A range of ultra-small electric vehicles are poised to hit the South Korean market amid growing consumer interest in eco-friendly cars that can be bought cheap with state subsidies, industry sources said Wednesday.Renault Samsung Motors Corp., the South Korean unit of French carmaker Renault S.A., and local smaller players are set to tap into the market for battery-powered micro EVs that have emerged as a new means of urban transport.Renault Samsung's Twizy micro electric vehicle (Photo courtesy

Industry June 28, 2017

South Korean shares opened weak Wednesday, tracking a decline on Wall Street after a key vote on US President Donald Trump's health care plan was delayed.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 9.47 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,382.48 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 0.83 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 1.25 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO gained 1.45 percent.The local currency was tra

Economy June 28, 2017

The amount of toy imports in South Korea rose to a record level in the first four months of this year on robust demand for character robots, government data showed Wednesday. The inbound shipment of kids' toys reached a record $276 million in the January-April period, up 3.1 percent from $267 million the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and its affiliated Korea Culture Information Service Agency.  The purchase of character toys, in

Economy June 28, 2017

South Korea's stock funds returned nearly 17 percent in the first half of the year as the equity market soared on improving corporate earnings and an economic recovery, a fund evaluator said Wednesday.The average return of local stock funds with net assets of 1 billion won or more, excluding exchange traded funds, came to 16.9 percent as of Monday, according to KG Zeroin.In contrast, local bond funds returned an average 0.76 percent in the first half amid greater risk appetite across the wo

Economy June 28, 2017

Eland Group, a major South Korean outlet mall operator, is seeking to log over 400 billion won ($351 million) in sales from its local and Chinese e-commerce platforms, industry sources said Wednesday. The company entered the Chinese market in 1996 and had since focused on expanding the offline stores until opening its first e-commerce store on Tmall in 2014. Tmall is China's largest online shopping mall operated by Alibaba Group.The company's online sales in the neighboring country, which stood

Economy June 28, 2017