SoCar IPO faces lukewarm response from investors

Amid dampened appetite for initial public offerings, South Korean car-sharing company SoCar is facing lukewarm response from institutional investors, with a growing possibility that it may join this year’s long list of market debut flops. According to industry sources, during the two-day book building period on Thursday and Friday, institutional investors had written their preferred share price below 34,000 won ($26), lower than the price band of 34,000 won-45,000 won suggested by the co

Aug. 7, 2022

Foreigners return, retail investors leave Kospi

Retail investors turned net sellers of South Korean stocks in recent weeks despite foreigners’ buying spree, data showed Sunday, putting the nation’s key stock index in a bear market rally. Overseas investors scooped up a net 4 trillion won ($3.08 billion) on the Kospi market from July 14 to Friday, data from the nation’s sole bourse operator Korea Exchange showed, driving the benchmark index’s slight rebound. The Kospi inched up 1.60 percent to 2,490.80 on Friday compa

Aug. 7, 2022

Exports of Korean instant noodles hit fresh all-time high in H1

South Korea's exports of instant noodles hit a fresh all-time high in the first half on the increasing popularity of Korean pop culture and a rise in demand for home-cooked food amid the pandemic, data showed Sunday. Exports of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, came to $383.4 million in the January-June period, according to the data from the food industry and the Korea Customs Service. The amount was up 19.9 percent from the same period a year earlier when ramyeon exports r

Aug. 7, 2022

KT, Turk Telekom sign deal on K-content, 5G

South Korean telecommunications firm KT and its Turkish counterpart Turk Telekom have signed a strategic partnership to foster collaboration in the field of media content to private fifth-generation network setup and joint investment in startups, KT announced Sunday. This is a follow-up to the nonbinding memorandum of understanding for cooperation between the two companies at the Mobile World Congress in March. According to KT, the new deal will give users of Turk Telekom‘s internet pro

Aug. 7, 2022

S. Korean economy faces heightened downside risks: KDI

The South Korean economy faces increased downside risks due to high inflation and worsening external economic conditions, a state-run think tank said Sunday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is on a mild recovery track, but downside risks are expanding in the manufacturing industry due largely to economic slowdowns in the US and China, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in a monthly economic assessment report. "External conditions have deteriorated as China's economic growth

Aug. 7, 2022

Hyundai, Kia's green car exports top 200,000 for 1st time in H1: data

Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister automaker Kia Corp. saw their combined exports of eco-friendly vehicles exceed 200,000 for the first time in the first half of this year, industry data showed Sunday. During the January-June period, the two giant carmakers in South Korea sold a combined 224,672 electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles overseas, up 30.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA). This represented the first time

Aug. 7, 2022

1 out of 8 mid-aged people borrowed money to tide over pandemic: survey

About one out of eight mid-aged people in South Korea has borrowed money due to economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a survey showed Sunday. According to the survey of 3,923 people by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 12.5 percent of people in their 40s and 11.5 percent of those in their 50s said that they have taken out loans or borrowed from their acquaintances at least once due to economic challenges during the pandemic. The figure was much higher than 3.5

Aug. 7, 2022

Mercedes-Benz Korea apologizes for allegedly selling a submerged car

Mercedes-Benz Korea issued an apology on Friday to a local customer who had accused the automaker of selling submerged cars. The company promised to exchange the vehicle in question. The luxury car brand came under fire on July 24 when the customer posted online that the person bought a submerged car from Mercedes-Benz and that the automaker refused to compensate. The unidentified customer said in the post: “Two weeks ago I bought a Mercedes-Benz GLS for 150 million won ($115,694) and

Aug. 5, 2022

SKIET signs partnership with Vietnam‘s Vingroup to supply EV battery separator

SK IE Technology (SKIET), a material solution provider SK Group, said Friday that it has signed an agreement with Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup to supply electric vehicle battery separators to its EV battery manufacturing affiliate VinES. The two firms clinched a deal on July 26th, when VinES President Pham Thuy Linh and executives visited the SKIET headquarters in Seoul and its factory in North Chungcheong Province, according to the Korean firm. A battery separator is one of

Aug. 5, 2022

Seoul shares up for 3rd day on foreign buying

Seoul shares closed higher for the third consecutive day Friday on continued foreign buying. The South Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 17.69 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 2,490.80. The figure is up 1.6 percent from a week ago. Trading volume was moderate at 400.63 million shares worth 7.4 trillion won ($5.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 595 to 241. Foreigners and institutions bought a combined net 418.5

