South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group expects sales of Samsung Electronics Co. and three other units in Vietnam to spike more than 30 percent on-year in 2017 on its strong smartphone business, sources said Wednesday.Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display Co., Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. and Samsung SDI Co. are targeting to post combined sales of $60 billion in the Southeast Asian country this year, up 33 percent from the previous year. This undated file photo shows workers at a Samsung El

Technology May 17, 2017

K-Bank, South Korea's first Internet-only bank, said Wednesday it has achieved 76 percent of its full-year target of attracting deposits just 45 days after launching operations. K-Bank, which was launched on April 3, has attracted 380 billion won ($339.2 million) in deposits, compared with this year's target of 500 billion won. K-Bank has also made loans worth 310 billion won, compared with this year's target of 400 billion won, the bank said.  The pace of growth in K-Bank's deposits and lo

Market May 17, 2017

The Nexen Heroes are nothing if not patient with their players. And they're more than willing to wait on their slumping left-hander Andy Van Hekken to turn things around.The 36-year-old American pitcher is in his sixth Korea Baseball Organization season with the Heroes, but this has so far been his worst in South Korea.In six starts, Van Hekken is 2-3 with a 4.59 ERA across 33 1/3 innings -- this by the same pitcher who carried a career 3.52 ERA with a 65-35 record in the KBO heading into 2017.A

Baseball May 17, 2017

The daily foreign exchange turnover by local and foreign banks in South Korea rose 11.9 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter, the central bank said Wednesday.The daily FX turnover averaged $49.98 billion in the January to March period, compared to the previous quarter's $44.66 billion, according to the Bank of Korea. The daily trading volume of foreign exchange spots reached $19.41 billion in the first quarter, up 11.8 percent from the previous quarter.By currency type, the dai

Market May 17, 2017

SsangYong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of India's automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said Wednesday it has reentered Saudi Arabia after a four-year absence, as part of its efforts to expand into the Middle East market.The sport utility vehicle-centered carmaker withdrew from the oil rich country in 2013 but the following year it began preparations to reenter it, a company spokesman said, without giving the reasons of the withdrawal.   (Yonhap)Four years ago, local dealerships reportedly sto

Mobility May 17, 2017

JEONJU -- South Korean football coach Shin Tae-yong said Wednesday staying in the same hotel with the team's group stage opponents ahead of the FIFA U-20 World Cup will not pose a big problem.The U-20 World Cup kicks off Saturday and will run until June 11 in six local cities -- Cheonan, Daejeon, Incheon, Jeonju, Suwon and Jeju. The young Taeguk Warriors are in Group A with Guinea, Argentina and England at the 24-team tournament, and all four teams landed in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, on Mon

Soccer May 17, 2017

South Korean stocks traded 0.14 percent lower late Wednesday morning, led by losses in brokerage and utility firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 3.25 points to 2,292.08 as of 11:20 a.m. NH Investment & Securities, a leading brokerage house here, dropped 1.8 percent, with state-run utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. falling 1.7 percent.But large-cap tech and auto companies edged up. Top-cap Samsung Electronics added about 0.08 percent and leading

Market May 17, 2017

The labor ministry said it ordered Samsung Heavy Industries Co. to partially suspend operations after a fire broke out at its shipyard in the southeastern port city of Geoje on Wednesday. (Yonhap)The blaze, which began from a cooling installation at 10:07 a.m. was extinguished around 10:30 a.m., according to firefighters.No casualties were reported. The Ministry of Employment and Labor ordered Samsung Heavy to partially suspend operations near the site where the fire took place. The shipbuilder

Industry May 17, 2017

South Korea's exports of information and communications technology products rose at the fastest clip in nearly seven years in April on brisk global demand for semiconductors and displays, government data showed Wednesday.A total of $15.55 billion worth of Korean-made ICT products were shipped overseas last month, up 24.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. (Yonhap)It marked the highest on-year growth since August 2010 when mo

Industry May 17, 2017

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's two biggest carmakers, said Wednesday they have sold more plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in overseas markets this year due to good consumer demand for the latest green cars.In the January-April period, Hyundai and its sister company Kia exported a combined 2,090 PHEVs mainly to advanced markets where ctomers' environmental awareness is relatively high compared with less developed countries, according to the companies' data.  A model poses w

Mobility May 17, 2017

Two former South Korean football stars said Wednesday they hoped the youth national team will go deep into the upcoming FIFA tournament at home -- even beyond where they'd gone more than three decades ago.Shin Yon-ho and Kim Jong-boo were pivotal in South Korea's joining the final four at the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship -- now known as the FIFA U-20 World Cup -- in Mexico. South Korea met Uruguay in the quarterfinals of the 1983 tournament and were tied 1-1 after regulation play. Shin the

Soccer May 17, 2017

Cash-strapped Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a major shipyard here, is set to receive 500 billion won ($448 million) in fresh loans from its creditors later this month, industry sources said Wednesday.The financial aid, part of the second bailout fund drawn up by its creditors, will be spent on payments to subcontractors and to employees, they said.In March, the creditors led by the KDB announced a fresh rescue package for the ailing shipbuilder that has been suffering from severe

Industry May 17, 2017

Samsung Electronics Co. is set to release the flagship Galaxy S8 in China this month, industry sources said Wednesday, amid hope that the device will help revitalize its brand reputation tainted by the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 in Asia's No. 1 smartphone market.Industry watchers said the South Korean tech giant will hold an event to showcase the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus in China on Thursday. The official release is presumed to be slated for May 25. (Yonhap)The flagship devices already went

Technology May 17, 2017

Samsung Electronics Co. may emerge as the world's No. 1 player in the chip industry by beating its archrival Intel Corp. in the second quarter, industry watchers said Wednesday.The rise of the South Korean tech giant is significant as the US firm has been the leading player in the chip industry since 1991.  (Yonhap)According to industry tracker IC Insights, Samsung may post sales of $14.9 billion in the second quarter, up 7.5 percent on-year. The figure would hover above the estimated $14.4 bill

Technology May 17, 2017

South Korea's credit card spending jumped nearly 14 percent in March from a year ago on higher oil prices and a rise in the number of outbound travelers, data showed Wednesday.Credit card purchases totaled 66.4 trillion won ($59.5 billion) in March, up 13.7 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to the data from the Credit Finance Association. The surge was attributed largely to increased consumer prices, including oil costs, and higher demand for South Koreans' overseas trips.&qu

Market May 17, 2017