Seoul shares down amid possible US government shutdown woes

South Korean stocks finished lower Monday amid concerns of a potential US government shutdown following a cut in Moody's rating outlook for the United States. The local currency fell against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 5.90 points, or 0.24 percent, to close at 2,403.76. Trading volume was slim at 299.3 million shares worth 5.8 trillion won ($4.37 billion). Losers outnumbered gainers 592 to 283. Institutions net purchased 35.5

MarketNov. 13, 2023

Bithumb to push for IPO in 2025

Bithumb, one of South Korea's four major cryptocurrency exchanges, is preparing to become the first cryptocurrency exchange to go public in Korea, in a move to expand its share in the market currently dominated by its larger peer, Upbit. "We selected Samsung Securities as our manager for initial public offering at the end of (October). We aim to go public during the second half of 2025," a Bithumb official said on Monday. The company is primarily considering a listing on Korea&#

IndustryNov. 13, 2023

Dunamu hosts forum on blockchain's potential

The Upbit D Conference, a leading blockchain event hosted by Dunamu, operator of the country's largest crypto exchange Upbit, took place Monday, sharing ideas on how to expand the blockchain industry. Under the slogan “All That Blockchain,” the event invited some 40 experts from 29 countries as speakers to discuss related trends, policies, finance and content involving blockchain. “As the blockchain industry evolves, the UDC continues to grow,” Song Chi-hyung, chai

IndustryNov. 13, 2023

Nara Space successfully launches cube satellite

Nara Space has successfully launched the Observer-1A, a self-developed commercial cube satellite, becoming the first Korean company to achieve the feat, opening a new chapter for the country’s private space industry. Nara Space said Monday that the Observer-1A's beacon transmission and bidirectional communication had been completed within about an hour and 20 minutes after its ejection from SpaceX’s Falcon 9. The satellite was loaded on the US company’s launch vehicle, whi

TechnologyNov. 13, 2023

Hanwha Ocean to raise capital for wind power business

South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean said Monday that it will expand investment in its wind power business from the initial target of 200 billion ($151 million) to 300 billion won to secure an edge in the burgeoning industry. The company said it plans to issue new shares to raise capital for the planned investment. Currently, the global market for offshore wind power generation is growing at an annual rate of 18 percent. The field is expected to become one of the major renewable energy sources

IndustryNov. 13, 2023

[From the Scene] Building 100-year heritage: Hyundai starts work on Ulsan EV plant

ULSAN – Hyundai Motor Group on Monday broke ground for a new plant at home – the first in 29 years – solely dedicated to producing electric vehicles. Earlier in the day, the world’s third-largest carmaker held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new plant in Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province, one of its key production and export sites, with its top executives, including Executive Chair Chung Euisun, in attendance. The EV plant will be built on a 548,000-square-meter site, ne

MobilityNov. 13, 2023

SK hynix starts supply of world’s fastest mobile DRAM for China's Vivo

SK hynix has started supplying 16-gigabyte packages of Low Power Double Data Rate 5 Turbo, the fastest mobile DRAM available today, to its customers, the company announced Monday. The world’s second-largest memory chipmaker said it has started shipping its up-to-date product to Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo, which will be using the memory chips in its latest smartphones, the X100 and X100 Pro. LPDDR is a low-power DRAM for mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, which aim

IndustryNov. 13, 2023

STX to supply lithium with South American partners

South Korean trading company STX said Monday that it has signed a trilateral agreement with its partners based in Peru and Brazil, forming a secure supply chain that includes mining lithium and processing lithium concentrate. Lithium is a key mineral used for making rechargeable batteries. Under the partnership, STX announced a strategic equity investment in a lithium mine in Peru, which is estimated to have 18.1 million metric tons of lithium deposits. Signing an offtake agreement, it will also

IndustryNov. 13, 2023

[Photo News] Hyundai on top again

Hyundai Motorsport's customer racing team BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse scored its fourth win of the season at the eighth round of the 2023 Kumho TCR World Tour, at the Mount Panorama Motor Racing circuit in Australia over the weekend, the South Korean automaker said Monday. Driver Norbert Michelisz crossed the finish line first in Race 2 in his Elantra N TCR to secure his third victory of the season. (Hyundai Motor Group)

MobilityNov. 13, 2023

Samsung Electronics accounts for 84% of Q3 smartphone sales

Samsung Electronics Co. accounted for more than 80 percent of South Korean smartphone sales in the third quarter amid contracted demand for high-end gadgets, industry data showed Monday. Some 3.4 million smartphones were sold in the country during the July-September period, down 10 percent from a year ago, according to the data by market research firm Counterpoint Research. Samsung's smartphones dominated the market, capturing 84 percent of total sales, thanks to the popularity of its new f

