[THE INVESTOR] k-Beauty Expo, a major international beauty trade show in South Korea, kicked off on Oct. 13. The eighth edition opened for a three-day run at KINTEX in Goyang, north of Seoul, gathering 450 companies, overseas buyers and experts in various beauty sectors. KINTEX and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency are co-hosting the event to promote South Korea’s beauty industry, which has rapidly expanded its global presence thanks to innovative products and the popularity of the Kor

Oct. 13, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The nationwide shopping festival, Korea Sale Festa, increased retailers’ sales more than 10 percent, data showed on Oct. 13. The massive shopping festival, which began Sept. 29 for 11 days, was designed to tie up the retail industry with the tourism and cultural sectors in line with the major Chinese holiday season. Combined sales of 54 retailers participating in the discount fest between Sept. 29 and Oct. 9 rose 10.1 percent from the same period last year, when the event was firs

Oct. 13, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea  has decided to issue a refund guarantee to Samsung Heavy Industries, supporting the company in its latest shipbuilding deal, industry sources said Thursday.Samsung Heavy Industries on Wednesday clinched a deal worth 240 billion won ($220 million) to build four oil tankers for Norwegian company Viken. This is the company’s second order obtained this year. A refund guarantee is a form of security for purchasers who generally pay for a substant

Oct. 13, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics  said on Oct. 13 that it has opened 10 stores in Bangladesh to sell its TVs that feature quantum dot technology. The stores will allow visitors to understand how the company’s quantum dot display technology functions, Samsung said in a statement. By the end of the year, Samsung will open about 190 more stores in Bangladesh, according to the statement. Quantum dot TVs offer better picture quality and cheaper manufacturing costs than organic light-emitting diode

Oct. 13, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Aju Corp. has once again withdrawn its plan to sell its affiliate automobile financial service provider, which it been pushing for since June. The largest shareholder of Aju Capital said on Oct. 12 that it held negotiations with four companies but failed to reach an agreement on the price, which is currently valued at 400 billion won (US$354.90 million) to 500 billion won. The sell-off plan had been earlier canceled in 2014.“Over the past four months, we held talks with some candi

Oct. 13, 2016

[DISCLOSURE] Cosmetics firm Coson (069110) announced on Oct. 12 that it has signed an agreement with Nexteye (137940), a visual inspection equipment manufacturer, to launch a joint corporation called Village 11 Factory to attract more customers both in South Korea and China. Coson will come up with new distribution channels to target the Chinese market, such as entering duty-free stores in China and e-commerce sector together with Nexteye’s largest shareholder, Aesthetic International Beauty Cha

Oct. 12, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Household loans from local banks increased 11.8 percent on-year in September, according to data on Oct.12. The loans amounted to 688.4 trillion won (US$613 billion) as of end-September, compared with 615.7 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Compared with August this year, the amount rose by 6.1 trillion won. The on-month increase marked a decline from an 8.6 trillion-won gain in the previous month.“Mortgages increased 5.3 trillion won fr

Oct. 12, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The money supply in South Korea rose more than 7 percent on-year in August, according to the central bank on Oct. 12.The nation’s M2 totaled 2,377 trillion won (US$2.10 trillion) in August, up 7.2 percent from a year earlier. It marks a 1.2 percent rise from July, according to the Bank of Korea. M2 is a measure of the money supply counting the currency in circulation, including bank debentures and deposits with a maturity of less than two years, along with stock investments. It‘s

Oct. 12, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Shareholders of listed South Korean companies have earned solid capital gains over the past five years, a lawmaker said on Oct. 12. In an analysis of data from the National Tax Service, Rep. Park Kwang-on of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea said 166,838 people filed their capital gains tax return between 2011 and 2015, with their proceeds from stock sales reaching a combined 48.2 trillion won (US$42.80 billion).Of the total, 610 shareholders reported capital gains of 10 b

Oct. 12, 2016