Samsung, Ambarella expand partnership in digital camera chips

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday that it began to supply digital camera chips for Ambarella Inc., an image-processing semiconductor company in the U.S., further expanding their cooperation in the foundry business.Samsung’s foundry team started manufacturing Ambarella’s 32-nanometer System on Chips and A7L for high-definition digital cameras, Samsung said in a statement.The company’s foundry business, which fabricates chip designs of other companies that do not have a semiconductor fabricat

IndustryOct. 26, 2011

Beer, soju consumption bounces back

South Korean consumption of beer and soju has made a comeback in 2011 after three straight years of negative growth, a trade association said Wednesday.The Korea Alcohol and Liquor Industry Association said beer shipments reached just under 1.25 million kiloliters in the first eight months of this year, up 3 percent from a year earlier.Shipments of soju, a local distilled beverage made from rice and other starches, also grew 1 percent on-year to 809,891 kiloliters.“Both beer and soju consumption

Oct. 26, 2011

SKT to become sole bidder for chipmaker Hynix

Telecom giant may gain upper hand in price negotiations with Hynix creditorsSK Telecom is expected to become the sole bidder for the world’s second biggest computer memory chipmaker Hynix although the bidding process was seemingly deferred twice to trigger competition.According to industry sources, lead manager Credit Suisse has delivered statements on how to take part in Hynix bidding to about 12 large firms, but none of them have yet responded.The outlook for increased competition looks grim s

IndustryOct. 26, 2011

Gmarket opens virtual fashion store

Gmarket, the nation’s No. 1 online marketplace owned by eBay, opened Wednesday a virtual fashion store at a subway station in central Seoul. Gmarket said it will display fall and winter fashion items via the eight screen doors at Myeongdong Subway Station through Nov. 14.Customers can purchase the products by scanning the Quick Response Code, or QR Code, on the photographs, the company explained. Gmarket said customers can check the complete look of specific items and share reviews of other user

IndustryOct. 26, 2011

Seoul shares up 0.3% on eurozone policy hopes

South Korean stocks ended 0.3 percent higher on Wednesday as continued optimism over the eurozone’s policy efforts to salvage the region from a debt crisis kept investor sentiment afloat, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.After opening lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 5.66 points to 1,894.31. Trading volume was moderate at 379 million shares worth 5.49 trillion won ($4.85 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 428 to 374.“The shif

Oct. 26, 2011

LG Electronics swings back into the red

LG Electronics posted operating losses of 32 billion won ($29.57 million) in the third quarter, swinging into the red for the first time this year.In its quarterly earnings report, the company said it recorded 12.9 trillion won in sales, a 4 percent decrease from the same period last year, largely due to its sluggish sales of mobile phones.The company posted operating losses of 185.2 billion won and 245.7 billion won in the third and fourth quarters of last year, respectively, but managed to get

IndustryOct. 26, 2011

KT to deliver K-pop content via Ustream

KT, the nation’s major telecom services provider, said Wednesday that it has agreed with U.S.-based live video streaming site Ustream to set up a joint venture to spread K-pop content around the world. The tentatively named “Ustream Korea” will support the distribution of Korea’s diverse cultural contents into the global market and offer business opportunities for smaller producers, KT said.KT said that the joint company will be established within the year and start providing Korean services via

IndustryOct. 26, 2011

S. Korean economy to grow 3.7 percent next year: think tank

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's economy will likely grow at a slower pace than the government's forecast next year as exports are expected to lose steam and domestic demand is predicted to plateau due to the global economic downturn, a local think tank said Wednesday. The Korea Institute of

Oct. 26, 2011

LG Electronics swings to Q3 loss on smartphone woes

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- LG Electronics Inc., the world's third-largest mobile phone maker, said Wednesday that it swung to a net loss in the third quarter of this year due to its struggling smartphone business.Net loss amounted to 413.9 billion won (US$366.7 million) in the July-September period,

IndustryOct. 26, 2011

IBM names its first female CEO

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — IBM Corp. ushered in Virginia Rometty as the company's first-ever female CEO on Tuesday, as Sam Palmisano stepped down from the position.Palmisano, who turned 60 this year, has been CEO for nearly a decade. He will stay on as chairman. Virginia "Ginni" Rometty, 54, is in c

IndustryOct. 26, 2011

Panel: Boys should get HPV vaccine given to girls

ATLANTA (AP) — A vaccine against cervical cancer hasn't been all that popular for girls. It may be even a harder sell for boys now that it's been recommended for them too.A government advisory panel on Tuesday decided that the vaccine should also be given to boys, in part to help prevent the c

TechnologyOct. 26, 2011

Regulator set to order Lone Star to sell KEB stake

South Korea's financial regulator is expected to order Lone Star Funds to sell the bulk of its stake in Korea Exchange Bank after the U.S. buyout firm said it cannot meet the requirements as the major shareholder of the fifth-largest lender, watchers said Tuesday.Lone Star reported to the Financial

Oct. 25, 2011

Department stores charge small vendors double

The Fair Trade Commission said Tuesday that smaller vendors pay almost 32 percent of their profits as commission fees for using the floor space of three major department stores. The antitrust regulator over the past two weeks surveyed 73 small- and medium-sized companies that supply products to Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai department stores. Shirt and tie vendors were found to have paid the highest rate of 37 percent, followed by those selling children’s clothes with 36.7 percent, men’s clothes

IndustryOct. 25, 2011

Korea to closely monitor impact of China slowdown

South Korea will keep tabs on the potential fallout from a slowdown in the Chinese economy, although the world’s No. 2 economy is likely to make a soft landing despite some downside risks, officials here said Tuesday.The consensus was reached during a monthly policy consultation meeting between the finance ministry and the Bank of Korea earlier in the day in Seoul. The meeting was attended by Vice Finance Minister Shin Je-yoon and BOK’s senior deputy governor Lee Ju-yeol.“We shared the view that

Oct. 25, 2011

Regulator poised to order Lone Star to sell KEB stake

South Korea’s financial regulator is expected to order Lone Star Funds to sell the bulk of its stake in Korea Exchange Bank after the U.S. buyout firm said it cannot meet the requirements as the major shareholder of the fifth-largest lender, watchers said Tuesday.Lone Star reported to the Financial Services Commission on Monday, the last day of a one-week deadline, that it cannot find a way to recover its status as KEB’s major shareholder, according to sources. Lone Star is currently the biggest

Oct. 25, 2011

Teen violence linked to heavy soda diet: study

Researchers in the United States said on Tuesday they had found a "shocking" association -- if only a statistical one -- between violence by teenagers and the amount of soda they drank.High-school students in inner-city Boston who consumed more than five cans of non-diet, fizzy soft drinks every wee

TechnologyOct. 25, 2011