Seoul stocks open higher on auto gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on strong advances by auto-related shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 21.65 points, or 0.7 percent, to 3,118.46 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI continued its bullish run after gaining over 4 percent in total in the past two sessions, backed by investor optimism over a fast economic recovery, particularly in exports. Top automaker Hyundai Motor hiked 3.33 percent, with its smaller affiliates Kia Motors and Hyun

Feb. 3, 2021

Samsung retains 2nd spot in tablet market in 2020: report

Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its status as the world's second-largest tablet vendor last year, a report showed Wednesday, though the South Korean tech giant saw a significant improvement in sales to catch up with industry leader Apple Inc. Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker, had a 19.1 percent share in the global tablet market in 2020 after shipping 31.3 million units, up 44.4 percent from a year ago, according to market researcher International Data Corporation (IDC). Apple a

Feb. 3, 2021

Exports of plastics, auto parts, steel to bask in trade deal with Indonesia

South Korean plastic, auto parts and steel companies are expected to benefit from a trade deal with Indonesia once it goes into effect, a trade body said Wednesday. South Korea and Indonesia formally signed the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) in December last year, clearing the way for local exporters to tap deeper into the Southeast Asian market. The deal awaits parliamentary ratification in both countries. Under the trade deal, Jakarta would eliminate tariffs on about 92

Feb. 3, 2021

Telcos likely to offer teleconferencing for free during Lunar New Year amid pandemic

South Korean mobile carriers will likely provide videoconference services for free during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, according to industry officials Wednesday, as in-person contact is limited to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the country's three major telecom operators -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- are considering such telecommunication support measures during the holiday period, which falls on Feb. 11-13 this year, as t

Feb. 3, 2021

Exporters' sales outlook hits 3-year high for Feb.

South Korean exporters' sales outlook touched an over three-year high for February amid improving overseas sales of key products, central bank data showed Wednesday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local exporting companies' sales stood at 100 for February, up from 89 for January, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marks the highest reading since the 102 recorded in November 2017. The index measures exporters' outlook for shipments. A reading above 100 means optimis

Feb. 3, 2021

SK Telecom's 2020 net jumps 74% on mobile biz, equity gains

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, said Wednesday its net income rose 74.3 percent last year on the back of improved performances of its mobile and media businesses, and increased equity gains. For 2020, net income reached 1.5 trillion won ($1.34 billion), compared with 860.7 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income stood at 1.35 trillion won, up 21.8 percent from the previous year, while sales rose 5 percent to 18.6 trillion w

Feb. 3, 2021

LG Uplus' 2020 net up 9%

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Wednesday its net income last year rose 8.9 percent from the previous year amid the pandemic. Net income reached 478.06 billion won ($428.5 million) last year, compared with a profit of 438.8 billion won the previous year. Operating income stood at 886.1 billion won, up 29.1 percent, while sales rose 8.4 percent to 13.4 trillion won over the cited period. (Yonhap)

Feb. 3, 2021

S. Korea's FX reserves inch down in January

South Korea's foreign reserves edged down in January due to the US dollar's strength, which trimmed the value of non-US dollar foreign reserves, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $442.7 billion as of end-January, down $370 million from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the first monthly decline since last March, with the nation's foreign reserves having risen for the ninth consecutive month in December. Foreign reserves co

Feb. 3, 2021

Renault Samsung union votes for strike amid pandemic

Unionized workers at Renault Samsung Motors Corp. on Tuesday voted to go on strike for a wage increase after the company offered a voluntary retirement program last month. In a vote held from Monday to Tuesday, Renault Samsung workers voted for an industrial action to demand a revised wage offer from the company and defend against the restructuring plan, a union spokesman said. The union has demanded a 70,000 won increase in basic pay. The company did not accept it and announced the voluntary

Feb. 3, 2021

HAAH bid hinges on SsangYong’s reorganization plan: KDB

An investor consortium led by US auto retailer HAAH Automotive is ready to lay out plans to buy a stake in troubled South Korean automaker SsangYong Motor once it presents its reorganization plan to creditors, Korea’s state-run lender Korea Development Bank said Tuesday. SsangYong Motor is a lossmaking South Korean arm of Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra. Senior officials of KDB, SsangYong Motor’s main creditor, said that the reorganization plan is a prerequisite to the co

