Jollibee Foods buys 70 percent of Compose Coffee for $238m

Jollibee Foods Corp. -- a multinational restaurant company based in the Philippines and owner of the country's largest fast food chain Jollibee -- will acquire a 70-percent stake in South Korean coffee chain Compose Coffee for $238 million, as part of its global expansion of coffee and tea businesses, the Manila-based firm said Wednesday. As per the company’s statement, 70 percent of the Korean coffee brand is to be acquired by Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd, while Jollibee Foods' m

July 3, 2024

Hyundai Motor completes EV ecosystem in Indonesia

Hyundai Motor Group has launched a new joint battery cell manufacturing facility with LG Energy Solution in Indonesia, set to supply cells for Hyundai's upcoming Kona Electric. This makes Hyundai the first automaker in Indonesia with a fully localized production ecosystem for electric vehicles, spanning from battery cells to finished vehicles. Hyundai Motor Group celebrated the opening of the joint HLI Green Power plant in Indonesia's Karawang New Industry City on Wednesday. The event,

July 3, 2024

LG acquires Dutch smarthome specialist to enhance connectivity

LG Electronics is acquiring Athom, a smart home platform based in the Netherlands, as part of its effort to strengthen connectivity for its open smart home ecosystem, the company announced Wednesday. The Korean tech giant said it has acquired an 80 percent stake in the Dutch firm and plans to purchase the remaining 20 percent within the next three years, with the condition included in the agreement. “The acquisition of Athom is a cornerstone for our AI home business,” said Jung Ki-hy

July 3, 2024

GS launches AI-driven hackathon to spur DX innovation

Korean energy, retail and construction conglomerate GS Group launched its annual hackathon on Wednesday, running to Thursday, centered on artificial intelligence to drive digital transformation across the company. GS Group has hosted such hackathon events since 2020, but this marks the first year participants are allowed to use generative AI, including ChatGPT, with the aim of enhancing AI utility capabilities among employees. "With the advent of generative AI, we've entered a peri

July 3, 2024

AmCham launches mentoring program for young professionals

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea said Wednesday that it has kicked off the Young Professionals Program to empower emerging leaders and strengthen Korea-US ties. Hosted and supported by AmCham, YPP provides young professionals in their 20s and 30s with networking opportunities with industry leaders, government dignitaries and seasoned experts. This also sets the ground for delicate discussions on business initiatives and policies pertinent to AmCham member firms in Korea. AmCham Chairman

July 3, 2024

Krafton to attend Gamescom 2024 next month

South Korean game publisher Krafton said Wednesday that it is attending the upcoming Gamescom, Europe’s largest gaming trade show, which kicks off on Aug. 21 and runs through Aug. 25 in Cologne, Germany. The company launched an official Gamescom landing page on its official website on the day and posted a teaser trailer on YouTube to promote its participation in the event. The teaser showcases the company's booth concept, themed on the "Scale-up the Creative" strategy, which

July 3, 2024

FSS chief calls for innovation in securities firms

The head of the financial regulator on Wednesday urged securities firms to change the way they do business, as well as where they invest, stressing the need for innovation to ensure growth. Lee Bok-hyun, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, made the call in a meeting with the heads of 16 securities firms here. "The tasks aimed at developing our capital market that I have stressed must be discussed in a comprehensive manner, and must not be an issue of energy-consuming disputes betwee

July 3, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on eased rate woes

South Korean stocks started higher Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's dovish comments eased rate woes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 11.84 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,792.7 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, Wall Street closed higher as Powell said recent economic data represented "significant progress," boosting investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.41 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.84 per

July 3, 2024

Naver CEO says to not sell its stake in LY in 'short term'

Naver Corp. CEO Choi Soo-yeon confirmed Tuesday the company will not sell its stake in Japan's LY Corp., the operator of popular mobile messenger Line, in the "short term" amid LY's push to lessen its dependence on Naver. "We don't plan to sell the stake in the short term," Choi said, while noting the company cannot give confirmation on its mid-to-long term strategy. Naver, South Korea's biggest internet portal operator, holds a 50 percent stake in A H

July 2, 2024

Samsung to boost display investments in Vietnam

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday renewed his commitment to boosting investment in Vietnam, where the company remains the biggest foreign investor, during a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Seoul on Tuesday. In the private meeting, the Samsung chief pledged massive investment to set up the tech giant’s biggest display module production base in the Southeast Asian country over the next three years. "Vietnam's success is Samsung's su

