Gold prices drop to 10-month low while bitcoin rally continues

Gold prices have skidded to a 10-month low while bitcoin, which is considered by some as a digital replacement for gold, has been on a bull run. The price for a gram of gold declined for five trading days in a row on Thursday as it closed at 63,900 won ($57.67), down 0.48 percent from a day earlier, according to the Korea Exchange. The closing price is the lowest since April 6 when the gold price came in at 63,780 won. Compared to the record high of 80,100 won on July 28, the price has tum

Feb. 19, 2021

SK hynix to see 70% surge in Q1 profit: report

SK hynix’s operating profit for the first quarter this year is expected to hit 1.36 trillion won ($1.2 billion), up 70.6 percent on-year, Shinhan Investment said Friday. The brokerage also forecast in its report that the company’s revenue during the three month period could go up 14.2 percent on-year to reach 8.2 trillion won. The on-year growth was mostly attributed to the increasing price in dynamic random-access memory products, or DRAM products, and the recent turnaround in ma

Feb. 19, 2021

S. Korea to introduce contact-free boarding at airports

Contactless, airport check-in systems will be set up across the country by next year, South Korea’s Vice Finance Minister said on Friday, in a bit to digitalize the nation’s social infrastructure. “By 2022, (the government) will implement a contactless check-in system at 15 airports across the nation, which automatically confirms identification of passengers via biometric data, in order to increase convenience of residents using local airports,” Vice Finance Minister K

Feb. 19, 2021

Moody's upgrades LG Electronics' credit ratings by one notch

Global rating agency Moody's Investors Service on Friday upgraded credit ratings of LG Electronics Inc. for the first time in seven years after the South Korean tech giant reported record earnings last year. Moody's raised the ratings of LG Electronics to Baa2 from Baa3, with its ratings outlook remaining "stable." This is the first time since February 2014 that Moody's has revised up its ratings on the major South Korean tech firm. "The upgrade reflects our expectation that, fo

Feb. 19, 2021

LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yeol named as next KITA chief

The Korea International Trade Association on Friday nominated LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yeol, 68, as its 31st chairman. The leadership board of the trade organization, which represents over 70,000 member companies, met at the Trade Tower in Seoul’s eastern Samseong-dong and unanimously named Koo as the sole candidate for the post, officials said in a statement. Koo is slated to take office for a three-year term once his nomination is approved at KITA’s general meeting next Wednesday

Feb. 19, 2021

Seoul stocks rebound amid virus woes, US Treasury yields climb

South Korean stocks rebounded Friday after swerving in and out of negative terrain amid woes over a virus resurgence and rising US Treasury yields. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 20.96 points, or 0.68 percent, to close at 3,107.63 points. Trading volume was high at about 3.4 billion shares worth around 19.4 trillion won ($17.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 555 to 306. Foreigners sold

Feb. 19, 2021

Kepco shifts to black in 2020 on low fuel costs

Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) on Friday reported a net income of 2.09 trillion won ($1.9 billion) in 2020, turning from a loss of 2.26 trillion won a year earlier on the back of the low fuel costs. Operating profit for the year was 4.08 trillion won, compared with a loss of 1.27 trillion won from the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. Annual sales fell 1 percent to 58.56 trillion won. During the fourth quarter, net profit reached 586 billion won, also shifting to the

Feb. 19, 2021

Kakao Mobility receives $200 million investment

Kakao Mobility, South Korea’s largest mobility-as-a-service platform operator, is expected to accelerate its business expansion with a recent investment from Carlyle Group. International investment firm Carlyle Group Thursday agreed to invest $200 million in Kakao Mobility, valuing the South Korean mobility platform operator at 3.42 trillion won ($3.09 billion). Kakao Mobility currently operates Kakao T, the country’s most popular taxi-hailing platform used by around 28 million u

Feb. 19, 2021

SK chief underscores cooperation in battery ecosystem

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Friday underscored the importance of cooperation among players in the lithium-ion battery industry during a webinar hosted by the group’s foundation. During the online seminar hosted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, the chairman attributed the recent success of the battery industry to “the longtime cooperation among researchers from the academia and industry.” “Such cooperation is crucial to expand the battery ecosystem i

Feb. 19, 2021

S. Korea's overseas financial assets touch new high in 2020

South Korea's overseas financial assets hit a new high in 2020, mainly due to increased stock investments, central bank data showed Friday. The nation's external financial assets came to $1.93 trillion at the end of December last year, up $236.3 billion from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The net international investment position came to $441.4 billion as of the end of December, down $59.5 billion from a year earlier, the data showed. The position

