Most Popular
-
1
10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
-
2
Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
-
3
Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
-
4
DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
-
5
First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
-
6
NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
-
7
Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
-
8
Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
-
9
Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
-
10
Ship linked to NK arms shipments to Russia is moored in China: State Dept.
-
Industrial restructuring holds key to boosting growth potential
Korea needs to accelerate industrial restructuring and deregulation as its growth potential continues to weaken, many economists here say.According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Korean economy grew by 0.5 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter of this year and fiscal spending made a 0.5 percent contribution to the quarterly growth. This means that Asia’s fourth-largest economy would have barely grown in the cited period without measures to expand fiscal expenditure.The g
July 6, 2016
-
No evidence of CD-rate rigging: FTC
Korea’s antitrust agency said Wednesday it has found no evidence of collusion among banks in setting three-month certificate of deposit rates, used as a benchmark for a large portion of consumer bank loans. “The investigation is closed due to lack of evidence,” said Kim Seok-ho, a standing commissioner of the Fair Trade Commission. “It is not that the banks are cleared of allegations. Should evidence surface in the future, the probe may reopen.” The FTC began looking into CD rate-fixing allegati
July 6, 2016
-
LG Display installs production equipment at plastic OLED plant
[THE INVESTOR] LG Display said on July 6 it has installed new production equipment for the sixth-generation plastic organic light-emitting diode or POLED panels at its plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. The equipment installation comes after the display-making unit of LG Group invested a combined 1.5 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) into the facilities over the past year. Plastic OLED production equipment is transferred to LG Display’s plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, on July 6. / L
TechnologyJuly 6, 2016
-
[Decoded] Hyundai Motor dragged down by chronic labor dispute
Hyundai Motor’s chronic labor disputes, which loom year after year, are taking a toll on the automaker already struggling from declining sales.Hyundai’s labor union said Tuesday it would stage a strike this year again after their wage negotiations with management collapsed. This time, they are seeking an alliance with Hyundai Heavy Industries’ union. Hyundai Motor’s union members protest the failure of wage negotiations with the management in Ulsan on Tuesday.(Yonhap)The recurring strikes from 1
MobilityJuly 6, 2016
-
Gov’t seeks bigger role in Korean firms’ overseas infrastructure projects
[THE INVESTOR] The government will raise an additional 100 billion won (US$ 85.7 million) to help Korean construction firms take on infrastructure projects abroad. Only July 6, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Development Bank signed an agreement for establishing the third Global Infrastructure Fund. The fund is used to invest in overseas infrastructure projects conducted by local construction companies. The Korea Development Bank/ The InvestorThe ministry said th
July 6, 2016
-
Korea, OECD to study ways for system innovation
Korea said Wednesday it is due to hold a joint workshop this week with an OECD panel on how to promote technology-based system innovation.The forum will be held in Seoul on Thursday, co-organized by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the Working Group on Innovation and Technology Policy at the OECD Committee for Science and Technology Policy.More than 100 participants, including experts from Canada, Britain, Italy and several other OECD member states, plan to attend the session
BusinessJuly 6, 2016
-
Korean economy has weak recovery momentum due to faltering exports: KDI
The Korean economy is showing flaccid recovery momentum as weak exports and sluggish investment offset a modest rise in private consumption, a state-run think-tank said Wednesday."The slowdown in production-related indicators moderated, but the upward momentum in overall economic activities has been insignificant," the Korea Development Institute said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions."However, exports and facilities investment remained in a slump, while the manufact
July 6, 2016
-
Japan's Toray completes factory in Saemangeum
Toray Advanced Materials Korea Inc., a subsidiary of Japan's Toray Industries Inc., has completed the construction of a factory on reclaimed land in the southwestern coastal area of Saemangeum, officials said Wednesday.The company had a ceremony in the region located in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, earlier in the day to mark the end of two years of construction worth 190 billion won ($163 million), according to its spokesman Lee Jae-sun. It plans to make an additional investment of 110 billion
IndustryJuly 6, 2016
-
Korean shares down 2.05% in late morning trade
Korean stocks plunged 2.05 percent late Wednesday morning as fears sparked by Britain's decision to leave the European Union spooked investors again, while some sought to cash in part of recent gains.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index plunged 40.89 points to 1,948.96 as of 11:20 a.m.Foreigners appeared to be exiting the local market with a fervor, dumping 236.9 billion won ($202.7 million) worth of local stocks. The decline also followed overnight losses on Wall Street.The Dow Jones
July 6, 2016
-
Netmarble Games seeks to buy Playtika
