South Korea’s No. 3 smartphone-maker Pantech, which is in court receivership, is to be put up for sale in the near future, industry sources said Wednesday. The latest development came as the Seoul Central District Court gave the nod to Pantech’s plan to put itself up for sale, a month after it commenced the troubled firm’s court receivership program.Pantech’s creditors, led by the Korea Development Bank, will accept bids from potential buyers soon, the sources said. The plan came as the creditor

Industry Sept. 24, 2014

OCI, a leading solar power builder in Korea, said Tuesday that the company has completed a solar cell and module production line in San Antonio, Texas, as part of its efforts to enter the fast-growing U.S. solar power market. It marks the first time for a South Korean company to build such a plant in the U.S. “The plant, with an annual production capacity of 100 megawatts, is aimed at supplying highly efficient ‘N-type’ solar cells and modules to OCI’s ongoing mega solar power project in San Ant

Industry Sept. 23, 2014

POSCO Energy, a unit of POSCO, said Monday that it has entered the coal-fired power generation business by launching Pospower. The nation’s largest independent power company had previously focused on gas-fired thermal power. Pospower, formerly Tong Yang Power, which POSCO Energy acquired last June for 431.1 billion won ($421.8 million), has a business license to build and operate two 1-million-kilowatt capacity coal-fired thermal power plants in Samcheok, Gangwon Province, by 2021. Under the ren

Industry Sept. 22, 2014

South Korean stocks closed higher Friday amid abated geopolitical uncertainties in Europe, as voters in Scotland chose to stay part of the United Kingdom, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 6.08 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,053.82. Trading volume was moderate at 391 million shares worth 5.02 trillion won ($4.81 billion), with gainers outpacing losers, 529 to 269.Analysts said Friday’s rebound came after Scotland voted against splitting from Britain in its refer

Sept. 19, 2014

The average price gap between common and preferred stocks of major South Korean companies dipped to its lowest in a decade as investors and funds bought up equities tied to better dividends, data showed Friday. Preferred stocks are generally traded at cheaper prices than common stocks because they offer no voting rights and have low turnover rates. But after the new economic team began pressing conglomerates to pay higher dividends, investors turned to these cheaper stocks, which are given prior

Industry Sept. 19, 2014

Korea Ratings, a leading local credit appraiser, said Friday that it has downgraded its credit ratings for local shipbuilders like Hyundai Heavy Industries, but has retained a stable outlook. The ratings agency lowered its long-term credit rating for Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, by one notch from its second-highest investment grade of AA+ to AA, with a stable outlook.A huge net loss and a downtrend in profits and cash flow were the main reasons for the downgrade, it

Industry Sept. 19, 2014

The South Korean won continued to decline against the U.S. dollar Friday, extending its loss to the second consecutive session as it moves in tandem with the global trend of the strong dollar following the Federal Reserve meeting.The local currency ended at 1,044.60 won against the greenback, down 1.20 won from Thursday’s close. The dollar rose to the highest in six years earlier in the day on expectations that the Fed’s fund rates will be raised at a faster-than-expected clip, prodding investor

Sept. 19, 2014

South Korea and Turkey initialed a free trade agreement for their investment and service sectors Thursday, which will complement a trade pact that went into effect last year.The new South Korea-Turkey FTA on service and investment will soon undergo reviews by each side, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.“The two countries have agreed to officially sign the agreement in early 2015, and they plan to work for its implementation by undertaking domestic procedures that include r

Industry Sept. 19, 2014

South Korea’s central bank is expected to keep the base rate on hold in September as it measures the policy effect of last month’s rate cut and watches out for risks of ballooning household debt, a poll showed Thursday.All 16 analysts surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, forecast the Bank of Korea to stand pat on the current policy rate of 2.25 percent at a board meeting on Friday.The latest result comes after the BOK cut the base rate in August for the first

Sept. 11, 2014