Seoul shares little changed amid rate hike woes

South Korean stocks ended almost flat after a weak start Monday, as upbeat US jobs data helped ease recession fears despite worries over the US Federal Reserve's drastic rate hike. The local currency lost ground against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 2.3 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,493.10, in choppy trading that started off some 0.4 percent lower at the opening bell. Trading volume was moderate at 409.1 million shares with 7.41 trillion won ($5.67 billi

Aug. 8, 2022

Crypto payment is going mainstream: ethereum co-founder

With the fast-growing blockchain industry, cryptocurrency payment will become mainstream after ethereum becomes cheaper and more accessible for a broader user base, according to ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. “The upgrade of ethereum (which is scheduled in September) will dramatically cut the current cost of transaction fees that are around $1 to $20, by making improvements to efficiency and accessibility of the crypto,” said Buterin during a session at Korea Blockchain Week

Aug. 8, 2022

Power demand in S. Korea forecast to peak this week

Electricity demand could hit an all-time high this week as scorching weather continues and workers return from summer vacations. According to Korea Power Exchange on Monday, the country’s maximum power demand is expected to surpass 90,000 megawatts this week. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy had forecast in June that electricity demand would rise to the 91.7-95.7 gigawatt range in the second week of August, up from 91.1 gigawatts last year. The country’s electricity dem

Aug. 8, 2022

KB Financial Group wins Red Dot Award

KB Financial Group said Monday that its wine collection using its character design won the Red Dot Award for Brands and Communication Design. The character design, which the firm created to boost its image as a friendly bank open to ordinary Koreans, is aimed at raising domestic wine sales amid the pandemic when small business owners face greater economic challenges, the firm added. “We are grateful for the award because we feel acknowledged for our efforts to help those most in need,&r

Aug. 8, 2022

Tech giants deploy NFT to diversify customer services

Industry behemoths are utilizing non-fungible tokens not only as a marketing tool but also to provide more diverse services to their customers, according to industry insiders on Monday. Samsung Electronics has signed a memorandum of understanding with Samsung Digital Plaza, Shilla Duty Free Shop, Show Golf and E Cruise at E Cruise headquarters on Monday, to promote customers’ usage of New Galaxy NFT. In the MOU, blockchain company Theta Labs participated as an NFT issuing partner, and

Aug. 8, 2022

Golfwear market goes luxury in S. Korea

As golf becomes one of the most enjoyed leisure activities in South Korea, not only fashion companies but also others far from apparel business are launching luxury golfwear products, expanding the market size by value. According to the Korea Leisure Industry Institute, the value of the local golfwear industry, which was placed at 4.5 trillion won ($3.5 billion) in 2019, grew about 10 percent annually, despite ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. The market size was placed at 5.6 trillion won as of 2

Aug. 8, 2022

Inflation likely to exceed 5% this year

South Korea’s inflation rate this year is likely to exceed 5 percent, marking the highest in 24 years, as average consumer prices in the first seven months have risen 4.9 percent from a year ago, according to Statistics Korea. In July, consumer prices rose at the fastest pace since November 1998, posting a 6.3 percent increase on-year, mainly due to high energy and food prices. The government and the Bank of Korea expect inflation to peak in the fall and start to slow thereafter as inter

Aug. 8, 2022

S. Korea to unveil inflation-fighting measures, housing supply plan this week

South Korea will unveil additional measures to tame inflation, and a package of housing supply plans, this week in an effort to help stabilize people's livelihoods, the finance minister said Monday. The government plans to roll out the soon-to-be announced inflation-fighting measures ahead of the Chuseok fall harvest holiday next month, as consumer prices ran at a near 24-year high in July due to high energy and food prices, according to Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho. South Korea's co

Aug. 8, 2022

S. Korea to sell state-owned idle assets over next 5 years

South Korea plans to sell state-owned unused and idle lands and buildings over the next five years in a bid to bolster public finances, the finance ministry said Monday. The government said it plans to push to sell assets worth 16 trillion won ($12.3 billion) and more in the coming years. The value of state-owned lands and buildings reached 701 trillion won as of end-2021, of which some 41 trillion won, or 6 percent of the total, is available for disposal, according to the ministry. The proceeds

Aug. 8, 2022

Meritz Securities Q2 net down 16.7% amid unfavorable market conditions

Meritz Securities Co. said Monday its second-quarter earnings sank nearly 17 percent from a year earlier amid unfavorable market conditions, but its bottom line climbed almost 10 percent in the first half. Consolidated net profit came to 158.4 billion won ($121 million) in the April-June period, down 16.7 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Yet Meritz Securities, a major brokerage house in South Korea, registered net income of 100 billion won or more for 18 cons

