The South Korean stock market is anticipated to bounce back this week, snapping its two-session losing streak, on the government’s latest stimulus package that has whetted foreign investors’ appetite for local shares, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 1.92 percent from the previous week to close at 2,073.10 on Friday, extending its losing streak to a second session. Earlier this week, Seoul shares traded bullish on the strength of better-than-expected

Industry Aug. 3, 2014

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s top automaker, will begin selling a revamped Genesis luxury sedan in China this month, a company official said Saturday, as it seeks to better compete with German brands in the high-end segment of the world’s largest car market. The revamped Genesis, which was introduced in South Korea in November and in the United States in April, will hit showrooms in China on Aug. 18, the official said on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the med

Industry Aug. 3, 2014

South Korean insurance companies saw their net income soar 36.2 percent in the first six months of 2014 from a year earlier, buoyed by a rise in investment-related earnings, the financial watchdog said Sunday. The combined net income of local life and nonlife insurers reached 3.38 trillion won ($3.26 billion) in the January-June period, compared with 2.48 trillion won the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.Life insurance firms logged a 23.3 percent on-year jump in prof

Industry Aug. 3, 2014

South Korea’s top two tech firms are aiming for a bigger world market share this year with their ultrahigh-definition TVs for combined sales of close to 5 million units, industry officials said Sunday. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics predict a fast expansion of UHD TV demand, up to 12 million units this year from just 1.6 million last year.Japan’s Sony and China’s major players have been successfully penetrating the relatively new market that took shape in 2012, eroding sales by the two S

Industry Aug. 3, 2014

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, said Tuesday it swung to a net loss in the second quarter from a year ago mainly due to a reserve for expected loss from large-scale projects and the stronger home currency.Net loss came to 616.6 billion won ($601.7 million) in the April-June period, compared with a net profit of 66.8 billion won a year ago, the shipbuilder said in a regulatory filing. Sales fell 2.1 percent to 12.81 trillion won in the period. The company also posted 1.

Industry July 29, 2014

South Korean stocks on Friday reached a new high for 2014, bolstered by expectations that government stimulus measures may boost the local economy, analysts said.Starting the day in positive territory, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose to 2,036.20 at one point during the trading session before finishing at 2,033.85, up 0.36 percent, or 7.23 points, from Thursday’s close.Trading volume was modest at 264.51 million shares worth 3.85 trillion won ($3.73 billion), with advancers o

July 25, 2014

Hyundai Engineering and Construction, the nation’s top builder, said Friday its net earnings for the second quarter surged 20.8 percent on-year to 156.9 billion won ($152.1 million), helped by the start of large-scale overseas projects.Operating profit soared 39.3 percent to 279.6 billion won in the same period, with sales numbers jumping 35.5 percent from the year before to a little more than 4.7 trillion won, the company said in a regulatory filing. “The sharp increase in earnings across the b

Industry July 25, 2014

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s No. 2 automaker, said Friday its net income for the second quarter plunged 13.3 percent on-year to 1.02 trillion won ($988 million), due to unfavorable exchange rates that offset gains in the total number of cars it sold. Operating profit also nosedived 31.7 percent to 769.7 billion won in the same period, with earnings generated by sales falling 8.1 percent to 12.05 trillion won, the company said in a regulatory filing.Kia reported selling 775,253 cars in the thr

Industry July 25, 2014

SK Innovation, the holding company of SK Group’s energy units, including SK Energy, said Friday its net income swung to the red from a year earlier due to a weak refining margin and foreign exchange losses.Net loss reached 23 billion won ($22.33 million) in the April-June period compared with a year ago when the company logged 267 billion won of net profit, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company also posted an operating deficit of 23 billion won, while its sales dropped 2.1 percent

Industry July 25, 2014

POSCO, South Korea’s top steelmaker, said Thursday its second-quarter net income more than doubled from a year ago, mainly due to better earnings from its foreign operations. Net profit stood at 487 billion won ($474.8 million) in the April-June period, up 102 percent compared to 241 billion won tallied a year earlier, POSCO said in a regulatory filing. Overall revenues as outlined in the consolidated report rose about 7 percent to 16.7 trillion won in the three-month period with operating profi

Industry July 24, 2014

Hydro Asia is the largest regional meeting to discuss water issues on an academic level. The event has been held in Korea since 2007 and K-water took over hosting the regional event from 2014. The event originates from Hydro Europe, created by the University of Nice in France, which implemented the launch of the program in association with six European universities in 2001. The objective of Hydro Europe is to promote ― in a global European vision ― the key concepts, methodologies, tools and good

Industry July 24, 2014