[K-Financiers] KB Global Fintech Lab acts as catalyst for startups' Asia expansion

KB Global Fintech Lab is at the forefront of supporting South Korean startups to have Singapore as a launchpad and make their way into other overseas markets. At the same time, KB, the Korean banking giant, aims to seek new business opportunities in the Southeast Asian country’s sprawling digital finance sector. "Although some in-house teams for digitalization exist in our company, it's difficult to develop and create everything on our own. As a result, we are now supporting st

April 24, 2023

Samsung, SK under renewed pressure to join US chip battle against China

South Korean chipmakers are facing increasing pressure amid an intensifying US-China rivalry, as Washington has reportedly requested the Korean government to hold back from filling China's shortfalls in chips. Seoul’s presidential office refused to comment Monday over a report from the Financial Times that the White House had asked the Korean government to urge its chipmakers to "not fill any market gap" in China, if Beijing bans US-based Micron Technology from selling chips

April 24, 2023

SK On invests W470b to bolster domestic R&D

SK On will invest 470 billion won ($352 million) in expanding its domestic research and development capabilities through 2025, the South Korean battery maker said Monday. According to SK On, the company will upgrade its existing R&D foothold in Daejeon, also known as the Institute of Battery Technology, and newly establish a pilot plant for developing next-generation batteries and a global validation center at the same site. Parts of the investment plan have already begun, as the battery mak

April 24, 2023

Foreign nationals to be allowed to enjoy Sportstoto online 'Betman'

Sportstoto Korea, the operator of the Korean sports betting game Sportstoto, said Monday that foreign residents can now sign up for the official online betting website of Sportstoto starting Thursday. Similar to horse race gambling, Sportstoto is a legal form of sports gambling in Korea in which participants receive sports promotion voting rights – commonly referred to as sports lottery tickets – to place their bets on match outcomes based on careful calculation and prediction. Betti

April 24, 2023

EcoPro to build cathode plant in Hungary

South Korean battery materials firm EcoPro said Monday it is poised to build a cathode manufacturing plant in Hungary, seeking to establish its footing in the burgeoning European electric car market. Under the 382.7 billion won ($287.2 million) investment, the company plans to produce 108,000 tons of cathodes annually, capable of supplying some 1.35 million electric vehicles. The plant is set to start production in 2025 after completing construction next year. EcoPro’s subsidiaries lin

April 24, 2023

Hyundai Mobis seeks bigger presence in global markets

Hyundai Mobis, a car parts maker affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group, said Monday it reached a total of $46.5 billion in overseas orders last year, a record figure that nearly doubled on-year. Its unique sales strategy, among other things, has proved effective in appealing to global carmakers, the company said. Hyundai Mobis currently operates sales units in its key production bases globally and the extensive global network now helps it secure a footing in the burgeoning parts market for electri

April 24, 2023

Hankook Tire speeds up Chinese expansion

Hankook Tire & Technology said Monday that the South Korean tire maker inked a supply contract with Chinese all-electric vehicle manufacturer Leapmotor, expanding the company’s presence in one of the world’s biggest EV markets. According to the Korean company’s announcement, Leapmotor’s sports utility vehicle C11 will be equipped with Hankook Tire’s Ventus S1 evo3 ev, a high-performance tire specifically designed for EVs. The EV-tailored tire offers optimized fu

April 24, 2023

Netmarble to make big China push this year

South Korean online game developer Netmarble said Sunday that the Chinese authorities have recently granted a service license to distribute a new online game based on its mobile role-playing game, “StoneAge World.” China’s National Press and Publication Administration, the agency in charge of licensing new video games, on Thursday released a list of 86 foreign games that have gained approval for domestic distribution. One of the newly approved games is “StoneAge: Awakenin

April 24, 2023

S. Korea's whisky imports soar about 80% in Q1

South Korea's whisky imports shot up nearly 80 percent in the first quarter of this year on the liquor's surging popularity among young Koreans amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. The volume of imported whisky came to 8,443 tons in the January-March period, up 78.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. It marks the highest first-quarter tally since 2000, when data tracking began. It is also the largest quarterly figure after 8

April 24, 2023

Seoul shares open lower ahead of earnings season

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday, as investors took a breather ahead of corporate earnings season. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 9.91 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,534.49 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday, US shares closed marginally higher amid a lack of fresh market-moving events. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.07 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite went up 0.11 percent. This week, major companies in South Korea, including chip giant

April 24, 2023

Posco named sustainability champion for 2 years in row

South Korean steelmaker Posco Group said Sunday it has been selected as the sustainability champion by the World Steel Association for two consecutive years, one of the industry’s top honors. Since 2018, the WSA has selected sustainability champions among its 140 member companies to recognize environmental, social and corporate governance efforts. Posco was one of the 10 companies selected this year. In order to win the recognition, companies are required to be selected as a sustainability

April 24, 2023

[KH Explains] Why does KB Bank hold on to money-losing budget phone service business?

