[THE INVESTOR] Korea Investment Holdings, South Korea’s sole non-banking holding firm, is considering to bid for a stake in Woori Bank which the government seeks to privatize in its fifth attempt this year. “We are reviewing the stake purchase,” the company’s official said on Sept. 12. The holding company of Korea Investment & Securities and Korea Investment Trust Management plans to diversify its business portfolio g by acquiring a stake in the state-owned bank. Acquiring Woori Bank’s stake is

Sept. 12, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s steel maker POSCO has decided not to bid for a stake in Woori Bank which the government is planning to privatize this year, according to the company’s official on Sept. 12. “We’ve concluded that we won’t participate in the stake sale of Woori Bank following a feasibility review,” a POSCO official said. Speculation was rampant last week that the steelmaker was interested in buying a 4 percent stake in the state-own bank as the government is pushing for another sale af

Sept. 12, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s apparel group Hyungji has decided to buy PMJC, a French firm that holds a global license for products of Castelbajac, a fashion brand that designed for the late Pope John Paul II. “The takeover deal will be completed in late September,” the Korean company’s Chairman Choi Byoung-oh said in an interview with a local paper. The move came after Hyungji acquired the domestic and pan-Asian licensing from the French designer Jean Castelbajac in 2014 and 2015, respectively. 

Sept. 12, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean light-emitting diode maker Seoul Semiconductor said Sunday it filed a lawsuit against Kmart, claiming the American retail giant is selling products which violated its LED-related patents. Seoul Semiconductor said the products being sold in Kmart infringed eight of its patents including high CRI, or color rendering index, enhancement with phosphor combinations, LED epitaxial growth, LED chip fabrication, multi-chip mounting technology, omni directional LED lamp technol

Sept. 11, 2016

 [THE INVESTOR] With its chairman Lee Jay-hyun back at its helm, CJ Group could emerge as a big buyer in Korea’s merger and acquisition scene, industry watchers predict. The CJ chairman, convicted last year on charges of embezzlement and tax evasion, was the only chaebol tycoon granted amnesty by President Park Geun-hye through a special pardon last month. CJ chairman Lee Jay-hyunThe 56-year-old chief, however, has not returned to management, as he requires hospitalization for treatment of an in

Sept. 11, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Hanjin Shipping still faces financial challenges even after its container ship safely began unloading at the US port, industry watchers said Sunday. Hanjin Shipping’s container ship Hanjin Greece was able to dock at the Port of Long Beach on Saturday after the US bankruptcy court granted the company provisional protection from creditors in the United States. Still, market watchers said the cash-strapped shipping company needs an estimated 170 billion won ($150 million) to complete

Sept. 11, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Korean prosecutors digging into alleged corruption at  Lotte Group are zeroing in on the group’s chairman Shin Dong-bin, the victor of a bitter family feud over the control of the Korean-Japanese conglomerate. Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-hoThe Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office questioned Shin Kyuk-ho, the ailing 93-year-old founder of Lotte, twice at his residence in a Seoul hotel last week. It is now mulling ways to summon his third wife, sources at the office said Sun

Sept. 11, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Renault Samsung’s latest rollout SM6 diesel is ready to repeat the popularity of its gasoline model unveiled early this year. During a test drive last week, the new diesel model offered a stable driving experience at speeds of more than 100 kilometers per hour. The vehicle got 15.5 kilometers per liter on a 900-kilometer round-trip between Seoul and Tongyeong, located on the nation’s southern coast. It is slightly lower than its official fuel efficiency of 17 kilometers per liter

Sept. 11, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Following the recall of millions of its newly launched Galaxy Note 7s last week, Samsung Electronics urged consumers to halt using the phablet immediately and exchange them as soon as possible due to a battery problem.In a statement posted Sept. 10 on its website, Samsung asked users around the world to “immediately” return their existing Galaxy Note 7 and get a replacement.“We are asking users to power down their Galaxy Note 7s and exchange them as soon as possible,” said Koh Don

Sept. 11, 2016

Amid greater product diversity and form-factor changes for IT set products, we expect DRAM makers to limit their DRAM investments, resulting in better supply-demand conditions for the industry. Given expectations that SSD demand will expand considerably, we expect the NAND supply to be tight. Meanwhile, we expect: 1) LCD TVs as well as other applications (eg, monitors and tablets) to gradually adopt larger-sized display panels; and 2) demand for flexible OLED panels to grow significantly.2017 ch

Sept. 11, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor sold more cars in Germany in August than the combined sales of five German carmakers in South Korea, data showed Sept. 11.South Korea‘s largest automaker Hyundai sold 9,240 cars in Germany last month while the combined sales of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche came to 8,735 in South Korea last month, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association and the German Association of the Automotive Industry. Hyundai’s outperformance

Sept. 11, 2016

NAVER’s share price has gone up recently in line with the liquidity-driven rally of global internet stocks. Internet companies are leading the rally of tech stocks. Tencent has gained 22%, Facebook 14%, Google 13%, Twitter 17% and NAVER 17% since Britain’s decision to leave the EU on June 23. Foreigners’ stake of NAVER has increased more than 2%p over the past two months.Market cap. exceeds 20% of fair value; LINE’s 2H16 earnings a key variableE-commerce is driving growth of the internet adverti

Sept. 9, 2016

[THE INVESTOR]  Daewoo Shipbuilding & Merchant Engineering has redeemed the entire commercial paper worth 400 billion won (US$363.47 million) maturing in September, the company said on Sept. 9. The redemption dispelled speculation that the cash-strapped shipbuilder would face a “September crisis” by failing to pay off the massive debt.The shipyard‘s liquidity crunch has been eased partly as four ship owners paid some 600 billion won to DSME in advance for ships they had ordered. DSME also said i

Sept. 9, 2016