Seoul stocks open tad lower over new coronavirus concerns

South Korean shares opened slightly lower Monday on weak investor sentiment as the country's new coronavirus cases continue to stay at a three-digit figure. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.36 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,366.89 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index got off to a weak start, as investors take a wait-and-see mode over COVID-19 cases in the country. Late last week, South Korean authorities extended the enhanced social distancing scheme

Sept. 7, 2020

Three-fourths of big firms have no or indefinitive hiring plans in H2: poll

Three-fourths of large companies in South Korea have no hiring plan or have not confirmed their recruiting scheme for the second half of the year amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed Sunday. Half of the companies that responded to the Korea Economic Research Institute's (KERI) survey answered that they have not set their hiring plans yet, while 24.2 percent of the firms said they will not offer jobs in the second half. The survey, conducted by Research & Research, asked Sou

Sept. 6, 2020

LG Chem, SK Innovation spar again over battery patent suit

South Korean battery makers LG Chem and SK Innovation are sparring again over an ongoing case regarding a violation of an electric battery patent. On Sunday, the companies each released statements on the status of their EV battery patent case being investigated by the US International Trade Commission. The case was filed by SK Innovation last September, following LG Chem’s filing of a trade secret misappropriation case against the company in April 2019. It was reported that LG Chem

Sept. 6, 2020

S. Korea to draw more than W7tr in 4th extra budget amid prolonged COVID-19 measures

The government, ruling party and presidential office vowed Sunday to draft an additional budget worth more than 7 trillion won ($5.88 billion), mostly to fund another set of disaster relief subsidies to deal with the economic fallout from COVID-19. The decision, which rekindled concerns about the country’s fiscal soundness, came as the densely populated greater Seoul area faced an extended week of social distancing to contain the second wave of the pandemic. Representatives of the go

Sept. 6, 2020

Localization, dividends to remain hurdles for Standard Chartered Korea CEO’s 3rd term

Standard Chartered Bank Korea’s incumbent CEO Park Jong-bok was recently reappointed for a third term, but the weight on his shoulders is likely to remain heavy over the lender’s localization and dividends. For Park, who will begin his third term Jan. 8, one major task is to find a balance between the lender’s identity as a foreign bank operating in South Korea amid rivalry with local banking groups. Though it is still officially called Standard Chartered Bank Korea, Park ch

Sept. 6, 2020

[Herald Interview] From organizing portfolios to educating heirs: Total wealth management for the superrich

Private banking and wealth management functions have long been deemed exclusive services for a limited range of customers, such as the owners of big corporations. But responding to the increasing population of high-net-worth asset holders -- such as entertainers, startup founders and people who inherit substantial sums -- local banks and brokerages have diversified their premium asset management functions. Samsung Securities, the brokerage arm of the Samsung conglomerate, was one of the leadi

Sept. 6, 2020

[News Focus] Will bond between Starbucks and Shinsegae last?

Since the launch of its first store in Seattle in 1971, Starbucks Coffee has grown into an empire, making forays into more than 80 countries to operate some 30,000 stores across the globe. In South Korea, the coffee giant introduced its first store in front of Ewha Womans University in Seoul in 1999 in partnership with Shinsegae Group, a Korean retail conglomerate. Shinsegae initially acquired the operation license from Starbucks, and Shinsegae’s hypermart affiliate Emart and the coffe

Sept. 6, 2020

[Newsmaker] Big Hit CEO Bang Si-hyuk likely to hit jack pot with IPO

The scheduled initial offering of Big Hit Entertainment, the label behind K-pop boy band BTS, is likely to make its CEO Bang Si-hyuk one of the wealthiest people in South Korea The Big Hit CEO is currently holding 12,377,337 shares, or 43.44 percent, of the company, according to the recent regulatory filing for the IPO. The entertainment agency plans to offer 7.13 million shares at a price between 105,000 won ($88) and 135,000 won. Should the offering price be set at 135,000 won, Bang&rsq

Sept. 6, 2020

Some 40,000 retail traders come out empty-handed in Kakao Games IPO preorder

Although mobile game publisher Kakao Games’ initial public offering subscription last week was the talk of the town in South Korea, some retail investors who took part in the preorder session did not even receive a single share due to heated competition, according to news reports on Sunday. The gaming firm attracted a total of some 58.5 trillion won ($49.3 billion) from 417,000 people during its IPO subscription for retail investors, which took place Tuesday and Wednesday. The subscrip

Sept. 6, 2020

64% of global enterprises to shake up supply chain: KOTRA

Over 60 percent of international companies have either shaken up their global value chains or have plans to do so amid growing protectionism around the world, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said Sunday. A total of 246 companies in fields such as materials, devices and equipment were analyzed by officials at the state-funded trade organization, who looked at their business decisions over the past five years such as relocation, investments, mergers and acquisitions. Changes to globa

