[Graphic News] S. Korea ranks No. 1 in household debt-to-GDP ratio in Q1

　South Korea had the highest household debt-to-gross domestic product ratio among 36 major economies in the first quarter, a global finance report said. 　The country’s household debt-to-GDP ratio came to 104.3 percent in the January-March period, followed by Lebanon with 97.8 percent, Hong Kong with 95.3 percent, Thailand with 89.7 percent and Britain with 83.9 percent, according to data from the Institute of International Finance.  　South Korea was the only country whose household

June 24, 2022

[Graphic News] Samsung Electronics world No. 22 by market cap

　Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s leading tech firm, was the world‘s 22nd-largest company in terms of market capitalization, down seven notches from a year earlier, data showed. 　According to the list of the global top 100 companies released by London-based accounting company PwC, the tech giant was the only South Korean company on the list with the market value of $342 billion as of March. 　The share price of the chip giant has fallen amid global uncertainties, including moneta

June 23, 2022

[Graphic News] S. Korea maintains 5th spot in global vehicle output: report

　South Korea ranked fifth in terms of global vehicle production last year, retaining the spot for the second consecutive year, amid efforts to minimize the fallout from the pandemic-caused global chip shortage, a report showed.  　The combined vehicle output by South Korean carmakers, including Hyundai Motor and Kia, reached 3.46 million units as of end-2021, down 1.3 percent from the previous year, according to the report from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association.  　China

March 16, 2022

China considers buying stakes in Russian energy, commodity firms

China is considering buying or increasing stakes in Russian energy and commodities companies, such as gas giant Gazprom PJSC and aluminum producer United Co. Rusal International PJSC, according to people familiar with the matter. Beijing is in talks with its state-owned firms, including China National Petroleum Corp., China Petrochemical Corp., Aluminum Corp. of China and China Minmetals Corp., on any opportunities for potential investments in Russian companies or assets, the people said. Any d

March 8, 2022

Google to buy cybersecurity firm Mandiant for $5.4 billion

Google agreed to acquire cybersecurity company Mandiant Inc. for $5.4 billion, its second-biggest deal ever. With Mandiant, Alphabet Inc.’s Google gets more tools to protect its cloud clients by responding quickly to online threats. The company is working to recruit and support cloud customers amid stiff competition from Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. Google will purchase Mandiant for $23 a share in an all-cash deal, according to a statement on Tuesday. Following the close of the de

March 8, 2022

Shell says it will stop buying Russian oil, natural gas

Energy giant Shell said Tuesday that it will stop buying Russian oil and natural gas and shut down its service stations, aviation fuels and other operations in the country amid international pressure for companies to sever ties over the invasion of Ukraine. The company said in a statement that it would withdraw from all Russian hydrocarbons, including crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, "in a phased manner." The decision comes just days after Ukraine

March 8, 2022

Volkswagen plans IPO of Porsche to ignite EV shift momentum

  Volkswagen AG is preparing an initial public offering of Porsche, seeking a listing of its most profitable asset to help boost the parent’s valuation and fund the push into electric vehicles. VW’s preferred shares surged as much as 10% after the announcement Tuesday on a possible IPO outline between the carmaker and and Porsche Automobil Holding SE, a company controlled by the billionaire Porsche and Piech owner family. The tentative plan, which is estimated to value the spor

Feb. 22, 2022

[Graphic News] Shopping on social media seen hitting $1.2tr by 2025

　Shopping on social media such as Facebook, TikTok and WeChat is going to grow three times faster than sales from traditional channels over the next three years, according to a study released by Accenture. 　Social commerce, defined as transactions that take place entirely within the context of a social-media platform, will reach $1.2 trillion by 2025, up from $492 billion in 2021, the consulting company said in the report. The trend is being driven primarily by Gen Z and millennial consumers,

Jan. 17, 2022

[Graphic News] S. Korea’s EV sales nearly double this year, 7th-largest worldwide

　Sales of electric vehicles in South Korea almost doubled in the first three quarters of this year from a year earlier, ranking seventh in the world, data showed. 　A total of 71,006 EVs were sold in Asia’s fourth-largest economy in the January-September period, up 96 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Automotive Technology Institute. 　The figure was the seventh-largest in the world. China sold the largest number of EVs with 1.76 million units in the nine-m

Dec. 1, 2021

[Graphic News] Posco named world’s most competitive steelmaker for 12th year

　South Korea’s top steelmaker Posco said it was named the world’s most competitive steelmaker in a global industry report for the 12th consecutive year. 　In an annual assessment of 35 steelmakers worldwide, global steel information service provider World Steel Dynamics gave Posco the top mark of 8.54 points out of 10, according to the South Korean company. 　The WSD report, which ranks the steelmakers based on 23 categories, gave top scores for Posco in eight segments, including te

