Instant tteokbokki selling like hotcakes

An instant tteokbokki from Dongwon F&B is on a path to break the 20 billion won ($16.9 million) mark in annual sales by the end of this year, backed by the global popularity of the spicy Korean street food. Sales of “God of Topokki” as of October surpassed 18.5 billion won, the company said. The 10-month figure is a 20 percent increase from total sales generated over all of 2020. A popular Korean snack made with rice cakes and red chili pepper, tteokbokki is often spelled diff

Nov. 3, 2021

Kakao Pay debuts as 14th in market cap

Kakao Pay, the fintech arm of mobile giant Kakao Corp., became Korea’s 14th-largest stock by market capitalization upon its market debut on the country’s stock market Wednesday, after its opening price doubled from its IPO price. The mobile payment service provider, which offered shares at 90,000 won ($76) for its IPO, began trading at 180,000 won on the main Kospi board and rose to 230,000 won before closing at 193,000 won. If the company remains within the top 50 on the Kosp

Nov. 3, 2021

Foreign buyers latest target of real estate ire in S. Korea

While South Koreans’ real estate transactions remain frozen due to a lack of supply and government loan restrictions, transactions of local land and properties by foreigners who face relatively relaxed rules in the first nine months of this year hit an all-time high, data showed Wednesday. With foreigners’ purchases of high-value apartments continuing to make headlines in the news, coupled with the government requesting stricter loan restrictions against locals -- in a bid to curb

Nov. 3, 2021

Regulators vow deregulation for new growth engines in finance

The chiefs of South Korea’s two main financial regulators -- the policymaking Financial Services Commission and the market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service -- have met with the heads of major insurance companies and banking groups here to discuss policy initiatives to support the growth of market players through deregulation, the two said Wednesday. “The rapid digital transformation of finance and the growth of online platform businesses are rapidly changing the nation’s

Nov. 3, 2021

Strong demand for S. Korean chips expected to ease fallout from China's economic slowdown: BOK report

A slowdown in China's economy will have a negative impact on South Korea's exports but its fallout could be eased thanks to strong demand for Korean-made chips, a central bank report showed Wednesday. China's economy is showing signs of slowing down, with its growth rate falling to 4.9 percent on-year in the third quarter from 18.3 percent and 7.9 percent in the first and second quarters. A recent debt crisis of a major Chinese property developer has also clouded the outlook for China's econom

Nov. 3, 2021

Online shopping hits record high in Sept.

Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in September, led by solid demand for food delivery services and electronics goods amid the resurgence in COVID-19 cases, data showed Wednesday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 16.2 trillion won ($13.7 billion) in September, up 17 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The September reading marked an all-time high since the agency began to compile related data in 2001. The value of online

Nov. 3, 2021

S. Korea offers incentives to attract foreign investors

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday offered incentives to attract foreign investors as South Korea kicked off its largest foreign investment forum meant to create new opportunities amid economic recovery during the pandemic. Invest Korea Week 2021, which runs through Friday, is expected to bring together 3,000 officials from major domestic and international companies, governments and related organizations for investor relations sessions and other events, according to the Ministry of Trade, Indus

Nov. 3, 2021

Despite worries, chip firms preparing to share key trade info with US

South Korean technology conglomerates are making last-minute preparations ahead of submitting their semiconductor-related data to the US as the deadline approaches, industry insiders said Wednesday. The move is in line with the US Department of Commerce’s request on Sep. 24 for global semiconductor firms to hand over internal data on clients, inventory levels and chipmaking equipment by Nov. 8, so the department can “review” supply-side issues. Shortages of key parts, includin

Nov. 3, 2021

52 firms added to antitrust watch list

The number of South Korean companies affiliated with large business groups under tight supervision rose by 52 in the August-October period as conglomerates expanded new businesses, the antitrust regulator said Wednesday. The total number of affiliates on the Korea Fair Trade Commission's (KFTC) watch list reached 2,704, as of end-October, compared with 2,652 three months earlier, according to the commission. Major business groups newly launched or acquired 106 units, while offloading 54 others

Nov. 3, 2021

Kakao Pay off to solid start on stock market debut

South Korean mobile payment service Kakao Pay came off to a solid start on its debut Wednesday, trading higher than its initial public offering (IPO) price. The payment arm of Kakao Corp., South Korea's top messenger app, exchanged hands at 185,000 won as of 9:20 a.m., up 2.78 percent from its opening price of 180,000 won. Kakao Pay has set the IPO price at 90,000 won per share, seeking to raise 1.53 trillion won through the IPO. The firm's market capitalization stood at 24.1 won, the 14th la