Sept. 6, 2020

Smartphone market set to shrink 11% amid pandemic

The global smartphone market is projected to shrink 11 percent this year compared to last year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report Sunday. Market researcher Strategy Analytics forecast in a recent report that total shipments of smartphones would be 1.26 billion units this year, reducing 11 percent from last year. The researcher, however, raised its forecast from a 15.6 percent decline that was made earlier this year, as the pandemic impact on smartphone sale

Sept. 6, 2020

Idle money in S. Korea surpasses W1,200tr mark

The volume of short-term floating capital in South Korea surpassed the 1,200 trillion won ($900 billion) mark, as the government seeks to funnel the liquidity into a 20 trillion fund tied to the Korean New Deal package, data showed Sunday. The amount of cash and other short-term capital totaled 1,273.6 trillion won as of end-June, data compiled by the Bank of Korea and the Korea Financial Investment Association showed. By asset, the M1 money supply, which is essentially cash, came to 1058.1 t

Sept. 6, 2020

Samsung Electronics, Hanssem partner on housing interior

Samsung Electronics said Sunday it has signed a partnership agreement with Hanssem, the country’s leading furniture maker, to seek business opportunities in the home interior remodeling market as consumers pay more atttention to their living spaces amid social distancing efforts. On Friday, the parties inked a memorandum of understanding and agreed to cooperate on expanding their house remodeling business; to explore new business models on retail sales; to develop smart home solutions.

Sept. 6, 2020

FCA unveils PHEV Wrangler 4xe, All-New Grand Wagoneer

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has unveiled a plug-in electric sports utility vehicle, the Wrangler 4xe, and a revamp of a classic SUV, the All-New Grand Wagoneer next year. The automaker on Friday livestreamed the showcase held in Detroit on YouTube, to reveal the two new models. Jeep Wrangler 4xe is equipped with two electric motors and a 400-volt lithium-ion battery that can move up to 40 kilometers solely on electric power, cutting down both engine noise and carbon emissions. The automaker

Sept. 6, 2020

FTC imposes W1b fine on Naver’s real estate service

South Korea‘s Fair Trade Commission on Sunday imposed a fine of over 1 billion won ($842,000) on Naver for predatory real estate practices. According to the antitrust government agency, Naver prevented real estate information businesses that it had ties with from working with Kakao. Naver has violated the Fair Trade Act by progressively extending the scope of its exclusivity contracts with real estate businesses and actively blocking Kakao from entering the market, the FTC said. As a

Sept. 6, 2020

GBC 2020 to discuss COVID-19 vaccine distribution

Biologics experts and industry officials will discuss accessibility of COVID-19 vaccines at the virtual Global Bio Conference 2020 starting Monday. According to the hosting Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, this year’s GBC is the sixth annual event and the first to open online. The Ministry anticipates participation from some 3,000 audience for the live broadcasts to be delivered by 61 speakers from 18 nations over three days. The number of speakers and partaking countries halved from

Sept. 6, 2020

[Weekender] ‘No better time to quit’

If health warnings about smoking tobacco did not hit close to home before, they should now: Smokers are at higher risk of developing severe disease and death from the novel coronavirus, according to top health authorities. “COVID-19 preys on lungs -- while the (the use of) tobacco makes them more vulnerable,” the World Health Organization said in a Facebook post. The international health organization said in a May 11 statement that smoking impaired lung function, making it harder f

Sept. 5, 2020

Finance minister expresses concerns over COVID-19, economic impact in talks with Fitch

South Korea's top economic policymaker expressed concerns over the resurgence of the novel coronavirus in the country hurting growth and said efforts are under way to bolster the economy during an online meeting with a global credit appraiser, the finance ministry here said Saturday. The teleconference between Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki and James McCormack, the general manager at Fitch Ratings, took place late Friday, with a focus on actions being taken by Seoul to stem the s

Sept. 5, 2020

Doosan Group to repay debt by selling new shares of Doosan Heavy, other assets

    SEOUL (Yonhap) --Cash-squeezed Doosan Group said Friday that it will repay 3 trillion won (US$2.5 billion) in debt to its main creditors by selling new shares of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. and other affiliates' assets.    Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction is to float new shares worth 1.3 trillion won and sell them first to its shareholders and then to the public, the group said in an emailed statement.    Earlier, the power plan

Sept. 4, 2020

Hypermarkets sell, shut stores amid COVID-19 fallout

South Korea‘s hypermarket chain operators are working quickly to sell their discount stores to improve their balance sheet, as fallout from the coronavirus deepens and the domestic retail industry’s makes a shift to online. As of Friday, Homeplus has agreed to sell three discount stores to undisclosed real estate developers since July, with the proceeds of the sales also under wraps. One is located in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province and the other two are in Daejeon. At least one more dis

Sept. 4, 2020