Seoul stocks down for 2nd day on inflation concerns

South Korean stocks retreated for a second straight day Thursday, weighed down by concerns about the increasing inflationary pressure. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slumped 15.94 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 3,009.55 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 608 million shares worth some 12.2 trillion won ($10.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 661 to 210. Foreigners sold a net 249 billion won worth of s

Oct. 28, 2021

0.1 percent of companies account for 51.3% of output: data

Big companies account for just 0.1 percent of all businesses in South Korea, but they generate 51.3 percent of total output, a report showed Thursday. According to data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, 99.9 percent of domestic enterprises were small and medium sized ones, employing 82.7 percent of the country’s total employed population as of 2019. Compared to a year earlier, the number of SMEs rose 3.8 percent to 6.89 million. The number of employees in SMEs increased by 2 per

Oct. 28, 2021

Stiglitz urges regulators to shut down cryptocurrencies

Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz on Thursday urged regulators around the world to shut down cryptocurrencies, saying it undermines the basis of financial systems as well as its pursuit of transparency. Speaking at a forum hosted by the Seoul city government, the economic professor at Columbia University also suggested market transparency and well-designed regulations as prerequisites for the city to become a global financial hub. “(Cryptocurrencies) are becoming significan

Oct. 28, 2021

Saean to unveil new electric sports car

     First-generation electric carmaker Saean has quickly grown into a global company, and plans to focus on strengthening its headquarters as well as research and development for new models, including a sports car.   　Saean said it will merge affiliated companies in America, Japan and Korea, and Saean Corp., its headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, will have all business rights, patent and technological rights.   　Saean R&D will focus on developing new models.

Oct. 28, 2021

Korea plants green dreams in Mongolia

Arid, rocky desert stretching out across the horizon with no end in sight, with heavy sandstorms carving out dry steppe land from time to time.  This may be what you would normally imagine when you think of Mongolia, home to Asia’s largest and coldest desert -- Gobi Desert. In a country where forests only cover less than 10 percent of the total land, afforestation is innately difficult -- it has a very short growing season that is restricted by cold temperatures and low precipitatio

Oct. 28, 2021

Doosan’s Moon Hong-sung promoted to CBO, spearhead all biz

Doosan Group said Thursday it has promoted Doosan Corp. President Moon Hong-sung to chief business officer. The newly appointed CBO will be tasked with leading all businesses of Doosan Corp. from hydrogen fuel cells and drones to industrial robots. Before the promotion, Moon served as the chief strategy officer and led new businesses for Doosan Robotics, Doosan Mobility Innovation and Doosan Logistics Solutions at the holding entity Doosan Corp. since earlier this year. Now, key segments such

Oct. 28, 2021

FSC chief vows support for banks’ integrated digital platform

The nation‘s top financial regulator on Thursday vowed policy efforts to forge an integrated online platform for conventional players to accelerate digital transformation of their financial services in face of rising big tech companies.  “The growth of contactless banking transactions, the so-called ‘unbundling’ as well as ‘rebundling’ trend, and the entry of tech giants into financial services have added fuel to market competition. It is time to

Oct. 28, 2021

Kakao Games co-CEOs to push for oversea expansion

Kakao Games Corp. said Thursday its two co-CEOs will assume regional responsibilities as it pushes to expand its foothold in major markets overseas. Namkoong Whon, who currently oversees the company’s management and development as well as new business projects, will now also be representing Kakao Games’ North America and Europe studio, the firm said. Fellow CEO Cho Kye-hyun will be directing business in Asia on top of his existing responsibilities on the company’s publishin

Oct. 28, 2021

Samsung breaks W70tr in Q3 sales first time

Despite the shortages of parts worldwide under the pandemic, South Korea’s No.1 conglomerate Samsung Electronics logged its largest-ever quarterly earnings in the third quarter of 2021, owing mainly to robust sales of chips and foldable smartphones. According to the earnings announced on Thursday, the tech giant posted 73.98 trillion won ($63.15 billion) in sales and 15.82 trillion won in operating profit during the July-September period. It is the first time that the world’s big

Oct. 28, 2021

Hyundai Steel swings to black in Q3 on robust sales

Hyundai Steel Co., South Korea's No. 2 steelmaker, said on Thursday it swung to the black in the third quarter from a year earlier on the back of solid demand for key products and price hikes in line with the economic recovery from the pandemic. Net profit reached 596 billion won ($509 million) on a consolidated basis in the third quarter of the year, turning from a net loss of 44.7 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income for the July-September per

