A report on the attractiveness of six Asian locations as regional corporate headquarters showed Korea lags far behind. The study titled “Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters,” released by Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate agency, on Friday, showed that Singapore remains the most attractive Asia-Pacific destination for multinational companies, followed by Hong Kong and Shanghai.  (Cushman & Wakefield)The number of regional corporate head offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai reached

Industry April 8, 2016

PLEDGE FOR FAIR TRADE---POSCO chairman Kwon Oh-joon (seventh from right) poses with Fair Trade Commission chairman Chung Jae-chan (eighth from right) and executives from the steelmaker’s affiliates and their subcontractors after signing an agreement with the antitrust watchdog for fair trade. (POSCO)

Industry April 7, 2016

Tightened taxation rules affected sales of luxury company cars with price tags exceeding 100 million won ($86,600), most of which are foreign car brands, in the first quarter of this year, an industry source said. According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distribution Association, the number of imported cars registered by companies fell to 19,564 units in the first three months, a 20.5 percent drop from the same period of last year. “Behind the sharp fall is the tightened tax deduction rule

Mobility April 7, 2016

Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth largest automaker in sales, said Tuesday it will seek more tie-ups with global tech giants to take a lead in the heated competition for the development of a connected car, while driving its own research and development activities. “The group will seek more collaboration with leading global information technology and networking companies to develop its ‘hyper-connected and intelligent car’ concept, while increasing investment in its R&D activities,” the comp

Mobility April 5, 2016

The nation’s antitrust agency announced changes in its annual watch list Sunday to account for the changing industrial landscape -- dominated for decades by family-controlled conglomerates.Kakao Corp., the operator of the nation’s top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, and Celltrion, a leading biosimilar developer, have been added to the Fair Trade Commission’s 2016 conglomerate watch list with four other newcomers, the watchdog said Sunday.The total number of companies in the latest update has reached

Industry April 4, 2016

The unprecedented global attention to preorders of Model 3, the first mass-market model of luxury electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors, is forecast to spur the EV market in Korea. About 198,000 customers globally, including Koreans, put down a deposit of $1,000 to preorder Model 3 in the first two days since Tesla unveiled its low-priced, but high-performance and well-designed electric family sedan in the U.S. on Thursday.  The image of Tesla’s first mass-market model Model 3 Tesla MotorsThe init

Mobility April 3, 2016

Domestic car sales by the five Korean carmakers soared 17 percent to 148,888 units in March from the same period last year, bolstered by the “new car effect” and the extension of tax cut benefits on car purchases by June, data compiled by each company said. But the five companies with production lines here -- Hyundai, Kia, General Motors Korea, Renault Samsung and Ssangyong Motor – saw their overseas sales drop 4.3 percent on-year last month, the data showed. When it comes to domestic sales, the

Mobility April 3, 2016

Shares of Seoul Auction, the only listed art auction house in Korea, rallied on a rosy outlook for its 2016 performance in the beginning of the year. The company shares hit a record high of 24,950 won ($21.70) on Jan. 19. NH Investments and Securities forecast the company’s operating profits will soar to 21.6 billion won this year, up 43.5 percent from 2014, thanks to increased global interest in Korean monochromatic paintings.The firm’s revenue is also expected to jump to 71.9 billion won this

Industry April 1, 2016

When Jason Lee, 43, a human resources professional in Hong Kong, visits Seoul to see clients, he makes it a point to squeeze time into his tight schedule to go to a gallery. “I’ve collected contemporary Korean artwork that I like for the past few years for investment purposes, witnessing their growing popularity in the Hong Kong art market,” he said. “As the Korean art boom continues, I can gain high premiums when I resell those artworks at auctions later.” Unlike previous spikes in demand for K

Industry April 1, 2016

Hyundai Rotem, a train-making unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said Thursday it completed a railway production line in Araraquara, 280 kilometers from Sao Paulo, Brazil, to spur the railway business in South America. It is the firm’s third plant overseas after the production line in Turkey and the U.S.“The company expects the Brazilian plant with annual production capacity of 200 train units to take a hub role in spurring its business in Central and South America,” a company official said. The compa

Industry March 31, 2016

Leading Korean trading company Hyundai Corp. has become the latest member of the so-called Chung Ju-yung family conglomerate groups -- which include Hyundai Motor Group, Hyundai Group, Hyundai Department and Hyundai Heavy Industries -- with the Fair Trade Commission approving its separation from HHI last week. The late business tycoon Chung founded Hyundai in 1947.The move was expected as Hyundai Corp. chairman Chung Mong-hyuck secured controlling stake in the company and Hyundai C&F, a wholesal

Companies March 29, 2016

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo and other high-ranking officials presented the firm’s investment and research & development roadmaps for future mobility to a visiting U.S. congressional delegation, the Korean automotive giant said in a statement Monday. The five-member delegation led by Sen. Deb Fischer visited the Namyang R&D Center of Hyundai Motor Group, the heart of the Korean auto giant’s new car design and development. Other members included Sen.Thad Cochran, Sen. John Barrasso

Mobility March 28, 2016

INCHEON/SEOUL -- For a global tire-maker supplying its high-end products to global luxury carmakers, including Mercedes-Benz and BMW, for sure, the next target will be performance-driven super car brands like Ferrari.Seoul-based Hankook Tire, the world’s seventh largest tire manufacturer in terms of sales follows the growth formula in the industry by supplying its ultra-high performance tires and winter tires to BMW’s new 7-series sedans from this year. The Korean tire-maker has also supplied it

Mobility March 27, 2016

A three-party consortium including Hanwha Engineering & Construction has won a $20 billion project to build 100,000 homes in Saudi Arabia, company officials said Thursday.The housing development plan will mark the largest ever project that a Korean builder has clinched from a foreign country, Hanwha officials said.The two other stakeholders in the consortium are Daewoo Engineering & Construction and Saudi Pan Kingdom for Trading, Ind. & Contracting, or SAPAC, a leading Saudi builder. Representat

Industry March 24, 2016

Hyundai Merchant Marine, which is facing a liquidity crunch, signed a debt settlement agreement with bank creditors on Monday. The move came after Hyundai Motor Group denied rumors that it might seek a takeover bid to save the faltering shipper via its logistics arm Hyundai Glovis. HMM is a key affiliate of Hyundai Group and so has been categorized as a member of the pan-Hyundai empire. “It is true that the group was invited to a takeover bid for the shipper, but the group has no interest in the

Mobility March 21, 2016