[Green Paradox] Blue hydrogen has a methane problem

Amid the global transition to clean fuel, conventional oil and gas companies appear to have found a way to stay relevant: blue hydrogen. Hydrogen, typically produced by breaking methane inside liquefied natural gas into hydrogen and carbon, is labeled as blue, when all carbon emissions from this process are captured, stored, or reused. This decarbonized hydrogen offers the oil and gas companies a path toward clean fuels while drawing on their existing gas production, transportation and sto

July 18, 2021

LG Electronics to transition to 100% renewable by 2050

LG Electronics said Sunday that it will shift to renewable energy for 100 percent of its needs by 2050, doubling down on its previous pledge to go carbon neutral by 2030. According to the South Korean tech giant, the transition will begin at its North American headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey, which will switch entirely to electricity generated by renewables by the end of this year. All its overseas production bases will follow suit by 2025. This will allow LG Electronics to source 50

July 18, 2021

EU grants 90m euros to SK Innovation’s Hungary battery plant

SK Innovation will receive subsidies worth 90 million euros ($106.2 million) from the European Union for its second battery factory in Hungary, the firm said Sunday. According to the South Korean battery-to-petrochemical giant, the state aid will take up roughly 8 percent of the total investment worth 945 billion won ($827.1 million) required for the 10-gigwatt-hour battery factory under construction in the northwestern Hungarian city of Komarom. The facility is set for completion this year a

July 18, 2021

Renault Samsung to suspend production at Busan plant next week on chip shortages

Renault Samsung Motors Corp. will temporarily suspend production at its plant in the southeastern port city of Busan due to shortages of chips for vehicles, the company said Sunday. The South Korean unit of Renault S.A. will close down its plant in Busan, 453 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Monday for two days, it said. It will be the first time that the Renault Samsung plant has been shut down due to chip shortages, though rivals Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp. and GM Korea Co. have suspended

July 18, 2021

SK Innovation to get 90m euro in incentives from Hungary for battery plant project

South Korea's SK Innovation Co. will receive incentives worth 90 million euro ($106 million) from the Hungarian government for investing in the country with a project to build a battery plant, the company said Sunday. The energy and chemical subsidiary of the nation's No. 3 conglomerate, SK Group, has been constructing its second battery plant in Europe with an annual production capacity of 10 gigawatt hours in Komarom, a northwestern city of the European country, the company said. SK Innovati

July 18, 2021

Jeep pledges to bring 1 electric vehicle every year to S. Korea

Starting with the Wrangler 4xe, Jeep will bring at least one electrified vehicle annually in South Korea from this year onward, the brand’s chief executive officer said, expressing determination to meet their goal for a carbon-free future. Holding a media roundtable Wednesday, Christian Meunier touted the auto company’s record sales in four countries -- South Korea, Japan, Australia and India -- and said it plans to introduce more electrified vehicles into the markets. The press e

July 17, 2021

Kakao Pay likely to delay IPO schedule due to problem with prospectus

Kakao Pay, the financial technology arm of mobile giant Kakao, is likely to push back its initial public offering schedule as South Korea’s financial authority asked the company to make some corrections to its prospectus Friday. According to DART, the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure board, Kakao Pay was ordered to either add or clarify important information on a prospectus it filed on July 2 as part of the registration process to go public. The FSS issues su

July 16, 2021

S. Korea exports of antibody test kits increase for second consecutive month

South Korea‘s exports of antibody test kits increased for two consecutive months this spring, according to the Korea Customs Service’s data, Friday. Exports of COVID-19 test kits, however, are expected to decrease in the future due to international vaccination efforts, local industry sources alerted. The country‘s exports of antibody test kits in June marked $353.3 million, up 12.7 percent from $313.5 million in May, according to the data. South Korea’s exports of re

July 16, 2021

Seoul stocks retreat on concerns about early inflation, virus

South Korean stocks closed lower Friday amid concerns about faster-than-expected inflation in the United States and the spreading new coronavirus pandemic at home. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.31 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 3,276.91 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 14.6 trillion won ($12.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 489 to 354. Foreigners sold a net 8

July 16, 2021

Samsung considering Texas' Williamson County for new chip fab

Samsung Electronics is considering Williamson County in Texas as a possible site for its new foundry plant in the United States, according to industry sources on Friday. The South Korean tech giant confirmed that it is looking at Williamson County in Texas as a potential candidate among various sites across the US. The sources said Samsung is considering several sites in the US, such as Arizona, New York, and Austin, Texas. Earlier, Reuters reported that Samsung has applied for tax incen