[THE INVESTOR] Netmarble Games, South Korea’s leading online game developer and publisher, has joined the race to buy Israel-based social casino game firm Playtika in a deal could worth over 4 trillion won (US$3.4 billion). It will be the largest acquisition deal made by a South Korean game company since No. 1 player Nexon and NCSoft jointly attempted to takeover Electronic Arts for 4 trillion won in 2012. According to a source on July 6, Netmarble Games submitted a letter of intent for the tran
TechnologyJuly 6, 2016
-
Gold reaches record high in morning trading
[THE INVESTOR] Prices on Korea Exchange’s gold spot market rose to a record high on July 6, fanned by uncertainties in the international financial markets. At 10:10 a.m., gold was trading at 51,213.65 won (US$ 44) per gram. The previous high was 50,520 won per gram recorded on June 27, the first day of trading since UK’s referendum on leaving the European Union. By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
July 6, 2016
-
Foreign auto sales in Korea slip 3.5 pct in June
Sales of foreign cars in Korea shed 3.5 percent on-year in June, weighed down by a slump of German automaker Volkswagen Group in the wake of a widening probe into its emissions scandal here, industry data showed Wednesday.A total of 23,435 units of imported cars were registered last month, down from 24,275 tallied in the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.June sales, however, jumped 20.4 percent from a month earlier, the d
IndustryJuly 6, 2016
-
Latecomer LG Pay to feature IC chip, one-time password
[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics’ mobile payments service LG Pay -- expected to debut in September -- will feature more diverse functions such as an integrated circuit chip and one-time password, industry sources said on July 6. Unlike its app-based rivals such as Samsung Pay, the LG service is expected to come as a tangible smart card.LG had planned to launch the service within the first half of this year but the plan was delayed to extend partnership with local banks and card companies. Unlike ot
TechnologyJuly 6, 2016
-
Samsung Display accelerates transition from LCD to OLED
[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Display, the display business arm of Samsung Electronics, is ramping up its efforts to outpace its rivals in the organic light-emitting diode display sector. As a part of this strategy, the firm is planning a quick transition from liquid-crystal display to OLED at its L7 plant in South Chungcheong Province. The plant currently runs two LCD assembly lines. “Samsung Display will cease the operation of both lines at the L7 plant by the end of this year and replace LCD equipme
TechnologyJuly 6, 2016
-
Toshiba takes on Samsung with US$14.6b investment deal
[THE INVESTOR] Japanese tech firm Toshiba and US hard-disk maker Western Digital will jointly invest 1.5 trillion yen (US$14.6 billion) over the next three years to beef up their flash memory production. The partnership is expected to help Toshiba catch up with Samsung Electronics in the 3-D NAND flash memory sector. Under the latest deal, Toshiba and Western Digital will add a new chip fabrication facility in their existing joint chip-manufacturing plant in Japan’s Yokkaichi complex of Mie Pref
MobilityJuly 6, 2016
-
AIIB considers financing SK E&C-led consortium
[THE INVESTOR] The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank plans to finance a SK Engineering and Construction-led infrastructure project, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on July 5. The AIIB is considering lending US$ 75 million to the South Korean consortium to build a peripheral ring road in Almaty, Kazakhstan. During the AIIB’s first annual meeting held in Beijing in June, the bank announced its plan to finance the Almaty highway, along with four other projects The bank wi
IndustryJuly 6, 2016
-
Foreign carmakers' H1 sales show first year-on-year drop since 2009
[THE INVESTOR] Imported vehicle sales for the first half of the year dropped 2.6 percent from a year ago, industry data showed on July 6. This is the first time first half imported car sales have shown year-on-year decline since 2009. During the first half of the year, 116,749 units of imported cars were sold on the South Korean market, dipping 2.6 percent compared to the same period last year, Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association data showed.BMW320d / BMWJune sales declined 3
MobilityJuly 6, 2016
-
Lotte Homeshopping’s massive entertainment expenses raise questions
[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Homeshopping racked up 6.2 billion won (US$ 5.3 million) entertainment expenses in 2014 and 2015, data showed on July 6.According to Chaebul.com’s analysis of Lotte Group’s consolidated financial statements for the 2008-2015 period, Lotte Homeshopping spent 13.9 billion won in entertainment expenses during the period. More than half of that was spent since the launch of the Park Geun-hye administration. The figure for 2013 to 2015 came to 8 billion won. Chaebul.com is a webs
IndustryJuly 6, 2016
-
Hanwha chairman bets on solar energy for future growth
[THE INVESTOR] It can’t be denied that the South Korean economy is dominated by conglomerates. And while they may appear to be pretty much the same on the outside, each is busy seeking their own individual strategy for the future.Hanwha Group is no exception to this. On July 5, Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn visited the company’s solar energy cell plant in Chungcheong Province. During the hourlong tour, Kim proclaimed the group’s vision of fostering solar energy as its next growth engine.H
IndustryJuly 6, 2016
-
Banks' loan delinquency rate rises in May
The delinquency rate for loans extended by Korean banks slightly rose from a month earlier in May, but largely due to an increase in bad corporate loans, the financial watchdog said Wednesday.The average delinquency rate for bank loans came to 0.74 percent in May, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The May tally hit the highest level since November. The increase, however, was largely attributed to a rise in corporate loans, especially
July 6, 2016