Seoul shares end up on institutional buying

Seoul shares ended higher Friday on institutional buying after the Federal Reserve's first rate cut in more than four years lifted investor sentiment. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 0.49 percent, or 12.57 points, to close at 2,593.37. The main index rose 0.7 percent this week. Trading volume was moderate at 477.43 million shares worth 13.78 trillion won ($10.4 billion), with gainers exceeding decliners 562 to 319. Over

Sept. 20, 2024

Hanwha Ocean unveils zero-emission LNG carrier for greener shipping

Leading Korean shipbuilding and offshore company Hanwha Ocean unveiled its next-generation zero-emission liquefied natural gas carrier, Ocean 1, at Gastech 2024 in a move to spearhead sustainable maritime innovation. The company announced Friday that Ocean 1 was showcased at the conference held in Houston from Sept. 17-20, where it attracted the interest of over 100 major shipbuilding and shipping line representatives. This marks the first time Hanwha has revealed the technologies behind its vis

Sept. 20, 2024

Porsche Korea appoints new CEO

Porsche Korea announced on Friday the appointment of Mathias Busse as its new Chief Executive Officer and Representative Director. Busse, currently serving as Senior Director for the German market at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, will succeed Holger Gerrmann, who has led the company since 2019. Busse brings over 25 years of experience in the automotive industry, having held key leadership roles such as CEO of Porsche Taiwan Motors and Porsche Retail Hamburg GmbH. “We are grateful to have

Sept. 20, 2024

Xiaomi takes 2nd spot after Samsung in August smartphone sales

Chinese smartphone makers are swiftly growing their presence in the global market, taking over the entry-to-mid-tier segment while creating a buzz with unique premium models to narrow the competitive gap with top players Samsung and Apple. In August, Chinese firm Xiaomi claimed second in terms of global monthly sell-through volumes for the first time in three years, beating Apple, market tracker Counterpoint Research said Thursday. Samsung Electronics retained the top spot. August is usually see

Sept. 20, 2024

LIG Nex1 clinches W3.7tr deal to export missile defense system to Iraq

South Korea’s defense firm LIG Nex1 said Friday it has signed a 3.7 trillion won ($2.78 billion) deal with Iraq’s defense ministry to export its medium-range surface-to-air missile defense system Cheongung-II. This is the third export contract worth over 1 trillion won that LIG Nex1 has clinched, following those with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Cheongung-II includes four launch vehicles with eight tubes, multi-function radar and traffic management command. It will be p

Sept. 20, 2024

Cabbage prices soar 70% amid heat wave

Vegetable prices in South Korea have surged amid an unprecedented heat wave that has gripped the country for weeks, with the price of napa cabbage rising nearly 70 percent compared to last year. The price of a head of cabbage, the main ingredient for kimchi, retailed at 9,337 won ($7.02) on Thursday, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. This marks a 69.5 percent jump compared to the same time last year and a 32.7 percent increase over the three-year average price. Continu

Sept. 20, 2024

Seoul shares open higher, tracking Wall Street gains

Seoul shares opened higher Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street, after the US Federal Reserve's first rate cut in more than four years lifted investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.09 percent, or 28.01 points, to 2,608.81 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.3 percent to 42,025.19 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.5 percent to 18,013.98. On Wednesday, the Fed kicked off its monetary-ea

Sept. 20, 2024

Hyundai Motor officially becomes KT’s largest shareholder

Hyundai Motor Group has officially become the largest shareholder of KT, one of the three main mobile carriers in Korea, the government said Thursday. After months of review, the Ministry of Science and ICT decided to approve the change in KT's largest shareholder, concluding that it does not harm the public interest. In March this year, the National Pension Service, the former biggest shareholder of KT, sold about 2.88 million shares of KT to lower its stake to 7.51 percent from 8.53 perce

Sept. 19, 2024

Bank of Korea eyes rate cut after US Fed's historic pivot

Following the US Federal Reserve's historic half-point rate cut, expectations are rising that South Korea may follow suit, while closely monitoring its overheated real estate market and soaring household debt. On Wednesday, following a two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the Fed cut its benchmark rate by 50 basis points, marking its first reduction in over four years since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020 and the first half-point cut since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Sept. 19, 2024

Seoul shares end higher after Fed's rate cut

Seoul shares ended higher Thursday as investors cheered the US Federal Reserve's first rate cut in more than four years. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 0.21 percent, or 5.39 points, to close at 2,580.80. Trading volume was moderate at 378.78 million shares worth 12.6 trillion won ($9.5 billion), with gainers exceeding decliners 497 to 371. The Fed cut its overnight lending rate to a range of 4.75 percent to 5 percent a

