Samsung Heavy bags W971b order for 4 LNG carriers

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday it has signed a 971.3 billion-won ($825.2 million) deal to construct four LNG carriers. Under the deal with a shipper in Bermuda, Samsung Heavy will deliver the vessels by December 2024, the company said in a regulatory filing. The price per LNG carrier in the latest deal came to $206 million, the highest since 2015, Samsung Heavy Industries said. With the latest deal, the shipbuilder has won orders worth $11.2 billion so far this year, already surpa

Oct. 25, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on inflation woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday amid concerns about the rising inflation pressure and oil prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 20.1 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,986.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks fell amid foreign and institutional sell-offs, largely in the wake of the Fed's signal that the present high-price pressure may not subside soon. Investor wariness grew as oil prices remained at a record-high level. Most stocks traded l

Oct. 25, 2021

S. Korea to unveil measures to enhance efficacy of lending rules based on repayment capacity

South Korea will unveil measures to curb household debt in a way that "strikes a balance" between toughening lending rules based on borrowers' repayment capability and protecting those in actual need of loans for home rentals, the head of the country's financial regulator said Monday. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is expected to announce a set of measures to tame soaring household debt this week, likely to focus on speeding up implementation of stricter rules on lending base

Oct. 25, 2021

Kakao Pay begins 2-day IPO subscription

Kakao Pay, the mobile payment service arm of Kakao Corp., South Korea's top messenger app, on Monday kicked off a two-day public subscription for its initial public offering (IPO), seen as this year's last high-profile share sale. Kakao Pay has allowed retail investors to subscribe to 4.25 million new common shares to be sold under the IPO slated for Nov. 3, or 25 percent of the total share sale. Kakao Pay has set the IPO price at 90,000 won ($76.5) per share, which will enable the company to

Oct. 25, 2021

[ESG Talk] Overseeing ESG risks in supply chain: procurement with a purpose

In 2022, an area that is likely to strain companies’ transition toward a resilient, sustainable economy is the ESG risks in the supply chain. Companies must now closely monitor issues stemming from climate change, labor rights and health and safety throughout the procurement process. Supply chain due diligence Until recently, the management team’s focus on supply chain and procurement has been primarily on technical quality, cost-effectiveness, speed of delivery and reliability. H

Oct. 24, 2021

[News Focus] Samsung still lost a year after Lee Kun-hee’s death

Monday marks the first anniversary of the death of Lee Kun-hee, the chief of South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung and its flagship unit Samsung Electronics. But the world’s No. 1 producer of smartphone and memory chips still seems to lack a clear direction, with the charismatic leader gone. Amid news about a global “chip war,” or aggressive bets by chipmakers in the US, Taiwan and elsewhere to alter market dynamics for their strategic interest, Samsung is seen to

Oct. 24, 2021

[Market Eye] Record-breaking year expected for banking groups; financial stocks, maybe

Bank stocks in South Korea have long been regarded as an unappealing option for investors, but analysts say it may be their time to shine as the economy makes progress toward normalization and interest rates are no longer at record lows. The country’s big four banking groups -- KB Financial, Hana Financial, Shinhan Financial and Woori Financial -- are expected to see their combined profits grow by double digits in the quarter that ended in September, according to FnGuide, a financial inf

Oct. 24, 2021

[Newsmaker] Authorities to begin looking into data to explain why Nuri launch failed

South Korea’s Science Ministry said Sunday that researchers will begin looking into why the country’s first domestically-built rocket Nuri, or Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle II, failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit in its maiden flight last week.  The Korea Aerospace Research Institute that led the Nuri project will form a task force to examine data from the Oct. 21 test to determine what caused the shorter-than-programmed burning of the rocket’s third engine. 

Oct. 24, 2021

[Battery+] Tesla’s battery shift highlights K-battery’s uncertain future

To take initiative in the premium electric vehicle market, where longer driving ranges serve as the barometer of competitiveness, the South Korean battery trio -- LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On -- in recent years focused on developing more powerful lithium-ion batteries, pushing the limits of nickel ratio to the extreme. However, their unwavering faith in lithium-ion technology is being tested, after market leader Tesla announced on Wednesday that it will use a cheaper, safer alterna

Oct. 24, 2021

Coal briquette consumption projected to hit record low this year

South Korea’s coal briquette consumption is likely to drop below 500,000 tons for the first time this year on lower demand and higher coal prices. According to the Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corp. on Sunday, domestic coal briquette consumption fell to 508,000 tons last year, a 21 percent drop on-year. The consumption of coal briquettes has been continuously falling since 2014. The number dropped from 1.9 million tons in 2013 to 1.6 million tons in 2014. The biggest

