KT&G promotes business in global tax-free exhibit

KT&G said it is taking part in an annual exhibition hosted by the Tax Free World Association in Cannes, France, from Oct. 3 through 6 as part of efforts to expand its duty-free business to Europe, the Middle East and Central and South Americas. The South Korean tobacco company is displaying premium products from Esse, Raison and Bohem brands at its booth. It is also holding meetings with global distributors and tax-free businesses at the TFWA World Exhibition and Conference. It is the 13th

Oct. 5, 2022

KSOE bags W2.09tr order for 7 eco-friendly ships

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering said Wednesday it has inked a 2.09 trillion won ($1.46 billion) contract to build seven eco-friendly ships. KSOE, the world’s biggest shipbuilder by order backlog, signed contracts with Denmark-based integrated logistics company Maersk and Excelerate Energy, for six 17,000 TEU methanol-powered large container ships and one 170,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas-floating and regasification unit (LNG-FSRU) respectively. Under the deal, Hyu

Oct. 5, 2022

South Korea poised to become No. 4 defense exporter

South Korea’s defense exports are expected to reach $20 billion this year, bringing it a step closer to becoming the world’s fourth-largest defense exporter, according to an industry report Wednesday. But at the same time, calls are growing to strengthen defense cybersecurity amid surging hacking attacks in recent years. The country's defense exports have already reached $10 billion this year, surpassing last year’s annual exports of $7 billion, according to the Korea Institut

Oct. 5, 2022

LG Energy Solution launches two in-house ventures

LG Energy Solution said Wednesday it has launched two in-house ventures, called KooRoo and AVEL, allowing its employees more independence and flexibility to spur innovation in its battery business ecosystem. KooRoo is a battery as a service (BaaS) company that offers services based on data generated throughout the whole life cycle of batteries. Their first project is a battery pack replacement service for two-wheeled vehicles like an electric bicycle. AVEL is an energy as a service (EaaS) compan

Oct. 5, 2022

Pivot to big rate hike looms large as prices remain elevated

South Korea’s consumer prices eased in September for a second straight month, but the annual price increase is expected to stay as high as three times what the Bank of Korea sees as acceptable, the central bank said Wednesday, sharply increasing expectations of another 50 basis point rate hike next week. According to Statistics Korea data on Wednesday, the September consumer price index rose 5.6 percent from the same month a year earlier, down from 5.7 percent in August, when it slowed for

Oct. 5, 2022

SK hynix seeks full autonomy on neon supply chain by 2024

South Korean memory chip manufacturer SK hynix on Wednesday pledged to achieve a 100 percent procurement of domestically produced neon gas, a critical material for chip production, by 2024. SK hynix added that 40 percent of neon gas used for chip production is already locally produced in Korean chipmakers' bid to stabilize chip supply chain and reduce their reliance on imports of the specialty gas. Neon gas makes up about 95 percent of excimer laser, a ultraviolet light source for photolith

Oct. 5, 2022

FDI pledges to S. Korea hit record high through September: data

Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges to South Korea rose 18.2 percent on-year during the first nine months of this year on the solid growth in investment in such advanced sectors as chips and batteries, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The country received $21.52 billion worth of FDI commitments during the January-September period, compared with $18.21 billion logged a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It marked the highest amount ever for

Oct. 5, 2022

KEPCO eyes more coal-fired power generation to cut costs

South Korea's state power utility said Wednesday it plans to increase coal-fired electricity generation temporarily this year in an effort to cut costs and boost financial health. Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said it will produce 12.8 terawatt hours (TWh) with coal this year instead of using liquefied natural gas (LNG). The amount accounts for nearly 8 percent of the country's LNG-fired electricity generation at about 160 TWh. The state electricity firm estimated the move would h

Oct. 5, 2022

Daewoo E&C, Jungheung renovate patriot descendants' residences

South Korean builder Daewoo E&C and its parent company Jungheung Group participated in a campaign to improve the living environment of a descendant of an independence patriot as part of its corporate social responsibility project on Friday, the companies said Tuesday. The campaign hosted by Habitat Korea involves renovating old houses in which descendants of independence patriots experiencing economic difficulties live. Employees of Daewoo E&C and Jungheung Group traveled to the residenc

Oct. 5, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on US rallies

South Korean stocks opened markedly higher Wednesday, tracking overnight rallies on Wall Street, on solid demand for tech bargains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 22.39 points, or 1.01 percent, to 2,231.77 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.80 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.34 percent, as US Treasury yields fell and the latest US jobs report raised hope that the Federal Reserve would bac

