South Korean stocks rallied 2.62 percent Friday as cheering remarks by the European Central Bank (ECB) chief offered investors a sense of reassurance against the persistent eurozone crisis, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 46.69 points to close at 1,805.92. Trading volume was moderate at 393.4 mil

July 27, 2012

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Friday, as the eurozone central bank chief's pledge to save the euro boosted investor confidence, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 27.57 points, or 1.55 percent to 1,810.04 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with top-cap Samsung Electronics rising nearly 2 percent and le

July 27, 2012

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of computer memory chips and smartphones, said Friday its second-quarter earnings jumped 48 percent from a year earlier, powered by strong sales of smartphones.Net profit reached a record 5.2 trillion won (US$4.5 billion) in the April-June period, compared with a net income of 3.5 trillion a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sa

IndustryJuly 27, 2012

Renault Samsung Motors and GM Korea could be severely hit by proposed French government action to invoke “safeguard” measures against cars produced in Korea, auto industry insiders said Thursday. The French government notified the Korean government of its move to take issue with vehicle trade imbalance and other matters under the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement.“We’ve been informed of their policy through the French Embassy on July 24,” said an official of the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry.“T

IndustryJuly 26, 2012

SK Hynix posted 2.63 trillion won ($2.29 billion) in sales and 23 billion won in operating profit for the second quarter, bouncing back into the black for the first time in four quarters.In a quarterly regulatory filing, the chipmaker said on Thursday that its sales figure was up 10 percent from the first quarter and its operating margin recorded 1 percent, its officials said.Bit shipments and the average selling price for the firm’s dynamic random access memory both rose 7 percent from April-Ju

IndustryJuly 26, 2012

Korea’s auto exports are likely to post a solid increase in the second half of this year despite unfavorable overseas market conditions, industry officials said Thursday.Domestic demand is expected to remain weak for the rest of the year, but exports should continue to do well, carmakers, auto parts companies and local automobile industry associations said in a meeting hosted by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.“Eurozone fiscal woes and a slowdown in growth in China and the United States have a

MobilityJuly 26, 2012

Hyundai Mobis, the nation’s largest auto parts maker, was slapped with 2.95 billion won ($2.57 million) in fines and corrective orders for demanding lower prices from its subcontractors, the state-run antitrust watchdog said Thursday. According to the Fair Trade Commission, Hyundai Mobis, a unit of Hyundai Motor Group, abused its market dominance in demanding its smaller suppliers lower their prices between 2008 and 2011.The company selected suppliers that promised the lowest prices and then dem

IndustryJuly 26, 2012

Display maker posts record sales in second quarterLG Display, Korea’s display panel giant, is gearing up to boost the production of high-end, premium liquid crystal displays for small- and mid-size mobile products.The company said Thursday that its board of directors reached a decision to invest over 1.2 trillion won ($1 billion) to transform part of its sixth generation manufacturing line to produce low temperature poly-silicon displays.LTPS is more energy efficient and offers higher pixel dens

TechnologyJuly 26, 2012

Nation’s largest carmaker confident of achieving this year’s sales goal globallyHyundai Motor said Thursday it posted record sales in the first half of this year, largely driven by strong sales growth in overseas markets, including the European market. The nation’s largest carmaker said it earned 42.1 trillion won ($36.7 billion) in the first six months of this year, up 9.9 percent from the same period last year. Its operating profit jumped 21 percent to 4.78 trillion won. Both figures were a re

IndustryJuly 26, 2012

Korean stocks closed 0.74 percent higher Thursday as investors hunted for bargains following a recent plunge, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 13.16 points to 1,782.47. Trading volume was moderate at 398.9 million shares worth 3.63 trillion won ($3.16 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 502 to 302. “Institutions led by pension funds unleashed bargain hunting, causing the key index to turn around,” said Kwa

July 26, 2012

The business outlook by small and medium enterprises for August fell to an over three-year low, reflecting persistent global economic uncertainties, a poll showed Thursday.The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business survey on 1,354 businesses showed the small business health index dropping to 80.8 for next month, down 4 percentage points from July and the lowest since 77.4 tallied in April 2009.An index reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.“The drop is due to problems fac

July 26, 2012

The global display industry is expected to pull out of a slump triggered by weak prices and excess supply in the second half of the year, local market analysts said Thursday.The display industry has weathered the worst, with overall conditions likely to improve in the coming months, analysts from investor service firms and market researchers said in a meeting hosted by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.So Hyun-chul, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp., said worldwide demand has contracted rec

TechnologyJuly 26, 2012

Korea will expand financing support for local shipbuilders struggling with cash shortages caused by less global demand and tightened credit lines, the finance ministry said Thursday.Shipbuilders are facing bleak business conditions as the eurozone debt problems and global economic slowdowns result in less demand. Financing needed to produce ships has also been squeezed as European banks reduced lending in the wake of their recent credit downgrades. Korea is home to world leading shipbuilders, in

July 26, 2012

Experts forecast deal will boost financial group’s competenceThe likelihood is increasing that KB Financial, the nation’s largest financial group, will take over ING Life Korea. KB Financial was the sole contender in the bid for the Netherlands-based insurance firm’s Korean arm on July 16, according to industry sources. Insiders see the Korean financial group to be the naturally preferred bidder. ING Life Korea is the fourth-largest life insurance firm in the country by market share, and is wort

July 26, 2012