Foreign investors turn to net buyers of S. Korean stocks in April

Foreign investors turned to net buyers of South Korean stocks last month, ending their four-month selling spree, data showed Friday. Foreigners bought a net 672 billion won ($594 million) worth of local stocks in April, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Investors from Saudi Arabia purchased a net 56.8 billion won of stocks last month, while investors from the Cayman Islands sold a net 58.2 billion won of stocks, according to the FSS. As of end-April, local st

May 14, 2021

Export prices up for 5th month in May

South Korea's export prices gained in April, marking the fifth straight monthly gain amid a strong recovery in exports, central bank data showed Friday. The country's export price index, in terms of the local currency, rose 2.2 percent in April from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the fifth consecutive month of an on-month rise. In March, the index rose 3.3 percent on-month. From a year earlier, the index jumped 10.6 perce

May 14, 2021

Global stock markets sink as inflation worries mount

BEIJING (AP) -- Stock markets in London and Tokyo tumbled 2.5% on Thursday and US futures were lower after a jump in American consumer prices fueled worries inflation might drag on an economic recovery. Shanghai, Frankfurt and Hong Kong also declined for a second day, following Wall Street lower. Overnight, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index recorded its biggest one-day drop in three months after US prices, exceeding forecasts, rose in April at their fastest year-on-year pace in 13 year

May 13, 2021

MetaverseSociety announces MarX Project to deliver DeFi-NFT platform

David Doyeon Kim, CEO of MetaverseSociety, has announced the MarX project amid the increasing cryptocurrency and blockchain technology boom. The project aims to remove the unfair intermediate distribution system and build a virtual ecosystem through the DeFi-NFT platform for a direct trade between value generators and value customers. Although there were similar projects before, they failed to create a business ecosystem. MarX Project, on the other hand, began with a basic structure that can u

May 13, 2021

Biotech firms could expand partnerships with US vaccine makers: reports

South Korean biotech and pharmaceutical companies could expand their partnerships with COVID-19 vaccine providers in the US, as an upcoming bilateral summit between leaders of the two countries could serve as a meeting ground, according to local news reports on Thursday. The reports said executive members of Samsung Group and SK Group could meet with Moderna and Novavax to discuss potential contract manufacturing deals, when they visit the US as part of a large-scale delegate that would join P

May 13, 2021

[Behind the Wheel] Porsche Taycan 4S shows what EVs are capable of

After Porsche unveiled its first electrified sports car, the Taycan, in 2019, the automaker faced questions from car enthusiasts. What makes a sports car a sports car? Could a battery-powered car really ever offer the same thrilling ride as a high-performance conventional sports car? But after taking the Porsche Taycan 4S for a 350-kilometer trip in a mountainous region of Gangwon Province, this reporter was impressed. The car not only proved as capable as any sports car that runs on gasoline

May 13, 2021

Samsung shares fall despite Moon’s chip strategy

Market kingpin Samsung Electronics saw its shares retreat over 1 percent for the second day in a row Thursday and dropped below the 80,000-won ($70.83) mark, putting a damper on President Moon Jae-in’s ambitious drive to turn South Korea into a “chip-friendly country.” Shares of Samsung Electronics closed at 78,500 won -- down 1,500 won, or 1.88 percent, from the previous session’s close -- on both foreign and institutional investors’ sell-offs. It started off at

May 13, 2021

Major business leaders to accompany Moon on US summit trip

Leaders of South Korea’s major conglomerates will accompany President Moon Jae-in on his trip to the United States for his first summit with US President Joe Biden, industry sources said Thursday. Unlike previous presidential visits, this one will not include an official business delegation due to safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, the government has reportedly asked select companies in the fields of semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals and batteries to join Moon, as wel

May 13, 2021

S. Korea top shipper HMM sees boom amid global demand surge

While HMM Co., formerly known as Hyundai Merchant Marine, saw its stock value zoom upward amid soaring shipping demands, market responses remained divided on whether the nation’s top shipper can maintain its bullish run throughout the year. The company and its creditors remained hopeful, citing the successful synergy of business strategy and government policy actions, but some observers pointed out that the shipper should take more precautions in expanding ship orders. The company saw i

May 13, 2021

Samsung SDS simplifies freight shipping like online shopping

Samsung SDS on Thursday introduced Cello Square 4.0, a digital logistics platform that makes air and ocean freight shipping as easy as online shopping. According to the IT solutions unit of Samsung Group, the new platform, set for launch in August, is designed to support export activities of small and mid-sized companies who lack experience in large-scale shipping. “When clients export big cargo or a large amount of goods from point A to point Z, they have difficulties in finding the r

