Korea Airports Corporation close to signing a deal to operate airport in Ecuador

Korea Airports Corporation said Friday that it is close to signing a business deal with the Ecuadorian government to operate Manta Airport. A negotiation team is currently visiting Ecuador for talks to finalize the deal, the corporation said. The deal, which is estimated to be worth 40 billion won ($33.76 million), will see the corporation acquire a 100 percent stake and operate the airport until 2051. A local corporation will be set up to manage and operate the airport’s facilities, in

Nov. 19, 2021

LG Electronics ships out over 10 million OLED TVs since 2013

Market data showed Friday that LG Electronics has shipped out over 10 million of its premium OLED TV shipments since the launch in 2013, doubling from just a year ago amid a rapidly expanding market. The Korean TV maker shipped 899,000 TVs in the third quarter, a sharp rise by 80 percent on-year, and the most in a quarter, according to the data from market analysis company Omdia. LG said it expects this year’s total number of OLED TV shipments to surpass 4 million, double that of last y

Nov. 19, 2021

[Newsmaker] Hite Jinro to see sales boom under ‘living with COVID-19’: analyst

Hite Jinro, the country’s biggest beer and soju maker in terms of market share, is expected to become the “main beneficiary” of the liquor industry as the country shifts back to normal under its “living with COVID-19” scheme, an industry analyst said Friday.  “With the resumption of entertainment facilities operating under the ‘living with COVID-19’ scheme, the recovery of related sectors in the metropolitan area is a sign of upward momentum

Nov. 19, 2021

Carlyle Group fund acquires A Twosome Place coffee chain

Global investment firm Carlyle Group’s buyout fund Carlyle Asia Partners V has inked a deal to acquire 100 percent ownership of South Korea’s No. 2 coffee chain, A Twosome Place, officials said Friday. The final agreement followed negotiations between Carlyle and Hong Kong-based Anchor Equity Partners, which owned the franchise. The exact value of the takeover deal has not been revealed but investment banking sources estimate that it is worth between 700 billion won ($592 million) a

Nov. 19, 2021

Singapore Airlines celebrates first flight for vaccinated travel lane with Korea

Singapore Airlines celebrated the kickoff of the vaccinated travel lane between South Korea and Singapore with Flight 601 during a commemorative ceremony earlier this week. The event was held Tuesday in front of Gate 23 of Incheon International Airport’s Terminal 1. The ceremony was attended by Eric Teo, Singaporean ambassador to Korea; Jeon Hyoung-wook, vice president of the operations division at Incheon International Airport Corporation; Xavier Ho, general manager at Singapore Airline

Nov. 19, 2021

Korean consortium to embark on construction of new airport in Peru

A groundbreaking ceremony will take place on Friday for a new international airport in Cusco, Peru, which will serve as a gateway for visitors to Machu Picchu, the Korea Airports Corporation said Friday. The event will be attended by Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, Peruvian Minister of Transport Juan Francisco Silva, Korea Airports Corporation CEO Son Chang-wan, and officials from South Korea’s Transport Ministry and Hyundai Engineering & Construction. As part of the government-to

Nov. 19, 2021

Seoul stocks rebound on bargain hunting

South Korean stocks snapped their three-day losing streak Friday, as investors sought to buy oversold stocks after the recent fall in the local stocks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23.64 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 2,971.02 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 649 million shares worth some 10.9 trillion won ($9.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 431 to 403. Foreigners bought a net 231 billion

Nov. 19, 2021

FSS asks banks to determine lending rates based on 'best practice'

A senior official of South Korea's financial regulator on Friday urged major banks to determine their lending rates based on "best practice" and make improvements in relevant procedures if necessary. Lee Chan-woo, first senior deputy governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remark in a meeting with officials of eight banks handling credit affairs in Seoul amid growing worries that the recent steep hike in loan rates could add to the financial burden on households

Nov. 19, 2021

98% of Koreans won’t be affected by higher comprehensive real estate tax: ministry

  Most taxpayers will not be subject to the comprehensive real estate holding tax, which was earlier raised to prevent speculative property purchases, the government said Friday in a bid to ease growing public concerns as this year’s payment period approaches.  “Criticism has risen that a large number of ordinary people will be charged with higher rate taxes. As for such exaggerated concerns, I would say bills of comprehensive real estate holding taxes will not be delivere

Nov. 19, 2021

CJ ENM acquires Hollywood studio Endeavor Content for W920b

South Korea's media and entertainment giant CJ ENM said Friday it has acquired a managerial stake in Hollywood studio Endeavor Content in a record 920 billion won ($775 million) deal to strengthen its overseas business. CJ ENM purchased an 80 percent stake in the content production-distribution unit of US sports and entertainment group Endeavor Group Holdings. Endeavor Group will retain the remaining 20 percent stake in Endeavor Content, whose management, including co-CEOs Chris Rice and Graha