Oct. 5, 2022

S. Korea's exports outlook worsens for Q4

South Korea's exports are expected to worsen in the fourth quarter of the year amid a global economic slowdown, a trade body said Wednesday. The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said its export business survey index stood at 84.4 for the October-December period, down from 94.4 three months earlier and staying below par for three consecutive quarters. The index came to 96.1 in the second quarter of the year, falling below the benchmark 100 for the first time in two years. A readi

Oct. 5, 2022

Hyundai, Kia log 8.5% rise in US sales last month despite chip shortage

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their combined sales in the United States rose 8.5 percent last month from a year earlier despite the extended chip shortage. Hyundai and Kia sold 115,735 vehicles in the world's most important automobile market in September, up from 106,706 units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data. Hyundai's sales climbed 11 percent to 59,465 units last month from 53,800 a year ago, while Kia's were up 6.4 percent t

Oct. 5, 2022

Consumer prices grow at slower pace for 2nd month in Sept.

South Korea's consumer prices grew at a slower pace on-year for the second consecutive month in September on the back of slowed growth in prices of oil and agricultural products, data showed Wednesday, in yet another sign that inflation may have peaked. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 5.6 percent last month from a year earlier, slowing from a 5.7 percent rise in August, according to the data from Statistics Korea. In July, consumer prices increased at the fastest pace in alm

Oct. 5, 2022

Seoul readies W10tr ‘stabilization’ fund to contain market volatility

South Korea’s finance authorities are preparing to replenish what they call a “stabilization fund” this month to curb volatility gripping the local stock market, led by investors pricing in a sharp US downturn. The fund, which the government last rolled out in 2020 to ride out the COVID-19 fallout but never actually used amid a market rebound, will make possible an injection of roughly 10 trillion won ($7 billion) into the Kospi 200 -- a select group of blue chips on the main b

Oct. 4, 2022

Hyundai Engineering expands CSR projects to help disabled, low-income households

Hyundai Engineering said Tuesday that it is planning on expanding its corporate social responsibility projects to support the disabled and low-income households. Under the plan, the firm, which has been conducting charity drives with the Goodwill Store since 2017, a rehabilitation facility for the disabled, will provide educational services, repair low-income residents’ houses and establish a community center for Koryoin, or ethnic Koreans living in Central Asia. "Hyundai Engineering

Oct. 4, 2022

3 more Paris Baguette branches open in Paris

SPC Group has opened three more Paris Baguette stores in Paris this year to expand its business in the European market, the South Korean food and beverage giant said Tuesday. The latest Paris Baguette store is set to open in Montparnasse, a major commercial district in the southern part of Paris on Tuesday, local time. The opening of Paris Baguette Montparnasse branch follows two branch openings in February in other parts of the French capital -- in Boieldieu and Corolles. With a floor area of 1

Oct. 4, 2022

Hyundai Steel expands earthquake-proof H Core lineup

South Korea’s second-largest steelmaker Hyundai Steel said Thursday it would expand the product lineup of its earthquake-resistant structural steel, branded as H Core. H Core was launched in 2017 to include materials used for earthquake-proof designs such as rebar and section steel. Through the recent expansion, the steelmaker will incorporate other materials that can be used throughout the construction process such as cold and hot rolled steel, steel plates, and steel pipes. The steelmake

Oct. 4, 2022

Naver to buy US social commerce platform Poshmark for $1.6b

South Korean IT giant Naver will buy Poshmark, the largest social commerce marketplace in North America, for a total of $1.6 billion (2.3 trillion won), the companies said Tuesday. Naver will acquire all of Poshmark stocks at $17.9 per share in a buyout worth approximately $1.2 billion. The rest of the $1.6 billion deal includes consideration for Poshmark’s cash holdings of some $580 million. As the biggest acquisition ever for a Korean IT company, Wednesday’s announcement marked t

Oct. 4, 2022

Seoul shares rebound from 2-year low on tech gains

South Korean stocks made a strong rebound Tuesday from more than a two-year low as investors picked up battered tech shares following solid gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 53.89 points, or 2.5 percent, to end at 2,209.38. Trading volume was a bit slim at 412.58 million shares worth 7.37 trillion won ($5.16 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 815 to 90. Foreigners bought a net 216.89 billion won worth of shares in Seoul, while retail and ind

Oct. 4, 2022

[Newsmaker] Transport ministry offers increase of taxi-hailing fee to resolve nighttime cab shortage

The government will raise late-night taxi-hailing fees to 5,000 won ($3.49) which will go into the pockets of taxi drivers, not platform companies, to bring back drivers who left the industry during the pandemic curfew, the transport ministry said Tuesday. According to the plan devised to resolve the nighttime taxi shortage, taxis operating from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. will receive up to 5,000 won as hailing fee. When the midnight basic fare is added, passengers in Seoul are likely to pay more than 10

Oct. 4, 2022