The Korea Herald

Hyundai Marine to bid for Hanjin Shipping’s Asia-US route

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Merchant Marine is considering bidding for Hanjin Shipping’s Asia-US route, industry sources said on Oct. 18. HMM, currently under a creditor-led debt restructuring scheme, is planning to submit a preliminary bid for Hanjin Shipping’s route, seen as the most lucrative, and ships that are up for sales, the sources said. Last week, part of cash-strapped Hanjin Shipping’s assets went up for sale as the company is struggling to raise the cash needed to repay debts and unpaid b

Oct. 18, 2016

Hyundai Marine to bid for Hanjin Shipping’s Asia-US route

FSS to restrain savings banks’ household loans

[THE INVESTOR] The Financial Supervisory Service is seeking measures to restrain savings banks’ lending to households to tackle the nation‘s soaring household debt, officials said on Oct. 18. Savings banks’ loans to the household sector have been rising at a rapid clip since last year due to their aggressive marketing activities for borrowers with poor credit in South Korea already gripped by high household indebtedness.According to the officials, the watchdog is considering toughening rules on

Oct. 18, 2016

Jusung Engineering signs supply contract with LG Display worth W38b

[DISCLOSURE] Jusung Engineering (036930) announced on Oct. 17 that it has signed a 37.6 billion won (US$32.95 million) contract with LG Display (034220) to supply display manufacturing equipment. The contract cost is equivalent to 21.42 percent of Jusung Engineering’s 2015 revenue. The equipment will be supplied for its operations in China, and the contract lasts until Feb. 1, 2017.By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)

Oct. 17, 2016

S. Korean gov’t unveils list of tax delinquents

[THE INVESTOR] The government on Oct. 17 revealed a list of 36,433 new citizens and companies with unpaid local taxes of more than 10 million won (US$8,763) for one year or longer, officials said.The Ministry of the Interior said that it decided to disclose the list after they refused to specify their reasons for failing to pay their taxes even though they have been asked to do so for more than six months.According to the ministry, the list includes 29,848 individuals whose unpaid taxes total 80

Oct. 17, 2016

Korea logs 56th consecutive month of trade surplus

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea marked a trade surplus over 56 consecutive months in September, according to customs data on Oct. 17. The country‘s trade surplus came to US$6.9 billion last month, down 22.4 percent from $8.89 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.But it marked a 35-percent on-month jump from a seven-month low of $5.1 billion in August.The on-year decline in trade surplus was led by a steep decline in exports that outpaced a fall in impor

Oct. 17, 2016

Korea logs 56th consecutive month of trade surplus

Pension funds load up Samsung shares

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean pension funds have snapped up shares of Samsung Electronics after the tech giant’s stocks plunged following its smartphone fiasco, industry sources said on Oct. 17. Samsung, the top cap and darling of the South Korean stock market, decided last week to suspend production of the Galaxy Note 7 and pull the flagship smartphone out of the market after failing to resolve the battery-fire problem, sending its shares into a freefall. According to the sources, pension funds,

Oct. 17, 2016

Shipbuilding industry to rebound in 2018

[THE INVESTOR] The global shipbuilding industry’s slump is expected to continue into next year before a recovery in 2018, a report showed on Oct. 17. According to the report by global research firm Clarkson Research Services, this year’s new ship orders around the globe are estimated at 586 vessels, but the comparable figure for next year will be 790. Over the past 20 years, global shipbuilders received an annual average of 2,200 new ship orders.“If Clarkson‘s forecast is correct, the global shi

Oct. 17, 2016

Shipbuilding industry to rebound in 2018

Younger Chinese visitors flock to duty-free stores

[THE INVESTOR] A growing number of young Chinese tourists are becoming key customers for duty-free stores here, industry officials said on Oct. 17. Local duty-free shops in the past mostly generated revenue from middle-aged Chinese travelers who bought foreign luxury bags and watches, but now they are embracing younger Chinese who prefer Korean cosmetics and fashion brands on the back of a rising influx of young independent travelers over the past years.Hotel Shilla said that the 20s to 30s age

Oct. 17, 2016

Younger Chinese visitors flock to duty-free stores

Casual employees at record high in 5 years

[THE INVESTOR] The number of casual employees in South Korea for the third quarter has increased to the record high in five years, government data showed in Oct. 17. The number of employees who work for one hour to 17 hours per week came to 1.34 million as of end-September this year, up 91,000 from the same period a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea.The third-quarter tally was the highest since the 1.54 million casual workers posted in the third quarter of 2011. Casual empl

Oct. 17, 2016

FSS launches mobile service on financial info

[THE INVESTOR] The Financial Supervisory Service has launched a mobile service to provide information on the nation’s financial transaction system, it said on Oct. 17. The regulator opened the Financial Information Network (FINE) in early September. It features “integrated services” to provide finance consumers with “complete information” on financial transactions here, especially via major search engines, such as Naver and Daum, according to the FSS.The new portal, it added, has already drawn m

Oct. 17, 2016

PenGen earns patent regarding expression vector for animal cells

[DISCLOSURE] PanGen (222110) announced on Oct. 14 that it has acquired a European patent regarding expression vector for animal cells.The firm already holds patents in the US, Japan, China and South Korea, and has patents pending in Brazil, Malaysia and India. By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)

Oct. 14, 2016

Prof. gets 16-month jail term for fabricating Oxy report

[THE INVESTOR] A South Korean court sentenced a local professor to 16 months imprisonment on charges of manipulating a report favorably for Oxy Reckitt Benckiser over the toxic humidifier disinfectant case. The Seoul Central District Court found the professor at Hoseo University in Asan, some 100 kilometers south of Seoul, guilty of writing the report in return for money between October 2011 and September 2012.The court ordered the professor, identified only by his surname Yoo, to forfeit 24 mil

Oct. 14, 2016

Investors short sell Doosan Infracore shares ahead of affiliate’s IPO price forecast

[THE INVESTOR] Doosan Infracore appears to have been a major target of short selling last week ahead of its price range announcement for the initial public offering of its affiliate Doosan Bobcat, market watchers said on Oct. 14. After completing a demand forecast early Oct. 10, Doosan Infracore offered a price band of between 40,100 won (US$35.50) and 50,000 won for the IPO aimed at improving the financial health of its parent Doosan Group.However, Doosan Bobcat announced a decision on Oct. 10

Oct. 14, 2016

$Investors short sell Doosan Infracore shares ahead of affiliate’s IPO price forecast$

Hanjin Shipping’s asset up for sale

[THE INVESTOR] Hanjin Shipping ’s assets partly went up for sale on Oct. 14 amid its struggle to repay debts and unpaid bills, industry sources said on Oct. 14. The country’s No. 1 shipper currently under receivership got a nod from a local court on Oct. 13 to sell its Asia-U.S. route, including manpower, and vessels, 10 overseas operations, according to the sources.The Seoul Central District Court will receive letters of interest from potential buyers by Oct. 28. Potential bidders are required

Oct. 14, 2016

Seoul shares open higher on large cap gains(Oct. 14)

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean shares opened higher on Oct. 14 on advances by large market caps. The benchmark KOSPI added 10.03 points, or 0.50 percent, to 2,025.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Most large caps were in positive terrain, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics advancing 0.45 percent.Global chipmaker SK hynix spiked 1.47 percent, with local auto industry leader Hyundai Motor gaining 0.37 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO advanced 0.95 percent, and leading chemicals producer LG C

Oct. 14, 2016

Seoul shares open higher on large cap gains(Oct. 14)

Articles by 박윤아