[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Heavy Industries will issue 159.12 million new shares with the aim of raising about 1.1 trillion won (US$984 million).The plans were approved in a board of directors meeting held Aug. 19, following a shareholders meeting. The board set the issue price at 6,920 won, a discount of 20 percent from the current market price. The price will be finalized Nov. 2. The board also approved the plan to allocating 20 percent of the new shares to employee shareholders. The new shares wi

Aug. 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The creditors of STX Corporation on Aug. 19 denied reports they are preparing to open bids for the company.STX Corporation was the holding company of STX Group, and is currently under creditors’ control. Korea Development Bank holds the largest share, 39.59 percent, of the company. Including stakes held by other creditor banks, STX Corporation is 70.55 percent controlled by creditor banks. In response to the Korea Exchange’s request for verification, the creditors said that althou

Aug. 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Heavy Industries CEO Park Dae-young said on Aug. 19 the company may offer project management and operating and maintenance services.Speaking at a shareholders meeting, Park said that such services are being considered as new business opportunities. “There were many requests for operating and maintenance services from shipowners, but a large part (of operating and maintenance services) is going to Singapore,” Park said.  Samsung Heavy CEO Park Dae-young“If we, who know the

Aug. 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Heavy Industries on Aug. 19 raised the ceiling on the number of shares it can issue by 200 million, in preparation for raising capital.With the changes, the maximum number of shares the company can issue has been raised to 500 million. Hit by the industry’s prolonged slowdown, Samsung Heavy plans to raise about 1 trillion won (US$900 million). According to a review by Samjong KPMG, Samsung Heavy could face a liquidity shortage of 1.6 trillion won in the worst-case scenario

Aug. 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] KB Investment & Securities is to be selected to oversee the initial public offering of Jeil Holdings, local media reported Aug. 19.Jeil Holdings is the holding company of Harim Group, a South Korean livestock and animal feed group. Harim’s subsidiaries also include shipping line Panocean, formerly STX Panocean. According to reports citing unnamed finance industry sources, Harim Group will hold a board of directors’ meeting on Aug. 24 and confirm KB Investment & Securities for the

Aug. 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Life Insurance’s plans to raise its stakes in financial affiliates is again adding weight to speculation the company is seeking to become the holding firm for Samsung Group’s finance subsidiaries. Samsung Life plans to acquire 9 percent of Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance shares held by the company. The deal would raise Samsung Life’s stakes in Samsung Fire and Marine to about 24 percent. In addition, Samsung Life will acquire 9 percent of Samsung Securities currently hel

Aug. 18, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s Military Mutual Aid Association announced Aug. 17 it will invest 40 million euros (US$45.3 million) in the latest Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund.The latest MEIF will invest in utilities, communications and transport infrastructure in Europe. The MMA said that the decision was made based on the MEIF’s high yield, and the positive outlook for Europe’s infrastructure market. Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)

Aug. 18, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The country’s economic growth will slow further during the second half of the year, the POSCO Research Institute projected on Aug. 18.In its second half outlook report, the institute projected a growth rate of 2.2 percent, down 0.8 percentage point from the 3 percent growth recorded for the first half.For the year as a whole, the institute projected a growth rate of 2.6 percent, 0.1 percentage point lower than that projected by the Bank of Korea. “It is deemed that economic slowdo

Aug. 18, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Life Insurance plans to acquire additional stakes in Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance and Samsung Securities Aug. 18. The move is thought to be part of Samsung Group’s plans to establish Samsung Life as the holding company for its financial companies. The plans are to be put to the three companies’ boards of directors later in the day.  Samsung headquarters in SeoulSamsung Life plans to acquire 9 percent of Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance shares held by the company. The

Aug. 18, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The Korea Development Bank is planning a large-scale capital increase for ailing shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering within the year, local media reported Aug. 17. KDB is DSME’s largest shareholder and main creditor bank. According to reports, KDB will raise capital using means approved by financial authorities to resolve DSME’s insolvency. At the end of the first half of the year, DSME’s assets came to about 15.59 trillion won (US$14.09 billion), while debt sto

Aug. 18, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The US International Trade Commission on Aug. 12 ruled that South Korean petrochemicals are damaging the US industry, raising concerns of further antidumping measures against South Korean products. According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, the USITC sided with US chemicals-maker Eastman Chemical’s claims against three South Korean producers of DOTC. DOTC is a plasticizer use in the production of polyvinyl chloride and other plastics. In its petition, Eastman Chemic

Aug. 18, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho and his daughter Shin Young-ja drew large salaries despite the group’s crisis and not playing a professional role, regulatory filings show. The first half financial statement Lotte Shopping filed on Aug. 17 shows that Shin Kyuk-ho received 800 million won (US$725,000) in salary for the period. Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-hoHowever, Shin Kyuk-ho has played no part in management since October. In comparison, Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin’s sal

Aug. 18, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] One out of four affiliates of South Korea’s 10 largest conglomerates experienced a sales decline in the first half of the year, the Korea Exchange said Aug. 18.The Korea Exchange’s analysis of the consolidated financial statements of 68 publicly traded affiliates of the 10 largest conglomerates showed that 26 firms’ first half sales have declined on-year. Of these, seven companies, including POSCO, LG Display and Hyundai Heavy Industries, recorded sales drops ranging from 1 trilli

Aug. 18, 2016