Seoul shares open higher amid eased inflation woes

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday as eased inflation woes raised hopes for less aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 8.11 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,491.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 0.1 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.88 percent on hopes that the Fed could slow the pace of its aggressive monetary tightening over eased inflation woes. The US

Nov. 14, 2022

Porsche aims high to produce ‘Porsche-typical’ EVs

FRANCIACORTA, Italy -- When Porsche unveiled its first-ever all-electric model Taycan in 2019, not many expected it to become one of the brand’s bestselling models, behind only the Macan and Cayenne SUVs. Now, as the first premium automotive manufacturer in the world to produce various plug-in hybrid models, the German sports car maker is betting big on producing powerful fully electric vehicles to offer driving dynamics and a sports car performance -- while sustainable at the same time --

Nov. 14, 2022

SK pledges to empower outside board members

SK Group said Sunday it is ramping up efforts to bolster the role of outside board members in a way to help its board of directors play a more active role as the top decision-making body and elevate corporate value ultimately. After giving them more authority like evaluating CEO performance, the chip-to-energy giant said it is launching new measures to boost the board’s expertise and prowess across affiliates. Currently, SK Inc., the holding unit, has a nine-member board consisting of four

Nov. 13, 2022

Hyundai Motor chief urges bold action on climate change, energy poverty at B-20

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun on Sunday urged global action to tackle climate change and energy poverty at the 2022 Business 20 summit of business groups and entrepreneurs that precedes the Group of 20 summit held on the Indonesia island of Bali from Tuesday. The B-20 is an official G-20 dialogue forum formed to facilitate a delivery of policy recommendations to the leaders to G20. This year’ s G-20 will be held under the theme of “Advancing Innovative, Inclusive

Nov. 13, 2022

Milk inflation accelerates

With the upcoming milk price hike slated for this week, South Korean consumers are likely to see a series of price increase in bread, butter and dairy products -- everyday low-cost items -- worsening the already soaring inflation. Seoul Dairy Cooperative, the largest supplier of milk and dairy products here, recently announced it will increase the price of milk and dairy products around 6 percent starting Thursday. A 1-liter carton of the company’s milk will be at least 2,800 won ($2.10) i

Nov. 13, 2022

Antitrust watchdog mulls new M&A team

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission is seeking to set up a new team dedicated solely to overseeing merger and acquisition deals among local and foreign businesses, according to industry sources on Sunday. The plan was reportedly included in a recent report on the antitrust watchdog’s reorganization submitted to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Currently, the FTC is responsible for reviewing the legitimacy of M&A deals and other antitrust issues involving Korean companies

Nov. 13, 2022

GS Caltex aims to diversify business portfolio with new cracking facility

South Korean energy company GS Caltex is seeking to diversify its business portfolio with the completion of a new olefin production facility worth 2.7 trillion won ($2.01 billion) in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. On Friday, the company held a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the facilities, with its top brass, including CEO Hur Sae-hong, in attendance. Olefin, a linchpin element in the petrochemical business, is used as a basic material for plastic, synthetic fiber and synthetic rubber. T

Nov. 13, 2022

[Herald Interview] GM Korea to bolster safety management in time of e-mobility

As the automobile industry transitions towards electrification, GM Korea is establishing new safety measures to address potential risks associated with new technologies in manufacturing electric vehicles. Wayne O’Brien, chief safety officer at GM Korea, told The Korea Herald last week that electrification program does bring different safety exposures, particularly in the form of energy, and that they are in the process of developing robust systems to help employees understand all the criti

Nov. 13, 2022

New stock tax plan puts retail investors on edge

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s push to introduce a new tax on stocks from next year is causing concern among retail investors who fear it could further dampen investor sentiment in the local equity market. The envisioned scheme is to levy a capital gains tax of 22 to 27.5 percent on income a retail investor makes from financial investments such as share or bond sales, if it is above the set threshold. The plan won bipartisan support in the parliament in 2020 under the pr

Nov. 12, 2022

More businesses face downgrade in credit ratings

SEJONG -- Market insiders are raising the possibility that dozens of local businesses will suffer a downgrade in their credit standings next year in the wake of economic slowdown as well as worsening liquidity in their financial statements among many in the corporate sector. Their prediction is based on the situation that three major credit rating agencies have recently increased the number of watch list for potential downgrades. According to the lists held by Korea Investors Service, Korea Rati