Aug. 5, 2022

Philip Morris Korea faces business suspension for failed notification of ingredients

SEJONG -- The Ministry of Economy and Finance is considering taking punitive action against Philip Morris Korea for not complying with the government’s request for notification regarding the testing results of a cigarette product. Market insiders say the government might suspend the US tobacco maker’s Korea business for a month, citing an enforcement act on cigarette businesses. Philip Morris Korea, for its part, said on Friday that it would legally respond if the ministry issues a

Aug. 5, 2022

Travelers to S. Korea get higher duty-free allowances

Travelers going to South Korea will be able to bring in duty-free goods worth up to $800, up from $600, as the Korean government seeks to reflect a surge in per capita income and help ramp up sluggish international tourism amid the pandemic. The Finance Ministry said Friday that the easing of customs regulations, which last took place in 2014, includes lifting a separate cap on duty-free liquor to 2 liters from 1 liter currently, but the value cap will remain at the previous $400. The 1-liter l

Aug. 5, 2022

S. Korea’s first lunar orbiter successfully reaches ballistic lunar transfer trajectory

South Korea’s first lunar orbiter Danuri launched into space on Friday morning, and successfully reached the ballistic lunar transfer trajectory, a path that will take it toward the moon, the Ministry of Science and ICT said. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute confirmed from its ground control station that Danuri successfully separated from the projectile and reached the target ballistic lunar transfer orbit, the ministry said. Danuri separated from the SpaceX Falcon rocket at aroun

Aug. 5, 2022

Posco Group sets up advisory committee for AI tech

South Korean steelmaker Posco Group said Friday that it has established an advisory committee for artificial intelligence technology, to initiate an in-depth discussion on the latest technology and map out future business strategies. Comprising 20 academia representatives and industry professionals in the AI sector, the committee is divided into two separate subcommittees. The academia-focused committee and industry-focused committee will each be responsible for sharing the latest AI trends, d

Aug. 5, 2022

DRAM prices fall for 2nd month amid market downturn

DRAM prices went south for the second straight month in August amid flagging demand, data showed Friday, boding ill for the chip industry down the road. The average contract price of 8-gigabit DDR4 DRAMs came to US$2.91 on the spot market Thursday, down 11 percent from $3.27 a month earlier, according to market tracker DRAMeXchange and Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. It was down 18 percent from June 10, when spot prices began hitting the skids, and 20.1 percent fr

Aug. 5, 2022

S. Korea logs current account surplus for 2nd month; surplus shrinks amid mounting import costs

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the second straight month in June, but its amount sharply contracted from a year earlier amid mounting import costs emanating from high energy and commodity prices, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus stood at $5.61 billion in June, accelerating from the previous month's surplus of $3.86 billion, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the second straight month of a sur

Aug. 5, 2022

[Photo News] Red Dot Winner

The GV60, a compact SUV under the Genesis brand, is on display at a special exhibition titled “Light & Wonder” held at Genesis Studio Hanam, Genesis Suji and Genesis House New York. The exhibition presented by Hyundai Motor Group was one of six Red Dot Awards received by the carmaker. The company also won the Red Dot Awards for its CES 2022 exhibition hall design and brand concept store Genesis Suji.

Aug. 4, 2022

Seoul shares end higher on foreign buying

Seoul shares ended on foreign buying on Wednesday. The South Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 11.66 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 2,473.11 points. Trading volume was moderate at 393.27 million shares worth 7.4 trillion won ($5.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 466 to 382. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.6 percent on robust economic data showing the

Aug. 4, 2022

[Photo News] Measures on way

A staffer reorganizes frozen food products at Hanaro Mart in Yangjae, southern Seoul, Thursday. To combat inflation ahead of the Chuseok fall harvest holiday next month, the government said it is mulling ways to increase the supply of key food products and to provide special financial support to small businesses. Consumer prices soared 6.3 percent on-year in July, the fastest rise in 24 years.

Aug. 4, 2022

Samsung to supply 5G equipment to India’s Airtel

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it has inked a deal to supply 5G network equipment to India’s telecom giant Bharti Airtel, its first 5G equipment deal made in the world’s second-largest telecom market. According to the South Korean tech giant, Airtel, India’s No. 2 telecom carrier and the No. 4 globally with 490 million subscribers, on Wednesday selected Samsung as one of its equipment partners ahead of its planned launch of 5G network services this month. Under the deal,

Aug. 4, 2022