Sustinvest hands Shinhan with highest ESG rating

South Korean proxy advisory firm Sustinvest on Wednesday said it has given Shinhan Financial Group the highest rating for environmental, social and governance values for the first-half of this year. Sustinvest, which also provides ESG analytics and advisory services here, assesses and rates some 1,000 listed businesses annually on their ESG initiatives. The ESG advisor said its criteria includes whether the firms’ management are eco- and society- friendly and have sustainable corporate g

June 30, 2021

Samsung's kiosk machine available in more countries

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday announced that its kiosk machine is now available in more countries as the tech giant eyes to bolster its self-service machine business amid the pandemic-induced contactless trend. Samsung Kiosk is now launched in 12 countries worldwide, including the United States, Britain, Spain, Australia and Singapore. Its kiosk machine was first unveiled in February in South Korea. The kiosk with a 24-inch touch-screen display is powered by Samsung's system on chip (So

June 30, 2021

Manufacturing sentiment improves for Q3 on economic recovery

A majority of South Korean manufacturers expect their business conditions to improve in the third quarter from three months earlier on a global economic recovery, a poll showed Wednesday. A survey of about 2,400 manufacturing firms put the business sentiment index (BSI) at 103 for the July-September period, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said. The figure is up 4 points from the current quarter and marks the first time in about seven years that the reading has stayed above th

June 30, 2021

QLED, OLED TV shipments to reach record highs in 2021: report

QLED and OLED TV shipments are projected to reach record highs this year, a report showed Wednesday, boding well for the South Korean TV makers that lead the premium TV market. The annual shipment of QLED TVs for 2021 is expected to reach 11.02 million units, up 22.4 percent from a year earlier, while that of OLED TVs is estimated to be 7.1 million units, up 80 percent from a year ago, according to market researcher TrendForce. "Continued price hikes of TV panels, as well as a simultaneou

June 30, 2021

SK REITs gears up for IPO

SK Inc. said Wednesday that its board had approved an initial public offering of its wholly-owned subsidiary SK REITs in the second half. This opens doors to SK REITs' plan to raise 231.2 billion won ($204.3 million) from the IPO, or 5,000 won apiece, as suggested in the prospectus earlier this month. Korea Investment & Securities, Samsung Securities and SK Securities will be underwriters of the IPO. SK REITs will start trading on the Korea Exchange‘s main board Kospi, followin

June 30, 2021

S. Korea accounts for one-third of global EV battery market in Jan.-May

Three South Korean electric vehicle (EV) battery makers accounted for a third of the global market in the first five months of the year, but their share has slightly slipped since last year in the face of toughening competition with Chinese rivals, a market research firm said Wednesday. The trio -- LG Energy Solution Ltd., Samsung SDI Co. and SK Innovation Co. -- supplied a combined 88.4 gigawatt-hour (GWh) equivalents of EV batteries in the January-May period, up from 33.6 GWh a year earlier,

June 30, 2021

Cars, chemicals among major winners of S. Korea-EU FTA: KITA

South Korea has been enjoying robust exports of automobiles and chemical products to the European Union over the past 10 years on the back of its free trade agreement (FTA) with the world's single largest economic bloc, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of automobiles came to $8.4 billion in 2019, which doubled from $3.3 billion tallied in 2010, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association. South Korea became the first Asian country to implement an FTA wi

June 30, 2021

Samsung, Deutsche Telekom to develop eco-friendly 5G smartphone

Samsung Electronics Co. has signed a partnership with Germany's telecom giant Deutsche Telekom AG to develop an environment-friendly 5G smartphone, company officials said Wednesday. Their strategic partnership for sustainability was signed during the Mobile World Congress 2021, according to officials. The deal includes collaboration in developing a "green smartphone" that is easy to repair and equipped with a removable battery. It is expected to be released by end-2022. The two sides

June 30, 2021

BOK, KDB to extend purchase of subprime corporate bonds until year-end

The Bank of Korea (BOK) and state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) will extend their purchasing of corporate bonds, including low-rated debts, and commercial papers to further stabilize bond markets until the end of this year, the central bank said Wednesday. In May last year, the BOK approved an 8 trillion-won ($6.64 billion) loan to a special purpose vehicle, which was set up by the KDB, to buy subprime corporate bonds and commercial papers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The vehicle had been sc

June 30, 2021

LG Electronics to launch Mini LED TVs this week

LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday its Mini LED TVs will hit the shelves this week as the South Korean tech giant eyes to expand its presence in the premium TV market. Starting with North America, LG's QNED Mini LED TVs will be available in major markets, including Europe, South Korea and Japan. Its first Mini LED TV comes in 65-, 75- and 86-inch sizes in 4K and 8K resolutions. In South Korea, four QNED Mini LED TV models will be sold with prices ranging from 5.09 million won ($4,500) to 16.8 mi

