[CES 2022] Hyundai Heavy Industries sets vision to become “future builder”

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, which has topped the global shipbuilding industry for the past 50 years, will embark a new mission to become a “future builder,” the company’s CEO said at the Consumer Electronics Show 2022 on Wednesday. “Starting from the sea, HHI Group’s technological innovation will change the lives of people in the future,” said Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings CEO Chung Ki-sun during the group’s debut press conference at CES. Speci

Jan. 6, 2022

Korean shipbuilders' new orders hit 8-year high in 2021

South Korean shipbuilders received the largest orders in eight years in 2021, and the country ranked the world's No. 1 in terms of the construction of high value-added vessels, the industry ministry said Thursday. Local shipbuilders won new orders totaling 17.44 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) last year, more than doubling from the previous year's 8.23 million CGTs, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It is the largest since 2013 when the figure

Jan. 6, 2022

S. Korea to expand tax incentives for R&D on carbon neutrality technology

South Korea plans to provide tax incentives for research and development (R&D) on green technology designed to help cut carbon emissions in an effort to nurture new industries, the finance ministry said Thursday. Currently, the country has picked 235 technologies in 12 sectors, including next-generation vehicles and bio health, as "new growth and original technologies" and provided tax incentives on R&D expenditures on such spending. For such technology, the country has appli

Jan. 6, 2022

Households, nonprofit agencies' excess funds up in Q3

Excess funds held by South Korean households and nonprofit agencies increased in the third quarter of last year on a rise in income from pandemic-related state support and less spending on houses, central bank data showed Thursday. Net financial funds -- the value of financial assets minus financial liabilities -- held by local households and nonprofit organizations serving households amounted to 35 trillion won ($29.1 billion) in the July-September period, up from 29.8 trillion won a year earl

Jan. 6, 2022

Nexon invests $400m in Avengers directors’ production company

Korean gaming giant Nexon said Thursday it has decided to invest $400 million into US production company Agbo, co-founded by Anthony and Joe Russo, the directors of Marvel’s global megahits. Through the latest investment, the Tokyo-listed Nexon plans to accelerate the global expansion of its existing and new intellectual property in the film and TV sectors, while Agbo looks to further boost its influence in the global entertainment market by strengthening its production power. Valued at

Jan. 6, 2022

Exim Bank floats $3b in dollar bonds

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea (Exim Bank) said Thursday that it has issued $3 billion worth of dollar bonds to foreign investors. The state lender has sold three-year bonds worth $1 billion, another $1 billion in five-year bonds and $1 billion worth of debt that will mature in 10 years. It marks the largest-ever issuance of foreign-currency bonds among local institutions except the government, the bank said. Exim Bank added it has successfully floated its planned amount of bonds a

Jan. 6, 2022

Daewoo Shipbuilding wins W502b LNG ship order

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Thursday it has received a 502 billion won ($420 million) liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship order in Greece. Daewoo Shipbuilding will deliver the LNG carriers to an unidentified shipper in Greece by November 2025, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company is the world's third-largest shipbuilder by orders after Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. in terms of 2021 orders. Last year, Daewoo Shipbuildi

Jan. 6, 2022

S. Korean lab, EU develop intercontinental 5G-satellite network system

A South Korean research lab said Thursday that it has successfully developed the world's first intercontinental 5G-satellite network system to help communicate in case of a disaster. The 5G-satellite multiple network system -- co-developed with the European Union -- connects 5G networks to satellite networks to allow communication services in remote areas or in disasters, the state-funded Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) said. The new system provides communication t

Jan. 6, 2022

Seoul stocks open lower on US rate hike woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as the US Federal Reserve minutes stoked concerns that the Fed may push harsher-than-expected rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 13.69 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,940.28 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a lackluster start, tracking the overnight Wall Street tech plunge. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 3.34 percent overnight and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.07 per

Jan. 6, 2022

Celltrion's COVID-19 self-test kit available on Amazon

South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion Inc. said Thursday that its self-diagnostic kit for COVID-19 is available for purchase on global retailer Amazon. Celltrion DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Home Test, co-developed by local health care business Humasis, received the US Food and Drug Administration's Emergency Use Authorization approval last year. The product is supplied through Amazon after Celltrion directly signed a contract with the world's largest online retailer. Celltrion said Amazon

Jan. 6, 2022

Most exporters don't see improvements in 2022 trade situation: poll

Nearly 9 in 10 South Korean exporting companies expect the global trade situation in 2022 not to improve compared with the previous year due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed Thursday. The survey of 300 exporting firms showed 55 percent of the respondents anticipating this year's world trade conditions to be similar to those in 2021. About 37 percent said the global trade climate would take a turn for the worse this year, with only 14.3 percent forecasting an improvement. The

