Most Popular
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Probe of first lady on Dior bag allegations set to begin
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Indonesia’s KF-21 fighter jet deal cut back -- what’s next?
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[KH Explains] Can tech firms' AI alliances take on Nvidia?
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Police seek arrest warrant for med student who killed girlfriend
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Local filmmakers criticize ‘The Roundup: Punishment’ monopoly of screens
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[Grace Kao, Meera Choi] Has money displaced romance on dates?
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Will China's self-sufficient dream in HBM come true?
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Man stabs woman and her son amid financial dispute, killing 1
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Foreign investors’ buying spree boosts Mando’s share price
[THE INVESETOR] The stake held by foreign investors in Mando, the automotive parts maker of Halla Group, has nearly doubled over the past months. As of July 11, foreign investors own 31.3 percent stake in the company, compared with 17.94 percent in March. During the same period, its share price also soared from 142,000 won (US$123) to 230,500 won. Analysts say the company has made big investments in recent years and investors are now showing keen interest in its business. Among other things, the
MobilityJuly 11, 2016
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S. Korean manufacturing sector sees worse conditions in Q3
[THE INVESTOR]The South Korean manufacturing sector expects conditions to worsen during the third quarter of the year, a survey showed on July 11. According to the Business Survey Index compiled by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, local manufacturing companies expect third-quarter sales and exports to worsen compared to the previous quarter.In the survey of 462 manufacturing companies, the BSI for exports and sales respectively came in at 98 and 97 points. A BSI below 100
IndustryJuly 11, 2016
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MBK Partners recoups record $3.3b from investments
[THE INVESTOR] MBK Partners has recouped a record amount from its investments over the past two years since July 2014, industry sources said Sunday.Since June 2014, MBK Partners -- South Korea’s largest private equity firm -- managed to recoup $3.3 billion by selling equity and driving up dividends from its past investments. If returns from other projects MBK has invested in are included -- such as with South Korea’s National Pension Fund, Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and the Canada Pension Plan
July 11, 2016
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NPS picks BlackRock, GCM Grosvenor to manage hedge funds
[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s National Pension Service -- the world’s third-largest public pension fund -- has selected Blackrock and GCM Grosvenor as general partners for managing 1 trillion won ($872 million) worth of hedge funds. This is 0.2 percent of the 500 trillion won of NPS’ assets under management. BlackRock is the world’s largest asset management firm with more than $ 4.65 trillion assets under management. GCM has invested over $45 billion in hedge funds, private equity, real estate an
July 11, 2016
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NPS loads up on auto, chemicals, pharma stocks
[THE INVESTOR] The National Pension Service padded up its portfolio with auto, chemical and pharmaceutical stocks while offloading food and textile shares this year, data showed Sunday. According to the latest financial industry data, of the companies in which the NPS holds stakes of 5 percent or more, 135 saw an increase during the first six months of the year. The figures are based on the NPS’ portfolio as of end-June.Of these, 13 are in the automotive industry, 12 in chemicals, and 11 in phar
July 11, 2016
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LINE sets IPO price at 3,300 yen
[THE INVESTOR] LINE Corp. has set the price for its initial public offering at the top of its marketing range, raising up to 132.8 billion yen ($1.3 billion), the company said in a regulatory filing Monday in Tokyo. The popular mobile messaging service, owned by Korean Internet giant Naver, will sell 35 million shares at 3,300 yen per share. Another 5.25 million shares will be sold through a greenshoe option, allowing it to increase the amount of stock sold. The company had initially set the pri
July 11, 2016
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[DECODED] Suh Kyung-bae, not your usual chaebol
In the Korean corporate world, 2015 was the year of AmorePacific Group chairman Suh Kyung-bae.The cosmetics company celebrated its 70th anniversary that year and the second-generation leader of the conglomerate had managed to transform the initially domestic-focused firm into a cosmetics powerhouse in Asia, cashing in on consumers’ desire for beauty to reap growth of more than 20 percent a year. As of July, AmorePacific is the sixth largest company in South Korea in terms of market capitalizatio
IndustryJuly 11, 2016
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[KOSDAQ Star] Synergy between software and portal to boost ESTsoft
There are not many well-known software companies in Korea with diversified utility and functional programs ranging from browsers, portals to content, advertising and security that can match the scale of Silicon Valley.However, ESTsoft, which is widely known for its ALTools package utility software, is one of the few local software companies trying to stand out in the consumer tech market dominated by either manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, or software giants like Goo
July 11, 2016
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[DECODED] AmorePacific: A legacy that started in grandma‘s kitchen
The origin of AmorePacific traces back to Suh Kyung-bae’s grandmother Yun Dok-jeong who came up with an idea of selling hair oil made of camellia oil in Gaeseong, in present day North Korea. Attracting upper class customers with the high-quality oil, Yun soon established a cosmetics shop, Changseong Store, in 1932 and expanded to other products, such as facial cream and powder. Learning from Yun’s entrepreneurship and business skills, Suh’s father Suh Sung-whan began to fully engage in the busin
IndustryJuly 11, 2016
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POSCO chairman, SNU professor awarded for scientific achievements