Nov. 3, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower ahead of US Fed meeting results

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting as investors seek a clue from the timeline for the interest rate hike. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 11.17 points, or 0.37 percent, to 3,002.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Fed is set to reveal its meeting results Wednesday (New York time). Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.28 percent to 71,300 won, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 0.47 percent to

Nov. 3, 2021

S. Korean economy to extend its recovery momentum: finance minister

South Korea's finance minister has said the country's economy is expected to extend its recovery momentum on the back of the accelerating COVID-19 vaccine rollout and efforts to gradually return to normal life. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks during his meeting with Marie Diron, managing director of Sovereign Risk Group at global credit appraiser Moody's Investors Service, in London on Tuesday (local time), according to the finance ministry. The meeting was held to discuss South

Nov. 3, 2021

Hyundai, Kia's US sales fall 4.1% on chip shortage

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their combined sales in the United States fell 4.1 percent last month from a year earlier due to a lack of semiconductor parts. Hyundai and Kia sold 108,828 vehicles in the world's most important automobile market in October from 113,489 units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data. Hyundai's US sales fell 1 percent to 56,761 units from 57,395 over the cited period, while Kia's declined 7.2 percent to 52,067 from 56,094.

Nov. 3, 2021

[Newsmaker] Despite regulatory moves, KakaoBank sees third quarter net profit rise

KakaoBank, the country’s largest internet-only lender by user base, on Tuesday said its net profit in the first three quarters rose 96.6 percent from a year prior, despite growing regulatory moves on household debts that slowed the lender’s growth in the third quarter. In its first quarterly report that reflects its post-IPO performance, the banking arm of mobile giant Kakao Corp., said it recorded 52 billion won ($44.3 million) in net profit in the third quarter of this year, a 28

Nov. 2, 2021

Korea to renew push for inclusion on MSCI World Index: minister

The South Korean government will make a fresh attempt to get its stock market included in the top grade of global market indices, the country’s top economic policymaker told global investors Tuesday. Considering the global status and recognition of the Korean economy by foreign investors, it is “justifiable” for the Korea equity market to be upgraded to “developed” status from current “emerging” status by New York-based index provider Morgan Stanley C

Nov. 2, 2021

BOK board members call for more time before additional rate hike

Members of the central bank's rate-setting board voiced concerns over heightened uncertainties over economic recovery and called for more time to analyze the effect of an interest rate hike in August before seeking additional measures to tame inflation and household debt, minutes from the latest policy meeting showed Tuesday. On Oct. 12, the seven-member board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) held its key policy rate unchanged at 0.75 percent, but the central bank hinted at an additional rate hike in

Nov. 2, 2021

GC Pharma’s Hunter syndrome treatment receives orphan drug designation in EU

GC Pharma announced Tuesday that the European Medicines Agency has granted orphan drug designation to its Hunterase ICV, a novel treatment for mucopolysaccharidosis type II, also known as the Hunter syndrome. The designation brings a variety of significant advantages under the EMA’s effort to encourage the development of drugs to treat rare diseases or conditions. GC Pharma said the company will be able to speed up regulatory procedures to market Hunterase ICV in Europe. Hunterase ICV

Nov. 2, 2021

42dot raises W104b in series A funding

South Korea’s autonomous driving startup 42dot said Tuesday that it has raised 104 billion won ($88.5 million) in a series A funding. That raised the total investment the firm has secured to date to 153 billion won, the company added. The investors include Hyundai Motor, Shinhan Financial Group, Lotte Rental, Lotte Ventures and several local venture capital firms. 42dot plans to use the funding to accelerate its autonomous driving technologies and beef up human resources. The start

Nov. 2, 2021

Squid Game Coin collapses after scammers vanish with investors’ money

Squid Game Coin, a digital token based on the popular Netflix original Korean drama series of the same name, collapsed to zero on Monday after its creators took off with the approximately 2.5 billion won ($2.13 million) invested in the coin, according to news reports. The crypto coin once surged to as high as 3.4 million won before its unexpected but eventual collapse Monday, according to Coin Market Cap, a global cryptocurrency tracker. Ten minutes after it reached its peak, the cash invested

Nov. 2, 2021

Seoul stocks spike over 1% amid hope for improving market conditions

South Korean stocks closed higher for the second straight day Tuesday, as investor sentiment was buoyed by positive outlooks on global supply bottlenecks and other key economic issues. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 34.55 points, or 1.16 percent, to close at 3,013.49 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 513 million shares worth some 9.5 trillion won ($8.08 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 657 to 187. F

Nov. 2, 2021