Sept. 19, 2024

MBK defends Korea Zinc bid, refutes Chinese capital accusation

Seoul-based private equity house MBK Partners said Thursday it hopes Korea Zinc will be acquired by a Korean conglomerate, not a Chinese one, if its buyout attempt of the world’s biggest zinc refiner turns out to be a successful venture. “MBK Partners is not a foreign fund. We do not have any plan to sell Korea Zinc to Chinese capital,” MBK Partners Vice Chairman Kim Kwang-il said at a press conference held in central Seoul on Thursday. The press event was held to shrug off the

Sept. 19, 2024

GS Caltex supplies eco-friendly fuel to Japan’s Narita Airport

South Korean oil refiner GS Caltex said Thursday that it has supplied some 5,000 kiloliters of sustainable aviation fuel to Japan’s Narita International Airport, as part of its efforts to expand its carbon reduction business. The fuel was produced by GS Caltex by blending conventional aviation fuel with sustainable aviation fuel provided by Neste, a leading biofuel producer in Finland. The supply deal was facilitated by Japanese trading company Itochu Narita Airport plans to sell the fuel

Sept. 19, 2024

Samsung under pressure after Intel's foundry spin-off: analysts

Intel, once the world’s leader in both designing and supplying advanced chips, has decided to spin off its chip manufacturing business in part of the efforts to recover from massive losses. For Samsung Electronics, the rival’s spin-off could pose a threat if successful, according to experts here on Thursday. At the same time, Intel’s decision is raising a strategic question for Samsung on how to stay competitive across all fronts of chip design and manufacturing as an integrate

Sept. 19, 2024

Samsung CEO introduces ‘bold growth’ as new target

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and co-CEO Han Jong-hee has introduced “bold growth” as the new target to overcome the company's multifaceted crisis and take a leap toward a future-oriented business structure. “We have worked hard to lay the foundation for 'One Samsung' and to enhance synergy across different business units,” the CEO said at the tech giant’s Device eXperience division’s internal event recently held in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province,

Sept. 19, 2024

Hyundai Glovis to gain momentum as global car carrier shortage persists

Hyundai Glovis, South Korea's sole provider of pure car and truck carriers, is expected to increase its global presence as charter rates for automobile-carrying vessels continue to remain high due to a persistent shortage of ships in the global maritime transportation market. According to data from Clarksons Research on Thursday, a UK-based shipping market analysis firm, the average daily charter rate for a 6,500-Car Equivalent Unit (CEU) carrier in the third quarter of this year reached ap

Sept. 19, 2024

LG Electronics partners with Ricoh to bolster B2B push

LG Electronics announced a new partnership with Ricoh, a leading global office solutions company, on Thursday, aiming to strengthen its competitiveness in the global business-to-business market. The memorandum of understanding, signed by Ricoh's President of digital services Takahiro Irisa and Paik Ki-mun, head of LG Electronics' information display business division, focuses on exploring new digital transformation services and expanding their B2B offerings. “We will strengthen

Sept. 19, 2024

[Photo news] Hana opens foreign customer center

Hana Bank CEO Lee Seung-lyul (fifth from left) and Pyeongtaek B constituency Rep. Kim Hyun-jeong (sixth from left) pose for a photo at the opening ceremony of Pyeongtaek Foreign Customer Center on Thursday. The center aims to improve access to financial services for foreign workers in South Gyeonggi Province, including Pyeongtaek, Hwaseong and Anseong. The new branch will offer customer services like AI-based real-time translation and bank information kiosks. Additionally, Hana Bank’s 16 b

Sept. 19, 2024

Taihan Cable wins W90b cable system supply deal in California

South Korean electric wire and cable maker Taihan Cable & Solution said Thursday it has secured a 90 billion-won ($67.5 million) cable system supply deal in the US. The company has been selected as supplier to US-based LS Power Grid California for 320-kilovolt voltage source converters used in high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission and a 500-kilovolt heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) power systems. Making its first foray into North America’s high-capacity, long-

Sept. 19, 2024

Daewoong to lead homegrown hyperlipidemia therapy

Daewoong Group announced Thursday that three of its subsidiaries will participate in a government-led project aimed at localizing raw materials for hyperlipidemia treatments amid a growing number of patients suffering from the disease here. Daewoong Pharmaceutical, Daewoong Bio and Daewoong Therapeutics were picked as primary organizers for the 2024 Material and Parts Technology Development Project, an over four year-long scheme initiated by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Currently,

Sept. 19, 2024

Fast-food delivery industry logs 23% growth in H1

South Korea's food delivery industry continued to grow this year, with the most prominent increase seen in fast-food delivery services, according to a Thursday report by a local data analysis firm. The value of food delivery services came to 7.87 trillion won ($5.9 billion) in the first half of the year, according to Finda, marking a 6.55 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Fast-food delivery in particular saw a rise of 22.72 percent to come in at 1.72 trillion won for t

Sept. 19, 2024