Hyundai Bioscience COVID-19 treatment candidate shows efficacy with dexamethasone

South Korean biotechnology firm Hyundai Bioscience Co. said Tuesday that the combination of its oral antiviral candidate and dexamethasone showed high efficacy in treating COVID-19 during animal testings. The company is currently re-purposing niclosamide-based CP-COV03 as a potential treatment for the COVID-19 virus. The investigative drug's indication also includes influenza. Citing the result of the latest animal testing, Hyundai Bioscience said use of both CP-COV03 and dexamethasone resulte

Dec. 7, 2021

S. Korean shipbuilders rank first in global new orders for 2nd month

South Korean shipbuilders ranked first in global new orders for a second month in November, far outpacing their Chinese rivals, industry data showed Tuesday. Local shipbuilders, led by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., gained 58 percent, or a combined 770,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs), of 1.32 million CGT global new orders last month, according to data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service. Chinese shipbuilders bagged 460,000 CGTs, taking up 35 percent of the total. I

Dec. 7, 2021

S. Korea to implement eased capital gain taxes on home sales on Wednesday

South Korea said Tuesday it will implement eased capital gain taxes on property sales for single-home owners this week amid growing public discontent over real estate-related tax burdens ahead of the presidential election. Last week, the National Assembly approved a revision to the income tax act that calls for raising a threshold of capital gains tax exemptions on real estate sales for single-house owners to 1.2 billion won (US$1 million) from the previous 900 million won. The government appr

Dec. 7, 2021

S. Koreans' spending on Disney+ hits over W17b in Nov.: data

South Koreans are estimated to have spent more than 17 billion won ($14.5 million) in purchasing contents by Disney+ less than a month since its launch here, data showed Tuesday. Payments to Disney+ in the country were estimated at 17.2 billion won for November, according to industry tracker WiseApp, which analyzed credit and debit card data of those aged 20 or over. WiseApp added that the data excludes other payment methods, such as those through telecom operators. Disney+, the flagship stre

Dec. 7, 2021

Samsung Heavy Industries wins W734b orders for 3 LNG carriers

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday that it has bagged two orders worth a combined 734 billion won ($621 million) to construct three liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. With the latest deals, Samsung Heavy Industries has won orders worth a cumulative $11.8 billion so far this year, exceeding 30 percent of its annual order target of $9.1 billion, the shipbuilder said in an emailed statement. By ship, Samsung Heavy Industries bagged orders for 20 LNG carriers, 44 container carriers and

Dec. 7, 2021

Over 70% of state budget to be frontloaded in first half of next year

South Korea said Tuesday it has allocated 73 percent of fiscal spending for implementation in the first half of next year in a bid to help the country's economic recovery gain traction. The government plans to front-load 363.5 trillion won ($307.7 billion) of next year's budget spending of 497.7 trillion won in the January-June period, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The 2022 proposition is higher than 72.4 percent of the budget spending allocated in the first half of this ye

Dec. 7, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower amid inflation concerns

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, largely as the estimate-beating jobs data in the United States raised investors' concerns that the Federal Reserve could hasten its key rate hike to reign in the inflation pressure. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) decreased 8.49 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,964.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.66 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix traded flat. Pharmaceutical gi

Dec. 7, 2021

Celltrion's COVID-19 antibody treatment wins emergency approval in Australia

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. said Tuesday its COVID-19 antibody treatment has won emergency approval from Australian authorities. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) granted provisional approval of Rekirona for the intravenous treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adult patients. It is the fifth COVID-19 treatment to receive regulatory approval in Australia. Rekirona is a monoclonal antibody with activity against COVID-19. A monoclonal antibody is a type of prot

Dec. 7, 2021

S. Korea logs current account surplus for 18th straight month in October

South Korea logged a current account surplus for the 18th straight month in October, though the surplus was smaller than the previous month due to increased imports amid high energy and raw material prices, the central bank said Tuesday. The current account surplus came to $6.95 billion in October, down from $10.07 billion a month earlier, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea. The October figure marked the 18th straight month that the current account has been in the black since

Dec. 7, 2021

Future K2 tanks could run on homegrown transmission

The next batch of South Korea’s K2 Black Panther main battle tanks are expected to run on an locally-made transmission system instead of a German one, sources said Monday. “We have solved technical issues of our transmission system and it will go inside the fourth batch of K2 tanks,” a high-ranking official at SNT Dynamics told The Korea Herald. “A government quality test is scheduled in the first half of next year” Inside K2 tanks, there is a key component ca