IndustryNov. 13, 2023

Seoul shares open higher on hope for exports recovery

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday as the country reported continued improvement in exports, led by the semiconductor industry. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 8.59 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,418.25 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The customs office said the country's exports increased 3.2 percent on-year to $18.2 billion in the first 10 days of the month, with outbound shipments of semiconductors gaining 1.3 percent, marking the first increase since Augus

MarketNov. 13, 2023

Kumho Petrochemical comits to net zero by 2050

Kumho Petrochemical Group has reiterated its corporate-wide commitment to enhancing environmental and safety measures while developing a sustainable management system to begin carbon-neutral growth by 2035 and achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2050. Kumho Petrochemical and its affiliates, including Kumho P&B Chemicals, Kumho Mitsui Chemicals, Kumho Polychem, Kumho T&L, and Kumho Resort, have coordinated through an internal ESG council to align on environmental and safety management

IndustryNov. 13, 2023

Exports up 3.2% during first 10 days of Nov. on chip, auto sales

South Korea's exports rose 3.2 percent on-year in the first 10 days of November on the back of rising demand for semiconductors and vehicles, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments reached $18.24 billion in the Nov. 1-10 period, compared with $17.67 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports also grew 3.2 percent on-year to $2.15 billion during the cited period, it added. Imports added 1.2 percent on-year to $19.98 billion during th

EconomyNov. 13, 2023

[Photo News] Inspection before Suneung

Engineers of Hi-MSolutek, LG Electronics’ service and maintenance affiliate, inspect an air conditioner in a classroom designated as a venue for the Suneung, Korea’s College Scholastic Ability Test, slated for Thursday this week. LG Electronics said it is running inspections of its air conditioners installed at 250 examination sites across the country until Wednesday. (LG Electronics)

IndustryNov. 13, 2023

Franchise issues in Korea

News has emerged that famous franchise CEOs in the food service industry were severely criticized during an inspection conducted by the National Assembly. Abuse of power and unfair contracts in the franchise sector have been continuously pointed out as chronic issues. At this juncture, a better understanding on franchises and the Fair Trade Commission is needed. We will examine the related issue with Jeong Yeon-jae, attorney at law. Q. How did franchises become a widely used business model? En

IndustryNov. 13, 2023

Hyundai stands as No. 2 EV player in U.S. market despite IRA

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group stands as the second-largest player in the U.S. market for electric vehicles (EVs) despite concerns surrounding Washington's protectionism policy, data showed Sunday. Hyundai Motor Co. took up 4.8 percent of the U.S. EV market in the January-September period, with its smaller sister Kia Corp. accounting for 2.7 percent, according to U.S. magazine Automotive News. Their combined market share came to 7.5 percent, or 64,000 units, taking up the second-l

MobilityNov. 12, 2023

[Hello Indonesia] How Mirae Asset mesmerized Indonesian investors with cartoon

Deeply understanding a country and translating it into a business strategy is the biggest challenge and core mission for any company trying to make inroads into a new market. For Mirae Asset Securities to hold the largest share in the Indonesian capital market, the brokerage firm took a unique approach to investors -- publishing a cartoon-based market research paper and hosting a mock stock trading contest for millennials. “Analyzing the Indonesian market from a cultural perspective and us

MarketNov. 12, 2023

Korean banks to offer loans for Polish weapons deal

South Korea's top five commercial banks will provide the first tranche of a syndicated loan worth 3.5 trillion won ($2.65 billion) to the Polish government to finance a follow-up weapons purchase deal with Korean arms companies, industry sources said Friday. This decision came after South Korea's Defense Ministry asked the top five commercial banks -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NongHyup -- to provide the lending during a meeting held on Nov. 6, as state-run banks hit their lo

IndustryNov. 12, 2023

LG Display set for turnaround next year, buoyed by Apple’s first OLED iPad

LG Display is expected to get out of the red next year earlier than expected, by supplying organic light-emitting displays for Apple's upcoming iPad Pro, of which the panels are to be three times more expensive than that of the iPhone. According to industry sources on Sunday, the Korean panel maker will start OLED production for the upcoming iPad Pro in February next year at its plant in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. This is about three months earlier than predicted, with Apple forecast to launc

IndustryNov. 12, 2023

[From the Scene] CJ Logistics aims to operate global hub for cross-border e-commerce

INCHEON -- At CJ Logistics' Global Distribution Center, a total of 140 red, box-shaped robots with four wheels zoom across rows of stacked-up bins. The robot then drops down wires and hoists up a bin filled with goods. Carrying the bin, the robot scurries along the metal railings, transporting the bin to the packaging station, where an employee selects a set number of items from the bin to pack into a box for delivery. The robot then bustles back again and heads for another bin, repeating t

IndustryNov. 12, 2023