Oct. 28, 2021

Trade terms decline for 6th month in September

South Korea's terms of trade fell for the sixth consecutive month in September due to a rise in prices of imported goods, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of overall trade terms -- declined 4.5 percent last month from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure is calculated by dividing the index for export prices by that for import prices. It shows the amount of imports a country can buy fo

Oct. 28, 2021

Naver unveils new AI-powered search service

South Korea's dominant internet portal operator Naver Corp. on Thursday introduced a new personalized search service dubbed AiR Search. The service, powered by Naver's artificial intelligence (AI) technology, will provide results in block units that reflect current trends and individual interests. "AiR Search will be the beginning of a big change representing Naver's new search, as much as the 'integrated search' which has so far been the most differentiated feature," Kim Sang-Bum, d

Oct. 28, 2021

Retail sales up 8.2% in September on 'revenge shopping' amid pandemic

Retail sales in South Korea surged 8.2 percent in September from a year earlier, data showed Thursday, as consumers turned to "revenge shopping" amid the prolonged virus pandemic. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers reached 13.2 trillion won ($11.26 billion) last month, compared with 11.9 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Sales from offline stores rose 3.3 percent on-year in September, wi

Oct. 28, 2021

SK Innovation to develop all-solid-state batteries with US firm

SK Innovation Co., a South Korean battery maker, said Thursday it will develop and produce all-solid-state batteries with a US firm, in a bid to expand its foothold in the next-generation battery market. Under the joint venture deal with Solid Power, a Colorado-based solid-state battery developer, SK Innovation will invest $30 million to acquire a stake in the American company and work with the startup to produce all-solid-state batteries with a target energy density of 930 watt hours per liter

Oct. 28, 2021

Antitrust agency to probe travel sector facing spike in pent-up demand

South Korea's antitrust chief has vowed to intensify a probe into unfair business practices in the travel sector amid a looming recovery in travel demand as the country prepares to return to normalcy. South Korea plans to ease long-enforced restrictions on gatherings and business operations with its shift to the "living with COVID-19" scheme on Nov. 1 meant to gradually restore daily life back to the pre-pandemic days. The move could stimulate pent-up demand for travel, spawning conc

Oct. 28, 2021

Hanwha Life Insurance net soars 154% despite pandemic

Major South Korean insurer Hanwha Life Insurance Co. said Thursday its third-quarter net profit rose more than 1.5 times from a year earlier despite the coronavirus pandemic. Consolidated net income came to 378.9 billion won ($323.1 million) in the July-September period, up 154.5 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income climbed nearly 21 percent on-year to 250.3 billion won, with sales soaring 33 percent to 7.51 trillion won. Hanwha Life Insurance

Oct. 28, 2021

S-Oil Q3 net soars elevenfold on strong petrochem sales

S-Oil Corp., South Korea's No. 3 oil refiner, said Thursday its net income surged by elevenfold in the third quarter from a year earlier, driven by strong sales of petrochemical and lube base oil products. Net income came to 334.5 billion won ($285 million) in the July-September period, compared with 30.3 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit reached 549.4 billion won, swinging to black from an operating loss of 9.2 billion won the previous year.

Oct. 28, 2021

Seoul stocks open slightly higher on tech advance

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Thursday on advances in tech shares, which fueled hopes of a strong earnings report season. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 5.68 points, or 0.19 percent, to 3,031.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks opened nearly flat amid the tussle between the expectations of strong quarterly gains and concerns over rising price pressure. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.74 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq

Oct. 28, 2021

Samsung logs record sales, 3-year-high operating profit in Q3 on buoyant chip biz

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday reported strong third-quarter earnings on the continued robust performance of its key semiconductor business. Its net profit rose 31.3 percent from a year earlier to 12.29 trillion won ($10.5 billion) in the July-September period, the world's largest memory chip and smartphone vendor said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit jumped 28 percent in the third quarter to 15.82 trillion won, the largest since the third quarter of 2018. Sales hit a quarterly re

Oct. 28, 2021

SMEs take up absolute majority of firms in S. Korea

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for an absolute majority of businesses in South Korea, with their workforces taking up nearly 83 percent of all corporate employees, data showed Thursday. As of 2019, smaller firms in Asia's fourth-largest economy numbered 6.89 million, up 3.8 percent from a year earlier and accounting for 99.9 percent of all companies here, according to the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The number of their employees stood at 17.44 million, up 2

Oct. 28, 2021