Hana Financial head meets with global investors in Hong Kong

The chairman of Hana Financial Group met with foreign investors through an investor relations event held in Hong Kong, Tuesday to expand the Korean banking group's presence in the global financial market. At the event, Chairman Ham Young-joo shared the financial achievements of the financial group and mid-term growth strategies while boasting its sound asset quality and environmental, social, corporate governance (ESG) efforts. The two-day event wraps up on Wednesday. He also explained the

Sept. 5, 2023

Hyundai Motor tops EV sales in Indonesia

Hyundai Motor Group said Tuesday it has topped the list of electric vehicle sales in the Indonesian market, the country with the fourth-largest population and the No. 1 nickel reserves in the world. The carmaker sold a total of 3,913 EVs and posted a 56.5 percent market share in Indonesia as of July. Its flagship battery-powered sport utility vehicle Ioniq 5 took up most of the sales with 3,819 units. The Ioniq 5 was the first EV manufactured within the Indonesia plant, which started commercia

Sept. 5, 2023

CJ Foodville to build US bakery plant in Georgia

CJ Foodville, operator of South Korean bakery chain Tous Les Jours, announced Tuesday that it has decided on a location in the state of Georgia to establish its first US production facility, as it seeks to open 1,000 bakeries in the country by 2030. The factory, construction of which is set to be complete by 2025, will occupy some 90,000 square meters in Gainesville, Georgia. With a capital investment worth over 50 billion won ($37 million), the factory is expected to have an annual output cap

Sept. 5, 2023

[Photo News] Confidence gets face-lift

Dong-A Otsuka on Tuesday unveiled new packaging for its flagship Confidence vitamin drink. The renewed design, while maintaining its signature yellow hue, features an eye-catching character that captures the unique shape of the drink bottle. The all-new youthful design is expected to appeal to millennials and Generation Z. Confidence, first released in 1995, is a caffeine-free fruit-flavored vitamin drink that also contains amino acids, electrolytes and minerals. (Dong-A Otsuka)

Sept. 5, 2023

KB women's golf championship to kick off this week

KB Financial Group is set to host its women's golf championship from Thursday through Sunday at the Blackstone Golf Club in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, it said Tuesday. Called KB Financial Group Star Championship, the annual competition is a major tournament for the 2023 Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour. With 1.2 billion won ($905,000) in prize money, including 216 million won for the winner, the tournament will see a number of South Korean star golfers contending for the titl

Sept. 5, 2023

Coway wins design awards at IDEA 2023

South Korean home appliance maker Coway said Tuesday its air purifier and water purifier have secured awards at the International Design Excellence Awards 2023, recognized for their innovative design. At this year’s IDEA, Coway achieved an impressive feat of winning silver and bronze awards with its Multi-Action Air Purifier 2 and Icon Max Free Water Purifier, respectively. Its Skin Plus Water Softener also earned notable recognition as a finalist. “We actively identify customers

Sept. 5, 2023

ACE Engineering CEO committed to going global

Ace Engineering plans to set up its exhibition booth at RE+ 2023, North America’s largest energy convention that kicks off next Monday. Calling the upcoming event a “stepping stone for growth,” CEO Danny You showed high expectations in meeting new clients and expanding the company’s presence in the all-important North American market and beyond. Last year, the company specialized in offering total solutions for energy storage systems posted record sales of 235.4 billion w

Sept. 5, 2023

ACE Engineering boasts total ESS solutions

Amid global trends toward building a sustainable future, Korean container manufacturer ACE Engineering is expanding its presence as the No. 1 energy storage system supplier. In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change announced that the global temperature is expected to rise by around 3 degrees Celsius in the next 80 years. To prevent or lessen further climate crises, the panel called for the immediate action of global members to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 20

Sept. 5, 2023

Seoul shares open lower ahead of Fed officials' view on rate policy

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday amid a lack of fresh leads, as investors wait to hear comments from key US federal bank officials on the outlook of the interest rate hike cycle. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 4.53 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,580.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US stock markets were closed Monday for Labor Day. European stocks finished almost flat as China's announcement on a stimulus to prop up the troubled property sector had li

Sept. 5, 2023

S. Korea's consumer prices up 3.4% in Aug.

South Korea's on-year consumer price growth surpassed 3 percent in August after falling below the mark for two consecutive months amid higher prices of agricultural and manufactured goods, data showed Tuesday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 3.4 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with a 2.3 percent increase in July, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was the highest on-year rise since the 3.7 percent growth tallied in April. In June, inflation fell

