[Exclusive] SK Pharmteco’s French CDMO to complete construction of new plant in Q1 2023

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Yposkesi, SK Pharmteco’s French contract development and manufacturing organization specialized in cell and gene therapy, is expecting to complete the construction of its new plant by the end of the first quarter next year, the CDMO’s CEO said Tuesday. “After (the completion of the plant), we will qualify this manufacturing unit and we expect to get the authorization from the French authorities to operate the plant under the (Good Manufacturing Practice) b

Nov. 2, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘Biopharmas in midst of manufacturing revolution’

As biopharmaceutical companies across the globe are undergoing revolutionary changes in bioprocessing, Merck Life Science appears committed to helping Korean companies stay ahead of the game. Meeta Gulyani, head of strategy, business development and sustainability at Merck Life Science, told The Korea Herald last week that the factory of the future features connected, automated and digitized manufacturing. “All of this is to say that we are going to try to increase the speed of manufacturi

Nov. 2, 2022

Jeju kicks off autonomous driving service

South Korea’s Transport Ministry announced Wednesday that it will begin operating an autonomous driving transportation service that can transport tourists and local residents around Jeju Island starting from Thursday. The autonomous driving vehicles will travel two routes. One will travel 16 kilometers back and forth from Jeju International Airport to the road along the coast of Jeju Island passing through Yongduam Rock and Iho Tewoo Beach, and the other will travel 5 kilometers within the

Nov. 2, 2022

Lotte to inject W1tr to expand online grocery business

Lotte Shopping, the e-commerce arm under retail giant Lotte, said Wednesday it plans to inject some 1 trillion won ($705 million) to boost its online grocery business. In partnership with Ocado, UK’s retail solutions provider, the company will adopt the Ocado Smart Platform, which uses artificial intelligence, big data and machine learning technologies to offer fast delivery service of fresh groceries. The platform operates automated fulfillment centers where hundreds of robots sort and pi

Nov. 2, 2022

Korea sees inflation expand on hikes in public utility bills

SEJONG -- South Korea’s consumer price growth, a key indication of inflation, posted a higher figure in October compared to the previous month in the wake of sharp hikes in public utility charges despite decelerated growth in energy prices, state data showed Wednesday. According to Statistics Korea, consumer prices grew 5.7 percent on-year in October. This tied with the figure for August, and was higher than the 5.6 percent recorded in September. Though consumer price growth somewhat dec

Nov. 2, 2022

4 out of 10 CEOs at 500 largest firms from 3 top universities

Four out of 10 chief executive officers at South Korea’s 500 largest companies graduated from the nation’s top three universities -- Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University -- and only 1.7 percent of the CEOs were women. According to a report by corporate data research institute CEO Score, 265 of the 659 CEOs, or 44.6 percent, went to the top three universities, which decreased by 2.5 percentage points from 47.1 percent 10 years ago. Seoul National Universit

Nov. 2, 2022

Chanel raises prices in Korea to 'ensure fairness'

Chanel raised the prices of its handbag, jewelry and clothing products in Korea by 5 to 12 percent on Wednesday, citing global price equity as the primary reason. This is the company’s fourth price hike this year. As per the price increase, the price of Chanel’s Mini Flap Bag rose by 7 percent, from 5.94 million won to 6.37 million won ($4,190 to $4,490), while the price of Chanel’s Classic Large Flap Bag rose by 6 percent, from 13.35 million won to 14.2 million won. Chanel&rsq

Nov. 2, 2022

Seoul stocks open lower on Wall Street losses

Seoul stocks opened lower Wednesday, taking a cue from overnight falls on Wall Street, as the US Federal Reserve is set to hold its interest-setting meeting. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 8.8 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,326.42 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks closed lower as a surprising rebound in US job opening data dashed investors' hopes the central bank may slow down the pace of rate hikes. The S&P500 fell by 0.41 percent, the Dow Jones Index b

Nov. 2, 2022

Celltrion seeks partnership expansion at CPhI Worldwide

FRANKFURT -- Celltrion, a South Korean pharmaceutical giant, is seeking to expand partnerships at this year’s Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients Worldwide, the company said Tuesday. Taking place in major European cities each year, CPhI is one of the largest global pharma industry events in the world that gathers household names and experts. The German city of Frankfurt is holding this year’s event from Tuesday to Thursday. According to Celltrion, the drug maker has set up an in

Nov. 1, 2022

Samsung Biologics emphasizes speed

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Samsung Biologics, a leading South Korean contract development and manufacturing organization, has highlighted its speed in expanding production capacity and bringing clients’ drug products to the market as the company’s competitive edge in the global CDMO industry. “The most prominent differentiator is our speed to the market. We allow our customers to bring their products faster to the market,” said Kevin Sharp, Samsung Biologics’ vice presid

