Korea’s household debt-GDP ratio highest among major economies

The ratio of South Korea’s household debt in comparison to its economy has become the highest among major economies, a report showed Monday, sparking concerns over its impact on an already sluggish consumption and the nation’s fiscal soundness. Asia’s fourth-largest economy was the only country that saw its household debt exceeding its gross domestic product among the 37 countries reviewed by the US-based Institute of International Finance. Debt grew at one of the fastest pace

Nov. 15, 2021

Chicken joints brewing beer to complete chimaek appeal

Fried chicken and beer -- known locally as “chimaek” -- is a food pair beloved by many Koreans.    In a new development in South Korean chimaek scene, major chicken brands are coming up with their own beer brands, in order to give this popular food combo a special appeal.  KFC confirmed Monday to The Korea Herald that it was preparing to launch its own craft beer.  The US fried chicken franchise has formed a partnership with independent brewery Kabrew, and

Nov. 15, 2021

Celltrion’s Truxima posts 46 percent market share in major European countries

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion’s Truxima, the first biosimilar of Roche’s blockbuster cancer drug Rituxan (rituximab), has a market share close to 50 percent in major European countries, the company said Monday. According to Celltrion Healthcare, which is in charge of Celltrion’s overseas business, the combined market share of Truxima in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain reached 46 percent as of the second quarter this year. The five countries account for

Nov. 15, 2021

More Korean REIT debuts garner investor attention

South Korea is poised to welcome a series of listings of real estate investment trusts by the end of this year, with their underlying assets increasingly diversifying, filings showed Monday. A REIT refers to a vehicle designed to offer dividend returns to its investors through incomes from securitized real estate assets, largely perceived as a risk-averse strategy. Seeing stronger investor demand for public REIT stocks this year, Korea will move onward to welcome at least three new REITs bef

Nov. 15, 2021

S. Korea to import more urea solution to ease supply shortage

South Korea said Monday local firms have inked deals to import urea solution from other countries, including Malaysia and Mexico, a move expected to help ease a supply shortage of the key fluid needed in diesel cars to cut emissions. Three Korean firms have signed contracts to import a combined 1.28 million liters of urea solution from Malaysia, Mexico and Australia, according to the government. South Korea needs 600,000 liters of the solution for diesel cars per day. A fourth South Korean fir

Nov. 15, 2021

Seoul stocks close just shy of 3,000 on foreign and institutional buying

The South Korean stock market closed just shy of the 3,000-point mark Monday after a bullish session, led by strong foreign and institutional buying. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 30.72 points, or 1.03 percent, to close at 2,999.52 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 631 million shares worth some 11.2 trillion won ($9.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 626 to 238. Foreigners bought a net 397 billion w

Nov. 15, 2021

Game companies’ shares surge amid growing hype over NFTs

South Korean game companies with new business plans to develop games using nonfungible tokens saw their share prices surge Monday, despite concerns over the market being overheated without actual plans laid out to materialize such a big agenda, experts said Monday. Nonfungible tokens refer to the digital counterparts of real-world assets, largely visual art or music, that guarantee ownership through the blockchain technology. Game developers enjoying a sudden spike in stock prices have announ

Nov. 15, 2021

Fractional trading of overseas stocks to expand soon

Fractional share trading of overseas stocks is expected to be in full swing by the end of the year, according to the Korea Securities Depository on Monday. The KSD said it has completed a system that supports fractional share trading for 20 brokerages after it was designated by the Financial Services Commission, the country’s financial regulator, as an innovative financial service in a sandbox program last week. In a fractional transaction, when an investor orders to buy less than one

Nov. 15, 2021

Hyundai Electric to build eco-friendly energy system in industrial complex

Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems Co. (HE) said Monday it will launch a 26.6-billion won ($22.5 million) project to build an eco-friendly electricity generation and supply system in an industrial complex in South Korea. To that end, HE signed a deal to carry out the project with Korea Industrial Complex Corp., an operator of industrial complexes in South Korea, the company said. HE has formed a consortium with 13 entities, including industrial artificial intelligence company Thingspire, to

Nov. 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Small business revenue bounces back amid ‘living with COVID-19’

Small business revenue has returned to pre-pandemic levels after the government kicked off the “living with COVID-19” scheme designed to gradually open up the economy, according to new data. According to Korea Credit Data’s database on Monday, revenue from small businesses during the first week of November saw a 10.4 percent jump on average compared to the same time one year ago. It was also up 2.6 percent compared to the previous week. Compared to the same week in 2019, befo

