The Korea Herald

Ministry to extend tobacco retailer restriction

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said it would delay the expiration of the regulation limiting the distance between tobacco retail outlets to 2018.The regulation, which states that all stores selling tobacco products must be at least 50 meters apart, was slated to expire this year.Ministry officials said the government made the decision to alleviate heated competition among retailers and to prevent easy access for teens.News reports said about 40 percent of sales at convenient stores come fr

Oct. 20, 2013

Top 4 financial groups expected to see Q3 earnings rise

The country’s four major financial groups ― Woori, KB, Shinhan and Hana ― are predicted to post an increase in on-quarter net profit, financial researchers and analysts said Thursday.FnGuide, an online stock information provider, said it projected that KB Financial Group reaped about 422.3 billion won ($397 million) during the July-September period, marking a steep 155.6 percent growth on a quarterly basis.KB’s previous quarterly earnings had fallen largely due to temporary financial woes, such

Oct. 17, 2013

Goldman probed for illicit bond sales

The local operation of Goldman Sachs Group, a U.S. multinational investment bank, is likely to face a prosecutors’ investigation over its allegedly unlicensed overseas bond sales, according to market insiders on Wednesday. “We have conducted an investigation over three foreign-invested securities companies (including Goldman Sachs) in September, and are currently analyzing the results,” the Financial Supervisory Service said in a press release. The state regulator noted that it has completed a t

Oct. 16, 2013

FSS accepts request for Tong Yang probe

The Financial Supervisory Service said on Tuesday that it accepted a petition by 600 retail investors requesting the financial authority to investigate the cash-strapped Tong Yang Group and its financial units.This marks the first time the FSS has taken a collective request by individuals for a probe into a conglomerate.FSS chief Choi Soo-hyun suggested such a system benchmarking that of Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection upon his inauguration last March.“A significant number of investors hav

Oct. 15, 2013

Kim & Chang has biggest earners

The nation’s leading law firm Kim & Chang was found to have the largest number of high income earners, according to a ruling party lawmaker who analyzed a report from the National Health Insurance Service.The law firm was followed by Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, and SK Innovation, the holding firm of SK Group affiliates related to energy.According to Rep. Kim Hyun-sook of the Saenuri Party, Kim & Chang has a total of 148 employees who earn 78 million won ($72,700)

Oct. 14, 2013

Herald Design Market offers goods of all kinds

The Herald Design Market showcases design products of young up-and-coming Korean designers. (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald)The biggest merit of living in the age of design, perhaps, is the accessibility and affordability of goods for everyone. About 80 talented young designers set up tables under their own brand names at the Herald Design Market, showcasing everyday items with sophisticated designs. The products were displayed in a colorful, three-storied container building, an open patio of th

Arts & Design Oct. 8, 2013

Herald Design Market offers goods of all kinds

Siemens Korea names new vice president

Siemens Korea on Monday named Christoph M. Aebischer as the company’s vice president and head of the building technologies division. Aebischer formerly served as regional head of fire safety and security solutions for the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, after heading the building automation division of the Hong Kong and Macau operations of Siemens. He joined Siemens Switzerland as a service engineer and accumulated extensive experience in various sectors, including product management, sales market

Oct. 7, 2013

‘Era of electric cars will come slowly’

This is the seventh in a series of articles about promising foreign-invested companies. ― Ed.ICHEON, Gyeonggi Province ― Electric cars and automated driving were the two hot trends of the Frankfurt Motor Show 2013, according to Sunwoo Hyun, the chief executive of Continental Automotive Systems Korea, the Korean unit of German auto part maker Continental AG.Founded in 1871, Continental AG is headquartered in Hanover, Germany, with annual sales of 32.7 billion euros ($44.4 billion) and about 170,0

Oct. 7, 2013

Foreign investors’ net stock buying hits W10tr in one month

Foreign investors are maintaining their active buying spree on Korea’s main bourse, posting a combined net purchase of stocks worth about 10 trillion won ($9.3 billion) since the end of August.According to the Korea Exchange, foreigners net purchased local stocks for the 26th consecutive trading session between Aug. 23 and Oct. 2. The collective volume came to 9.6 trillion, marking the highest figure in 15 years since the 1997 Asian foreign exchange crisis.Though the U.S. government’s tapering s

Oct. 3, 2013

BAT to lower price of KENT Convertibles

The local operation of British American Tobacco announced on Monday that it will lower the price of KENT Convertibles to 2,300 won ($2.10) a pack, down 400 won from the current 2,700 won, starting Oct. 1. “We believe the price repositioning of KENT will provide additional choice for consumers who are seeking high-quality products at a more affordable price range,” said Guy Meldrum, the chief executive of BAT Korea. The under-2,500 won cigarettes comprise about 15 percent of the local tobacco mar

Industry Sept. 30, 2013

NongHyup Financial vows to acquire Woori Investment

NongHyup Financial Group on Monday reiterated its determination to bid for the brokerage unit of Woori Financial Group.After the government resurrected the project to privatize the state-funded Woori Financial earlier this year, NongHyup Financial was deemed one of the few powerful potential bidders for Woori Investment & Securities.“In the past, local financial institutions could grow naturally by sticking to traditional operations. Now, they must reach out for artificial growth through nontrad

Sept. 30, 2013

NongHyup Financial vows to acquire Woori Investment

CJ E&M under second tax audit in 7 months

The National Tax Service has launched another probe into CJ Entertainment & Media, seven months after it conducted a regular audit of the company. Tax investigators on Thursday raided the company headquarters in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, and confiscated computer hard disks, documents and account books, officials said.The company underwent a regular tax probe in February and CJ Group did in June.The unexpected probe aroused speculation that the tax agency might have found new evidence to suppor

Sept. 27, 2013

Diageo Korea expands Icheon cocktail plant

Diageo Korea, the local operation of the world’s largest whiskey maker Diageo, on Thursday completed the construction of additional production lines for its plant in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. This additional production line will be used in producing Smirnoff-based cocktail products that will be exported to Southeast Asia. The expansion aims at overcoming limited growth in the local whiskey market, said Diageo Korea CEO Cho Kil-soo at the launching ceremony of Johnnie Walker House in Sinsa-dong,

Industry Sept. 26, 2013

Shinhan Financial Group strengthens CSR activities

Shinhan Financial Group vowed to strengthen its social contribution activities to help the country enhance its welfare and culture in a practical way.One such attempt is the group’s corporate social responsibilities council, which consists of the chief executives of Shinhan subsidiaries. The council is the group’s highest decision-making body for corporate social responsibility activities.CSR achievement is one of the qualifications that Shinhan evaluates when employees are considered for promot

Business Sept. 26, 2013

Shinhan Financial Group strengthens CSR activities

‘Trading in Chinese yuan could help Korean firms’

A top foreign bank official advised Korean companies to use Renminbi, or yuan, in their trade settlements with foreign partners, stressing that the globalization of the Chinese currency is going faster than had been predicted.“When the RMB was first set on an international course, we predicted that it would be used for 20 percent of (Chinese) cross border trade by 2015,” Carmen Ling, the global head of the RMB solutions unit of Standard Chartered Bank, told The Korea Herald in an email interview

Sept. 26, 2013

‘Trading in Chinese yuan could help Korean firms’

Articles by Chung Joo-won