Nov. 24, 2021

[Photo News] SpaceX preparing for Halloween launch of Crew-3

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission is set to lift off this weekend, carrying an international crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station. According to NASA, it will send SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance to space from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday. The mission will be the third operational NASA commercial crew flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. The team members consists of three astronauts from the US and one astronaut from Germany. The commander

Oct. 30, 2021

[Graphic News] Samsung ranks No. 1 on Forbes World’s Best Employers list

　Samsung Electronics topped the World’s Best Employers list for the second straight year, according to US business magazine Forbes. 　American tech giant IBM ranked second, followed by Microsoft, Amazon and Apple. 　South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific and LG came in 31st and 43rd, respectively. 　Forbes announced the rankings after surveying 150,000 full-time and part-time workers from 58 countries working for multinational companies and institutions.

Oct. 28, 2021

[Graphic News] S. Korea accounts for one-third of global EV battery market in Jan.-Aug. period

Three South Korean electric vehicle battery makers accounted for about a third of the global market in the first eight months of the year, but they are facing toughening competition with Chinese rivals, a market research firm said. The trio - LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation - accounted for 34.8 percent of the global EV battery market in the January-August period, inching down from 35 percent a year ago, according to the data from SNE Research. LG Energy Solution, which supp

Oct. 21, 2021

[Interactive] Hyundai ranks 6th place in global EV market in H1: data

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor’s electric vehicle sales increased in the first half of the year compared with a year ago, but its global market share fell in the face of toughening competitions with Chinese rivals, industry data showed. Hyundai Motor was in sixth place in terms of global EV sales in the January-June period, one notch down from the fifth position a year ago, according to the data by industry tracker SNE Research. The automaker’s global EV sales jumped 75.6 pe

Oct. 18, 2021

[Graphic News] Seoul ranks No. 16 in 2021 global startup ecosystem report

Seoul has the 16th-best startup ecosystem among cities around the world, an annual report by a San Francisco-based research firm showed. According to Startup Genome’s Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021, South Korea’s capital ranked No. 16 on the list of 280 cities across 100 countries in terms of the competitiveness of its startup ecosystem, up four spots from last year. Seoul first appeared on the list in 2017 and entered the top 20 last year. San Francisco’s Silicon Val

Oct. 18, 2021

[Graphic News] S. Korea spends second-most on chip equipment in Q2: report

　South Korea was the world‘s second-largest spender on chip equipment in the second quarter of the year, a report showed, amid a global semiconductor shortage. 　South Korea, home to major memory chip producers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, invested $6.62 billion in chipmaking equipment in the April-June period, up 48 percent from a year ago, according to quarterly billings data from SEMI, a global industry association representing companies in the electronics design and manufactu

Oct. 6, 2021

SoftBank sells $1.69 billion of Coupang as Son unloads assets

SoftBank Group Corp. sold about $1.69 billion worth of its stake in Coupang Inc., the South Korean e-commerce giant whose stock surged and then tumbled after its initial public offering in March. SoftBank sold 57 million shares at $29.685 on Sept. 14, the company said in a statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Japanese company is still Coupang’s largest shareholder. Masayoshi Son has stepped up sales of stakes in his portfolio of public companies in recent months

Sept. 17, 2021

World Bank cancels business report after investigation

  The World Bank is canceling a prominent report on business conditions around the world after investigators found staff members were pressured by the bank's leaders to alter data about China and some other governments. The bank said Thursday it would discontinue ``Doing Business'' following an investigation prompted by internal reports of ``data irregularities'' in its 2018 and 2020 editions and possible ``ethical matters'' involving bank staff. Staff members changed data on China to im

Sept. 17, 2021

[Graphic News] Hyundai ranks 6th place in global EV market in H1: data

　South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor’s electric vehicle sales increased in the first half of the year compared with a year ago, but its global market share fell in the face of toughening competitions with Chinese rivals, industry data showed.  　Hyundai Motor was in sixth place in terms of global EV sales in the January-June period, one notch down from the fifth position a year ago, according to the data by industry tracker SNE Research. 　The automaker’s global EV sales

Sept. 1, 2021

[Graphic News] Samsung ranks No. 5 in Q2 Chromebook market: report

　Samsung Electronics was the world’s fifth-largest vendor of Chromebooks in the second quarter of the year, a report showed, as the South Korean tech giant aims to expand its presence in the portable PC market amid the pandemic. 　Samsung had a market share of 7 percent in the April-June period after shipping 900,000 Chromebooks - that is, laptops or tablets running on Google’s Chrome operating system - according to a report from market researcher International Data Corp. 　Sam

Aug. 25, 2021