, elderly and community groups with essential life needs. Specifically, the donation will be used to repair t

Aug. 17, 2023

[Photo News] LG’s big push in Europe

LG Electronics said Thursday it will introduce its new built-in kitchen package at this year’s IFA trade show held in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 1-5. With the new built-in kitchens, which boast better energy efficiency and premium style, the tech giant aims to expand its presence in built-in home appliance markets in Europe and North America, which make up more than 70 percent of global sales. (LG Electronics)

Aug. 17, 2023

Kia touts new Sorento’s stylish, bold design

Kia on Thursday highlighted the stylish and bold exterior of the new Sorento, the South Korean automaker’s latest facelifted sport utility vehicle, as it announced the SUV's official launch in the country. “The new Sorento is a facelifted model of Kia’s core model that has received much love and interest worldwide,” said Yoon Mun-hyo, head of Kia’s Next Design Exterior Team 2, at a launch event held at the Grand Walkerhill Hotel's Aston House in eastern Se

Aug. 17, 2023

FSC vows to tackle overheated themed stocks

Kim So-young, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, stressed the agency's commitment to shielding investor trust from volatile themed stocks. “During the second half, we will strengthen our efforts to address the issue of excessive investment concentration in themed stocks,” Kim said during a press conference held at the Central Government Complex in Seoul on Thursday. The FSC's stance on themed stocks follows a recent surge in volatility in Korean seconda

Aug. 17, 2023

[Photo News] New Cayenne

Porsche Korea on Thursday launched the new Cayenne, the latest version of its top-selling sport utility vehicle. Porsche Korea CEO Holger Gerrmann (pictured here) highlighted that the Cayenne has been upgraded in all areas, including a more powerful engine, a brand-new design, new chassis technology and high-tech features. As the best-selling Porsche model in Korea, the Cayenne accounted for 50 percent of the German automaker's total local sales in the first half of the year with 3,112 unit

Aug. 17, 2023

[Photo News] Zero disposables

S-Oil President Ryu Yul joins the “Zero Disposables Challenges,” an environmental initiative launched by Environment Minister Han Hwa-jin in February to reduce the use of disposables in public. A number of key business leaders have participated in the campaign. Ryu named Lotte Data Communication CEO Roh Jun-hyung and Kumho Petrochemical CEO Baek Jong-hoon as the next participants. (S-Oil)

Aug. 17, 2023

Auto exports up 15% in July on strong eco-friendly car sales

South Korea's car exports jumped 15 percent on-year in July on the back of solid global demand for eco-friendly cars, the industry ministry said Thursday. The value of outbound shipments of automobiles came to $5.9 billion last month, compared with $5.14 billion a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It is the highest figure for any July, it added. During the first seven months of 2023, auto exports surged 41 percent on-year to $41.55 billion, and

Aug. 17, 2023

Top container shipper HMM ranks 1st in global ESG rating

HMM Co. said Thursday it has clinched the top spot in a recent environmental, social and corporate governance rating of major shipping firms around the world. South Korea's No. 1 container shipper said it has obtained a "low" grade of 15.4 points in the rating conducted by Sustainalytics, a Dutch ESG and corporate governance research, ratings and analytics company, with the lower the mark, the better the ESG rating. HMM's score is 9.4 points better than the "medium"

Aug. 17, 2023

Seoul shares open lower on Fed minutes

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, as the Federal Reserve's minutes reaffirmed the central bank's push for continued monetary tightening to curb inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 29.08 points, or 1.15 percent, to 2,496.55 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks fell after the minutes from the Fed's July meeting showed that officials still saw a possible resurgence of inflation and the

Aug. 17, 2023

S. Korea to speed up development of AI chip, UAM sectors

South Korea's finance ministry unveiled a set of measures Thursday to pave the way for the growth of the country's artificial intelligence chip and urban air mobility industries in line with efforts to foster new growth engines. Under the plan, the country will speed up the establishment of data centers powered by homegrown AI chips and expand financial support for the development of such semiconductor products by fabless firms, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The mov

Aug. 17, 2023

Import prices up in July on higher oil prices

South Korea's import prices rose in July largely due to the higher price of crude oil, central bank data showed Thursday. The import price index rose 0.4 percent last month from a month earlier, following a 3.9 percent fall tallied in June, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The rise came as the cost of crude oil rose. Import prices are a major factor that determines the path of the country's overall rate of inflation. The Dubai crude price, South Korea's be

Aug. 17, 2023

Korea to add more flights to prepare for China’s travel rush

Korea Airports Corp. said Wednesday it is considering adding some 4,500 flights connecting the nation’s seven provincial airports to cities in China by the end of this year, to better respond to China’s travel rush in the coming months. The state-run airport operator held an emergency meeting earlier in the day to discuss measures regarding the Chinese government’s recent decision to lift a ban on group tours to Korea. "As China’s group travel to Korea resumes for th

Aug. 16, 2023

Samsung’s Taylor fab secures first order from AI startup Groq

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chip maker, has forged a partnership with Groq, a US-based artificial intelligence inference systems provider, securing the first chip order for its semiconductor fab currently in construction in Texas. Groq revealed in a press release on Monday (US time) that it has established ties with Samsung Foundry to be its “next-gen silicon partner,” saying the collaboration will support the company’s growth to consistently “ou

Aug. 16, 2023

STX to spin off shipping unit

South Korean trading company STX announced Wednesday that the company's board has approved a spinoff of its new shipping and logistics firm, which is tentatively named STX Green Logis, ahead of its stock listing next month. STX said its shares will be divided in an 80:20 ratio between STX and STX Green Logis. For every 100 shares, shareholders will receive around 23 shares of STX Green Logics and 77 shares of STX. The price of STX Green Logis shares will be decided after the company makes i

Aug. 16, 2023

Korean won slides amid strong US dollar, China fears

The Korean won declined below 1,340 won against the dollar during trading hours Wednesday, marking a new three-month low and reflecting increased volatility from the US’ stronger-than-expected economy and deflation worries in China, boosting the dollar's safe-haven appeal. The Korean won against the greenback opened at 1,340 won on Wednesday, 9.1 won higher than the previous trading day. Shortly after trading began, it fell back to 1,341 won, the weakest since the 1,343 won seen earli

Aug. 16, 2023

Samsung sells ASML stakes to secure W3tr

Samsung Electronics sold a portion of its stakes in Dutch chip equipment maker ASML and secured 3 trillion won ($2.24 billion) in cash, the company reported in its semi-annual report Monday. In the report, the world’s No. 1 memory chipmaker reported that it held 2.75 million shares in ASML stocks, equivalent to 0.7 percent, at the end of June, down from the 1.6 percent or 6.29 million shares from the end of March this year. In selling its shares, Samsung appears to have secured significant

Aug. 16, 2023

[From the Scene] McDonald's Korea retraces 35-year journey at special book talk

McDonald's Korea on Monday held a special book talk event in Jung-gu, Seoul, to delve into "McDonald's 35 Years of Brand Story in Korea," the two-volume series published last month for the fast food chain's 35th anniversary in Korea. During the event, author Kang Han-ki and McDonald's Korea's Senior Director of Corporate Relations Shim Nari, who spearheaded the development of the book, shed some light on the book's development. “Such a project usuall

Aug. 16, 2023