BBQ's delivery-only outlet opens in Vietnam

Korea's fried chicken franchise BBQ Chicken has opened a BBQ Smart Kitchen store specializing in delivery orders and takeout services in Vietnam, marking its Southeast Asian debut to tap into the rapidly growing delivery market. Genesis BBQ announced Friday the recent opening of its BBQ Gardenia branch, situated within the upscale Vinhome Gardenia apartment complex in Hanoi. "Given the unique growth trajectory of the Vietnamese delivery market among Southeast Asian nations, we are intr

Feb. 16, 2024

SK-backed Sapeon to develop on-device AI chip

Sapeon, a fabless startup backed by South Korean telecom-to-chip conglomerate SK Group, said Friday it would develop a new semiconductor optimized for on-device artificial intelligence as the market has been witnessing significant growth in recent years. The company said it was selected to get support to develop prototypes for commercializing AI chips with edge AI, IoT and embedded computing firm Advantech Korea under the project dubbed Compass, run by the state-run government research institu

Feb. 16, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

Seoul shares opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after the US retail sales fell by a wider margin than expected, reviving hopes over the Federal Reserve's rate cuts. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 15.78 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,629.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average move up 0.91 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbing 0.3 percent. The rise came after the US retail sales for January fel

Feb. 16, 2024

Is shareholder activism finally taking hold in South Korea?

South Korean companies are facing increasing shareholder activism with the government's recent push for improvements in corporate governance expected to fuel the trend, according to industry experts on Thursday. A report released Thursday by Diligent Market Intelligence, a solution from governance software provider Diligent, showed a record-high number of 77 companies headquartered in Korea were targeted by activist campaigns in 2023, outnumbering its economic peers such as Singapore and Ho

Feb. 15, 2024

Coupang's alleged 'blacklist' sparks legal clash

Coupang Fulfillment Service, a subsidiary of e-commerce giant Coupang, announced on Thursday that it is has taken legal action against a lawyer who has claimed that the company blacklisted over 16,000 former and current employees, as well as individuals associated with Coupang, purportedly to prevent their reemployment or subject them to close monitoring in other situations. CFS filed a complaint with police in Songpa-gu, Seoul, against Kwon Young-guk, a lawyer and former head of legal advisory

Feb. 15, 2024

Kakao posts record annual sales of W8.1tr in 2023

Kakao said Thursday it logged all-time high annual sales in 2023 due to increased profitability from its mobile messenger, KakaoTalk. The IT giant reported 8.11 trillion won ($6.08 billion) in sales last year, up 14.1 percent from a year earlier. It marks the first time for the company surpassing the 8 trillion won mark in annual sales. Annual net profit, however, fell 13.5 percent on-year to 501.9 billion won and it shifted to a net loss of 1.5 trillion won, from a net profit of 1.07 trillion w

Feb. 15, 2024

[KH Explains] Will Korea's new EV subsidies undercut Tesla's edge?

The South Korean government is carrying out a strategy to boost the price competitiveness of electric vehicles from domestic automakers with a revised EV subsidy policy for this year. It is seen as a response to aggressive pricing strategies of Chinese automakers and models equipped with Chinese batteries, such as the Tesla Model Y, which utilizes cost-efficient lithium iron phosphate batteries from China's CATL. These models are becoming increasingly pervasive due to their affordability. Chines

Feb. 15, 2024

LG Chem, CJ CheilJedang to partner on bio-based nylon

LG Chem announced Thursday that the company will work together with food giant CJ CheilJedang to produce bio-based nylon, an eco-friendly alternative to traditional synthetic polymers. LG Chem said the two companies signed a heads of agreement on Wednesday to establish a joint venture that will produce ingredients and bio-based nylon products. “It has not been determined yet, but the two companies are expected to establish the joint company as early as this year,” an official familia

Feb. 15, 2024

Activist funds demand W1tr Samsung C&T payout

A tense faceoff between shareholders and Samsung C&T management is expected, as five foreign activist funds have teamed up to demand the Korean firm return its profit to shareholders through dividends and a share buyback program that would amount to some 1.2 trillion won ($900 million). In a regulatory filing on Thursday, Samsung C&T reported it has submitted the proposal made by the five activist funds, which includes City of London Investment, for a vote at the upcoming regular shareholders me

Feb. 15, 2024

Seoul shares end lower on profit taking

Seoul shares closed lower Thursday as investors attempted to cash in recent gains. The Korean won gained against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.62 points, or 0.25 percent, to close at 2,613.80. Trade volume was moderate at 607.8 million shares worth 10.25 trillion won ($7.68 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 539 to 330. Foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 14.8 billion won and 49.3 billion won, respectively, while individuals purchased

