Kakao shares soar on expectation of its gain from Dunamu’s performance

Kakao, the operator of South Korea’s top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, saw its shares soar on the nation’s Kospi market Wednesday, with market watchers predicting the online giant will benefit from the Bitcoin craze. Shares of Kakao jumped 2.51 percent to 491,000 won ($433) in early morning trading, falling short by only 28,000 won per share from its 52-week high set on Feb. 16. The stock pared part of its earlier gains, but maintained the overall upward movement in the day to close a

March 17, 2021

FDA to inspect Hanmi’s drug manufacturing site in May

The US Food and Drug Administration will carry out a pre-approval inspection in May at Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s drug manufacturing facilities and packaging sites in Gyeonggi Province’s Pyeongtaek that produces the novel drug Rolontis, the Korean company said Wednesday. The US FDA was slated to approve Hanmi’s manufacturing of the given drug on Oct. 24 last year, but the schedule was temporarily shelved due to restrictions on overseas business trips amid the escalating COVID-19

March 17, 2021

Celltrion’s breast cancer biosimilar takes up 44% market share in Japan

South Korean biotechnology company Celltrion said Wednesday that the company‘s breast cancer drug Herzuma reached a market share of 44 percent in Japan last year. Herzuma is a biosimilar of Roche’s blockbuster breast cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab), used in treating patients with certain breast and gastric cancers. In the third quarter of 2019, the market share of Herzuma in Japan was just 2 percent, but the figure jumped to 12 percent in the following quarter. Herzuma&rsqu

March 17, 2021

S. Korean govt. initiates W600b program to nurture regenerative medicine

The South Korean government announced that it would spend 595 billion won ($525.6 million) by 2030 to support the country’s regenerative medicine sector. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the program will start in July this year, focused on supporting the overall research and development of regenerative medicines, exploration of related business opportunities and out-licensing of technologies. The goal is to help local firms develop at least four new regenerative medicines

March 17, 2021

S. Korean shipbuilders stand out amid eco-friendly gas-fueled vessel demands

After years of sluggish market trends, South Korea’s shipbuilding industry is now warming up on the back of increased demand for eco-friendly gas-fueled vessels in the post-coronavirus era, data showed Wednesday. According to Clarksons Research, the leading information provider for global shipping, orders have been made for 254 ships so far this year, of which gas-fueled vessels account for 54 units or 21.3 percent. That figure was 10.1 percent in 2019 and 14.9 percent in 2020. Also,

March 17, 2021

Samsung chief’s fate in focus at shareholders meeting

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- Around 900 shareholders of Samsung Electronics gathered at a convention center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday to attend their 52nd annual meeting. The number of attendees more than doubled from last year, when fears of the COVID-19 pandemic hit especially hard. Samsung has hosted the shareholders meeting at the 2,000-seat Suwon Convention Center since last year. Previous meetings held at its headquarters building in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, were ove

March 17, 2021

Finance minister confident of job recovery on falling figures

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Wednesday expressed confidence in the recovery of the nation’s job market, despite pessimistic figures that showed the number of employed people declining for 12 months, marking the longest losing streak in 22 years. According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, 26.36 million people had jobs in February, a decline of 473,000 compared to a year prior. But the fiscal chief asserted that the employment index would improve in March with the launch of the COVID

March 17, 2021

Daewoo Shipbuilding delivers submarine to Indonesia

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Wednesday it has successfully delivered a submarine to Indonesia. The 1,400-ton submarine was the third of three submarines that Daewoo Shipbuilding won in a deal worth $1.1 billion in 2011, the shipbuilder said. The 61-meter-long submarine, named ALUGORO, was based on Daewoo Shipbuilding's first-built submarine, the Jangbogo, the company said. The submarine was built in pieces at Okpo shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding in Geoje Island, about

March 17, 2021

Seoul stocks finish lower ahead of FOMC results

South Korean stocks finished lower Wednesday on selling by foreigners and institutions amid rising uncertainties ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 19.67 points, or 0.64 percent, to close at 3,047.5 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 803 million shares worth some 13.2 trillion won ($11.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 430 to 409. Foreigners s

March 17, 2021

VW poses a dilemma for LGES and SKI

Volkswagen’s latest announcement that it will transition to “prismatic” batteries from “pouch” batteries starting from 2023 poses a dilemma to South Korean battery developers LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation, which have been supplying pouch-type cells to the world’s No. 1 automaker. According to industry experts Wednesday, LGES and SKI are hesitating on moving forward with the development of prismatic batteries even if it means losing VW, because the p

