KCCI warns S. Korea’s potential growth rate to drop amid low birth rates

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned on Wednesday that South Korea’s potential growth rate could drop to the mid-one percent range as a result of low birth rates and a drop in labor productivity. In a report released on Wednesday, the chamber’s sustainable growth initiative division said South Korea’s total fertility rate hit a record low of 0.84 last year as it has been also hit with the fastest aging population among OECD members. Combined with a drop in labor

Nov. 10, 2021

HHIH to launch W34b fund for digital health care and biotechnology

Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH), the world's largest shipbuilding group, said Wednesday it will launch a 34 billion-won ($28.8 million) fund to support promising startups in the digital health care and bio industries. The fund will help the company advance into the digital health care market and seek new business opportunities, HHIH said in an emailed statement. HHIH will invest in telemedicine, digital therapeutics, artificial intelligence-based diagnostics and new biomedicine de

Nov. 10, 2021

SHK Smarter 7 develops varnish that inactivates COVID-19

　SHK Smarter 7 said it has developed a varnish that inactivates, or virtually kills, more than 99 percent of the novel coronavirus. 　The eco-friendly paint and varnish producer said that when its Dr. Virus varnish is painted on walls and ceilings, repeated air circulation allows it to inactivate the COVID-19 virus and bacteria in the air. 　The anti-COVID-19 test of the new product was conducted at a bioveterinary research lab of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, which is an internation

Nov. 10, 2021

Tobacco harm reduction policy in spotlight

　The US Food and Drug Administration recently authorized for the first time an electronic cigarette to be sold in the US, drawing attention to a harm reduction policy, which is designed to lessen the negative social or physical impacts associated with tobacco use. 　The US FDA last month issued marketing granted orders to vapor company R. J. Reynolds for its electronic nicotine delivery device and accompanying tobacco-flavored e-liquid pods through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA

Nov. 10, 2021

Banks' household loans grow at slower pace in Oct. amid tight lending rules

South Korean banks' loans to households grew at a slower pace in October, central bank data showed Wednesday, amid the government's tightened regulations on lending amid worries about soaring household debt. Banks' household loans stood at 1,057.9 trillion won ($897.3 billion) as of end-October, up 5.2 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. The on-month growth slowed from a 6.4 trillion won rise in September. It is also much smaller than an increase of 1

Nov. 10, 2021

SK Telecom Q3 net profit up 88% on equity gain, 5G growth

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top wireless carrier, said Wednesday its third-quarter net income rose 88 percent on-year thanks to growth in 5G users and equity gains. Net income stood at 736.5 billion won ($623.3 million) in the July-September period on a consolidated basis, compared with 391.8 billion won a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing. Operating income rose 11.71 percent to 400 billion won over the same period, while sales increased 4.99 percent to 4.96 trillion won.The tel

Nov. 10, 2021

Bond issuance in S. Korea jumps in Oct.

Bond issuance in South Korea rose sharply in October from the previous month due to increased debt sales by financial firms and the government, data showed Wednesday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 65.4 trillion won ($55.4 billion) last month, up 8.4 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Last month's increase compares with a 9.6 trillion-won on-month plunge recorded in September. Sales of fi

Nov. 10, 2021

BOK board members say inclusion of housing costs will heighten inflation

The members of the South Korean central bank's rate-setting board have voiced concerns inflation could be higher than current levels if housing costs are taken into consideration, minutes from the latest policy meeting showed Wednesday. The Bank of Korea issued the minutes of the Oct. 12 meeting when its seven-member board held its key policy rate unchanged at 0.75 percent. "In August, the consumer prices in the US grew 5.3 percent, much higher than a 2.6 percent rise in our country, whic

Nov. 10, 2021

[Graphic News] S. Korea‘s seaport cargo up 8.1% in Q3 amid global rebound

　Cargo processed at South Korean seaports advanced 8.1 percent in the third quarter of this year as trade gained traction amid the global economic recovery from the pandemic, the Oceans Ministry said. 　Cargo handled at the country’s ports came to 393.03 million tons during the July-September period, up from 363.53 million tons a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. 　Handling of export-import cargo surged 8.6 percent on-year to 338.85 million tons

Nov. 10, 2021

S. Korean multiplexes still suffer from pandemic-inflicted losses in Q3

South Korean multiplex operators suffered huge losses in the third quarter amid the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, but their bottomline is expected to improve thanks to the nationwide move to return to normalcy, financial data showed Wednesday. CJ CGV, the No. 1 multiplex operator under the wing of entertainment giant CJ Group, said its operating loss reached 77.5 billion won ($65.7 million) over the July-September period, narrowing from an operating deficit of 96.8 billion won a year ago. Its