Dec. 6, 2021

Mirae Asset names first non-family chairman

Mirae Asset Securities said Monday that executive vice chairman Choi Hyun-man will take over the brokerage firm as chairman in what will be the company’s first move to tap a non-family member chief since it became the largest South Korean brokerage in 2016 when it merged with Daewoo Securities. Choi, a founding member of Mirae Asset Securities when it was set up in 1999, has been CEO at a number of key affiliates of Mirae Asset Financial Group, which along with brokerage provides comprehe

Dec. 6, 2021

Samsung's Lee Jae-yong leaves for Middle East

Samsung’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong left for the United Arab Emirates on Monday at around 10 p.m. ahead of scheduled meetings in the Middle East region. Lee told reporters he would be returning to South Korea on Thursday, and did not elaborate on details about the trip. Lee’s visit to the Middle East comes more than two years after the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics’ February 2019 meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. A few months

Dec. 6, 2021

'Metaverse is about seeing things in more integrated way'

Metaverse, a shared virtual world where people can interact with others through avatars, has been the talk of the town in the second half of this year. While some doubt metaverse will be able to take off or see it as just another marketing strategy, others seem to believe it is the next giant leap in information technology. Regardless of the perceptual divide, Kim Beom-joo, head of evangelism at graphics developer Unity Korea, says the coming of the virtual platform was inevitable and its ar

Dec. 6, 2021

S. Korea, ASEAN to ease customs checks amid pandemic

South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed to cut red tape in customs checks to boost trade, until they see the coronavirus pandemic subside, Korea’s Finance Ministry said Monday. Copies of a product’s certificate of origin will now be accepted for tariff cuts guaranteed under their free trade agreement that took effect in June 2007. The original certificates had been shipped late because of the pandemic. “Nearly 40,000 Korean firms exporting to AS

Dec. 6, 2021

[GLOBAL FINANCE AWARDS] Citibank Korea seeks real change with contributions beyond charity

Citibank Korea runs a number of programs that contribute to Korean society based on three principles -- employee participation, long-term commitment and leading activity. The bank does not simply deliver donations but also makes contributions to drive real change by partnering with nonprofit organizations to plan programs and giving them long-term support. It also encourages employees to voluntarily participate in these programs. On of the programs is “Citi Global Community Day” wh

Dec. 6, 2021

[GLOBAL FINANCE AWARDS] Kyobo Life Insurance accelerates digital transformation drive

Kyobo Life Insurance, one of Korea’s biggest life insurers, has picked up speed in its digital transformation efforts this year by innovating its traditional businesses and securing future growth engines. According to Kyobo Life Insurance, the company reorganized its structure with a digital transformation, opening departments on digital strategy, digital new businesses and IT support. The life insurer also implemented Amazon’s Public Cloud services in order to cope with the para

Dec. 6, 2021

[Global Finance Awards] Shinhan Financial Group leads ESG investment trend

Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea’s second-largest financial company by market capitalization, is the first financial services firm in East Asia to have openly committed to carbon neutrality by 2050 -- a bold step in the global race to expand environmental, social and governance investment. “ESG investment poses an opportunity, not a risk, which means we should be able to take advantage of it,” Shinhan Chairman Cho Yong-byoung said, describing ESG investment as a vaccine th

Dec. 6, 2021

[GLOBAL FINANCE AWARDS] Woori Bank's green finance generous to COVID victims, but strict to polluters

When banks gave out loans, the only question they asked was, “Can you pay it back?” This was before the pandemic. But now, people hit hard by the COVID-19 are flocking to banks, desperate to get their hands on cash. Suddenly, lending money has become an emotional task. Banks have also come under increased scrutiny against the backdrop of a stronger push for environmental, social and governance values. If loans are used for controversial purposes, such as building coal power plant

Dec. 6, 2021

[GLOBAL FINANCE AWARDS] Global X ETFs expands Europe foray with themed funds

Global X ETFs, an exchange-traded fund provider fully owned by South Korea-based asset manager Mirae Asset Global Investments, is making inroads into European stock markets by adding new products to its lineup. As of Monday, Global X was trading 12 ETFs in European stock markets. Among them, seven new themed ETFs started trading on the London Stock Exchange earlier in November. The seven new products allow ETF buyers to get exposure to a wider range of sectors, targeting robotics, cybersecuri

Dec. 6, 2021

[GLOBAL FINANCE AWARDS] Mirae Asset Securities sets new records this year

BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR / MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES Mirae Asset Securities, a South Korean brokerage firm, has set new records this year. Mirae’s overseas stock and retirement pension assets each reached a record high of 20 trillion won ($16.8 billion), the brokerage firm said. The company’s overseas stock trading volume has surged 20 times more than it was in 2017. Compared to 2020, it increased by 4.3 trillion won this year. Investors who purchased and sold overseas stocks through t

Dec. 6, 2021