Feb. 19, 2021

NPS commits $150m to global timberland in push for diversification

The National Pension Service said Friday it has committed $150 million to global timberland investment for the first time, in its push for portfolio diversification. The investment by the world’s third-largest pension fund, overseeing 807.3 trillion won ($729 billion) in assets as of November, will go to Stafford International Timberland IX, a ninth flagship timberland fund managed by London-based Stafford Capital Partners. Through the partnership, the NPS will be able to get exposure t

Feb. 19, 2021

Apple likely to launch second store in S. Korea this month

Apple Inc. is expected to open its second store in South Korea later this month, expanding its presence in the country to compete with local tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. The company said Friday it will hold a press preview event for the store in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Feb. 24. While Apple did not specify when the store will be open to the public, it opened its first store in southern Seoul in 2018 just a few days after a press event. The company is reportedly planning to further exp

Feb. 19, 2021

Kia tops J.D. Power mass-market dependability rankings

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Friday it became the best-scoring mass-market brand in this year's J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study results. Kia beat perennial No. 1 Toyota Motor Corp. and 16 other mass-market brands to become the most dependable mainstream brand in terms of problems owners of three-year-old cars have experienced in the United States, the company said in a statement. Kia's Optima (or K5) midsize sedan, Sportage compact SUV and Sorento midsize SUV

Feb. 19, 2021

S. Korea closely watching prices of food, oil

South Korea is closely monitoring rising prices of agricultural and oil products, the vice finance minister said Friday, amid concerns that inflation may pick up amid an economic slowdown. First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said the government plans to draw up measures to respond to a potential surge in such prices, if needed. "Not only prices of agricultural and livestock products but also those of raw materials, including crude oil and nonferrous metal, have continued to stay fir

Feb. 19, 2021

Economic uncertainty persists amid protracted pandemic: finance ministry

The South Korean economy faces lingering uncertainty as domestic demand and the job market remain sluggish amid a flare-up in new coronavirus cases, the finance ministry said Friday. The manufacturing sector and investment are improving amid robust exports, but the service segment is suffering setbacks amid the third wave of the pandemic, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. "The real economy faces persistent uncertainty as domestic demand remains sluggish and job data point

Feb. 19, 2021

[Graphic News] Exports of sauces hit all-time high

　South Korea’s exports of sauces reached an all-time high in 2020 as more people enjoyed cooking at home around the globe amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　Outbound shipments of sauces rose 25.8 percent on-year in 2020 to reach $301.7 million, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association. 　KITA said the growth also came as global consumers became more aware of Korean-style foods following the popularity of Korean cultural content overseas

Feb. 19, 2021

Gold prices hit 10-month low on hope of economic recovery

Gold prices in South Korea hit a 10-month low as hope of an economic recovery has made the bullion less attractive, data showed Friday. A gram of gold changed hands at 63,900 won ($57.7) on the domestic market Friday, down 0.48 percent from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. It marked the lowest price since April 6 last year, when the price stood at 63,780 won. The closing prices were also down 20.22 percent from an all-time high of 80,100 won per gram recorded on July 28

Feb. 19, 2021

Seoul stocks open nearly flat on foreign, institutional selling

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Friday as foreign and institutional investors continued to sell over the yield hike concerns on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.57 point, or 0.02 percent, to 3,086.09 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top cap Samsung Electronics slipped 0.12 percent, but No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 2.78 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem climbed 0.32 percent, while rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI retreated 1.6

Feb. 19, 2021

Producer prices rise 0.9% in January

South Korea's producer prices rose 0.9 percent on month in January, supported by a modest rise in prices of farm goods and energy, central bank data showed Friday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 104.88 in January, compared with 103.90 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index gained 0.8 percent from the previous year, the BOK data showed. The prices of agricultural goods gained 7.9 percent on-month in January, compared with

Feb. 19, 2021

Samsung’s market cap down by W42tr after heir’s imprisonment

The market capitalization of Samsung Group, South Korea’s largest conglomerate, shrunk by around 42 trillion won ($38.01 billion) after its de facto head Lee Jae-yong was sent back to jail last month, the Korea Exchange’s market data showed Thursday. The combined market value of 16 listed firms within the nation’s telecom-to-chemicals conglomerate came to 695.87 trillion won at Thursday’s closing bell, losing 41.93 trillion won or 5.68 percent from the closing Jan. 15, t

Feb. 18, 2021