UBS names new country head for S. Korea

Swiss banking giant UBS said Thursday it has appointed Chang Sei-yoon, the incumbent head of the global markets division at UBS Securities Seoul, as its new country head for the group’s operations in South Korea.  “(Chang) has contributed greatly to UBS‘s growth in Korea and has a deep understanding of the Korean market and clients,” said Edmund Koh, president of UBS Asia Pacific, citing Chang’s more than 25 years of expertise in Korean financial markets. 

May 20, 2021

32 conglomerates under tight scrutiny due to heavy debts

South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday it has placed 32 highly indebted conglomerates under closer watch for debt reductions in order to prevent defaults. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the conglomerates that owe more than 1.91 trillion won ($1.68 billion) to local banks have been designated heavy corporate debtors this year. This compares with 28 such business groups last year. Shipping firm HMM and builder HDC were among the firms that were newly included on t

May 20, 2021

S. Korea compiles more anti-dumping cases from local steelmakers

South Korea's trade dispute agency on Thursday held a public hearing on anti-dumping cases of flat-rolled stainless steel imported from three countries, prior to its final ruling slated in July. The move came after South Korea decided to launch an investigation against Chinese, Taiwanese and Indonesian flat-rolled stainless steel products in September last year, according to the Korea Trade Commission. South Korea's top steelmaker POSCO filed the complaint with the commission over anti-dumping

May 20, 2021

S. Korea to ship W59b worth of dried laver to Japan

South Korea's oceans ministry said Thursday it has won a deal worth 58.7 billion won ($51.8 million) to export dried laver products to Japan. Dried laver, called "gim" in Korean, is usually roasted with sesame oil and fine salt and served as a side dish with Korean meals. Exports of dried laver products reached $600 million in 2020, up 3.6 percent on-year, amid growing popularity of Korean food in the Asian market. Of the volume, Japan accounted for the largest share of 22.2 percent.

May 20, 2021

SK Innovation, Ford to announce EV battery joint venture in US: sources

South Korean battery maker SK Innovation Co. and American automaker Ford Motor Co. are set to announce a battery joint venture in the United States to ensure a stable supply of batteries for electric vehicles, industry sources said Thursday. The two companies plan to announce a memorandum of understanding on the joint venture later in the day, as South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets with US President Joe Biden in Washington this week to discuss bilateral issues, including EV industry coope

May 20, 2021

Netflix users dip in S. Korea amid growing competition

Monthly active users of the US video streaming service Netflix Inc. in South Korea recorded a decline in the past three months, data showed Thursday, as the platform faces a slowdown in global subscriber growth and increasing competition from local players. Netflix's monthly active users in the country last month stood at 8.08 million, down 1.9 percent from 8.24 million in March, according to the data from market researcher Nielsen Koreanclick. The latest figure marks a dip since the platform

May 20, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on early US tapering worries

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as investor sentiment turned risk-averse over the US tapering jitters that stemmed from the latest Federal Reserve minutes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.99 points, or 0.38 percent, to 3,161.06 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a weak start amid foreign and institutional selling. Stocks fell tracking the US stock decline that was largely caused by the Federal Reserve's minutes suggesting

May 20, 2021

Samsung confirms smartwatch OS partnership with Google

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday that it will team up with Google LLC to deliver a new smartwatch operating system (OS), as they seek to better compete with Apple Inc. in the wearables market. Yoon Jang-hyun, who heads Samsung's software development team, said in an editorial that the South Korean tech giant will develop a unified smartwatch platform with Google. Samsung currently uses Tizen OS for its Galaxy smartwatches, while Google offers Wear OS. Their OS partnership was first unve

May 20, 2021

Philippine investment agency eyes South Korean EV parts, semiconductor firms

The Philippine Board of Investments, the lead industry and investment promotion agency in the country, said it is eyeing South Korean electric vehicle parts and semiconductor firms to further grow their businesses and make it happen in the Philippines. Trade Undersecretary and BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo made this statement during an online briefing with South Korean companies in April on the recently-enacted Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act and the Strategic In

May 19, 2021

NPS, KIC bet on US bank, semiconductor stocks

South Korean institutional investors were seen betting big on the banking sector and semiconductor firms in the United States during the first quarter, filings showed Wednesday. The National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest pension fund, has amassed holdings in US financial services firms such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, according to a filing submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The NPS, which bought 113,080 additional shares of JPMor

