Seoul stocks open lower on auto losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday on losses by auto-related shares in the wake of a paused partnership between South Korean carmaker Kia Corp. and US tech behemoth Apple Inc. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 20.01 points, or 0.64 percent, to 3,100.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading amid strong foreign selling. Auto shares dipped following reports that Apple recently paused its partnership discussions with Kia. The US tech giant has been reportedly in talks with mul

Feb. 8, 2021

Hyundai, Kia say not in talks with Apple on EV car project

Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. said Monday they are not in talks with Apple Inc. over an electric car manufacturing project in response to reports of their suspended discussions. In separate regulatory filings, Hyundai and Kia, which together form the world's fifth-biggest carmaker by sales, said they are "not in talks with Apple over developing an autonomous vehicle." The carmakers said they are considering forming a partnership with foreign companies in regard to self-dr

Feb. 8, 2021

Retail investors bet big on Samsung Electronics without return

South Korean retail investors have bet big on global tech giant Samsung Electronics this year, but their investments have failed to pay off due to a recent pullback in its share price, data showed Monday. Local individual investors have purchased a net 13.4 trillion won ($11.9 billion) worth of shares of the world's leading smartphone and memory chip maker this year, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. The amount accounted for far more than half of retail investors 23.6 trillion won

Feb. 8, 2021

S. Korea's kimchi exports hit record high in 2020

South Korea's exports of kimchi reached a new all-time high in 2020 thanks to its popularity amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Overseas shipments of kimchi came to $144.51 million last year, up 37.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. The amount breaks the previous yearly record of $106.61 million registered in 2012. Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish normally made of fermented cabbage, salt and hot pep

Feb. 8, 2021

Foreign investors remain net sellers of local stocks in January

Foreign investors remained net sellers of South Korean stocks last month, extending their selling spree for a second consecutive month, data showed Monday. Foreigners sold a net 2.65 trillion won ($2.35 billion) worth of local stocks in January, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). American investors sold a net 3.43 trillion won of stocks last month, while Singapore's investors net purchased 1.6 trillion won worth of stocks, according to the FSS. As of end-Janua

Feb. 8, 2021

Samsung seeks Texas tax cut for foundry, claiming $8.9b boost to economy

Samsung Electronics’ plans to build semiconductor foundry plants in the US could yield $8.9 billion in the local economy, according to analysis by Impact DataSource, quoted in Samsung Electronics’ letter of intent to the Texas authorities. According to industry sources, Samsung Electronics sees the high tax rates in Texas as an obstacle to its plans for larger business in Austin, and is reviewing alternatives such as New York, Arizona and Korea for is future investment. An official

Feb. 7, 2021

[Herald Interview] ‘Stock investment: A lifelong game’

In his early 30s, Kim Dong-joo felt no need to make more money a few years after selling his own social commerce startup to the nation’s top mobile messenger operator Kakao. The 2011 sale carried out in exchange for a huge stock option turned him into a man of fortune when Kakao made a backdoor listing after merging with then Kosdaq-listed internet portal Daum Communications in 2014. But something was missing, he said. “I lost my motivation to work because my monthly salary was i

Feb. 7, 2021

SK Innovation considers arbitration proceedings against Peruvian government

SK Innovation said Sunday it is considering initiating international arbitration proceedings against the Peruvian government for blocking the company’s exit from Camisea Gas Project in Peru. The South Korean battery-to-petrochemical giant inked a deal with Pluspetrol in September 2019 to sell its 17.6 percent stake in two Camisea gas fields in the Cusco region of Peru to the Argentine firm for $1.05 billion. However, the Peruvian government still hasn’t endorsed the transaction, th

Feb. 7, 2021

LG Chem brand value grows amid pandemic

LG Chem is the only firm among the world’s top seven chemical companies that saw its brand value grow amid the pandemic. According to the Brand Finance Chemicals 25 2021 report, the South Korean chemical giant’s brand value stands at $3.62 billion this year, a 2.9 percent growth on-year, maintaining the fourth position. Compared to $2.42 billion in 2018, LG Chem’s value has grown more than 50 percent just in three years. Meanwhile, the other six companies in the top seven

Feb. 7, 2021

Only 2.5% of South Korean firms utilize AI: report

South Korean companies have become familiar with using mobile devices in their businesses, but only a handful of them are utilizing new information and communication technologies including artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing. According to “2020 Yearbook of Information Society Statistics” released Sunday by the National Information Society Agency, as of December 2019, 58.3 percent of 222,218 private companies with 10 or more employees in Korea used mobile devices i

