M&A activity plummets 40% in H1

The total transaction volume of cross-border mergersand acquisitions involving Korean companies decreased by more than 40 percent in the first half of this year compared to the previous year, according to a major business lobby group, which called for the government support for deals with overseas tech companies. According to a report released by the Sustainable Growth Initiative, a think tank under the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday, the volume of transactions in domestic

July 10, 2023

Samsung Biologics signs W511b deal with Novartis

Samsung Biologics said Monday the company has signed a 511 billion won ($390.9 million) deal with Novartis to manufacture products for the Switzerland-based pharmaceutical firm. The latest deal follows a letter of intent that Samsung Biologics and Novartis signed in June last year. The two companies had originally agreed on a deal worth 100 billion won, but decided to amp up the investment, Samsung Biologics said. Other details, including what kinds of products Samsung Biologics will produce at

July 10, 2023

Seoul shares end lower amid US rate hike woes

South Korean stocks finished lower Monday amid US rate hike woes. The local currency went down against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 6.01 points, or 0.24 percent, to finish at 2,520.7, extending its losing streak to the fifth consecutive session. Trading volume was moderate at 553.1 million shares worth 9.53 trillion won ($7.29 billion) with decliners outpacing gainers 450 to 428. Foreigners sold a net 152.9 billion won worth of local e

July 10, 2023

LG, Hanwha chiefs to visit Poland with Yoon

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan will head to Poland later this week as part of President Yoon Suk Yeol's business delegation, seeking to strengthen and expand Polish business partnerships. Yoon on Monday embarked on a six-day trip to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Lithuania and is scheduled to visit Poland later in the week. Eighty-nine representatives will accompany Yoon during his Polish trip, according to the Federation

July 10, 2023

Bottled water prices hit 11-year high

South Korea's price growth rate for bottled water recorded its highest level in 11 years following a series of price hikes in the industry, according to data Monday. According to Statistics Korea, the consumer price index of bottled water stood at 112.09, a 10.8 percent on-month increase. The nation's growth in the CPI of bottled water recorded its highest rate since June 2012, when it rose by 11.6 percent. The price rise comes as the nation's biggest bottled water manufacturers h

July 10, 2023

LS Cable unveils world’s thinnest network cable

South Korean cable maker LS Cable & System said Monday that it has released an ultra-slim 10 gigabytes per second local area network cable. Also known as Cat6a LAN cable, the external diameter of this latest cable stands at 6 mm, making it the thinnest LAN cable in the world. It is approximately 20 percent thinner than other widely used LAN cables with an average diameter of 7.2 mm. The latest development comes amid intensifying competition among the industry's leading companies to redu

July 10, 2023

HD Hyundai spurs innovation through in-house venture program

South Korean shipbuilding, oil refining and machinery conglomerate HD Hyundai on Monday said that a total of five teams have been selected to commercialize their business ideas under its in-house venture accelerator program, Dream Cube. Dream Cube aims to support bold-spirited senior-level employees or teams of up to four members for their creative business ideas over the course of one year. Since March, a total of 239 business ideas have been submitted for assessment from all HD Hyundai affilia

July 10, 2023

BOK likely to hold key rate steady as inflation eases

The Bank of Korea is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged this week as recent economic indicators show signs of waning inflation. If the central bank maintains the policy rate at 3.5 percent at its rate-setting meeting scheduled to take place on Thursday, it would be its fourth consecutive freeze since February. Signs of inflation cooling have created room for the BOK to keep the rate at the same level. Korea’s consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose by 2.7 percent in

July 10, 2023

EcoPro shares fly high on battery frenzy

Shares of South Korean battery materials firm EcoPro rose to over 1 million won ($766.58) during trading hours Monday, surpassing a significant bar for a stock listed on Kosdaq. The stock price of EcoPro closed at 965,000 won, lower than its previous closing price of 988,000 won. It hit a record high of 1.01 million won earlier during the day. As of closing, the market cap of EcoPro stood at 25.69 trillion won, shoulder to shoulder with tech giants Kakao and Naver, which are worth 22.14 trillion

July 10, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group ranks No. 2 in US EV sales

Hyundai Motor Group became the second-largest car brand in terms of sales in the US electric vehicles market in the first quarter of this year, data showed Monday. Following Tesla’s 336,892 units, Hyundai and its smaller affiliate, Kia, sold 38,457 units in the first half of this year, up by 11 percent compared to 2022, according to auto market tracker Motor Intelligence, cited by CNBC. Hyundai-Kia outpaced General Motors, which was second in EV sales during the January - June period last

July 10, 2023

[KH Explains] Will Hyundai Motor stick to its own charger technology in US?

