Seoul shares open up on US gains ahead of key economic data

Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking gains on Wall Street, as investors await economic data over the next few days for clues on the outlook for global central banks' monetary policies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 6.29 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,549.70 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks ended in positive territory, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.62 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbing 0.84 percent. Inve

Aug. 29, 2023

S. Korea, S&P begin annual consultation meetings

South Korea on Monday began annual consultation meetings with global rating appraiser Standard & Poor's Global Ratings (S&P) to discuss the country's credit valuation and economic circumstances, the finance ministry said. The delegation, led by Kim Eng Tan, senior director of Asia-Pacific sovereign ratings at S&P, is visiting South Korea for three days of consultations through Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The delegation paid a courtesy visit

Aug. 28, 2023

GS E&C to look abroad as business suspension looms

South Korean builder GS Engineering & Construction, facing an unprecedented business suspension for up to 10 months over the recent collapse of an underground parking lot it built, seems to have no other way but to go abroad to seek new business opportunities for the time being, industry sources said Monday. According to an official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the government will push to suspend the company’s operations for eight months under the land minister&

Aug. 28, 2023

Seoul shares end higher after Fed chief's speech

Seoul shares ended higher Monday, following gains on Wall Street after the US Federal Reserve signaled a moderate course on its monetary policy in the future. The Korean won rose against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 24.27 points, or 0.96 percent, to close at 2,543.41. Trading volume was moderate at 475.47 million shares worth 8.1 trillion won ($6.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 725 to 154. On Friday, US stocks ended higher, with the Dow Jones I

Aug. 28, 2023

Export slump to recover in first half of 2024: KITA

Korea's export downturn will see a recovery in the first half of next year, with the semiconductor market expected to rebound in the fourth quarter of this year, the Korea International Trade Association forecast on Monday. The prediction was based on findings that the primary factor behind Korea's export slump is the slowdown in the global information and communications technology market, according to KITA. “Upon closer examination, I realized that the decrease in the global d

Aug. 28, 2023

BBQ Chicken ranked among US' fastest-growing restaurant chains

Genesis BBQ, the operator of Korean fried chicken franchise BBQ Chicken, said Monday it has been ranked one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the United States, for three consecutive years. BBQ Chicken was named seventh among the top 25 restaurant brands that achieved the fastest growth ranked by Nation’s Restaurant News, a US publication that covers the food service industry. The criteria for the ranking includes the growth in the number of outlets, total sales and sales per s

Aug. 28, 2023

Posco Future M sets sales target of W43tr by 2030

South Korean battery materials maker Posco Future M on Monday pledged to secure 42 trillion won ($32.4 billion) in sales and 3.4 trillion won in operating profits by 2030, under a new vision of accelerating eco-friendly future materials business. “We are the one and only total solution provider for rechargeable battery materials that operates a value chain for mining, processing and recycling,” said Posco Future M CEO Kim Jun-hyung in a town hall meeting in Seoul. “Posco Future

Aug. 28, 2023

[Photo News] Hyundai's double podium

Hyundai Motor's Avante N TCR, known as the Elantra in global markets, has achieved a double-podium finish, taking first and second place at the first final race during the 2023 TCR World Tour held at the Jose Carlos Bassi street circuit in San Luis, Argentina from Friday to Sunday, the South Korean automaker said Monday. The triumph marked the third time that Hyundai has taken the top trophy since the 2023 TCR World Tour began in April. With the latest victory, BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse m

Aug. 28, 2023

NFT conference to explore monetizing digital assets in Web3 era

NFT 2023 Seoul Conference is scheduled to take place on Friday at Coex in southern Seoul to explore the interplay between non-fungible tokens, digital assets such as art and the Web3 framework that enables new decentralized digital asset marketplaces. The event will be organized by The Korea Herald, the nation’s largest English daily, together with ArtToken, an NFT-based art marketplace, and Seoul-based Soongsil University. Other key partners include Crypto.com, Blockchain Today and Bloomi

Aug. 28, 2023

[KH explains] Is a third-party buyout of Asiana Airlines around the corner?