Feb. 7, 2021

[News Focus] 3 in 5 Koreans question real estate tax hikes

SEJONG -- The Moon Jae-in administration had been active in raising property taxes, claiming that the aggravated tax burden for multiple home-owners would eventually curb apartment prices. But housing prices in Seoul and some other major cities have continued to climb to record-highs. The government still maintains the policy of higher taxation on real estate, while more and more people have become skeptical about it in terms of efficacy. A recent survey suggests a dominant portion of people&

Feb. 7, 2021

K-beauty gains ground despite pandemic as Korea’s cosmetics exports rise 16%

In a positive sign for the Korean beauty industry, South Korea’s cosmetics exports enjoyed a 16.1 percent year-on-year increase last year despite the coronavirus pandemic. Korea’s total cosmetics exports reached $7.57 billion in 2020, the latest data from the Korea Customs Service and the Korea Cosmetic Association revealed on Sunday. The country’s cosmetics exports had enjoyed double-digit growth rates every year since 2012 until the figure dipped to 4.2 percent in 2019. W

Feb. 7, 2021

Private investors’ appetite for high-risk assets continues

South Korean retail investors have continuously injected more funds into high-risk financial products like cryptocurrency and stocks this year on the back of strong market rallies last year and the ongoing ultralow-rate environment, data showed Sunday. Major local lenders saw their demand deposits decline by nearly 10 trillion won ($8.95 billion) from a month earlier in January. The combined amount at Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Woori, KEB Hana and NH banks came to 637.86 trillion won as of end-Januar

Feb. 7, 2021

Shinsegae Department Store logs best Lunar New Year gift sales

Shinsegae Department Store said on Sunday that gifts for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday have logged the company‘s best-ever sales this year, boasting a 51.3 percent year-on-year increase. The figure shows sales generated from Seollal gifts between Jan. 4 and Feb 5. The department store said the jump in sales reflects the growing demand for premium gifts this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic as well as the country’s decision to loosen its anti-bribery rules that cap

Feb. 7, 2021

Banking groups slash dividends despite record-high 2020 profits

Banking groups have posted record-high net profits for fiscal year 2020, but their dividend payouts have been reduced by roughly 6 percentage points upon advice from the country’s regulator, industry data released as of Sunday showed. Four out of five major banking groups here have so far posted or are expected to release record-high annual net-profits last year, buoyed by an increase in loans and the heated stock market. As of Sunday, KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group and Ha

Feb. 7, 2021

[Feature] Why celebrity beauty brands are good business

Launching a beauty brand has become easier than ever, thanks to the growing market and original design manufacturers. And for celebrities who want to capitalize on their fame and branch out into the cosmetics industry, this has been good news. International celebrities including Kylie Jenner and Rihanna have successfully launched their own brands Kylie Cosmetics and Fenty Beauty in recent years while South Korean makeup artist and vlogger Pony – who has over seven million followers on Ins

Feb. 7, 2021

Korean property investors set up US shops to step up game in post-COVID

South Korea‘s outbound real asset investors are looking to set up operations in the United States to get around restrictions in foreign due diligence, deal sourcing and property management, as the coronavirus pandemic has added to uncertainties in the market dynamics. Aside from the need for a breakthrough in cross-border alternative investment, Korean capital moving to property -- one of the fastest-growing sectors in the US -- is seen as preemptively laying the groundwork for a local pr

Feb. 7, 2021

Robust exports partly buffer economic slowdown amid weak domestic demand: KDI

South Korea's domestic demand is faltering amid a flare-up in new coronavirus cases, but the country's improving exports have partially buffered an economic slowdown, a state-run think tank said Sunday. As consumption and employment took a beating amid the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic activity has remained sluggish, led by domestic demand, according to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). "The Korean economy saw its domestic deman

Feb. 7, 2021

S. Korea's exports set to expand up to 12% over Q1: Exim Bank

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea (Exim Bank) said Sunday the country's exports are expected to expand up to 12 percent on-year over the first quarter on strong demand for chips and cars. Outbound shipments over the January-March period are estimated to reach around $145 billion won, according to the estimate provided by the bank. "The economic recovery of major export destinations, including China, the United States and the European Union, is expected to lend a hand to the recove

Feb. 7, 2021

Samsung Electronics rolls out Galaxy A12 at W275,000 in Korea

  　Samsung Electronics will launch the Galaxy A12 phone in South Korea on Tuesday at a price of 275,000 won ($246).   　The Galaxy A12 has four cameras on the back, with a 5,000-milliamp-hour battery designed to last the full day and support 15-watt fast charging.   　The rear quadcamera features a 48-megapixel main camera with live focus function, a 5-megapixel ultrawide-angle lens, a 2-megapixel depth camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The front camera has 8 megapixels. &nb

Feb. 7, 2021