Jan. 6, 2022

LG's virtual presentation met with mixed reactions at CES 2022

LAS VEGAS -- LG Electronics Inc. on Wednesday welcomed visitors to its massive booth, physically and virtually, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, offering an alternative approach to exhibiting its latest technology innovations amid the raging pandemic. LG Electronics virtually presented its new consumer electronics products, ranging from an indoor gardening gadget to a duel filter air purifier, in the 2,000-square-foot eco-friendly booth constructed of materials that are upcy

Jan. 6, 2022

[EXCLUSIVE] SK plans new AI chip collaboration with Qualcomm

LAS VEGAS -- SK and Qualcomm will collaborate on artificial intelligence chips in an effort to lead the burgeoning eco-friendly, low-power AI chip market. Speaking exclusively to The Korea Herald at CES 2022 on Wednesday, SK hynix Vice Chairman and CEO Park Jung-ho said, “SK hynix, SK Telecom and Qualcomm plan to make co-investments and make good AI chips. I‘ll talk to Qualcomm to join in.” “There are about 500 companies that do AI chips. It’s all about who gets i

Jan. 6, 2022

Hyundai Motor chairman, father sell 10-pct stake in logistics unit to Carlyle

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun and honorary group chief Chung Mong-koo sold their combined 10 percent stake in Hyundai Glovis to the global private equity firm Carlyle Group, the logistics unit of the group said Wednesday. The junior Chung sold a 3.29 percent stake and his father unloaded a 6.71 percent interest in Hyundai Glovis at 163,000 won (US$136) per share through block trading, the company said in a regulatory filing. The stake sale is valued at around 610 billion won. Th

Jan. 5, 2022

[CES 2022] Hyundai Motor vows to expand human reach with robots, metaverse

LAS VEGAS -- Laying out the groundwork for its future with robotics technology and the metaverse, the chairman of South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Group unveiled a new concept that materializes future mobility even in virtual spaces. Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show taking place in Las Vegas, Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Euisun introduced “metamobility” -- referring to an integration of robotics and the metaverse -- as the automaker's new growth engine. The concept is a

Jan. 5, 2022

[CES 2022] Hyundai Heavy Industries, Palantir to build new big data platform

Hyundai Heavy Industries and US company Palantir Technologies will work on building a new big data platform, the companies said Wednesday.  The two firms clinched a partnership in Las Vegas a day before the official kickoff of the CES 2022. The deal is reportedly valued at above $25 million, according to the industry. Their multiyear deal will improve the way Hyundai Heavy’s affiliates operate their businesses in shipbuilding, offshore engineering and energy and industrial machiner

Jan. 5, 2022

[CES 2022] Hankook Tire unveils airless tire i-Flex

South Korean tire manufacturer Hankook Tire unveiled an airless tire i-Flex at CES 2022, which has been used for Hyundai Motor Group’s latest robotics module Plug & Drive. According to the company, a 10-inch tire is applied with biomimetic design and requires no air inside unlike a traditional tire.  Inspired by a cell structure of living body, the tire maker said i-Flex adopted multi-layer interlocking spoke design to bolster the load bearing structure and shock absorption.&nbs

Jan. 5, 2022

Seoul stocks sink over 1% on US bond yield woes

South Korean stocks retreated Wednesday on worries the rising long-term bond yields in the United States may hasten the Federal Reserve's tapering move. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) declined 35.27 points, or 1.18 percent, to close at 2,953.97 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 774 million shares worth some 14.6 trillion won ($12.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 554 to 319. Institutions dumped a net 1.3

Jan. 5, 2022

[CES 2022] Samsung brings sustainable innovation to fore at CES

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Han Jong-hee said at the world’s largest tech show CES 2022 that the company’s new sustainable technologies would become part of the consumer experience. The green technologies would help Samsung‘s product lifecycle minimize the impact on climate change and encourage its consumers to reduce their carbon footprints, Han said during the keynote speech Tuesday. The green technologies suggested by Samsung range from the

Jan. 5, 2022

State-run banks eye overseas expansion for net-zero, corporate financing in 2022

South Korea’s state-run banks are gearing up for major overseas business expansions this year, in line with the global economy adopting measures to return to normalcy from the pandemic. Korea Development Bank, the nation’s development financial lender that provides local firms risk capital, is likely to upgrade its current office in Frankfurt, Germany, to a branch by the end of the year. KDB Chairman Lee Dong-gull visited Germany in August last year to prepare for the office’

Jan. 5, 2022