The Bank of Korea said it would remain vigilant following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to pause its interest rate hike cycle for the first time in 15 months, noting the possibility of a further increase later this year. The Federal Open Market Committee unanimously kept its key borrowing target range at 5 percent to 5.25 percent, after 10 consecutive rate increases since March last year. The rate freeze was aligned with expectations in the market but the Fed also signaled that addit

Economy June 15, 2023

Over 500 Korean companies and institutions gathered in Boston to take part in the BIO International Convention 2023 last week to discover new partnerships and to negotiate potential licensing deals. The number of participating Korean biotech and pharmaceutical firms and agencies doubled this year from a year ago, the largest after those from the United States, raising anticipation for the industry which experienced investment drought last year. “During this year’s event, multinatio

Industry June 14, 2023

South Korean companies faced higher borrowing costs and weaker earnings by about a third in 2022 from a year earlier, prompting the country’s major business lobby group to call for monetary easing policies. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday released a report analyzing 2022 financial statements of 1,612 companies listed on the Korean bourse, including 159 conglomerates and 679 small and midsized firms. "Operating profits have been greatly reduced and corporate debt

Industry June 12, 2023

By Park Han-na Korea Herald correspondent BOSTON – Providing speedy drug-producing service with the world’s largest production capacity has been the main driving force of the rapid growth Samsung Biologics has enjoyed over the past 10 years. In the next 10 years, the company will focus on innovative technology in pursuit of becoming a global top-tier biopharmaceutical company, said Chung Nam-jin, executive vice president and head of the Bio R&D Center at Samsung Biologics. La

Industry June 8, 2023

BOSTON -- Yposkesi, the French contract development and manufacturing arm of Korean biopharmaceutical firm SK pharmteco, expects that its second plant will be at full capacity as the cell and gene therapy market is rapidly evolving, the firm’s executive said. The SK’s clinical and commercial viral vector manufacturing arm for cell and gene therapies is seeking to capitalize on the growing cell and gene therapy market with its new manufacturing plant, which is under construction nea

Industry June 8, 2023

BOSTON -- Samsung Biologics' US sales chief said Tuesday that the South Korean drug contract manufacturing giant will bolster its global reach to secure more large-volume orders, tapping Alzheimer’s drugs one of the key focus areas. On the sidelines of the 2030 BIO International Convention held in Boston this week, Kevin Sharp, sales head of Samsung Biologics America, met with reporters to introduce the company’s overall sales strategy for its upcoming fifth plant that will go

Industry June 7, 2023

By Park Han-na Korea Herald correspondent BOSTON – Lotte Biologics’ drug substance manufacturing site in the US will put the utmost effort into making the Korean firm's goal of becoming a global top 10 contract development and manufacturing organization firm by 2030 attainable, the company’s US general manager said. Lotte Biologics, founded in 2022, acquired a fully operational facility in East Syracuse, New York from 165-year-old US pharmaceutical firm Bristol Myers S

Industry June 7, 2023

BOSTON, Massachusetts -- South Korean biologics contract manufacturer Samsung Biologics will make another huge step forward by shortening the construction time for its new manufacturing facility with an annual production capacity of 180,000 liters by five months to meet the growing demand from its clients in the pharmaceutical industry, the firm’s CEO, John Rim, said Monday. The Korean firm has now secured as clients 13 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmit

Industry June 6, 2023

Forging robust security and economic alliances with the United States and Japan is crucial for South Korea to embrace a reshaped global geopolitical paradigm, said Jun Kwang-woo, chairman of the Institute for Global Economics. “The trilateral allies must bolster their economic cooperation and pursue shared strategic priorities,” to deal with “the looming global geo-economic challenges, accompanied by supply chain disruptions and an energy crisis, result from the post-pandemic

Economy May 25, 2023

South Korea needs to strengthen its trilateral alliance with the United States and Japan in trade and investment to overcome global geo-economic challenges and supply chain disruptions triggered by COVID-19, said Jun Kwang-woo, chairman of the Institute for Global Economics. The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have increasingly polarized the world economy, which centers around the US and China. This caused a shift in the global economic paradigm, leading to closer links between nati

Economy May 16, 2023

HMM, South Korea’s largest LNG shipping firm, will join a bid to acquire a 100 percent stake in Hyundai LNG Shipping after selling the LNG carrier operator to a local private equity firm nearly 10 years prior. According to industry sources on Friday, HMM delivered its intent to participate in the takeover bid to IMM Private Equity and IMM Investment, which together own a 100 percent stake in Hyundai LNG Shipping. Hyundai LNG Shipping is the largest LNG carrier operator in the country, op

Industry May 12, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group will spend some 2 trillion won ($1.59 billion) to build a plant dedicated to manufacturing electric vehicles in the southeastern coastal city of Ulsan, in a move to strengthen its footing as a "first mover" in the EV sector, it said on Tuesday. The new plant, located on a 230,000-square-meter site, will be Hyundai Motor’s new car plant set up at home in 29 years. With construction starting in the fourth quarter of this year, the plant is expected to become ope

Industry May 9, 2023

Morphing into a customer-centered financial platform company through open digital innovation, fostering digital talent and strengthening technological capabilities is one of the key strategies Hana Financial Group pushes forward. Based on big data, the banking group is developing products and services tailored to customer groups while converting offline branches into financial platforms where customers can satisfy their needs through human touch. The digital channel plays the role of an all-in-o

Market May 2, 2023

  Business leaders from South Korea and the United States signed dozens of non-binding deals and discuss ways to enhance cooperation in semiconductors, future vehicles and clean energy on Tuesday. During President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the US marking the 70th anniversary of the US-South Korean alliance, two events hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries – the Korea-US Business Roundtable and the Korea-US Business Forum were held at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washingt

Industry April 26, 2023

South Korea reinstated Japan to its “white list” of trusted trading partners in more than three years in a push to revive economic cooperation between the two countries, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Monday. The ministry released a notification on Japan’s restored status in an amendment of the export and import notification of strategic materials. With the change, Japan will be included the list of 28 other countries who are granted simplified procedures for

Economy April 24, 2023