Nov. 19, 2021

Philips Foundation donates vehicles for disabled in Korea

Philips Foundation and Philips Korea have provided four special compact cars equipped with wheelchair lifts in collaboration with the Korea Association of Welfare Institutions for Persons with Disabilities, the multinational group said Friday. Philips Korea held a donation ceremony at Kyonam House of Hope, a welfare facility for the disabled located in Gangseo district, Seoul, on Nov. 12. Kim Dong-hee, country leader of Philips Korea and Jung Seok-wang, chairman of the Korea Association of W

Nov. 19, 2021

S. Korea calls for swift negotiations to revise Trump-era steel tariffs

South Korea's top trade official called on the United States on Friday to launch negotiations swiftly to revise the Section 232 tariff rules on Seoul's steel exports. South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo made the request to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai during in a joint committee meeting of the bilateral free trade agreement. It is the first time in 10 years that a US top trade official has visited South Korea. She arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a four-day visit that includes a m

Nov. 19, 2021

S. Korea to lift ban on Boeing 737 Max flights

South Korea decided to lift the flight ban on Boeing 737 Max later this month, the land ministry said Friday, more than two years after its grounding following the crashes involving the same model in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said its flight will be cleared for passage through the territorial sky, landing and takeoff, from Nov. 22. South Korea put a ban on the B737 Max on March 2019, after the one operated by Ethiopian Airlines plunged to the g

Nov. 19, 2021

Air Premia to focus on cargo biz amid pandemic

South Korean budget carrier Air Premia Co. said Friday it has partnered with French air cargo services agent ESG Group to focus on the cargo business to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic. Air Premia opened the Gimpo-Jeju Route in August, one month after it obtained government approval for offering commercial flight services. But it has temporarily halted the Jeju route this month.  "The deal with ESG Group is part of the company's two-track strategy in which the cargo business divisio

Nov. 19, 2021

FSC chief voices concerns over global debt, calls for cooperation to stem crisis

The head of South Korea's financial regulator has called for more vigilance on growing global debt, warning excessive accumulation of debt could spark a global financial crisis, his office said Friday. Koh Seung-beom, chief of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), made the remark on Thursday as he joined a virtual plenary meeting of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), an organization made up of regulators from the Group of 20 countries to discuss cooperation. "There has always been ex

Nov. 19, 2021

Jeju Air to resume flights to Bangkok amid easing entry restrictions

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest budget carrier, said Friday it is resuming flights to Bangkok starting later next month on the back of eased entry curbs in the Southeast Asian country. Jeju Air will operate four flights per week for the Incheon-Bangkok route from Dec. 22, about 18 months after it suspended the route on the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the flight suspension, it has only been running chartered planes to fly South Korean citizens traveling for essential reasons su

Nov. 19, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on bargain hunting

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, as investors sought to buy oversold stocks after the key index's three straight days of losses. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.44 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,959.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech, auto and bio stocks led the market advance. Top cap Samsung Electronics added 0.28 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix increased 1.36 percent, and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics climbed 2.26 percent. Leadi

Nov. 19, 2021

Producer prices up for 12th month in October amid high energy prices

South Korea's producer prices grew for the 12th straight month in October as a rise in oil and energy prices drove up the costs of factory products, central bank data showed Friday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, stood at 112.21 in October, up 0.8 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the 12th consecutive month of a rise. Compared with a year earlier, it also jumped 8.9 percent, the

Nov. 19, 2021

Financial regulator to hold emergency meeting with major banks amid steep rate hikes

South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday that it will convene an emergency meeting this week with officials of major banks to look into how they determine interest rates on lending amid worries over recent steep hikes in borrowing costs. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will hold the meeting on Friday with officials handling credit affairs at eight banks, including Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori and Hana, according to the regulator. A top FSS official will preside over the meeting. The

Nov. 18, 2021

Absence of cryptocurrency funds puts investors in danger: Hashed CEO

An absence of funds that consist of cryptocurrencies has put individual investors in danger, blockchain industry-focused investment firm Hashed founder and CEO Simon Kim said Wednesday. “I believe this current situation of not being able to establish a cryptocurrency fund despite its popularity and high transaction volume is abnormal and contributes to market distortion,” Kim said. Kim added that the cryptocurrency market, whose transaction volume sometimes exceeds that of the

Nov. 18, 2021