Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen

The top finance policymakers of South Korea, the US and Japan shared their concern on the recent devaluation of the Korean won and the Japanese yen during their first trilateral talks Wednesday. Korea's Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki held three-way talks on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and Group of 20 finance leaders' meetings in Washington. They were the first trilateral talks to

April 18, 2024

CJ Olive Young offers real-time translators for foreign visitors

CJ Olive Young said Thursday it has introduced portable translators supporting 16 languages in its outlets nationwide to enhance the shopping experience for foreign visitors and the work efficiency of its employees. The handheld device supports 16 languages for real-time translation, including English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Russian and Mongolian. In addition, they offer sight translation through an attached camera, allowing users to take a picture and see the translated text on the scre

April 18, 2024

Paris Baguette debuts in the Philippines

SPC Group said Thursday its bakery chain Paris Baguette had launched its first store in the Philippines. The new Paris Baguette branch in Manila features wooden interiors, designed to create a premium European bakery ambiance, and is located on the first floor of the SM Mall of Asia, the largest shopping center in the Philippines, with a total of 90 seats available. In August, SPG Group signed a franchise agreement with a local retailer Berjaya Food Berhad. This deal falls under the so-called &q

April 18, 2024

Hyundai Motor, Toray join hands for material innovation in mobility

Hyundai Motor Group has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Japanese material manufacturer Toray Industries to enhance materials technology for vehicles, officials announced Thursday. Under the partnership, the two sides will work together to develop lightweight and high-strength materials to advance the performance and safety of the Korean automaker’s vehicles. According to Hyundai Motor, the joint research and development will include carbon fiber-reinforced polymer parts that

April 18, 2024

[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs

Traditionally dominated by Japanese manufacturers like Toyota and Honda, the hybrid vehicle sector is now seeing renewed interest from global automakers looking to improve profitability amid delayed growth of pure electric vehicle sales. Among them, Hyundai Motor Group stands out as one of the few key competitors with robust full hybrid electric vehicle technology. This positions Hyundai uniquely as one of the few automakers to profit from increasing hybrid sales as it navigates the transitional

April 18, 2024

Amazon fuels e-commerce rivalry with free shipping campaign

US e-commerce giant Amazon introduced free shipping benefits for Korean consumers as the firm strategically eyes the country's overseas direct purchase market amid the increasing competition in the e-commerce industry here. Starting Wednesday, Amazon has implemented a policy offering complimentary shipping for orders exceeding $49 worth of eligible items for delivery to South Korea, with the shipping address set within South Korea on its website. Eligible items include not only small essent

April 18, 2024

[Photo News] Lotte's bid on secondary battery

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin (second from right) inspects Lotte Energy Materials’ copper foil output in Malaysia, Wednesday. The copper foil production sites are capable of producing up to 60,000 tons of battery-grade copper foil for use in electric vehicle cells, accounting for some 75 percent of the company's total copper foil manufacturing capacity. Lotte Group has been recently increasing its investment in the overseas copper foil manufacturing facilities to boost the produc

April 18, 2024

Regulator calls for collaboration of shareholders, firms

The head of the financial regulator on Thursday stressed the need for businesses and their shareholders to work together to ensure joint development, saying the government will work to create a virtuous cycle between shareholder activities and business growth. Lee Bok-hyun, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, noted that shareholder activism will only continue to grow, but said efforts by shareholders may end in vain unless they are sound and reasonable enough to be supported by other sha

April 18, 2024

Seoul shares open higher amid woes over rate cut delay

South Korean stocks started higher Thursday as investors hunted for bargains following a recent decline amid speculations over a potential delay in US interest rate cuts this year. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 26.08 points, or 1.01 percent, to 2,610.26 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.12 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 1.15 percent. The Federal Reserve said in the Beige Book that the economy has expanded s

April 18, 2024

Procurement experts flock to Korea for IPPW 2024

South Korea’s Public Procurement Service said Wednesday it is hosting the International Public Procurement Workshop 2024, an international gathering of procurement experts from around the world, this week in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province. Under the title of “Gaining New Insight on Public Procurement,” the two-day event will kick off Thursday at the Kintex convention center. This year, the event will be co-hosted with the Inter-American Development Bank or IDB in order for Korea to b

April 17, 2024

Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?