July 2, 2024

Korea soft-launches longer forex trading hours

South Korea’s won-dollar trading on the first day with extended trading hours has gotten off to a smooth start with ample liquidity and no significant increase in volatility, the country’s financial authorities said Tuesday. Starting from Monday, Korea has extended won trading hours to make the currency more tradable and accessible to global investors. Dollar-won trading hours are changed to 9 a.m. to 2 a.m., compared to 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. earlier. Choi Sang-mok, Korea's depu

July 2, 2024

Veteran singer’s rice wine production halted over labeling issue

South Korean ballad singer Sung Si-kyung's newly launched Korean rice wine, Kyungtakju, has been suspended from production for a month by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety due to labeling irregularities. According to the regulator, information such as the product name, manufacturer, individual manufacturing number and the volume of the product were missing. This information is required on product labels even for sample products. Sung can still sell products that have already been pro

July 2, 2024

Posco chief vows W200tr market cap by 2030

Posco Group Chairman Chang In-hwa announced that the group plans to integrate advanced materials into its core operations, alongside steelmaking and secondary battery materials, aiming to double sales to 5 trillion won ($3.6 billion) by 2030. "Let’s restore our core competitiveness and trust across our business, management and organizational culture, boldly innovate beyond our limits, and strive toward the future," Chang said during a meeting in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province,

July 2, 2024

Seoul shares fall sharply ahead of key economic events in US

South Korean stocks fell sharply Tuesday ahead of key economic events in the United States later this week. The local currency traded weaker against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 23.45 points, or 0.84 percent, to 2,780.86, ending a two-session winning streak. Trade volume was moderate at 532.3 million shares worth 11.5 trillion won ($8.28 billion), with decliners sharply outnumbering gainers 691 to 195. Foreigners and institutions sold a net 30 billion won a

July 2, 2024

Hana Bank’s extended forex trading kicks off on smooth run

Hana Bank’s foreign exchange trading room in Seoul, the largest in South Korea, completed its first extended trading session on Tuesday. Starting Monday, Korea extended its foreign currency trading hours, pushing the closing time from 3:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. the following day. This move is part of Korea’s strategy to enhance its financial market and attract more foreign capital, with won-dollar trading now available until 5 p.m. in London and 1 p.m. in New York. Additionally, foreign fin

July 2, 2024

[Herald Interview] Vietnam's MB Bank bets big on Seoul-Hanoi ties

Vietnamese state lender MB Bank, also known as Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank, will launch a mobile app for South Korean nationals living in the country in August, seeing potential in the strengthening ties between the two countries. “Vietnamese banks are yet to offer specialized service for Koreans living in the country, making them rely on the branches of Korean banks,” MB Bank Chairman Luu Trung Thai said during an interview in Seoul on Tuesday. Luu Trung Thai was in Korea w

July 2, 2024

[Business Diplomacy] Time matters more than money in engineering lobbying prowess

Korean companies should focus on boosting their "still-nascent" lobbying power by spending the time to understand policymakers' needs and by building a strong network regardless of the outcome of the upcoming US presidential election in November, according to legal and trade advisers from Lee & Ko, a prominent law firm in Korea. Companies around the globe are paying keen attention to how US policy directions will diverge depending on who becomes the next US president: the incu

July 2, 2024

LG Energy Solution lands major LFP battery deal with Renault

LG Energy Solution, South Korea's largest electric vehicle battery maker, has secured its first major order for lithium-iron-phosphate batteries from French auto giant Renault Group's EV unit Ampere. The contract, announced in Paris on Monday, will see LG Energy Solution supplying pouch LFP batteries for Renault’s next-generation electric vehicles over five years, from late 2025 to 2030. It involves producing about 39 gigawatt-hours of batteries, enough to power approximately 5

July 2, 2024

Cyber attacks using generative AI on rise: SK Shieldus

Cyberattacks using generative artificial intelligence, or targeting the weak points of the new technology are on the rise, SK Shieldus, a leading security service company in Korea said on Tuesday. In a media seminar, SK Shieldus and EQST, the company's white-hat hackers group, presented its findings on the rising hacking trends using AI and underscored the importance of raising awareness and taking preventive measures to reduce damage. “Large Language Models are being used actively to

July 2, 2024

Unionized Samsung workers to stage 3-day walkout

Unionized workers of Samsung Electronics have said they will stage a three-day walkout beginning July 8, as their negotiations with management over wages and working conditions have so far failed. The National Samsung Electronics Union, the largest among multiple Samsung Electronics unions with some 28,400 workers, or 22 percent of the total workforce, announced the decision on Monday evening livestreaming on YouTube. “Any further peaceful strike is meaningless,” said Son Woo-mok, pr

July 2, 2024