The Korea Herald

Samsung’s mobile chief bullish on smartphones, tablet PCs

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to outdo its smartphone sales target this year, with the popularity of its latest Android devices and upcoming bada phones, which run on its own mobile software, and a ramp-up in low-cost smartphones, Samsung’s mobile and camera chief said Monday. The world’s second-largest maker of mobile phones, which competes with Apple Inc.’s iPad in the tablet PC sector, is

Industry July 18, 2011

Samsung’s mobile chief bullish on smartphones, tablet PCs

Renault Samsung’s car exports hit record in H1

Riding on solid demand from Europe, Renault Samsung Motors Co., exported a record 70,914 cars in the first half of this year, the company said last week. Renault Samsung is the Korean unit of French automaker Renault SA. Renault Samsung CEO Jean-Marie HurtigerThe figure the carmaker unveiled surpassed the previous high of 50,160 units tallied in the first six months of 2010, with the latest surge

Mobility July 17, 2011

Renault Samsung’s car exports hit record in H1

Toyota under pressure from Hyundai in U.S.

Toyota Motor Corp., to make its earnings target this year, needs the new Camry to wrest back market share from Hyundai Motor Co.’s Sonata sedan. The Camry, the best-selling car in the U.S., has lost ground to the Sonata, with Seoul-based Hyundai raising its U.S. output and surpassing the Camry in May for the first time. “Sonata became a very honorable contender in the market,” said Yoshimi Inaba,

Mobility July 17, 2011

Local gold prices hit record high

Surge stems from high international prices, weak greenbackDomestic gold prices have rallied to all-time highs on the back of recent surges in international prices of the precious metal and the weak U.S. dollar, industry sources said Friday. An employee at Shinhan Bank shows gold bullion bars. (Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald)The retail price of 1 don (3.75 grams) of pure gold in the country stood at 217

July 15, 2011

Korea, EU agree on fair, equal antitrust policy

Antitrust authorities of Korea and the European Union agreed Friday to ensure equal treatment of foreign companies in dealing with international cartel cases, Seoul officials said. The agreement was reached during a meeting in Seoul between Kim Dong-soo, head of South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission, and Joaquin Almunia, vice president of the European Commission, according to the FTC officials. Fair

July 15, 2011

Korea, EU agree on fair, equal antitrust policy

Hyundai-Kia best-selling car firm in Canada

Hyundai’s Sonata gets top marks in U.S. consumer surveyKorea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Motors Corp. ranked as the best-selling passenger carmakers in Canada in the first half of this year, industry sources said Thursday.The two leading automobile makers in South Korea sold a combined 64,671 passenger cars in the North American country in the January-June period for a market sh

Industry July 14, 2011

Local banks’ short-term foreign borrowing up

Korean banks’ short-term foreign borrowing rose in June as lenders rushed to secure foreign currency funds amid worries the eurozone debt crisis may worsen, the financial watchdog said Thursday.A total of 16 local banks refinanced 107.4 percent of their maturing short-term foreign debt through fresh borrowing in June, up from 94.9 percent in the previous month, according to the Financial Superviso

July 14, 2011

Korean CEOs expand networks as honorary consuls

Business leaders committed to solidifying diplomatic, economic, cultural ties with foreign countriesKorea’s business leaders are expanding their scope into the international arena, but not as representatives of their companies; they are honorary consuls of foreign countries.Despite the extra duties these roles bring to their already busy lives, such as issuing visas and passports, the new job help

July 13, 2011

Korean CEOs expand networks as honorary consuls

Hyundai-Kia 4th-largest global carmaker in 2010

Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Motors Corp. emerged as the world’s fourth-largest carmaker in 2010 on solid sales in the United States and China, a Japanese market researcher said Tuesday.Their combined output just surpassed 6.60 million units last year, up 23.6 percent from 5.34 million cars a year earlier, according to Fourin Inc. Hyundai and Kia are the flagship companies

Industry July 12, 2011

Farm sector faces uphill battle

Korea’s free trade agreement with the European Union is expected to deal a blow to the local agricultural and livestock industry for the next decade as farmers compete with an inflow of cheaper products from the world’s largest economic bloc.The Agriculture Ministry forecasts that farmers here will produce 177.6 billion won ($166.5 million) fewer goods each year for the next 15 years. Stock farmer

July 12, 2011

BOK likely to freeze interest rate for July: poll

Korea’s central bank is widely expected to freeze the key interest rate for July following a rate hike in June due to growing household debt and lingering external economic uncertainty, a poll showed Tuesday.Eighteen out of 19 economists predicted that the Bank of Korea will freeze the benchmark seven-day repo rate at 3.25 percent on Thursday, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financi

July 12, 2011

Korea clears way for ‘Angry Birds’ to take on ‘StarCraft’

Apple Inc. customers in South Korea who couldn’t download Rovio Mobile Ltd.’s best-selling “Angry Birds” on their iPhones will soon be able to find out why flinging vindictive fowl at green hogs can be addictive. Korea scrapped rules yesterday requiring developers to have mobile games rated by the government, said Yi Ki-jeong, a manager at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Seoul. The

Technology July 12, 2011

Korea clears way for ‘Angry Birds’ to take on ‘StarCraft’

Samsung retains LCD TV, 3-D TV leads in EU

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of TVs, maintained its lead in Europe’s major TV markets during the first five months of this year, a market researcher said Tuesday.According to GfK Group, the Korean TV maker accounted for 31.9 percent of Europe’s liquid crystal display TV market in May.Its market share stood at 30.8 percent in the January-May period. Samsung’s hometown rival LG

Technology July 12, 2011

Nissan, Toyota ‘quiet’ cars must sound alerts under U.S. rule

A General Motors Co. Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle is taken for a test drive through the Presidio in San Francisco, California (Bloomberg)Nissan Motor Co., General Motors Co. and other makers of electric and hybrid vehicles will be required by U.S. safety regulators to install warning systems that will automatically sound alerts to pedestrians. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administra

Mobility July 10, 2011

Nissan, Toyota ‘quiet’ cars must sound alerts under U.S. rule

Hana, Lone Star agree to extend KEB deal

Hana Financial Group and Lone Star Funds reached an agreement to extend a deal to buy Korea Exchange Bank within six months, Hana said Friday.Hana, the nation’s No. 4 banking group, held a meeting of its board members later in the day to review the terms of the deal.In November, Hana struck a deal with the U.S. buyout fund to acquire its controlling 51 percent stake in KEB for 4.69 trillion won ($

July 8, 2011

Articles by 신용배