Nov. 11, 2022

BOK board member calls for 'simple, direct' communication on monetary policy

A monetary policymaker of the Bank of Korea on Friday underlined the need for "simple" and "direct" communication when the central bank tries to send signals to the market on its future policy directions. Park Ki-young, one of the BOK's seven-member monetary policy board that determines the key policy interest rate, also raised the need for more research for the central bank's effective communication with market participants. "Such practical restrictions as the

Nov. 11, 2022

SsangYong Motor graduates from court-led debt rescheduling program

SsangYong Motor Co. said Friday it has graduated from the court-led debt rescheduling program nineteen months after it was placed under court receivership amid the COVID-19 pandemic. SsangYong Motor applied for court receivership on April 15, 2021, after its Indian parent Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. failed to attract an investor due to its worsening financial status amid the pandemic. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court approved SsangYong's debt payment plans in August after the court picked a loca

Nov. 11, 2022

Auto exports jump 28% in October on solid demand for eco-friendly cars

South Korea's car exports jumped 28.5 percent on-year last month on brisk demand for eco-friendly cars, data showed Friday. The value of outbound shipments of automobiles came to $4.92 billion last month, the largest ever for any October, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of volume, a total of 208,544 vehicles were sold last month, up 30.2 percent from the previous year, the data showed. By region, exports to North America jumped 60.2 percent to $2.3

Nov. 11, 2022

Daejeon seeks to attract 'largest-ever' investments from European firms

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo met Wednesday with officials from bio-to-chip firm Merck, at the company’s headquarters in Germany, to attract semiconductor and bio-related investments in the central Korean city. During the meeting, Lee and Merck officials discussed the company’s potential direct investment in Daejeon to build manufacturing facilities.  After his inauguration in July, Lee announced his vision to promote the nano semiconductor industry, which en

Nov. 11, 2022

BOK chief says continued monetary tightening necessary but worries about 'growing signs of stress'

South Korea's top central banker said Friday that it is a top priority to ensure price stability and reduce inflation pressure through monetary tightening but worried there are "growing signs of stress" in various sectors amid recent steep interest rate hikes. Rhee Chang-yong, governor of the Bank of Korea, also voiced worries over money moving from non-banking sectors to the banking sector due to fast-rising deposit rates, saying that it is an "important issue" to turn

Nov. 11, 2022

Exports down 2.8 percent during first 10 days of Nov.

South Korea's exports slipped 2.8 percent on-year in the first 10 days of November due mainly to weak shipments of chips and mobile devices, data showed Friday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $17.7 billion in the Nov. 1-10 period, compared with $18.2 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports also went down 6.7 percent on-year to $19.8 billion during the cited period, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.05 billion. Outbound shipments

Nov. 11, 2022

NCSOFT Q3 net profit up 83 pct on stellar sales of 'Lineage' franchise

NCSOFT Corp., a major South Korean online and mobile game developer, said Friday its third-quarter net income soared more than 80 percent from a year earlier, led by strong sales from the latest entry of its popular "Lineage" franchise. It logged a net profit of 182.1 billion won ($132.2 million) on a consolidated basis in the three months ending in September, compared with 99.5 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. For the quarter, NCSOFT posted an opera

Nov. 11, 2022

LG Energy Solution secures long-term lithium carbonate supply from US producer

South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. said Friday it has signed a binding agreement with a US minerals provider for a long-term supply of a key lithium product used in electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries. The offtake agreement with Compass Minerals Inc. is for 40 percent of about 11,000 tons of lithium carbonate the US company is estimated to produce for six years starting in 2025, LG Energy Solution said in a release. The two companies also agreed to work on a separate supply de

Nov. 11, 2022

Seoul shares open sharply higher on US rallies

South Korean stocks opened steeply higher Friday on overnight Wall Street rallies, largely as weaker-than-expected inflation data in the United States raised speculation of the Federal Reserve going easy on a tightening mode. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had jumped 69.71 points, or 2.9 percent, to 2,471.94 as of 9:15 a.m. Overnight, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite surged a jaw-dropping 7.35 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 soared 3.7 percent and 5.

Nov. 11, 2022

KT invests $2m in US voice biomarker tech startup Sonde Health

KT Corp. said Thursday it is making a strategic investment worth $2 million in Sonde Health, a US voice biomarker tech startup that analyzes people’s voice to recognize depression, anxiety and respiratory problems. The Boston-based firm, equipped with the world’s largest amount of data on voice health, has already secured partnerships with global tech companies like Qualcomm and GN Group. Vocal biomarkers are gaining renewed attention recently, with voice-related services from smartp

Nov. 10, 2022