Hyundai Motor Group has reportedly started discussions on its electric vehicle charger strategy as a growing number of carmakers are joining market leader Tesla’s own Supercharger network in the US, according to industry sources Monday. “I’ve heard that Hyundai Motor Group has been holding a series of emergency meetings to tackle the issue,” an industry source close to the matter told The Korea Herald on condition of anonymity. “The carmaker has been preparing to bo

July 10, 2023

Hyundai Elevator sets net-zero goal for 2050

Hyundai Elevator has set the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, according to its latest 2022-2023 environmental, social and governance report released Monday. The report mainly discusses the company’s ESG vision and strategy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 based on the Science Based Target Initiative, which sets carbon reduction targets for companies to meet standards set by the Paris Agreement. The company said it plans to reduce its carbon emissions by 42 percent by 2030

July 10, 2023

Hyundai Department Store to open 1st official Disney store near Seoul

Hyundai Department Store Co. said Monday it will open the first official Disney store in South Korea near Seoul this week. The 264-square-meter Disney store in Pangyo, just south of Seoul, is set to open Tuesday, offering around 300 types of official Disney products that have never been introduced here, including those related to Mickey Mouse, Disney princesses and characters from the popular animation series "Toy Story." "Starting with the Disney store, Hyundai Department Store p

July 10, 2023

T'way Air to open Daegu-Mongolia route this month

T'way Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, said Monday it will open a Daegu-Mongolia route later this month as travel demand rebounds after three years of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. T'way Air plans to provide two flights a week on the Daegu-Ulaanbaatar route starting from July 28, the company said in a statement. In July last year, the budget carrier opened its Incheon-Ulaanbaatar route to preemptively absorb travel demand amid the pandemic. T'way Air has 29 chartered passen

July 10, 2023

Seoul shares open tad higher amid rate hike woes

South Korean stocks opened marginally higher Monday amid continued concerns over the US Federal Reserve's additional rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.59 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,531.3 in the first 15 minutes of trading. All US stock indexes finished lower Friday amid woes over the Fed's additional rate hikes. In Seoul, big-cap shares opened mixed. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics shed 0.43 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix traded flat. Le

July 10, 2023

Coway named one of Korea's top 50 brands

Coway has once again been recognized as one of South Korea’s best brands, marking a ninth consecutive year, by leading global brand consultancy Interbrand. "We are committed to developing innovative products and services to enhance daily convenience by leveraging our technological capabilities and expertise," the company said. "As a global life solutions company with goals to expand beyond Korea, we will continue to enhance our brand value." Every year, Interbrand condu

July 9, 2023

Travel demand to Hong Kong struggles amid anti-China sentiment

Travel demand to Hong Kong remains weak among South Korean travelers, data showed Sunday, with a report suggesting anti-China sentiment is still prevailing. A total of 591,998 passengers used the air routes between Korea and Hong Kong from January to May, according to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The number is only 35.3 percent of the passengers recorded in the same period four years ago, when the pandemic had yet to break loose. Meanwhile, the number of passenge

July 9, 2023

Tax revenue to plunge on real estate slump

Government revenue from comprehensive real estate holding tax is expected to decrease by 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) amid a slump in the real estate market, further exacerbating the nation’s potential fiscal deficit this year, according to market estimates Sunday. The comprehensive real estate holding tax is a nationwide tax that is imposed on an annual basis for apartments with a government-assessed value surpassing 1.2 billion won. Aimed at preventing speculative investments, it is s

July 9, 2023

Posco completes battery materials recycling plant

Posco Holdings said Sunday it has completed the construction of a new secondary battery recycling plant at the Yulchon Industrial Complex in South Jeolla Province. The new plant is operated by Posco HY Clean Metal, a joint venture set up between Posco Holdings, Huayou Cobalt and GS Energy. The facility is capable of processing 12,000 metric tons of black mass and collects 2,500 tons of nickel, 800 tons of cobalt and 2,500 tons of lithium carbonate from it. Black mass -- a powdery faction that co

July 9, 2023

Hyundai Motor chief visits Intel's Irish chip plant

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun visited Intel’s semiconductor plant in Ireland on Friday to inspect the global chip supply chain trends and prepare stability for in-vehicle chips in the future. According to the South Korean auto giant on Sunday, Chung checked out the manufacturing process at the Fab 24 manufacturing plant, located at Intel Ireland’s Leixlip campus in County Kildare as he was briefed on the chip company’s global business status. Hyundai Motor Gr

July 9, 2023