Hyundai, Kia's combined exports set to hit 2 mln in 2023

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top carmaker, and its sister company, Kia Corp., are set to post combined exports of 2 million units in 2023, data showed Sunday, on the back of the post-pandemic market recovery. Hyundai and Kia shipped 945,062 and 867,136 respective units of automobiles over the January-October period, according to the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association. The combined figure represented a 17.5 percent rise from the same period in 2022, the data showed. Considering

Dec. 10, 2023

S. Korea's exports of dried seaweed hit new record in 2023

South Korea's exports of dried seaweed hit a new record on the back of growing awareness of healthy food around the globe, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments of dried seaweed, called "gim" in Korean, reached $670 million over the January-October period, up 20.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The ministry noted the combined export volume came to $700 million as of Nov. 10, surpassing the previous record of $690 million for the en

Dec. 10, 2023

China's consumer prices hit 3-year low with factory cost decline

China's consumer prices experienced their fastest decline in three years this November, while factory-gate deflation deepened, indicating increasing deflationary pressures as weak domestic demand casts doubt on the economic recovery The consumer price index dropped 0.5 percent both from a year earlier and compared with October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Saturday. That was deeper than the median forecasts in a Reuters poll, which predicted 0.1 percent declin

Dec. 9, 2023

DS Dansuk seeks W100b IPO to spur growth

DS Dansuk, South Korea’s resource recycling company, on Friday threw its hat into the ring as the last candidate for a market debut this year, with bold plans for businesses ranging from biodiesel to battery and plastic waste recycling. “After the initial public offering, we will set up additional production facilities and invest more in research and development to create a strong foothold as a global brand leading the circular economy," said DS Dansuk co-CEO Kim Jong-wan during

Dec. 8, 2023

Seoul shares up over 1% on strong techs; won sharply up

South Korean stocks gained more than 1 percent Friday, led by the strong performance of big-cap tech shares that tracked overnight gains on Wall Street. The local currency sharply rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 25.78 points, or 1.03 percent, to finish at 2,517.85. The secondary KOSDAQ jumped 2.11 percent to end at 830.37. The Kospi's trade volume was moderate at 421.4 million shares worth 7.69 trillion won (US$5.88 billion), with winners ou

Dec. 8, 2023

Hanwha Aerospace lands W3.2tr tank supply deal with Australia

Hanwha Aerospace said Friday it has clinched a deal with the Australian government to supply 3.2 trillion won ($2.4 billion) worth of armored tanks. Hanwha Defense Australia, the company’s subsidiary in Australia, is poised to deliver 129 units of Hanwha’s Redback infantry fighting vehicles by 2028. The tanks will be manufactured in a new plant in Australia set to complete construction next year. Hanwha said it will be supplying military equipment designed for export for the first ti

Dec. 8, 2023

LG Energy Solution to supply EV battery modules to Poland's ICPT

LG Energy Solution said Friday that it has signed an agreement with Impact Clean Power Technology, a leading Polish battery systems manufacturer, ramping up its foray into the European market for commercial electric vehicles. ICPT, established in 2005, operates the GigafactoryX near Warsaw, which manufactures and assembles advanced battery systems for larger EVs such as electric buses and trucks. Under the agreement, the Korean battery giant will supply 200,000 nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) ba

Dec. 8, 2023

New Mercedes-Benz E-Class to make Korean debut in January

Mercedes-Benz’s new E-Class sedan is hitting the Korean market in January next year, the Korean unit of the German luxury carmaker said Friday. The 11th generation E-Class is a complete revamp from the 10th version launched in 2016. In Korea, the car claimed the No. 1 spot in sales for seven consecutive years among foreign brand cars. Korea is Mercedes-Benz’s fourth-largest market globally. The new model, unveiled at the digital world premiere this April, underwent a full change to f

Dec. 8, 2023

Citibank named top international bank of 2023 in Korea

Citibank Korea has been named the Best International Bank in Korea for 2023 by Asiamoney, a monthly financial magazine published in Hong Kong, the bank announced Friday. Asiamoney explained that it selected Citibank Korea for the latest award, as it demonstrated significant improvements in performance across various financial metrics, citing tangible gains in total revenue and net income compared to the previous year. The bank showed particularly strong growth in the corporate banking businesses

Dec. 8, 2023

Seoul shares open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Friday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 20.03 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,512.10 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, all three major US indexes gained ground, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite up 1.37 percent, as communication and IT shares rallied on favorable news in the artificial intelligence sector. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, jumped more than 5 percent on t