Amid ongoing delays in a high-profile merger between South Korea’s top two air carriers Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, some market watchers are speculating that strategic investors are preparing for a possible third-party buyout of Asiana. Private equity funds are reportedly releasing requests for proposals to interested parties regarding the 1.8 trillion won ($1.3 billion) Korean Air-Asiana deal to solicit responses, according to some investors. The requests come amid delays in the deal

Aug. 28, 2023

LG Chem leads innovative efforts in carbon neutrality

Amid mounting global calls for sustainable development, South Korea’s largest chemical firm LG Chemical has been researching ways to produce eco-friendly plastics. Under the global campaign of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the international race has intensified across the petrochemical industry to reduce carbon emissions, and plastic recycling is considered the most expedient approach. In this aspect, LG Chem has successfully secured a competitive edge over its rivals by developing

Aug. 28, 2023

Samsung recruiting foreign tech talent to work at Korean operations

Samsung Group's key technology affiliates -- Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display and Samsung SDI -- will hire experienced workers with research and development capabilities from outside the country, according to industry sources on Monday. South Korea's largest conglomerate has been carrying out recruiting activities to secure outstanding R&D talent from around the world. It newly introduced the foreign experienced employee recruitment process this year for foreign skilled worke

Aug. 28, 2023

Seoul shares open up after Fed chief's speech

Seoul shares opened higher Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street, as the US Federal Reserve looks set to take a cautious stance in raising rates again. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.25 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,526.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks ended in positive territory, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.7 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbing 0.9 percent. In his speech last week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fe

Aug. 28, 2023

[Graphic News] Exports of agro-fisheries products fall 3.8% in H1

South Korea’s exports of farm and fisheries products fell 3.8 percent on-year in the first half of the year, data showed. Outbound shipments of agricultural and fisheries goods came to $5.95 billion in the January-June period, down from $6.19 billion a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. Last year’s tally marked an all-time high for the first half of any year, and it was the first time that the figure surpassed the $6 billion mark. This

Aug. 28, 2023

E-scooter-only lanes mulled for better safety

South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Sunday announced a set of new guidelines to enhance the safety of personality mobility, or PM, vehicles such as electric scooters. As part of the ministry’s revision bill, the new guidelines will be applied for building new roads for better safety of both pedestrians and vehicles, especially dedicated lanes for PM vehicles. The revision mandates that when road management bodies conceptualize or revamp PM-only lanes, they

Aug. 27, 2023

[Photo News] Soaring fuel prices

Gasoline and diesel prices are displayed at a gas station in Seoul on Sunday, as diesel averaged over 1,600 won ($1.2) per liter, marking a six-month high following seven continuous weeks of rising gas prices. (Yonhap)

Aug. 27, 2023

‘Samsung needs control tower’: compliance committee chief

Samsung Group is a "massive aircraft carrier" and so it needs a control tower for better efficiency and unity, the chief of the tech giant's compliance committee said in an interview with a local news outlet on Aug. 23. "A small sailing boat does not need a control tower, but Samsung is a giant aircraft carrier. Unless the company’s different divisions completely divide to stand on their own, the lack of a control tower can lead to problems in efficiency and unity,&rd

Aug. 27, 2023

Inflation fears grow on high fuel costs

The on-year growth in consumer prices is likely to bounce back to the 3 percent range from this month due to the spike in international oil prices. While inflation in Korea has been easing off this year, the Finance Ministry expects it to climb back, reaching the 3 percent range before coming down again in October. Korea's on-year growth in consumer prices has been showing signs of slowing down this year. It came down to 4.8 percent in February from 5.2 percent in January, and stayed in the

Aug. 27, 2023

[Photo News] Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 arrives in Japan

Campaign clips for Samsung Electronics’ latest Galaxy Z Flip5 are played on the digital signage boards in Sibuya, the busy shopping district in Tokyo, Sunday. Preorders started for the new foldable phones in Japan last Tuesday, with their official launch set for Sept. 1. (Samsung Electronics)

Aug. 27, 2023

Food trade agency chief wins leadership award

Kim Chun-jin, CEO of the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., won the 2023 South Korea Leadership Award presented by the Korean Association for Public Administration on Thursday. The chief of the state-run food trade agency was recognized for bolstering a low-carbon diet campaign called “Green Food Day” in collaboration with 522 organizations based around world. The campaign urges global populations to produce eco-friendly certified agricultural products, reduce waste in the

Aug. 27, 2023