Telcon RF obtains approval for safety test of Humanigen's COVID-19 treatment

Telcon RF Pharmaceutical has received approval to carry out a phase 1 clinical study of Humanigen‘s COVID-19 treatment lenzilumab in South Korea, the company said Thursday. Lenzilumab is a monoclonal antibody drug developed by Humanigen for treating hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Telcon RF and its parent company KPM Tech are responsible for gaining regulatory approval and commercialization authorization of lenzilumab in South Korea and the Philippines, under the licensing transact

July 22, 2021

[Herald Interview] Group14 CEO eyes batteries of tomorrow

What battery manufacturers want is simple: to make their batteries more powerful. To this end, battery makers are taking various efforts to innovate their recipes, including putting more nickel inside cathodes or silicon in graphite anodes. They also form technological partnerships, and the latest example is the joint venture created by SK Materials and Group14 Technologies. On Monday, SK Materials, SK Group’s industrial gas manufacturing arm, announced its $52 million investment i

July 22, 2021

Daewoo E&C to strengthen global presence after bumper year

Engineering and construction company Daewoo E&C is aiming at expanding its global footprint by taking part in more overseas projects, the company said, as it hopes to keep their momentum rolling from last year’s successful performance. Earlier this year, the company announced it had secured a contract for multiple projects worth 2.9 trillion won ($2.52 billion) to build the Grand Port of Al Faw in Iraq -- a major state initiative by the Iraqi government with plans to make it a global

July 22, 2021

LG Household & Health Care Q2 net hits record high on robust sales

South Korean household goods and cosmetics maker LG Household & Health Care Ltd. said Thursday its net profit surged to a record high in the second quarter this year, thanks to robust sales of luxury-brand cosmetics in China. In the April-June period, the company's net income expanded 10.6 percent on-year to 226.4 billion won ($196.8 million), the company said in a statement posted on its website. Its operating profit increased 10.7 percent on-year to 335.8 billion won, with sales growing

July 22, 2021

Posco surpasses W2tr in quarterly operating profit for first time

South Korea’s leading steelmaker Posco saw its best-ever performance in the second quarter this year, the company announced Thursday, surpassing the 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) mark in quarterly operating profit for the first time since the company opened up earnings to public in 2006. Posco and its affiliates posted a combined operating profit of 2.2 trillion won in the second quarter this year, achieving a whopping 1,212.2 percent on-year increase. The combined sales stood at 18.3 t

July 22, 2021

Hyundai Motor Q2 net nearly quadruples amid pandemic

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Thursday its second-quarter net profit nearly quadrupled compared with a year earlier on strong demand for its vehicles that offset output disruptions by chip shortages. Net profit for the April-June quarter jumped to 1.52 trillion won ($1.3 billion) from 377.27 billion won in the same period last year, the company said in a statement. "Robust sales of high-end vehicles in the domestic and US markets helped offset sales decline in ot

July 22, 2021

Volkswagen Korea cuts prices for latest SUV

Hoping to see more imported cars running on the streets in South Korea, German carmaker Volkswagen decided to lower the prices for its latest sport utility vehicles, the company said Thursday. Through an online press conference, Volkswagen Korea’s Managing Director Stefan Krapp announced the launch of The New Tiguan and introduced the automaker‘s “democratization” strategy. “We want to be the most accessible, most affordable, premium brand for Korean customers

July 22, 2021

Authorities to tighten grip on unregistered overseas crypto exchanges

South Korea‘s top financial regulator is considering disciplinary measures against overseas cryptocurrency exchanges that are not registered with the nation’s anti-money laundering body, according to the National Assembly‘s National Policy Committee on Thursday. “Business activities carried out by overseas cryptocurrency exchanges targeting local customers without reporting to the Financial Intelligence Unit -- an anti-money laundering unit under the Financial Services C

July 22, 2021

Growth of S. Korea's national assets slightly slows in 2020

South Korea's overall wealth grew at a slightly slower pace in 2020 on-year, central bank data showed Thursday, amid the COVID-19 pandemic that took a heavy toll on the nation's economy. The country's national assets came to 17,772.2 trillion won ($15.45 trillion) as of the end of last year, up 6.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the national balance sheet from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The rise marks a slight slowdown from a 6.7 percent on-year increase in 2019. The sluggish growth

July 22, 2021

Baemin Hyundai Card attracts 100,000 users

Baemin Hyundai Card, a food delivery-focused private label credit card product, has attracted over 100,000 users in eight months since the launch in November, card issuer Hyundai Card said Thursday. The cardusers are to redeem reward points in the form of “Baemin points,” which can be used like cash exclusively for food delivery orders through Baemin, South Korea‘s largest food delivery app. Baemin Hyundai Card users have food delivered through the Baemin app an average of 9