Dec. 8, 2023

S. Korea logs current account surplus for 6th month in October

South Korea logged a current account surplus for the sixth straight month in October on the back of a trade surplus, a reduction in the service deficit and increased dividend income from overseas, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus reached $6.8 billion in October, widening from the surplus of $5.42 billion the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. October's surplus came as the country's trade balance has remained

Dec. 8, 2023

LG's new research promises potential for 900km-range EVs

LG Energy Solutions and the nation's top-ranked Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have made a significant discovery in lithium metal battery technology, as revealed in a research paper in the prestigious journal Nature Energy, potentially increasing electric vehicle range by 50 percent and drastically enhancing battery efficiency and lifespan. The discovery stems from a collaboration that began over two years ago at the Frontier Research Laboratory, a joint venture between

Dec. 7, 2023

[KH Explains] After roller-coaster year for K-pop stocks, what to expect next year?

It was a rough year for K-pop, with big firms' shares taking a roller-coaster ride despite outstanding performances, hitting an annual peak in the summer and plummeting in recent months. But the bumpy ride is set to settle down for the most part, with major risk factors being resolved and individual firms pushing through with their global business ventures for long-term qualitative growth, industry watchers say. YG Entertainment finally came out of the shadows on Wednesday, when it anno

Dec. 7, 2023

[From the Scene] Doosan to double output of 'cobots' with advanced but cheaper sensors by 2024

Doosan Robotics, seemingly buoyed by its high-profile stock debut last month, on Tuesday invited a group of reporters to its Suwon plant in Gyeonggi Province, the production base of the nation’s largest robotics company. “At Doosan Robotics, we aim to revolutionize work by developing cobots for augmenting human efforts with great precision, safety and high cost-effectiveness to help address labor shortages across numerous sectors more accessibly," said Ryu Jung-hoon, CEO of Doos

Dec. 7, 2023

Seoul shares edge down amid US slowdown woes; won sharply down

South Korean stocks ended lower Thursday as investors were concerned the US economy may be losing steam. The local currency sharply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 3.31 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 2,492.07. Trade volume was moderate at 440.6 million shares worth 8.03 trillion won ($6.06 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 525 to 354. Institutions dumped a combined 204.8 billion won worth of shares, while individual and foreign inve

Dec. 7, 2023

Succession scheme taking shape at Lotte

Lotte Group's year-end reshuffle announced on Wednesday signals a focus on new growth opportunities, placing the third-generation scion at the forefront. The conglomerate, ranked as the country's sixth-largest, has initiated this year's executive reform as it grapples with declining performance in its major subsidiaries. During an annual board meeting, a panel of 38 affiliates appointed 14 new chief executive officers. Among them, Shin Yoo-yeol, the 37-year-old eldest son of Lotte

Dec. 7, 2023

LG wins SOAFEE board membership to join Arm, Bosch

LG Electronics said Thursday it has become the ninth governing body member of the Scalable Open Architecture for Embedded Edge, also known as SOAFEE, opening up opportunities in the future mobility industry. Established in 2021, SOAFEE is a special interest group of companies working together to build a cloud-native architecture for software-defined vehicles. Last year, LG Electronics first joined the SOAFEE as a voting member, actively taking part in the technical steering committee and working

Dec. 7, 2023

SK carries out complete reshuffle of top brass

SK Group, the country’s second-largest conglomerate, has carried out a complete reshuffle of its top leadership, with a new, younger generation of top executives taking the helm at key affiliates to tackle the ever-changing business environment. In its year-end executive reshuffle on Thursday, the chiefs of four major affiliates -- SK Supex Council Chairman Cho Dae-sik, SK Innovation Vice Chairman Kim Jun, SK Corp. Vice Chairman Jang Dong-hyun and SK hynix Inc. Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho

Dec. 7, 2023

LG H&H sales up 294% in half year on Japan's Qoo10

South Korean beauty giant LG Household & Health Care said Thursday that its sales on Japan's Qoo10 posted record growth of nearly 300 percent after its debut on the country's leading online marketplace just six months ago. Since June, the company has actively been raising its brand awareness and expanding its customer base in Japan through its participation in Qoo10's megasized sales event, also dubbed the "megawari" event in Japanese. Based on sales for the November

Dec. 7, 2023

Samsung SDI renews push for all-solid-state batteries

Samsung SDI said Thursday it has set up a team dedicated to pushing forward the development of the next generation all-solid-state batteries. All-solid-state batteries are called “game changer batteries,” in which all the components are solid. Theoretically, they have higher levels of energy density and are more stable than lithium-ion batteries using liquid or polymer gel electrolytes. The new “ASB business team,” headed by Go Joo-young, executive vice president and he

Dec. 7, 2023