May 19, 2021

Korean institutional investors eye more foreign infrastructure assets

South Korean institutional investors are looking to increase their exposure to foreign alternative assets and diversify in terms of asset classes and destinations. This comes as more institutional investors here are venturing into asset classes that could stimulate post-pandemic recovery and a sustainable future, in their bid to achieve medium-risk, long-term investing through illiquid assets, according to a note to investors by KTB Investment & Securities on Wednesday. For example, the N

May 19, 2021

[News Focus] Action plan to make Korea a global COVID-19 vaccine factory takes shape

In the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea could step up as a global vaccine factory, if players unite to ramp up the country’s total production capacity, already the world’s second-largest, officials and industry insiders said Wednesday. Talks have already begun among local biopharmaceuticals to forge a consortium for co-production of the doses -- in particular the entirely new type of mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, the sources said.

May 19, 2021

[CRYPTO FEVER] Amid mix of concern and hope, retail investors back on crypto rollercoaster

This is a part of a series of reports, analyses and interviews on the cryptocurrency market and its future. This is the first installment. -- Ed. After the crypto market crashed in 2018, Lee Ji-hoon, a 35-year-old office worker, kept his distance. But amid the recent market frenzy surrounding cryptocurrencies, Lee felt the urge to reopen an account he had nearly forgotten about for three years. As soon as the account was reopened at Bithumb’s offline customer center last week, he was i

May 19, 2021

Hyundai struggles to expedite Ioniq 5 production

Pressed by the prolonged semiconductor shortage and the rapidly diminishing state subsidy balance, South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor is pushing to expedite the release of its new all-electric vehicle Ioniq 5 at all costs. The automaker, which had earlier underlined passenger comfort and various safety functions of the new model, is now suggesting that purchasers compromise some of these options in order to speed up their order. “We are considering various scenarios for c

May 19, 2021

Gold prices rise amid inflation concerns

Gold prices in South Korea have continued to gain as investors seek to park their money in safer destinations amid escalating inflation concerns, while high-risk cryptocurrency Bitcoin saw its price drop, data showed Wednesday.  On Tuesday, the price for a gram of gold rose 0.56 percent from the previous session to 68,200 won ($60.50) on the local bourse, maintaining an upward trend for the fourth consecutive day, according to the Korea Exchange. The figure was the highest since it hit a

May 19, 2021

More water bottles go label-free as retailers ramp up green marketing efforts

More retailers are joining the trend to go label-free on their water bottles amid growing environmental awareness and green marketing efforts in the industry. South Korean supermarket chain Homeplus said on Wednesday that it has so far sold some 1.34 million label-free bottles of water, which were released as part of its premium private brand Homeplus Signature late last month. Described as an “ethical consumption” product, the supermarket estimated the label-less water bottles red

May 19, 2021

SK’s Chey departs for US, raises expectations for new investments

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Wednesday departed for the United States, raising expectations about his visit to SK Innovation’s battery plant in Georgia, and a possible pledge for additional investments. Chey boarded a plane bound for a US city, with a handful of group officials. SK Group declined to reveal the destination of Chey’s flight. He is among the several Korean business leaders who are visiting the US in time for the first summit meeting between Presidents Moon

May 19, 2021

S. Korea among unhappiest countries in OECD

South Korea is one of the unhappiest countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, largely because of its long working hours and high poverty rate for senior citizens, state-run think tank the Korea Development Institute said Wednesday.  The country’s happiness level between 2018 and 2020 on average stood at 5.85 points out of 10, placing Korea at No. 35 out of the OECD’s 37 members. Only Greece and Turkey were unhappier with 5.72 points and 4.95 poi

May 19, 2021

Major tour agencies cut 15% of workforce over COVID-19 fallout

South Korea's six major travel agencies cut some 15 percent of their workforce over the past year as travel demand has taken a massive hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Wednesday. At the end of March, six listed travel firms had a total of 4,268 employees, down 15.4 percent from a year ago, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. Industry leader HanaTour shed 13 percent of its workforce, and Mode Tour cut 10.7 percent, the data showed. In the first quarter of thi

May 19, 2021

[Graphic News] Majority of S. Koreans support taxing gains from cryptocurrencies: poll

　More than half of South Koreans support taxing capital gains from the trading of cryptocurrencies, a poll showed. 　The government plans to impose taxes on gains from investment in virtual assets starting next year. 　A poll by Realmeter showed 53.7 percent of respondents back the plan while 38.3 percent are opposed. The survey, commissioned by the news channel YTN, was conducted on 500 people aged 18 or older across the country April 29. (Yonhap)

May 19, 2021