May 13, 2021

UN office demands explanation on Korean firms’ alleged link to Xinjiang rights issue

The United Nations on Thursday accused South Korean companies, including Samsung and LG, to have allegedly sourced items from factories in China’s Xinjiang region that has been embroiled in forced labor allegations. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, its special rapporteurs dealing with issues including slavery, torture and human trafficking sent a letter to the Korean government on Wednesday demanding explanations on the case. “We note that the

May 13, 2021

Seoul sets out to protect chip prowess

South Korea on Thursday announced a sweeping set of new government policies aimed at safeguarding and further expanding the country’s prowess in chips, which include the most generous tax credits ever given to chipmakers -- up to 50 percent. The chip manufacturers, led by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, responded to the support package by committing investments of over 510 trillion won ($458.1 billion) in total over the next 10 years. Samsung unveiled plans to spend 171 trillion won on

May 13, 2021

BOK seeks authority to monitor crypto transactions

The Bank of Korea is seeking the authority to monitor cryptocurrency transactions made through users’ real-name bank accounts, a document recently submitted to a lawmaker here by the central bank showed. “We plan to utilize our legal authority over requesting document submittal from financial institutions to monitor the volume of cryptocurrency transactions made through bank accounts,” the document submitted to Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the main opposition People Power Party on W

May 13, 2021

Coupang deliver record-breaking revenue of W4.7tr in Q1

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang posted a record-breaking 4.7 trillion won ($4.2 billion) in revenue during the first quarter of this year as the business continues to grow in size but its operating loss nearly doubled due to an increase in operating and administrative costs. According to the firm’s earnings report, revenue was up 74 percent compared to one year ago, its biggest Q1 sales figure to date. “We ended the quarter with 16 million active customers, a 21 percent year-

May 13, 2021

Samsung heir becomes richest Korean

Lee Jae-yong, the only son of the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, has become the wealthiest entrepreneur in South Korea, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index on Thursday. The index shows a ranking of 500 richest people around the world. The list of the world’s top billionaires, compiled by media firm Bloomberg, showed the junior Lee owns $12.6 billion of assets as of May 12 to take the 170th spot among the 500 richest people. He inherited shares of Samsung Group affiliat

May 13, 2021

FTC gives go ahead for merger deal between V Live and Weverse

The Korea Fair Trade Commission said on Thursday it has approved a merger deal between web portal giant Naver’s streaming platform V Live and Weverse, a fan community platform created by entertainment company HYBE. The decision, which was made last week, comes after the FTC concluded the move is unlikely to reduce competition in the market following a review. Following a greenlight from the regulators, the move will see Weverse Company, a subsidiary of HYBE, take over V Live and Naver wi

May 13, 2021

Real estate fiasco sidelines Moon’s income-led growth drive

Transforming South Korean economy into a fairer and more transparent one was what President Moon Jae-in had in mind when entering office in 2017.  To soothe the public enraged over high-profile corruption involving the former president, his political archrival Park Geun-hye, Moon and his campaigners unveiled a series of economic policies pursuing the income-led and innovation-based growth, painting the rosy picture on mitigating the nation’s widening wealth disparity.  Now wi

May 13, 2021

Real estate investors drift away from Seoul, toward logistics

Real estate investors searching for deals in South Korea were seen shifting their attention away from the capital city of Seoul in the first quarter of 2021 as demand for logistics assets rose, data showed Thursday. Commercial property deals that closed in Seoul during the first quarter with tickets of over $10 million added up to $2.2 billion, down 25.8 percent on-year, while investment in other parts of Korea rose 3 percent to $2.6 billion, according to data from New York-based capital marke

May 13, 2021

Tax agency launches another round of probe into property-related tax evasion

South Korea's tax agency said Thursday it has launched another round of probe into suspected tax evasion by hundreds of people who sought to take profit from speculative or illegal property transactions. The National Tax Service (NTS) said it has cracked down on 289 individuals and entities over alleged tax evasion. It marked the second time that the agency has carried out investigations into property-related tax evasion this year since April. The NTS said it has expanded the scope of the pro

May 13, 2021

Banks' loan delinquency rate inches down in March

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans edged down in March from the previous month, the financial regulator said Thursday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.28 percent at the end of March, down 0.05 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the banks' loan delinquency rate was down 0.11 percentage point. Banks' loan delinquency rate remains stable mainly b

May 13, 2021