POSCO chairman Kwon Oh-joon and Seoul National University professor Hyeon Tae-ghwan have won prizes that recognize them as the nation’s top scientists, officials said Monday.The Korea Federation of Science and Technology Societies and the Ministry of Science announced the winners for this year. The award has been given since 2003 to those who have made outstanding achievements in research and development or innovative technology development in Korea. POSCO chairman Kwon Oh-joon (left) and IBS di
IndustryJuly 11, 2016
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Watchdog probes overpricing allegations against Yuhan Kimberly
[THE INVESTOR] The Fair Trade Commission has launched an investigation into Yuhan Kimberly on allegations that it is overpricing sanitary pads. Yuhan-Kimberly is a joint venture between Korean pharmaceutical and chemical firm Yuhan Co. and Kimberly-Clark of the US. The antitrust watchdog is looking into whether it can apply laws banning companies from abusing their market dominant position when deciding on product prices. FTC head Chung Jae-chan“We are looking into the matter, and because the in
July 11, 2016
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Security robots to guard 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games
South Korea will use security guard robots to reinforce safety in and around Olympic stadiums and venues during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, the government said Monday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it has launched a robot support team led by Oh Joon-ho, a professor of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.The team will draw up a comprehensive plan on the use of security guard robots by next month in the run-up to the winter games scheduled in February 20
TechnologyJuly 11, 2016
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Major banks fare well in H1 despite low rates
South Korea's four major banks likely posted an 11 percent on-year jump in their first-half net profits on their efforts to boost profits in the nonbanking sector and less exposure to debt-ridden companies, industry people said Monday. The country's four leading lenders -- Shinhan Financial Group, KB Financial Group, Hana Financial Group and Woori Bank – reported 3.883 trillion won ($3.4 billion) in combined net profit for the January-June period, up from 3.494 trillion won a year earlier, accor
July 11, 2016
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Shipbuilders likely to suffer difficulties in second half: survey
South Korean shipyards are likely to suffer difficulties in the second half of this year, a new survey said Monday, amid declining new orders over the protracted global economic slump.South Korean shipbuilders clinched a combined 830,000 compensated gross ton worth of orders in the first half, down 88 percent from 6.85 million CGTs a year earlier, according to the data compiled by global research firm Clarkson Research Services.The first-half new orders mark the lowest figure that South Korean s
IndustryJuly 11, 2016
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S. Korea to issue W1tr Treasury bills
[THE INVESTOR] The government will issue 1 trillion won (US$ 871.5 billion) in Treasury bills, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance announced on July 11. The T-bills will be issued in two equal batches on July 20 and July 27. Including the bills that will be issued later this month, the value of outstanding T-bills will stand at 4 trillion won. By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
July 11, 2016
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POSCO eyes titanium for future
[THE INVESTOR] POSCO, South Korea’s biggest steelmaker, plans to heavily invest in titanium as a new growth engine, local news reported on July 10. “The use of titanium is expanding and the value addition is high, which will boost profitability in the future,” an official at POSCO said. Titanium is a metal used widely in industries ranging from aviation to munitions. It boasts 43 percent lighter weight than steel, while it has the double the strength of aluminum alloy. With the advancement of te
IndustryJuly 11, 2016
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Dongkuk Steel’s operating profit jumps 156.4% in Q2
[THE INVESTOR] Dongkuk Steel Mill ’s second quarter operating profit soared 156.4 percent from a year ago to come in at 99 billion won (US$86.4 million) the steelmaker said on July 11. The company’s second-quarter sales came in at just under 1.17 trillion won, down 1.5 percent over the same period, while net profits dropped 59.6 percent to 36.4 billion won. The company said that second-quarter figures were boosted by improving sales of colored plates and steel bars. It also said that restructuri
IndustryJuly 11, 2016
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NPS loads up on auto, chemicals, pharma stocks
[THE INVESTOR] The National Pension Service padded up its portfolio with auto, chemical and pharmaceutical stocks while offloading food and textile shares this year, data showed on July 10. According to the latest financial industry data, of the companies in which the NPS holds 5 percent or more stake, 135 saw an increase during the first six months of the year. The figures are based on the NPS’ portfolio as of end-June. National Pension ServiceOf these, 13 are in the automotive industry, 12 in
July 11, 2016
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Samsung TVs to benefit from toughened EU rules
[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics, the sole producer of cadmium-free quantum-dot TVs, is expected to benefit from European Union’s planned ban on TVs containing the carcinogen metal. According to Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency on July 10, EU is mulling to ban sales of quantum-dot TVs containing cadmium from early next year. The final decision will be made later this month after a public hearing. Samsung’s SUHD quantum-dot TVQuantum dots are tiny particles that emit a different color of
TechnologyJuly 11, 2016
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Hyundai Motor tops employee satisfaction survey
[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor Group has been recognized for its highest employee satisfaction among the top 10 biggest conglomerates in Korea, according to an online career platform on July 10. Due to the prolonged economic slowdown, overall employee satisfaction was slightly down this year compared to a year ago, Job Planet said. According to the survey conducted on former and current employees of the nation’s top 10 conglomerates, Hyundai topped the list, with its four affiliates, including Hyu
MobilityJuly 11, 2016