Oct. 24, 2021

IPO market growing weak over market volatility

South Korea‘s initial public offering market that hit a record high in the first half has been suffering plunging profit rates since July, market insiders said Sunday. According to Korea Exchange, the country’s stock market operator, stocks of 40 companies sold through public subscriptions saw an average of 27.5 percent in profit from July through Friday. The figure has nearly shed half compared to the 53.8 percent average profit rate of 52 companies’ stocks that went public

Oct. 24, 2021

Bumpy road lies ahead of top bidder to take over SsangYong Motor

A new shareholder group led by South Korea’s electric bus manufacturer Edison Motors has unveiled its capital procurement plan for its proposed acquisition of India-based Mahindra & Mahindra‘s embattled South Korean arm SsangYong Motor. But the plan was later countered by the state-run lender, Korea Development Bank, one of the major creditors of the ailing sports utility vehicle maker, signaling a rocky road ahead of the top bidder. On Friday, KDB said it is “inappropr

Oct. 24, 2021

S. Korea alarmed by surging fuel prices, inflationary pressure

South Korea has been alarmed by rising inflation due to surging fuel prices and is likely to cut taxes on oil and liquefied natural gas by 15 percent and 2 percent, respectively, to ease some upward pressure, sources said Sunday. The government has been reviewing various measures to alleviate inflationary pressure after the nation’s central bank said that producer prices in September saw the largest on-year gain in a decade. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflat

Oct. 24, 2021

Regulator takes action against Nissan, Porsche over false emissions info

SEJONG -- South Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to order Nissan Motor Corp., Porsche AG and their two Korean units to take corrective steps for falsified information over gas emissions of their diesel cars. Nissan Motor, Nissan Korea, Porsche and Porsche Korea are alleged to have stated false information about gas emissions of their diesel vehicles imported for sale in South Korea, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). The KFTC also decided to impose a fin

Oct. 24, 2021

S. Korea's seaport cargo up 8.1% in Q3 amid global rebound

Cargo processed at South Korean seaports advanced 8.1 percent in the third quarter of this year as trade gained traction amid the global economic recovery from the pandemic, the oceans ministry said Sunday. Cargo handled at the country's ports came to 393.03 million tons during the July-September period, up from 363.53 million tons a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Handling of export-import cargo surged 8.6 percent on-year to 338.85 million tons in

Oct. 24, 2021

[Photo News] Eco-friendly vehicles highlighted at DIFA Expo

Marking its 5th anniversary, the Daegu International Future Auto, or DIFA, Expo kicked off on Thursday at EXCO, a convention center in Daegu, where local and global automotive firms show off their technology for eco-friendly vehicles and electric car batteries. Hyundai Motor Group displayed its new electric vehicle IONIC5 along with a model of its E-pit station, which can charge 80 percent of the vehicle’s EV battery capacity within 18 minutes.  The photo above shows NEXO, Hyu

Oct. 23, 2021

[Weekender] How many tumblers do we need? The greenwashing dilemma

For years, Starbucks Korea enjoyed a boost in sales from its seasonal merchandise such as tumblers -- one of the franchise’s more popular items, often seen as an eco-friendly substitute for single-use cups. But when the coffeehouse chain unveiled a new range of Halloween-inspired items on social media earlier this month, the mood appeared to have shifted. “Introducing the Halloween merchandise mysteriously enchanted and kept in a wizard’s secret room,” a tweet from the

Oct. 23, 2021

Kakao Pay’s IPO price set at top end of 90,000 won

South Korean mobile payment app operator Kakao Pay has priced its initial public offering at 90,000 won ($76.60) per share, at the top end of its indicative price range of 60,000-90,000 won, the company said in a regulatory filing Friday. Kakao Pay, a 55:45 joint venture of internet giant Kakao Corp. and China’s Ant Group, wrapped up its book building on Thursday. While institutional investors placed their bids to obtain new shares for the IPO, a total of 1,545 domestic and overseas insti

Oct. 22, 2021

Dear U aims to launch K-pop metaverse platform via IPO

Dear U, a company under S.M. Entertainment that provides a platform service connecting K-pop stars and their fans, is looking to launch a metaverse platform with funds to be raised through its initial public offering. “We are looking forward to establishing a solid foothold as the No. 1 global communication platform provider through listing on the country’s secondary Kosdaq market. We are planning on expanding our services such as a metaverse platform,” Dear U Vice President L

Oct. 22, 2021

Edison Motors seeks to borrow W700b from KDB for SsangYong acquisition

Edison Motors will ask for a loan of some 700 billion to 800 billion won ($596 million-$681 million) from Korea Development Bank to acquire the troubled SsangYong Motor, its chief executive officer said Friday. The electric bus maker-led consortium looks set to be chosen as the preferred bidder for the debt-ridden SsangYong, after a bankruptcy court eliminated its strong contender from the competition, citing doubts over its funding capability. Holding an online press conference, Edison Moto

Oct. 22, 2021