BOK purchases W2tr worth of state bonds

The Bank of Korea (BOK) on Tuesday purchased 2 trillion won ($1.76 billion) worth of government bonds as part of its market-stabilizing efforts amid the coronavirus crisis.    According to an announcement posted on its website, an auction of the first batch of BOK's 7 trillion won bond purchase program within the first half was closed after attracting bids of more than 4.2 trillion won.    The bank bought three-year government bonds at 1.17 trillion won, five-year Treasury

March 9, 2021

OECD revises up its 2021 growth outlook for S. Korean economy to 3.3 percent

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday revised up its 2021 growth outlook for the South Korean economy as the country's exports remain robust amid the pandemic.    The OECD expected Asia's fourth-largest economy to grow 3.3 percent this year, up from its December estimate of 2.8 percent. Still, the Paris-based organization revised down its 2022 growth forecast for South Korea to 3.1 percent from 3.4 percent.    The upward revision for

March 9, 2021

Samsung SDI logs record battery R&D spending in 2020

Samsung SDI spent a record 808.3 billion won ($710.2 million) on research and development for next-generation electric vehicle batteries in 2020. According to its annual report, released Tuesday, the amount was 7.2 percent of its revenue last year. “The investment is the seed of Samsung SDI’s future growth engine as the company prepares for the upcoming era of electric vehicles,” a company official said. This is the first time that Samsung SDI’s battery R&D sp

March 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] Game firms under increasing scrutiny over loot box odds

Calls to regulate the gaming industry are growing in South Korea after local game companies have come under fire for what users call a “deceptive” system of randomized, for-purchase game items. Yeo Myung-sook, the former head of the Game Rating and Administration Committee, threw her weight behind the pro-regulation argument, saying that games with a loot box feature, which offers randomized in-game items for sale, should be subject to the same tax imposed on casinos. “Ga

March 9, 2021

Bithumb bans trading from countries with no anti-money laundering measures

Bithumb, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange operator, said Tuesday that it has put restrictions on crypto trading accounts held by users staying in regions that have not adopted anti-money laundering measures. A total of 21 nations are currently on the watchlist for failing to implement anti-money laundering measures issued by the Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental body that sets international standards to prevent global money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Iran

March 9, 2021

Samsung SDI spends record high of over w810b in battery R&D in 2020

Samsung SDI Co., South Korea's No. 2 battery maker, said Tuesday it spent a record high of 808.3 billion won ($703.2 million) in research and development activities last year to develop advanced battery technologies. Samsung SDI's R&D spending accounted for 7.2 percent of its 2020 sales, according to its annual report. The company has been working on rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles (EV) that cost less, last longer and charge faster to meet growing demand from global automake

March 9, 2021

FSC extends eased liquidity rules for banks amid pandemic

South Korea’s financial regulator said Tuesday it has decided to further ease local lenders’ obligations to pile up liquid assets until September, in a move to encourage them to prop up the real economy reeling from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.  The liquid coverage ratio, or LCR, is the proportion of necessary assets held by financial institutions, which serves as a key indicator for a bank’s financial soundness.  Under the current LCR regulation designed to c

March 9, 2021

Samsung aims to boost Bespoke sales to 80% in Korea, expand overseas

Samsung Electronics has an aim to boost its sales of customizable Bespoke products to 80 percent of total consumer electronics sales, the company’s president said Tuesday. During an online press conference held to announce the new Bespoke Home products, Lee Jae-seung, president of Samsung’s consumer electronics business, said the company will expand the Bespoke lineup further both at home and abroad. “The company aims to expand the Bespoke sales to account for 80 percent of

March 9, 2021

Daewoong’s migraine treatment to enter phase two trial in US

Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s partner company in the US is to begin a phase two study of using botulinum toxin complex injections as a preventive treatment for migraines, according to the South Korean firm Tuesday. AEON Biopharma, a California-based private clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has licensed the ABP-450 injection from Daewoong Pharmaceutical and has exclusive development and distribution rights for ABP-450 in the US, Canada and the European countries. Last year, the US

March 9, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 4th day on inflation concerns

South Korean stocks slumped for a fourth consecutive session Tuesday amid growing concerns over post-pandemic inflation. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 19.99 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,976.12 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.5 billion shares worth around 18 trillion won ($15.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 570 to 276. Foreigners sold a net 642 billion won, while retail investors pur