Feb. 2, 2021

Nongshim’s Chapaghetti most hashtagged local instant noodles on Instagram

Nongshim’s Chapaghetti stands out among all local instant noodle brands as one of the most popular, with the greatest number of Instagram posts using its name as a hashtag, the food company said Tuesday. According to Nongshim, the hashtag bearing the name of the popular black bean instant noodles had been attached to about 219,000 posts written in Korean as of Monday. The runner-up was Buldak Spicy Chicken noodles from Samyang Foods, which had 195,000 posts featuring its name as a hash

Feb. 2, 2021

Cyworld to restart service

Cyworld, South Korea’s first-generation social media platform from the early 2000s, will restart its service next month, according to local industry sources on Tuesday. Cyworld has been recently acquired by a consortium of five local entertainment firms. Cyworld Z, an entity established by the five to take over Cyworld, said that the company plans to bring back the Cyworld service in March after two weeks of beta testing. It plans to introduce a mobile version of the social network dur

Feb. 2, 2021

Korean shipbuilders forecast to suffer decline in 2nd half order backlogs

South Korean shipbuilders, led by top player Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., are expected to undergo a temporary shortage of order backlogs in the second half of the year due to a decline in new orders last year, an industry watcher said Tuesday. "A temporary shortage of work is predicted to take place in the second half of the year, as new orders of ships last year, which are slated to be delivered by 2022, were very deficient, " Yang Jong-seo, a researcher at the Korea Eximbank Overse

Feb. 2, 2021

BOK board members wary of risks from asset rally: minutes

Most members of the Bank of Korea's (BOK) monetary policy board voiced concerns about risks from a rally in the nation's stock and housing markets, citing financial imbalances caused by a flood of liquidity and cheap loans, minutes from their latest meeting showed Tuesday. In the last rate-setting meeting on Jan. 15, the seven-member board unanimously voted to keep the policy rate at a record low of 0.5 percent to support an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Holding fire on the

Feb. 2, 2021

Tension lingers among Korean firms in Myanmar in wake of military coup

As Myanmar deals with the aftermath of the latest military coup, South Korean businesses operating there are promptly following through with contingency measures, seeking to ensure the safety of their workers and their families and also to minimize the anticipated disruption to major ongoing projects. Likely to take the most visible impact are players in the energy and trading sectors, especially those that have expanded investments into landmark development projects in recent years. Accordin

Feb. 2, 2021

Myanmar’s military coup rattles S. Korean banks’ ASEAN biz plans

South Korean banks have ordered their employees in Myammar to stay at home and launched emergency safety measures, as of Tuesday, upon the news of the military having taken control of the ASEAN nation in a coup. The coup is expected to put a damper on the lenders’ plans this year to expand their presence in the ASEAN economies, to recover from blows dealt by the coronavirus pandemic. For local banks this year, Myanmar was supposed to work as a springboard for recovery from coronavirus

Feb. 2, 2021

Samsung Electronics among world's 50 most admired firms

Samsung Electronics has regained a spot on the Fortune list of the world’s 50 most admired companies, according to the survey published by the US economic magazine on Monday. The tech behemoth this year ranked 49th, becoming the only South Korean company to make the top 50 this year. Samsung Electronics this year received 7.56 points, slightly up from 7.50 a year earlier. Samsung Electronics marked top scores in five evaluation categories, including innovation, global competitiveness

Feb. 2, 2021

Fear on Korean version of GameStop looms

Tension in South Korea’s financial market escalated Tuesday over groups of retail investors vowing to defend themselves in battles with short sellers here if the government moves to lift a temporary ban on the negative betting system next month. The Korea Stockholders Alliance, which represents around 22,000 retail investors, has launched a monthlong protest, threatening to wage an all-out war against short sellers, claiming that foreign and institutional investors benefit the most while

Feb. 2, 2021

Seoul has fastest 5G network speeds: report

Seoul boasts the world’s fastest 5G network services, according to a broadband speed test conducted with iPhone 12 devices. According to Ookla’s speed test data published last month, Seoul ranked first with a median download speed of 472.28 megabits per second, followed by Dubai of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh, Sydney and Helsinki. Seoul had the fastest upload speed, reaching 49.09 megabits per second, the data also showed. Ookla’s report noted that

Feb. 2, 2021

[News Focus] From yoga pants to electric cars, Hyosung gets a boost in materials business

South Korean textile and chemical conglomerate Hyosung Group is gaining a double boost from the prolonged pandemic and the global transition to electric and hydrogen vehicles. Hyosung TNC, the fiber production unit of Hyosung Group and the world’s No. 1 spandex producer by capacity, is witnessing a surge in spandex sales as more people choose to work and exercise at home. “Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, people are spending more time at home, for telecommuting for instance, and th

Feb. 2, 2021