June 30, 2021

S. Korea to launch annual meetings with Fitch this week

South Korea will begin its annual consultation meetings with global rating agency Fitch Ratings this week over the country's economic conditions, Seoul's finance ministry said Wednesday. The government will hold online meetings with the agency from Wednesday to July 8 to discuss the country's economic situations and its growth outlook. Fitch will hold a series of meetings with officials from the finance ministry, the Bank of Korea, the Ministry of Unification and other institutions. Finance M

June 30, 2021

New home permits climb 20% in Jan.-May

New home permits in South Korea swelled nearly 20 percent in the first five months of the year amid rising housing prices, the government said Wednesday. Construction permits issued for new homes stood at 186,743 units in the January-May period, up 19.9 percent from a year ago, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. New construction permits in the South Korean capital of Seoul spiked 39.6 percent to 30,915 over the cited period. New home permits issued in the capital

June 30, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on US stock gains, following a US drugmaker's announcement that its vaccine turned out effective against the spreading virus variant. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 11.25 points, or 0.34 percent, to trade at 3,297.93 points as of 9:15 a.m. The Kospi got off to a bullish start, taking a cue from Moderna's announcement that its COVID-19 vaccine produced protective antibodies against the highly contagious delta variant. Ov

June 30, 2021

Finance minister warns of possible fall in housing prices amid looming rate hike

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Wednesday excessive demand for home buying could ease amid the central bank's move toward monetary tightening and stricter regulations on household lending. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki warned that housing prices could fall if a severe external economic shock occurs at a time when households have maintained high levels of leverage. "An inflow of liquidity into the housing market could slow down as the country is set to implement measures to slow

June 30, 2021

Samsung Electronics top patent holder in S. Korea for 5 years: data

Global tech titan Samsung Electronics Co. has ranked first in the number of patents filed in South Korea over the past five years, data showed Wednesday. Samsung registered 19,588 patents with local authorities between 2016 and June 10 this year, the most among local companies, according to the data from corporate tracker CEO Score. The number accounts for 13.8 percent of a combined 141,752 patents filed by 345 companies out of the country's top 500 firms by sales over the cited period. Samsu

June 30, 2021

Industrial output rebounds in May, retail sales suffer biggest fall in 10 months

South Korea's industrial output bounced back in May, but retail sales fell by the most in 10 months in the latest sign that the recovery of private spending still remains weak amid the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The industrial output inched up 0.1 percent in May from the previous month, rebounding from a 1.2 percent on-month contraction in April, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. From a year earlier, it rose 7.3 percent. The rebound came as production in the public adm

June 30, 2021

Korea launches mRNA vaccine consortium

South Korean biopharmaceutical companies have joined forces to co-develop and co-produce 100 million doses of a homegrown messenger RNA vaccine for COVID-19 next year, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Tuesday. Dubbed the “K-mRNA vaccine consortium,” it will be led by three major firms -- Hanmi Pharmaceutical, GC Pharma and ST Pharm -- and backed by the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association and the Korea Innovative Medicines Consortium, a gr

June 29, 2021

[News Focus] Ruling against Netflix signals impact on digital content market

A high-profile ruling made against Netflix last week by a Seoul court is expected to have repercussions on the Korean market, affecting not only viewers but also domestic and foreign internet companies. The court’s decision confirmed that the streaming service has an obligation to negotiate with mobile carriers over the payment of network usage fees. The legal battle traces back to November 2019, when internet service provider SK Broadband filed a complaint with a local telecommunicatio

June 29, 2021

BTS meets robots in new Hyundai Motor clip

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor on Tuesday released a promotional video featuring K-pop supergroup BTS and robots, as part of efforts to reposition the company as a tech firm leading future technologies. Titled “Welcome to the Family with BTS,” the clip, which is around two and a half minutes long, was uploaded to the carmaker’s official YouTube channel. It seeks to make the field of robotics familiar to young people, by introducing Spot and Atlas of Boston Dy

June 29, 2021

Hanmi announces positive phase 3 clinical trial results of its diabetes drug candidate

Hanmi Pharmaceutical said Tuesday that efpeglenatide, its long-acting diabetes drug candidate, had significantly reduced the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events and kidney disease, quoting the results of phase 3 clinical trials. Sanofi, which has purchased the license for efpeglenatide from Hanmi, presented the results of the global, large-scale clinical trial at the American Diabetes Association’s 81st Scientific Sessions. The phase 3 clinical trial involved 4,076 patient

June 29, 2021