The Korea Herald

Ex-BMW official to head design for Hyundai cars

TransportDec 23, 2011

Hyundai Motor tops German quality report for second consecutive year Hyundai Motor said Friday that former BMW designer Christopher Chapman will lead the carmaker’s global design initiative as chief designer at the Hyundai America Technical Center Inc. in the U.S. Chapman takes over from Philip Zak, who joined Hyundai Motor from General Motors in 2009 and recently returned to GM. The company e...
Hanjin Group’s shipping unit selling shares of affiliates

IndustryDec 23, 2011

Hanjin Shipping said Friday it sold off its entire stake in Hanjin Group’s de facto holding company Jungseok Enterprise Ltd., raising speculation over the shipping firm’s possible separation from the conglomerate. Hanjin Shipping has been selling its shares in major affiliates of Hanjin Group such as Hanjin Travel, which holds a 22.26-percent stake in Jungseok Enterprise. After selling a 14-per...
N.K.’s economic dependence on China expected to deepen

Dec 23, 2011

North Korea’s economic dependence on China is expected to deepen following the death of its leader Kim Jong-il, making the North’s economy more “subordinate” to its strongest ally, experts said Friday. North Korea’s reliance on China for trade already increased in the past few years after South Korea cut almost all business relations with its communist neighbor and the international community ba...
Ministry, BOK share need to reduce market volatility

Dec 23, 2011

South Korea should reduce currency market volatility and expand trade-related financing in order to help local exporters better cope with toughening overseas business conditions, the Finance Ministry and the central bank said Friday. The view was shared at a monthly meeting between the ministry and the Bank of Korea on the nation’s macroeconomic policy direction. They have held the monthly meeti...
Forex market faces bumpy road ahead

Dec 23, 2011

Korea’s foreign exchange market is expected to undergo a tough first quarter in 2012 as the Korean won is likely to weaken amid lingering eurozone woes and a current account deficit, market watchers said Friday. Global uncertainties stemming from Europe’s debt crisis and a U.S. economic slowdown weighed on the local currency this year. After strengthening to a yearly high of 1,050 won to the U....
Orion to expand production facilities in China

IndustryDec 23, 2011

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) -- Orion Corp., South Korea‘s second-largest confectionery company, will expand its production facilities in China to meet growing demand there, company officials said Friday. China now accounts for more than 80 percent of the company’s overseas sales, thanks to the robust growth of confectionery sales in the world‘s No. 2 economy. The company, best-known for its hallmar...
Regulator approves 12 homegrown hedge funds

Dec 23, 2011

Korea’s financial regulator said Friday it has given the green light to the establishment of the country’s first 12 homegrown hedge funds, a move designed to nurture the sector. A total of nine local asset managers, including Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. and Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management Co., will manage funds worth around 150 billion won ($130 million), according to the Financial S...
Moody’s: Korea’s credit rating outlook remains stable

Dec 23, 2011

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Global credit appraiser Moody’s Investors Service said Thursday that the outlook for South Korea’s credit rating remains stable despite the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Kim ruled the communist nation for 17 years after inheriting power from his father and died of a heart attack on Saturday. He ruled with an iron fist and pursued nuclear weapons programs dur...
Samcheok, Yeongdeok new sites for nuke plants

IndustryDec 23, 2011

Korea named two possible locations -― Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang Province and Samcheok, Gangwon Province ― to build new nuclear power plants, speeding up its policy to expand the atomic power supply. The Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. on Friday announced the two candidates, ruling out a third in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province. Four atomic power plants will be built in each of the two loca...
LGE’s new shares sale seen as success

IndustryDec 23, 2011

Hope rises for company to turn around next year on LTE, home appliances LG Electronics, the world’s No. 3 handset maker, is currently in the process of successfully listing their new shares in the market, raising expectations that the firm may see a turnaround next year. The company said on Friday that the subscription rate in the first stage of its new share selling process ― offering the new ...
IBK Securities likely to acquire Kumho Industrial

Dec 23, 2011

A private equity fund of IBK Securities is expected to take over a large portion of Kumho Industrial worth 1 trillion won ($877 million), according to creditors of the Kumho Asiana Group’s unit. On Friday, creditor banks selected IBK Securities, a brokerage unit of the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea, as the preferred bidder for a package of Kumho Asiana’s transportation units. The M&A targe...
Shares rise 1.07% on U.S. optimism

Dec 23, 2011

Korean stocks closed 1.07 percent higher on Friday as upbeat U.S. economic data eclipsed concerns over the eurozone debt crisis, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark KOSPI jumped 19.73 points to 1,867.22. Trading volume was moderate at 459.1 million shares worth 4.25 trillion won ($3.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 584 to 248. ...
Ex-BMW official to head design for Hyundai cars

TransportDec 23, 2011

Hyundai Motor tops German quality report for second consecutive year Hyundai Motor said Friday that former BMW designer Christopher Chapman will lead the carmaker’s global design initiative as chief designer at the Hyundai America Technical Center Inc. in the United States. Chapman takes over from Philip Zak, who joined Hyundai Motor from General Motors in 2009 and recently returned to GM. The...
Apple unlikely to win German ban on Samsung Galaxy 10.1N

TechnologyDec 23, 2011

Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. is unlikely to win a ban on sales of Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy 10.1N tablet computer, a modified version introduced after sales of the original tablet were blocked, a German court said. The Dusseldorf court that banned sales of the Galaxy 10.1 on Sept. 9 is unlikely to grant Apple an injunction against the Galaxy 10.1N, Presiding Judge Johanna Brueckner-H...
Hyundai’s Chung No. 2 in world auto power list

TransportDec 22, 2011

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo was selected as the second-most influential figure in the world’s automotive industry by U.S.-based publication Motor Trend. Last year, Chung ranked fifth on the “power list” named by the auto magazine. Over the past few years, Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors have achieved all of the goals Chung set, the magazine said. It also said competi...