July 16, 2021

Citibank Korea delays reveal of consumer banking exit plan to August

Citibank Korea’s planned announcement concerning details of its consumer banking business exit strategy was delayed by nearly a month on Friday, indicating that it may be facing more hurdles in the sell-off process. The firm previously said it would reveal the details of its exit plan -- whether it would sell off the entire retail banking business or in parts -- in July. A complete pull-out of the business in phases has been mentioned as a viable option as well. Citibank Korea CEO Yoo

July 16, 2021

Ottogi to hike instant noodle prices by 12%

South Korean food manufacturing company Ottogi announced on Friday it will raise its instant ramen prices by an average of 11.9 percent from next month. The company cited rises in ingredient prices, including flour and palm oil, as well as the increasing labor costs as reasons behind the decision. The decision to hike the ramen prices comes more than 13 years after the company‘s last price rise back in April 2008. Jin Ramen, one of the Ottogi’s flagship instant noodle products, w

July 16, 2021

Asiana Airlines shares resume trading

Asiana Airlines shares resumed trading on Friday, nearly two months after the airline and its affiliates’ shares were suspended following criminal charges surrounding former management in late May. The airline’s stock price briefly soared to 21,450 won during Friday trading before dropping to 18,600 won later in the day. The Korea Exchange’s decision to temporarily suspend the airline’s stocks came after the arrest of former Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo on s

July 16, 2021

Residents' FX deposits fall in June

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea fell in June from the previous month as some companies withdrew their FX holdings, central bank data showed Friday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents amounted to $93.04 billion as of end-June, down $1.69 billion from May, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Residents include local citizens, foreigners staying here for more than six months and foreign companies. The data excludes interbank foreign currency de

July 16, 2021

BOK set to begin normalization to ease side effects of low rates: chief

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is preparing to begin normalizing its pandemic-era easing of monetary policy as it seeks to ease side effects of low interest rates, BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Friday. The remarks came a day after Lee strongly hinted it may conduct its first post-pandemic rate hike by the end of this year, despite a recent spike in COVID-19 infections. The BOK has "notified markets in advance that it could start normalization to ease side effects of low rates for too long if the eco

July 16, 2021

Netflix-SK dispute over net neutrality to continue

The legal battle between US-based streaming giant Netflix and South Korea’s internet service provider SK Broadband is likely to continue centering on the controversial topic of net neutrality. Netflix on Thursday appealed a Seoul court’s decision that sided with SK Broadband. Last month, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed a request from Netflix that the video streaming service operator is not liable to pay network usage fees to SK Broadband. The court also rejected Ne

July 16, 2021

Budget carrier Air Premia wins govt. approval for operations

Budget carrier Air Premia Co. has obtained government approval for its operations amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic, the transport ministry said Friday. The ministry issued an air operator certificate (AOC) to Air Premia to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. "Air Premia needs to report its routes to the aviation authority before it begins flight services," a ministry official said. Air Premia plans to start services on mid-and long-haul routes initially with a 309

July 16, 2021

SK hynix to post strong Q2 earnings on price hikes: analysts

SK hynix Inc., South Korea's No. 2 chipmaker, is expected to deliver strong second-quarter earnings, analysts here said Friday, due to a rise in memory chip prices. SK hynix was estimated to log 9.92 trillion won ($8.6 billion) in sales in the April-June period, up 15.3 percent from a year earlier, while its operating profit was projected to reach 2.76 trillion won, up 41.8 percent from a year ago, according to the data from 11 local brokerage houses compiled by Yonhap Infomax, the financial n

July 16, 2021

S. Korea eyes deeper economic ties with Kenya

South Korea said Friday it seeks to forge deeper economic ties with Kenya in line with its efforts to diversify its trade portfolio and penetrate deeper into the African market. Vice Industry Minister Park Jin-kyu met his Kenyan counterpart Betty Maina in Seoul to discuss a wide array of economic issues, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. During the meeting, Park said South Korea wishes to expand its presence in Kenya's consumer goods and biohealth segments, as the launch

July 16, 2021

Sales of short-term bonds climb 12% in H1

Sales of short-term corporate bonds in South Korea rose 12 percent in the first half of the year from a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Friday. Local companies issued 577.4 trillion won ($505 billion) worth of bonds maturing within one year in the January-June period, up from 515.5 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). Compared with a year earlier, the amount was also up 11.9 percent. Sales of general short-term

July 16, 2021