Sept. 5, 2023

S. Korea's economic growth gathers pace in Q2; outlook still murky

South Korea's economy grew at a slightly faster pace in the second quarter of this year than three months earlier despite a slump in exports, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's real gross domestic product -- a key measure of economic growth -- increased 0.6 percent on-quarter in the April-June period, matching an earlier estimate, according to the Bank of Korea. The second-quarter expansion is higher than the 0.3 percent expansion in the first quarter. Asia's fourth-l

Sept. 5, 2023

Snowflake looks to unlock data cloud innovation with AI across Korea

US cloud software company Snowflake said Monday it will introduce a data cloud solution enhanced with artificial intelligence for customers in various industries here, in a bid to fortify its position in the Korean market. “Korea is an extraordinarily important and strategic market to Snowflake. It’s the 10th-largest economy in the world, but it's even more important in the world of manufacturing. Korea is also an incredibly fast-growing market … where we’re working

Sept. 4, 2023

LG makes auto show debut in Munich

MUNICH -- Korean tech giant LG Electronics made its debut at a major global automotive trade show on Monday, delivering its ambition to expand its presence in the burgeoning mobility industry. In its first-ever press conference at IAA Mobility, one of the world's largest motor shows, held in Munich, LG CEO Cho Joo-wan defined the role of personal vehicles and underscored the growing presence of software in the mobility industry. “LG has spent close to 70 years directly selling to indi

Sept. 4, 2023

LG Magna to set up EV parts plant in Hungary

MUNICH -- LG Magna e-Powertrain, a joint venture between LG Electronics and Magna, will build its first European production plant in Hungary, the company announced Monday at the IAA mobility trade show held this week in Munich. The 26,000-square-meter facility will be located within an industrial complex in Miskolc, a city in northeastern Hungary, adjacent to other Magna facilities and manufacturing clients in the region. With the construction set to be completed in 2025, the new plant will st

Sept. 4, 2023

Seoul shares up for 2nd day amid growing Fed rate pause outlook

South Korean stocks closed higher for the second consecutive session Monday on growing optimism the US Federal Reserve will pause the interest rate hike in the next month's policy meeting after key unemployment data showed a cooling economy. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) advanced 20.84 points, or 0.81 percent, to finish at 2,584.55. Trading volume was moderate at 337.3 million shares worth 8.57 trillion won ($6.49 bill

Sept. 4, 2023

Homeplus awards kids for eco-friendly art

South Korean discount store chain Homeplus’ philanthropic organization, dubbed e-Blue Foundation, held the award ceremony for its 21st e-Blue Children’s Environmental Arts Contest at the National Assembly in Seoul on Aug. 19. Under the slogan, “Let’s make the Earth healthy with eco-friendly growth,” about 10,000 children participated in the contest, creating paintings with eco-friendly themes this May. Based on creativity, expression, harmony of composition and colo

Sept. 4, 2023

Oriental Brewery's Cass clinches six accolades at 2023 Effie Awards

Oriental Brewery announced Monday its flagship beer brand Cass secured six awards for its innovative marketing campaigns at the 2023 Effie Awards Korea. The Effie Awards spotlight marketing campaigns around the world for their creativity and tangible business impact. Baek Sun-ah, Netflix Korea’s creative production director, was among the judges for this year's Korean segment. Cass won several accolades, including best brand in the 10th Anniversary Special Award category, marking a de

Sept. 4, 2023

S. Korea to go all-out to lure 2 million Chinese travelers

South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Monday it will go all-out to draw back Chinese travelers to capitalize on China's recent lifting of its ban on group travel to dozens of countries, through measures such as exempting Chinese tourists from visa issuance fees and fostering the development of premium tourism packages. "We will aim to triple the number of Chinese tourists recorded in the first half of 2023 (500,000) in the second half of 2023, and ultim

Sept. 4, 2023

[Photo News] Official vehicles for ASEAN summit

Hyundai Motor said Monday that the carmaker is supplying a total of 346 units of its Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 electric vehicles to be used during this week’s ASEAN Summit held in Jakarta Sept. 5-7. In order to enhance safety and convenience, 24-hour emergency maintenance and charging services will be offered as well as special training for the presidential bodyguards who will drive the cars. (Hyundai Motor)

Sept. 4, 2023

[Exclusive] Maybach’s brand center to open in Seoul next year

MUNICH, Germany -- Mercedes-Benz plans to open a brand center solely dedicated to its ultra-exclusive Maybach in Seoul next year, an industry source close to the matter told The Korea Herald on Sunday. According to the source, the new Maybach center will be located in the Gangnam district in southern Seoul, with its ongoing construction set to be completed by June next year. But the source declined to confirm whether the Korean center will be different from Maybach Atelier, the carmaker’

Sept. 4, 2023