July 22, 2021

SK Telecom eyes sharing 3G network with rival carrier

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top wireless carrier, is reviewing measures to share its 3G network with a rival carrier amid declining users on the aging service, a company report showed Thursday. The carrier said in its annual sustainability report that it is considering measures to share its 3G network with a "competitor" as a way to offset operating costs amid a declining user base. "Demand for 3G is declining while network operating costs for 3G remain still," its Englis

July 22, 2021

Nonghyup Bank sells $600m in social bonds

Major South Korean lender Nonghyup Bank said Thursday it has issued $600 million in social bonds to overseas investors to help support the vulnerable. The bank said it has floated $300 million worth of three-year bonds with an annual interest rate of 0.926 percent, with the remaining $300 million maturing in five years and carrying an interest of 1.325 percent. Nonghyup Bank said the lender has been able to reduce the spread by 0.25-0.3 percentage point as it has attracted bids worth $2.2 bill

July 22, 2021

S. Korea to offer financial support for semiconductors, batteries, vaccines

SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday the government will provide financial and taxation support for key technologies in semiconductors, batteries and vaccines. Unveiling a list of 65 technologies in the three industrial sectors, Hong said the government will funnel 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) in funds by 2023 to help companies develop such technologies. The government will hike taxation support if companies spend money to build facilities for such technologies, Hong said. Ea

July 22, 2021

Shilla Duty Free setting sights on China

Shilla Duty Free, South Korea's leading duty-free operator, said Thursday it will make inroads into China through a partnership with a Chinese industry player. Shilla Duty Free said it has signed a memorandum of understanding on a strategic partnership with Hainan Tourism Duty Free City based in the southern Chinese island of Hainan. Established as a subsidiary of Hainan Tourism Investment Development Co. last year, the 95,000-square-meter Hainan Tourism Duty Free City is deemed as a must-go s

July 22, 2021

Regulator extends deadline for Yogiyo sale until early next year

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Thursday it extended the deadline for the sale of Delivery Hero's food delivery affiliate here, Yogiyo, until Jan. 2 next year, as the German company is facing difficulty in finding a potential investor. In December last year, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) ordered Delivery Hero to sell Yogiyo, South Korea's No. 2 food delivery app, if it wants to buy the country's top food delivery app operator, Woowa Brothers. Delivery Hero had been required to

July 22, 2021

Hankook Tire supplies tires for Volkswagen's all-electric ID.4 SUV

Hankook Tire & Technology Co., the world's sixth-largest tiremaker by sales, said Thursday it recently began supplying tires for Volkswagen's all-electric ID.4 SUV this year. Hankook Tire has provided the high-performance Ventus S1 evo3 ev tires for the ID.4 model since the second quarter of the year, the company said in a statement. To enhance its global brand image, the tiremaker has provided its OE tire products for 320 kinds of vehicles of nearly 50 foreign carmakers, including Audi, B

July 22, 2021

Fitch keeps S. Korea's credit rating at 'AA-,' outlook stable

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings said Thursday it has maintained South Korea's credit rating at "AA-" with a stable outlook. Fitch's rating for South Korea has been AA-, the fourth-highest level of the agency's sovereign ratings, since 2012. "Korea's rating balances robust external finances, resilient macroeconomic performance and modest fiscal headroom against geopolitical risks related to North Korea and medium-term structural challenges from an ageing population. The str

July 22, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on earnings hope

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday as hopes for robust corporate earnings in the second quarter boosted investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 26.74 points, or 0.83 percent, to 3,242.65 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks rebounded after the Kospi retreated 2.14 percent in the past four sessions amid the fourth wave of the new coronavirus in the country. Tech, financial and auto gains led the KOSPI's hike, while bio slumped. Market

July 22, 2021

Naver's Q2 net jumps nearly 6 times on surge in pandemic-driven fintech, commerce business

South Korea's top internet portal operator Naver Corp. said Thursday its net profit jumped nearly six times in the second quarter from a year earlier largely due to a stellar performance of its fintech and commerce businesses amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Net profit reached 540.6 billion won ($468.5 million) in the April-June period, compared with a profit of 90.7 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a press release. Operating income reached a quarterly high of 335.6 billion wo

July 22, 2021

SK hynix's acquisition of Intel's NAND biz gets approval from Singapore

Singapore's antitrust watchdog has approved SK hynix Inc.'s deal to acquire Intel's NAND business, the company said Wednesday. Last October, South Korea's No. 2 chipmaker signed a deal to buy Intel's non-volatile business for $9 billion, which includes the U.S. firm's solid state drive business and a NAND flash chip plant in Dalian, China. Following the deal, SK hynix had to obtain approval from antitrust regulators in major countries. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore clea

July 21, 2021