Aug. 8, 2022

Seoul shares open lower on renewed rate hike worries

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Monday, tracking the decline in US major indexes late last week, on renewed worries over the increasing likelihood of another sharp rate hike by the US Federal Reserve. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.38 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,481.42 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended lower on Friday (US time), after the latest US nonfarm payroll data showed employment expansion in July that was far larger than

Aug. 8, 2022

KIPO signs a MOU for patent cooperation

Starting Sept. 1, the patent examination process for South Korean companies in France will become more streamlined, according to the Korea Intellectual Property Office. KIPO chief Lee Insil on July 14 signed a memorandum of understanding with her French counterpart, Pascal Faure, along the sidelines of the 63rd World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly, held in Geneva, Switzerland between July 13 and 15, the office said Thursday. Under the deal, the two countries will establish a

Aug. 8, 2022

Hyundai Motor Group's green car sales top 1m

Hyundai Motor Group's cumulative sales of eco-friendly vehicles surpassed the 1 million mark in July, 13 years after its entry into the green-car market, data showed Monday. The automaking giant said its two carmaking affiliates -- Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. -- sold a combined 29,484 environmentally-friendly vehicles in July alone, raising their cumulative sales to 1.024 million. The milestone came after Hyundai Motor Group entered the eco-friendly vehicle market in July 2009 by launch

Aug. 8, 2022

HMM's record earnings forecast to take a breather in Q2

HMM Co., South Korea's leading container shipper, is forecast to see its record-breaking earnings streak take a breather for the second quarter of the year due to a downturn in freight rates, analysts said Monday. The shipper's bottom line is estimated to reach 4.84 trillion won ($3.71 billion) for the April-June period, a tad lower than 4.92 trillion won for the first quarter, according to a market consensus compiled by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. Its

Aug. 8, 2022

IFC names veteran insider as Asia chief

The International Finance Corporation said Friday that it named insider Ruth Horowitz as vice president for Asia and the Pacific, bringing in a veteran who most recently headed the group’s Asset Management Company, which invests in developing countries. Horowitz, who spent the last 13 years at the private sector investment arm of the World Bank, took office last Monday, highlighting fighting runaway fuel and food prices and climate change as her top priorities. “Now, with war-

Aug. 8, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘Quality over quantity’: Upgrading Korea’s IP evaluation system

In light of uncertainties involving global competition for hegemony, pandemic and digitization, South Korea’s intellectual property agency chief has emphasized that upgrading the evaluation system for IP assets is essential for local companies to innovate themselves. “The amount of South Korea’s IP assets has grown drastically over the past decades, and the country is considered one of the global IP powerhouses. Now is the time to focus on improving the quality of the IP eval

Aug. 7, 2022

[Herald Interview] Future of head-up display tech is in augmented reality

Head-up Display, or HUD, has been largely adopted by global carmakers in recent years as a way of keeping drivers’ eyes on the road. But by using bulky, conventional optics, HUDs could only project limited information on the windshield above the steering wheel, providing rudimentary information such as direction and speed. However, in the near future, the cockpit feature would be transformed to take a bigger role in driving by applying augmented reality technology, said an executive at H

Aug. 7, 2022

[Market Eye] SK hynix’s W122tr chip cluster project hits snag over water dispute

SK hynix’s 121.7 trillion won ($93.8 billion) plan to set up a semiconductor manufacturing cluster is facing an unexpected hurdle as the South Korean chipmaking giant is being denied a request for water usage from a city adjacent to the cluster’s location in Greater Seoul. The city of Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, is demanding greater compensation in exchange for letting SK hynix build underground pipes needed to transport massive amounts of water crucial for producing next-generation

Aug. 7, 2022

SoCar IPO faces lukewarm response from investors

Amid dampened appetite for initial public offerings, South Korean car-sharing company SoCar is facing lukewarm response from institutional investors, with a growing possibility that it may join this year’s long list of market debut flops. According to industry sources, during the two-day book building period on Thursday and Friday, institutional investors had written their preferred share price below 34,000 won ($26), lower than the price band of 34,000 won-45,000 won suggested by the co

Aug. 7, 2022

Foreigners return, retail investors leave Kospi

Retail investors turned net sellers of South Korean stocks in recent weeks despite foreigners’ buying spree, data showed Sunday, putting the nation’s key stock index in a bear market rally. Overseas investors scooped up a net 4 trillion won ($3.08 billion) on the Kospi market from July 14 to Friday, data from the nation’s sole bourse operator Korea Exchange showed, driving the benchmark index’s slight rebound. The Kospi inched up 1.60 percent to 2,490.80 on Friday compa

Aug. 7, 2022