March 9, 2021

Samsung dominates 2020 foldable smartphone market: report

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest smartphone vendor, was the dominant player in the global foldable smartphone market last year, a report showed Tuesday, with its leading status expected to continue through 2021. For the whole of 2020, Samsung logged an 87 percent share on a unit basis in the global foldable smartphone market that was estimated at 2.2 million units, according to market tracker Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC). "The Z Flip was the No. 1 model with nearl

March 9, 2021

Two weeks into opening, the Hyundai Seoul makes a splash in sales

Seoul’s newest and biggest department store, the Hyundai Seoul, is enjoying immense popularity, in what industry insiders hope to be a sign of a revival of consumer sentiment amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. According to industry analysts on Tuesday, the shopping mall in the office district of Yeouido, central Seoul, is estimated to have recorded sales of 37.2 billion won ($32.6 million) in its first week of business, since pre-opening on Feb. 24. Some 1.5 million people are esti

March 9, 2021

Korea's final coal power project faces renewed scrutiny

South Korea’s last coal power project in Gangwon Province is facing renewed scrutiny as civic activists called for a state audit against Korean financial institutions for allegedly overlooking and condoning risk factors in financing the private-led project, dubbed Samcheok Blue Power Plant.  The targets are seven financial companies, including the Korea Development Bank, the Industrial Bank of Korea and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, according to Korea’s civi

March 9, 2021

Korea floats W12.9tr ESG bonds in first 2 months

South Korean companies have issued a combined 12.9 trillion won ($11.3 billion) worth of green, social and sustainability bonds from January to February, data showed Tuesday. In the first two months of 2021, social bonds accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total issuance of bonds aligned with ESG factors, followed by green bonds and sustainability bonds -- a hybrid of green and social -- according to data by the Korea Financial Investment Association. In February alone, Korean firms floate

March 9, 2021

Inter-family asset inheritances, gifts jump to W113tr

The amount of lineally inherited and gifted assets has reached nearly 113 trillion won ($99 billion), surging about 42 percent in the last five years, according to data compiled by the National Tax Service Tuesday. The report, submitted to Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the ruling Democratic Party, showed that the accumulated amount of inter-family asset inheritances and gifts came in at 112.98 trillion won in 2019. It was up by 33.27 trillion won or 41.8 percent from some 79.68 trillion won marked in

March 9, 2021

Samsung to reclaim No. 1 spot in Q1 smartphone production: report

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to recapture the top spot in global smartphone production in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Tuesday, with the release of its new flagship smartphone. The South Korean tech giant is estimated to produce 62 million smartphones in the January-March period and account for 18.1 percent of global smartphone production, according to market researcher TrendForce. "Moving to the first quarter of 2021, Samsung has released the new lineup of its

March 9, 2021

Rising US bond yields could pull down asset prices: vice minister

The recent surge in the US Treasury yields, if prolonged, could lead to a decline in asset prices, South Korea’s Vice Finance Minister said Tuesday, saying that the government would keep an eye on market volatilities. “If the US bond yields continue to rise, volatilities including change in asset prices over avoidance of risky investments and an outflow of emerging market capitals could materialize,” Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said during a macroeconomics meeting. &

March 9, 2021

Bond issuance soars in Feb.

Bond issuance in South Korea rose by more than 11 trillion won in February from the previous month due mainly to increased state and corporate debt sales, industry data showed Tuesday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 75.2 trillion won ($65.9 billion) last month, up 11.3 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Sales of government bonds increased by 5.5 trillion won, and the issuance of corporate

March 9, 2021

Sluggish job market weighs on S. Korea's economic recovery: KDI

South Korea's economic activity remains stagnant as the country has continued to suffer heavy job losses despite improving consumption and robust exports, a state-run think tank said Tuesday. Revived consumption of durable goods and solid exports have provided some defense against the economic slowdown, according to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). "The Korean economy continues to be sluggish with rapidly contracting employment due to COVID-19

March 9, 2021

S. Korea to revitalize agricultural segment by lifting set of regulations

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to lift a set of regulations in the agricultural sector to harness more state-of-the-art technologies and foster new growth engines for the industry. Under the blueprint, South Korea will establish new smart farming clusters for a wider scope of areas covering livestock, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The country previously focused on adopting the solution for greenhouses. The concept of smart farming centers on the applicat

March 9, 2021