Nov. 15, 2021

[Feature] From bugs to delicacies, insect proteins find niche in pet food market

Edible insects like fly larvae, crickets, and mealworms are hailed as a healthy and more sustainable source of protein for the mankind. But not many people seem to find them appetizing enough, at least not yet, to include them in their regular diet. For dogs and cats, it’s a different story. “Our products are loved by pets as they taste nutty and also like cheese biscuits” Kim Tae-hoon, the CEO of Foody Worm, which sells insect-based pet food, told The Korea Herald. The

Nov. 15, 2021

Solus Advanced Materials buys copper foil plant site in Canada

Solus Advanced Materials is extending its business to North America having secured a copper foil production base in Canada. The South Korean battery foil maker previously named Doosan Solus announced Monday that it has purchased a copper foil plant site with an annual production capacity of 60,000 tons in Quebec, Canada. The factory was previously a Solus property. Established in 2001 by the firm’s European unit Circuit Foil Luxembourg, it ceased operation in 2014, when Solus was acquir

Nov. 15, 2021

Watchdog slaps fine on Naver Financial for security issues

South Korea’s financial watchdog imposed a fine of 23.6 million won ($20,000) on Naver Financial and issued sanctions on its executives, citing the lack of security of its e-payment system and other violations tied to management, reports said Monday. According to local reports, the Financial Supervisory Service earlier this month slapped a fine on Korean portal giant Naver’s wholly owned financial technology unit and issued “warnings,” the lowest level of its five-tier s

Nov. 15, 2021

Taihan Cable and Solution clinches $60b deal in California

Taihan Cable & Solution, a maker of electric wires and steel products for electricity and communication, has clinched a $60 billion deal to supply medium voltage cables in California, the company said Monday. The contract, which calls for provision of the cables over the next three years until October 2024, is another megasized order the Korean firm has received in the US, following a $42 billion deal for ultrahigh voltage cables in September.  It puts the total orders the company has

Nov. 15, 2021

SsangYong Motor Q3 net narrows on self-help measures

SsangYong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said Monday its third-quarter net losses narrowed from a year earlier due to self-help measures. SsangYong Motor's net losses narrowed to 59.29 billion won ($50 million) for the three months ended in September from 102.44 billion won in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement. "An extended global chip shortage affected vehicle production and sales but employees' acceptance of pay cuts

Nov. 15, 2021

EV sales almost double this year in Korea

Over 71,000 units of electric vehicles have been sold in South Korea so far this year, nearly doubling the previous year’s record, a market data showed. According to Korea Automotive Technology Institute, the accumulated domestic sales of EVs up to the end of September came in at 71,006 units, compared to the 36,268 units sold during the corresponding period last year. The domestic sales volume places South Korea as No. 7 globally, Katech said. The world’s No. 1 market, up to

Nov. 15, 2021

S. Korea to offer $100m in loans for Bangladesh's economic recovery

South Korea said Monday it plans to provide $100 million in financing for a joint project with multilateral lenders to help Bangladesh recover from the fallout of the pandemic. South Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) will offer its low-interest rate loans for the $700 million joint project to support Bangladesh's economy, the finance ministry said. The project will also be supported by the Asian Development Bank with $250 million, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AI

Nov. 15, 2021

Shinhan Investment partners UK advisory firm to support bio firms’ overseas entry

Shinhan Investment said Monday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with PharmaVentures, a UK-based leading advisory firm providing whose main clients are health care life science companies, to diverse its investment banking services.  Under the partnership agreement, the two companies will boost cooperation in supporting South Korean biotech and pharmaceutical companies to advance to the global stage, while arranging international firms’ investments in the domestic health car

Nov. 15, 2021

S. Korea's 2021 rice output rises for first time in 6 years

South Korea's rice output rose for the first time in six years due mainly to favorable weather conditions and an increase in the cultivation area, data showed Monday. The country's rice production reached 3.88 million tons in 2021, up 10.7 percent from a record low of 3.51 million tons the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the first rebound since 2015 when rice output rose 2 percent on-year to 4.33 million tons. The figure declined for the fifth strai

Nov. 15, 2021

S. Korea customs seizes 4 tons of smuggled urea solution

The South Korean customs agency said Monday it has confiscated some 4 tons of smuggled urea solution and is planning to distribute them to the market. The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said it had caught a group of local importers Friday for attempting to bring in 416 10-kilogram containers of urea solution hidden in lawfully imported goods from China through the western port of Incheon. The service said it was investigating those smugglers of urea solution, a key fluid used in diesel vehicles t

Nov. 15, 2021