March 17, 2021

[News Focus] Four-way race for E-bay Korea acquisition

The race to acquire a controlling stake in eBay Korea is shaping up to be a four-way battle, with big-name players in retail all in for a deal valued at 5 trillion won ($4.42 billion). According to industry sources, Lotte Group, Emart Inc., SK Telecom Co. and private equity firm MBK Partners have been chosen as the preliminary bidders to buy the South Korean unit of the e-commerce giant, which operates some of the country’s major online shopping platforms including Gmarket, Auction and G

March 17, 2021

S. Korean banks’ average capital adequacy ratio slightly up in 2020

South Korean banks’ average capital adequacy ratio inched up last year from the previous year, indicating improved financial health amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the financial watchdog showed Wednesday. The average ratio of 19 commercial and state-run lenders gained 1.08 percentage points to 15 percent on-year as of end-2020, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The capital adequacy ratio, based on the Switzerland-based Bank of International Settlements’ guidel

March 17, 2021

Fiscal chiefs of S. Korea, US agree on continuing expansionary measures

Finance ministers of South Korea and the US have shared their views on efforts to continue expansionary fiscal policies in reviving virus-battered local economies and supporting underprivileged groups, the ministry said on Wednesday. During a phone call between South Korean Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and his US counterpart Jane Yellen, the two also agreed to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate change crisis, officials added. The top e

March 17, 2021

Samsung to maintain No. 1 smartphone vendor status in 2021: report

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to defend its top status in the global smartphone market this year despite challenges from Chinese brands, a report showed Wednesday. Worldwide smartphone shipments are forecast to grow 6.5 percent on-year to 1.38 billion units in 2021, and Samsung's market share is estimated at 20 percent, unchanged from a year earlier, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics. US tech titan Apple Inc. is projected to remain second, with its market share also stayi

March 17, 2021

Post-pandemic economic recovery depends on progress of vaccinations: BOK chief

South Korea's post-pandemic economic recovery depends on the successful rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, and economic growth is likely to be sluggish before herd immunity is achieved, the head of the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday. "Many people believe that the distribution of vaccines could get us out of a long tunnel of the new coronavirus," BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said at a forum in Seoul. However, Lee said there are "dangerous factors" that threaten solid economic recover

March 17, 2021

Local private equity firm to inject W80b in T'way Air

South Korea’s private equity firm JKL Partners is poised to inject 80 billion won ($70.7 million) in Korean low-cost air carrier T‘way Air in April, a filing showed Wednesday. JKL Partners was offered the opportunity to buy some 31.8 million convertible preferred shares in T’way’s capital increase, so that T’way Air can use its proceeds to pay the cost of airplane lease and maintenance. The securities offering plan to the third-party investor gained board approval

March 17, 2021

Samsung's smart TV streaming platform expands presence in 2020: report

Tizen, a Linux-based operating system developed by Samsung Electronics Co., was the top smart TV streaming platform last year, a report showed Wednesday, thanks to its status as the world's largest TV vendor. Tizen accounted for 12.7 percent of global connected TV devices in use in 2020, up from 11.6 percent a year earlier, after the number of Tizen-supporting devices increase 21 percent on-year to 162.3 million, according to industry tracker Strategy Analytics. Samsung's TV platform was follo

March 17, 2021

S. Korea to release more rice reserve to cope with supply shortages

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to release 100,000 tons of reserved rice next month as the long rainy season last year coupled with major typhoons reduced output of the grain. The country plans to release the new batch of rice harvested in 2019 into the market in April, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. South Korea already released 170,000 tons of reserved rice into the market over the first two months of 2021. The move comes in line with the government's

March 17, 2021

Automakers, chipmakers team up to resolve chip supply shortages

South Korea's automobile and semiconductor business groups on Wednesday said they will join forces in developing key automotive chips domestically, as the global supply shortages of key automotive chips are anticipated to disturb the production of cars. The Korea Semiconductor Industry Association and the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association inked a memorandum of understanding to roll out joint research projects and seek ways to produce automotive chips domestically. South Korea is the w

March 17, 2021

S. Korea to bolster monitoring on safety of pet food

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to expand monitoring on the safety of pet food products as the size of the market has been growing sharply in sync with the rising number of pet owners. Under the plan, South Korea plans to carry out an investigation of 650 pet food products available in the market and ban sales of those with high residue of 73 designated hazardous elements, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The country also plans to revamp its check list of c

March 17, 2021