Nov. 1, 2022

Banking giants to inject W95tr to ease liquidity strain

The leaders of South Korea’s five banking giants on Tuesday agreed to provide 95 trillion won ($67 billion) in liquidity by year-end to shore up local financial markets, rocked by a recent credit default, in what many see as a response to the government’s request for the financial groups’ support. Early in October, a state-backed local developer missed a bond payment, freezing bond and short-term money markets in a blow to market expectations for a government guarantee. The gov

Nov. 1, 2022

Posco Int'l signs partnership with Dutch hyperloop firm Hardt

Posco International said Tuesday that it clinched a partnership with Dutch hyperloop technology provider Hardt, with an aim to seek business opportunities in the global market for ultra high-speed, eco-friendly transportation system. Under the agreement, Posco International will work on securing a smooth supply of Posco-manufactured steel materials for hyperloop facilities in Europe, and work further with Hardt on marketing the transportation. It is also considering a minor stake investment in

Nov. 1, 2022

[Herald Interview] Can electric, self-operating machines become the future of agriculture?

South Korea's agricultural sector has faced a labor shortage for decades, with aging farmers and a shrinking population. To keep the rural economy sustainable, one solution might be to deploy autonomous machines that are operated through smart connectivity. Gam Byoung-woo, chief of product development division of Daedong Corporation, said his company, the largest agricultural machine manufacturer in Korea, has been offering solutions to precision farming, calling it AgTech. “If tradit

Nov. 1, 2022

Seoul shares soar nearly 2% on tech, chemical gains ahead of Fed meeting

Seoul shares spiked by nearly 2 percent Tuesday on the back of a sharp rise in tech and chemical stocks ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index surged 41.61 points, or 1.81 percent, to 2,335.22. Trading volume was high at 586.7 billion shares worth 9.3 trillion won ($6.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 709 to 152. Institutional and foreign investors purchased a combined 686

Nov. 1, 2022

Korea’s monthly exports decline for 1st time in 2 years

SEJONG -- South Korea suffered a negative growth in exports for the first time in two years in the wake of sharply contracted demand for semiconductors around the globe and China’s economic slowdown, state data showed Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the nation’s exports posted $52.4 billion in October, falling by 5.7 percent compared to a year earlier. This monthly tally marked the first decline in two years since its outbound shipments fell by 3.9

Nov. 1, 2022

Samsung Electronics marks 53rd anniversary in low-key

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday marked the 53rd anniversary of its foundation in a toned-down event, out of respect for the victims of the recent deadly Itaewon crowd crush. The annual event, held at a convention center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, is typically one of the Korean tech giant’s biggest celebrations. This year in particular, speculation was running high that recently promoted Chairman Lee Jae-yong would unveil concrete plans for his “New Samsung” vision. But the moo

Nov. 1, 2022

Instagram back after 8-hour global-wide service malfunction

Meta-owned social networking service Instagram said Tuesday its software bug, which resulted in a global-scale malfunction and affected random users, was fixed after eight hours. According to a US-based service outage-tracking website Downdetector, reports regarding the malfunction of Instagram soared starting around 10 p.m. Monday in Korea. Reports of the Instagram service malfunction soared from 305 at 9:48 p.m. to 7,300 at 11 p.m. Reported in-app type failures varied, such as suspension of ac

Nov. 1, 2022

Consumer spending likely to weaken like it did after ferry sinking in 2014

South Korea’s consumer spending is expected to weaken further as the nation reels from the crowd surge tragedy in Itaewon that took over 150 lives, similar to over eight years ago after the Sewol ferry sinking that killed over 300 people, mostly teenagers on a school trip. As the economy is already projected to post zero percent growth or shrink in the last quarter of this year amid sluggish exports, some observers say the Itaewon disaster could hasten a recession. In the weeks following t

Nov. 1, 2022

Samsung's W130tr market cap evaporates in 10 months

  Sixteen affiliates of South Korea's No. 1 business conglomerate Samsung have seen a drop in stock market cap by 129.36 trillion won ($90.78 billion) combined during the period of January to October, data showed Tuesday. This means nearly 20 percent of the market cap of the affiliates has evaporated compared to the end of 2021, according to the stock market data compiled by business intelligence Leaders Index. As a result, Samsung's 16 affiliates saw a total market cap of 541.8 trillion wo

Nov. 1, 2022

S. Korea's exports down 5.7% in October, first on-year decline in 2 years

South Korea's exports logged an on-year decline in October for the first time in two years on sluggish global demand amid high inflation and an economic slowdown, the trade ministry said Tuesday. The country also suffered a trade deficit for the seventh consecutive month on high global energy prices, sparking concerns over its growth momentum. Outbound shipments fell 5.7 percent on-year to come to $52.48 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry a

Nov. 1, 2022