KB Kookmin Bank recently gained a green light from the country’s financial regulator to continue its mobile telecommunications business after its four-year experiment as a regulatory sandbox program. It is the first lender in the country that has ventured into the mobile telecommunications market, dominated by three major telecommunications carriers. But a question remains: Why would the bank want to continue a business which has been in the red for years and has little relevance to its ma

April 23, 2023

Yoon joined by chaebol leaders on US trip amid concerns of protectionism

South Korea’s top conglomerate chiefs are heading to the US this week to accompany President Yoon Suk Yeol on his state visit, hoping to find a breakthrough in business uncertainties surrounding increasingly protectionist policies in the all-important market. Taking his biggest economic delegation to date in his weeklong state visit to the US from Monday, Yoon is expected to relay the difficulties Korean companies face with the US' introduction of the CHIPS and Science Act and Inflati

April 23, 2023

Celltrion employees unimpressed by company's new dress code

South Korean pharmaceuticals giant Celltrion last week announced a set of new workplace policies, including a stricter dress code, prompting complaints and mockery among young employees. According to the company on Sunday, the official dress code bans employees from wearing jeans and other casual attire such as hoodies, sweatpants, crew-neck tees and anything that has large brand logos. Instead, workers are advised to wear collared shirts, jackets, slacks and black sneakers. Celltrion allowed

April 23, 2023

Market cap of listed firms gains 16.4% in 2023

The total market capitalization of listed firms in Korea rose by 16.4 percent this year, an increase of more than 341 trillion won ($256 billion) from the year-end of 2022. As the stock market slowly rebounds, the combined market cap of Korea's benchmark index Kospi and secondary bourse Kosdaq swelled from 2,079.13 trillion won to 2,420.25 trillion won during the period, marking a 16.4 percent increase, or 341.11 trillion won, data from the country’s sole bourse operator Korea Exchang

April 23, 2023

Hana opens 1st child care center

Hana Financial Group opened its first Hana Momcare Center in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday. The center, the first of its kind, comes with a nursing room equipped with child care products including a water purifier, bassinet, baby feeding chair, breast pumps and a changing table for babies. It also comes with other necessities such as baby wash, lotion, wet wipes and cleaning liquid for feeding bottles. Pregnant women and parents can use the center to care for their children when visit

April 23, 2023

[Photo News] Samsung's Ramadan offers

Visitors try out Samsung Electronics devices at Samsung's pop-up store at Dubai Mall in Dubai, Friday. The pop-up store, marking the Eid Al Fitr, offers hands-on experiences of Samsung's latest mobile devices and home appliances, and SmartThings, its smart home platform.

April 23, 2023

Hyundai Mobis to simplify parking with 90-degree four-wheel steering

Hyundai Mobis, a car parts maker affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group, said Sunday it has succeeded in demonstrating its upcoming self-driving technology, called e-Corner System, on public roads for the first time. The technology incorporates in-wheel motors, rotational steering and electronic braking in one module installed in the car wheels – the first of its kind globally. In a video unveiled by the company, Hyundai’s Ioniq 5, equipped with the module, completed tricky parking an

April 23, 2023

[Photo News] Kia at Milan Design Week

Karim Habib, Kia Corp.’s global head of design, looks around the carmaker’s exhibition booth themed “Opposites United” at the Milan Design Week 2023 in Italy, Friday. Kia was the only carmaker among the 12 finalists to be nominated for the Fuorisalone Award, a top prize given during the annual furnishing and design fair.

April 23, 2023

Samsung Electronics likely headed for first quarterly loss in nearly 15 years: analysts

Samsung Electronics Co. is likely to post an operating loss in the second quarter on a chip downturn and decline in mobile demand, in what will be the first quarterly loss for the world's largest memory chip maker in nearly 15 years, according to analysts Sunday. Samsung Electronics could suffer an operating loss of as much as 1.28 trillion won ($961 million), according to an estimate by Hi Investment & Securities Co. Among the local brokerages that gave a similar outlook, SK Securities

April 23, 2023