In March 2023, Apple Pay made a grand entrance into the South Korean market, amassing 1 million users on its debut day alone and doubling that figure within three weeks. But a year later, the initial fervor surrounding the mobile payment service of the iPhone maker appears to have dwindled considerably amid the lack of widespread availability. With Hyundai Card's exclusive partnership set to expire in September, no other card companies have followed suit in integrating the service. Speculat

April 17, 2024

[Contribution] Building a better future with Africa

By Ko Kwang-hyo What image comes to your mind first when you think of Africa? Many might envision the vast Serengeti Plain with lions and zebras -- a portrayal popularized by countless media depictions. Yet, this is merely a fragment of the continent’s rich tapestry. Today’s Africa, bolstered by advancements in technology and communication, remains interconnected with the global community. Africa, the world's second-largest continent, is home to 55 diverse nations, boasting a

April 17, 2024

Seoul shares down for 4th day on geopolitical, rate policy woes

South Korean stocks dipped nearly 1 percent Wednesday to expand their losing streak to a fourth day as investors' concerns heightened on hawkish remarks by US Federal Reserve officials and escalating tension in the Middle East. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index plunged 25.45 points, or 0.98 percent, to close at 2,584.18. Trade volume was a little slim at 400.5 million shares worth 9.5 trillion won (US$6.8 billion), with decliners outp

April 17, 2024

Beer imports from Japan more than double in Q1

South Korea's imports of Japanese beer products more than doubled on-year in the first quarter this year, despite a 20 percent drop in the country's overall beer imports during the same period, government data showed Wednesday. According to the Korea Customs Service, the combined value of Korea's beer imports in the January-March period decreased by 19.8 percent on-year to reach $45.2 million. In terms of volume, the country' beer imports went down by 24.1 percent to 48,322 t

April 17, 2024

Samsung develops fastest DRAM chip optimzied for ondevice AI

Samsung Electronics, the world's top memory chip maker by revenue, has developed the industry's fastest LPDDR5X memory chip optimized for on-device artificial intelligence applications, the company said Wednesday. The new Low Power Double Data Rate 5X manifests the highest performance of up to 10.7 gigabits-per-second and is the smallest in size among existing products leveraging the 12-nanometer-class process technology, the company said. The speed is equal to sending about 20 4-gigab

April 17, 2024

Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility

South Korea and Japan’s finance ministers voiced concerns over the recent depreciation of their currencies against the US dollar, showing their intention to step into the market to support the won and yen, according to Korea's Finance Ministry on Wednesday. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok met with his Japanese counterpart Shunichi Suzuki on Tuesday for the first time since he took office on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Washington. &ld

April 17, 2024

HD Hyundai signs W641b warship deal with Peru

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has bagged an order worth 640.6 billion won ($462 million) to build four warships for Peru’s state-owned shipyard SIMA, marking Korea’s largest-ever defense export deal to Latin America. According to HD Hyundai on Wednesday, Peru's President Dina Boluarte and Defense Minister Walter Astudillo Chavez, as well as Joo Won-ho, head of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' special ship business unit, attended a signing ceremony held at the Naval Center San Bor

April 17, 2024

LS Materials breaks ground on EV parts plant

LS Materials’ subsidiary HAIMK began construction of an aluminum parts plant for electric vehicles in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday. According to LS Materials, the plant will begin the mass production of battery cases with an annual capacity that can be used for 300,000 EVs in the first quarter of next year. The product is a high-strength aluminum component that protects the battery from outside impact without supplementary steel material. “Our products will be the on

April 17, 2024

Mirae Asset Global X set for growth under new chief

Mirae Asset Global Investments announced Wednesday that Global X, its US-based exchange-traded fund subsidiary, would seek increased competitiveness under new CEO Ryan O'Connor, the former global head of ETF products at Goldman Sachs. O'Connor, who has an over 17-year career in the US ETF industry, having worked at Goldman Sachs and State Street Global Advisors, took office as the chief of fund issuer Global X on April 8. Through a recent leadership reshuffle carried out earlier this m

April 17, 2024

Samsung CEO bets big on connectivity to take on Apple

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and co-CEO Han Jong-hee said its home appliance division, backed by enhanced connectivity with mobile devices, will enjoy its heyday in the second half of this year, showing confidence in the competition with its powerful rival Apple. “We may not yet be the No. 1 player in the home appliance sector. But if we can offer more enhanced connectivity, based on our leadership in TVs and smartphones, consumers will respond positively,” Han said at a press c

April 17, 2024