Feb. 15, 2024

Korean stock market could duplicate Japan's bull run: Shinhan chief

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong believes that undervalued Korean stocks including his banking group’s shares could gain impetus with the government’s strong drive with its upcoming market revamp program aimed at creating a new investment wave. With the Korean financial authorities set to put forward detailed schemes to iron out deep-seated low valuation of Korean stocks this month, listed companies and investors are paying keen attention to what would be included in th

Feb. 15, 2024

S-Oil CEO calls for continued incentives on long-term investments

S-Oil has called for continued incentives from the South Korean government to vitalize large-scale projects and investments in the new energy sector. “Expanding incentive supports such as extending the tax credit period for investment in large scale projects that take place over a long period of time is necessary,” said S-Oil CEO Anwar A. Al-Hejazi in a meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol and foreign-invested company representatives and heads of Seoul-based commerce chambers in Seou

Feb. 15, 2024

Toss Securities logs first annual profit

Toss Securities saw its first profitable year since it started service three years ago by logging 1.53 billion won ($1.15 million) in net profit last year, it said on Thursday. Sales rose by 58 percent on year to 202 billion won in the same period, with the operating loss narrowed by 31.3 billion won to 900 million won. The firm attributed its first profitable year to transaction volume expansion, which led to improved earnings from the trading commission. Domestic and overseas market transactio

Feb. 15, 2024

[Photo News] Shining Future

Citibank Korea CEO Yoon Myung-soon (left) and JA Korea President Lee Eun-hyung pose for a photo during a sponsorship signing event held at the bank’s Seoul office on Wednesday. The bank donated 317 million won ($250,000) to the Korean unit of JA Worldwide, a non-profit youth organization, to help vocational school students prepare for their future careers as part of the Citi-JA Shining Future Program. (Citibank Korea)

Feb. 15, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on US gains

Seoul shares opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 14.7 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,635.12 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the US stock market gained ground after a sharp decline the previous day sparked by hotter-than-expected inflation data. Investors have been expecting the US Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates this year amid hope for eased inflation. But January's consumer pri

Feb. 15, 2024

Hyundai Motor fast-tracks US EV plant to 2024

Hyundai Motor Group has once again moved up the launch of its new US plant solely dedicated to producing electric vehicles to October this year, three months ahead of its current schedule, to enhance its readiness to toughened subsidy rules. "We're pulling ahead because everybody knows how important it is because so far we don't qualify for federal tax credits," Hyundai Motor America CEO Jose Munoz said during an interview with Automotive News, an American automotive industry media ou

Feb. 14, 2024

Seoul shares snap 3-day winning session on hotter-than-expected US inflation data

Seoul shares snapped a three-session winning streak Wednesday as hotter-than-expected US inflation data for January cooled investor sentiment. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 29.22 points, or 1.1 percent, to close at 2,620.42. Trade volume was moderate at 534.17 million shares worth 9.93 trillion won ($7.4 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 509 to 378. Institutions sold a net 535.25 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting

Feb. 14, 2024

Race heats up for multifoldable phones

Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies is reportedly preparing to launch the world’s first triple-foldable smartphone within the second quarter, aiming to challenge the dominance of Samsung Electronics in the global foldable phone market. Huawei has reportedly begun the development of a triple-foldable phone, which includes three display panels alongside two sets of hinge technologies. The device will likely sport an S- or Z-shaped form factor, according to news reports on Wednesday. The

Feb. 14, 2024

Mobile payment surges by W17tr in 2023

The local mobile payments market continued its relentless expansion last year, swelling by a whopping 17 trillion won ($12.72 billion) on year. The total amount of mobile payments made through four major companies providing the service locally -- Samsung Pay, Naver Pay, Kakao Pay and NHN Payco -- tallied 147.79 trillion won last year, according to Financial Supervisory Service data obtained by lawmaker Oh Gi-hyoung of the Democratic Party of Korea. The number has climbed steeply in recent year

Feb. 14, 2024

Korean Air steps closer to merger with EU approval

The European Union's antitrust regulator on Tuesday granted conditional approval for the merger of Korean Air with its smaller domestic rival Asiana Airlines, leaving only the last approval from the US pending among the 14 relevant authorities. The announcement comes after the nation’s largest air carrier submitted a revised merger plan to the European Commission in November last year, which entails selling off Asiana Airlines' cargo business and turning over certain airport slots for fou

Feb. 14, 2024