With US President Donald Trump exuberating execution of controversial policies in the first two weeks in office, his “America First” goal would hurt emerging markets including South Korea, financial service company Nomura said in a report published on Friday. Rising US trade protectionism, tougher immigration rules and a reassessment of US foreign policy positions, which seem to be at the heart of President Trump’s “America First” goal, would make emerging markets

Jan. 30, 2017

South Korea’s finance minister vowed Monday to carry on restructuring and supporting troubled industries this year, urging two state-owned policy lenders to continue their efforts. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho led a ministerial-level meeting in Seoul to discuss detailed plans on revamping four key industrial sectors -- shipbuilding, shipping, steelmaking and petroleum.  “We have to carry out sweeping reform in earnest based on the principle and framework we set last year,&rdquo

Industry Jan. 25, 2017

On his first full weekday in office Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive action to abandon a multilateral trade deal involving 12 countries, underlining his tough trade policy and raising concerns over a possible renegotiation of the South Korea-US Free Trade Agreement. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade pact between 12 Asia-Pacific countries and a legacy of former President Barack Obama, was signed in February 2016 after five years of negotiations. It was considered a

Jan. 24, 2017

The Export-Import Bank of Korea will reduce total corporate funding this year but enhance support for prospective firms and small and medium-sized enterprises to help revive the local economy, the bank’s chief told reporters Monday. The government-owned bank will allocate 67 trillion won ($57 billion) in credit for companies this year, of which 53 trillion won will go to loans and 14 trillion won to guarantees, said Lee Duk-hoon, chairman and president of the bank. The budget is 11 perc

Jan. 23, 2017

The value of merger and acquisition deals in South Korea in 2016 almost halved from the previous year due to the lack of mega deals amid the influence-peddling scandal, according to M&A information provider Mergermarket on Monday. The country recorded 352 M&A deals worth $46.8 billion during 2016. While the number of M&A deals saw a slight decline from 36, the total value plunged 44.8 percent from $84.9 billion in the previous year.  The steep decline in value was mainly due

Industry Jan. 23, 2017

In South Korean’s confectionary industry, Orion’s Choco Pie, Lotte Confectionery’s Xylitol and Pepero as well as Nongshim’s shrimp crackers are all superstars. They are members of the so-called “1 trillion won club” of confectionary brands with accumulated sales of more than 1 trillion won ($848 million) each. These snacks also enjoy overseas popularity, marking a new growth engine for the manufacturers that have been struggling with weakening demand from health-conscious consumers in their home

Industry Jan. 20, 2017

Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries have won a lawsuit filed against their competitor Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, overturning the first ruling, according to industry sources Tuesday. The Patent Court of Korea on Friday concluded that DSME’s two patents involving liquefied natural gas cargo boil off gas (BOG) re-liquefaction technology are indistinguishable from the existing technology and therefore the patents registration by DSME was annulled. 

Industry Jan. 18, 2017

South Korea’s leading steelmaker Posco has made it to the Corporate Knights’ 100 most sustainable corporations list, becoming the first steelmaker listed three consecutive years, the company said Wednesday. The list has been released by Corporate Knights, a Canadian media and research company, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland every year since 2005.  (Yonhap)Posco ranked No. 35, climbing five places from the previous year. It is the highest ranked South Korean company, with the o

Companies Jan. 18, 2017

One day before South Korea and China are scheduled to hold the first meeting of the free trade agreement joint committee, the trade minister here said Thursday that he is considering discussing about recent trade issues with China over Seoul’s decision to deploy a US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile battery. “We will raise the relation between issues raised by Korean companies and the deployment of THAAD during the meeting of the Korea-China FTA joint

Jan. 12, 2017

Woori Bank has been selected as a winner of the 2016 World Finance Best Wealth Management Awards, the bank said Thursday. (Yonhap)World Finance, a London-based finance magazine, names one financial institute from each country as the best wealth manager in the country. Woori Bank is the first Korean company to receive the award, the firm said. World Finance said it took into consideration Woori Bank’s mobile initiatives and sales performance of bancassurance and private equities. Woori has set up

Companies Jan. 12, 2017

South Korea’s number of jobless hit 1 million for the first time last year, with young job seekers suffering the most, the latest data from the national statistics bureau showed Wednesday.  The unemployment rate for last year was 3.7 percent, the highest since 2010, inching up 0.1 percentage point from the previous year, with the number of jobless reaching 1.01 million, Statistics Korea data showed. It was the first time the tally had exceeded 1 million since the statistics agency ad

Jan. 11, 2017

Just three days after questioning Samsung Group’s top brass, the independent counsel investigating the President Park Geun-hye scandal summoned the de facto leader of the country’s largest conglomerate, Lee Jae-yong, as a suspect for bribery charges, according to the special investigator’s office Wednesday. Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, will appear at the investigators’ office at 9:30 a.m. Thursday and face questions regarding possible bribery charges. 

Companies Jan. 11, 2017

Foreign investors continued their buying spree for 10 consecutive trading days on Tuesday for South Korea’s main bourse, despite strong US dollars amid US interest rate hikes. 　 Foreigners bought a net of 99.7 billion won ($83 million) in shares Tuesday, marking the 10th day of net buying, although the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed down 0.18 percent, or 3.66 points, to 2,045.12 points as institutional investors dumped a net 248 billion won. 　 As of Tuesday, foreigner

Jan. 10, 2017

The independent counsel investigating the presidential scandal Monday grilled top executives of South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung, with reports suggesting the team may consider charging the group’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong with perjury. Choi Gee-sung, head of Samsung Group’s control tower Future Strategy Office, and deputy head Chang Choong-ki were summoned as witnesses by the special investigation team led by Park Young-soo in the morning. Both Chang and Choi a

Industry Jan. 9, 2017