Nov. 10, 2021

S. Korean exports to India drop 3.5% from pre-pandemic level

South Korea's exports to India shrank 3.5 percent in the first nine months of this year from 2019 due to import controls and a delay in the recovery of the emerging economy, a top business lobby said Wednesday. Overseas shipments to Asia's third-largest economy came to $11.41 billion in the January-September period, compared with $11.82 billion during the same period two years earlier, according to the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). The decline contrasts with a 16.5 percent on-year sur

Nov. 10, 2021

Job growth extended to 8th month in Oct. amid economic recovery

South Korea reported job additions for the eighth straight month in October in the latest sign the country's economic recovery has continued despite the fourth wave of the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people reached 27.74 million last month, 652,000 more than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The reading was lower than an on-year increase of 671,000 in September when South Korea reported the largest job additions in more than seven y

Nov. 10, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower amid inflation concerns

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking losses on Wall Street that stemmed from rising inflation pressure. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) decreased 11.3 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,986.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came off to a lackluster start, as investors are worried the rising inflation pressure may advance the Federal Reserve's tapering timeline. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 0.6 percent, and the Dow Jones Industr

Nov. 10, 2021

Foreigners turn net sellers of S. Korean stocks in October

Foreign investors turned net sellers of South Korean stocks in October and their net investment in local bonds also shrank, data showed Wednesday. Foreigners sold a net 3.34 trillion won ($2.84 billion) worth of local stocks last month, compared with their net purchase valued at 2.51 trillion won in September, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). As of end-October, foreigners held 742.17 trillion won worth of local stocks, down 27 trillion won from a month earlie

Nov. 10, 2021

1 in 10 SMEs seek buyers as heirs refuse to inherit: survey

One out of 10 small and midsize company owners are selling their firms because their children are refusing to take over the family business, preferring a cash inheritance by selling the companies their parents built, a survey showed Tuesday. According to Korea M&A Exchange, a platform that mediates buyers and sellers of small and medium-sized enterprises, of the 5,481 business owners looking for buyers, 515 said they were looking for new owners to take over their firms as their children di

Nov. 9, 2021

Samsung, SK withhold sensitive client info from US data submission

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix on Tuesday confirmed their submission of chip supply chain data to the US Commerce Department, but stressed no sensitive client data was included. “(Samsung) submitted its response today, in accordance with the guideline of the Department of Commerce,” the world’s largest producer of memory chips said in a statement. “Due to contractual obligations and after consultation with the department, no information on customers was disclosed. SK

Nov. 9, 2021

China says it is in talks with S. Korea over urea water solution

China has been proactively consulting with South Korea to help ease its supply shortage of urea water solution needed in diesel vehicles, Beijing's foreign ministry said Tuesday. South Korea has been grappling with a shortage of urea water solution in recent weeks as Beijing last month tightened exports of urea and other raw materials amid a coal supply shortage. Coal is the main feedstock for urea. "China highly appreciates South Korea's demand for (urea) and has been proactively negotia

Nov. 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] [KH Explains] Korea’s urea crisis

The sense of crisis is deepening in South Korea, as an acute shortage of a chemical called urea threatens to disrupt businesses across a vast spectrum from construction to retail.  Government officials are mobilizing diplomacy to secure urea supplies from overseas, but no immediate solution is in sight.  The Korea Herald looks at what is causing this sudden urea crunch and why this is such a hard problem to solve. 1. What is urea, anyway? Urea is a type of nitrogen made mainly of

Nov. 9, 2021

Seoul stocks inch up on institutional buying

South Korean stocks edged up Tuesday after a choppy session, led by institutional buying. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 2.26 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,962.46 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 699 million shares worth some 9.6 trillion won ($8.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 540 to 317. Institutions bought a net 274 billion won, while foreigners sold 138 billion won. Retail investors offloade

Nov. 9, 2021

[Hydrogen Korea] ‘Hydrogen steel’ is hailed as next big thing. Here’s what’s the hype is all about

Steel emits less carbon than diapers per ton of production. Due to its staggering size of production, however, steel is responsible for roughly 8 percent of the world’s carbon emissions and has been blamed as the main polluter driving up the planet’s temperature. Posco, the South Korean steelmaker, was the country’s greatest emitter of carbon last year. It discharged more carbon than it was allowed to by regulations, and even accrued debt worth 78.6 billion won ($66.4 mil

Nov. 9, 2021