Hyundai Motor Co. will raise 300 billion won ($240 million) by selling corporate bonds next month amid a growing coronavirus impact on vehicle sales, financial sources said Tuesday. The company will hold the debt sale on May 8, with a maturity period of three to seven years, to secure operating capital, an investment bank official told Yonhap News Agency. The debt issuance will be handled by Mirae Asset Daewoo, KB Securities Co. and NH Investment & Securities Co., the official said. The

Samsung Electronics’ blood pressure measuring mobile application Samsung Health Monitor was approved by South Korean authorities Tuesday. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said that this is the first time worldwide that a software has been approved to be able to sense a person’s blood pressure without the use of a second device, such as a cuff. Cuffs are arm bands that electronically contract to measure a person’s upper and lower blood pressure. The devices cost from $55

South Korea might lose investments worth 10 trillion won ($8.1 billion) for its industrial complex project, as major refiners are struggling to find a middle ground over land prices before even beginning the project. South Chungcheong Province currently plans to transform 2.91 million square meters of land in Daesan industrial complex No. 2 and surrounding areas in the city of Seosan into an advanced chemical industrial plant. The project is expected to bring investments worth 10 trillion won

Orion, a South Korean confectionery company, said Tuesday it recorded sales of 208.3 billion won ($168 million) in March, an increase of 41 percent on-year. The sales of snack products in its biggest markets, South Korea, China and Vietnam, also grew 82 percent on-year for the month, the company added. “Newly released snacks have gained popularity and our snack portfolio, which originally revolved around pie products, is becoming more diverse,” Orion said. In March, South Korea

Korean food company SPC Group said Tuesday that its affiliate SPC Samlip has acquired the exclusive contract for operations in Korea of Eggslut, a popular egg sandwich franchise in California, as well as the license for Singapore. The company said it will introduce the first Eggslut store in Korea at Coex Mall in Seoul in June. US brand Eggslut is famous for its egg sandwiches made with a warm brioche bun, scrambled eggs and sriracha mayo sauce. “We are pleased to show Korean guests t

At the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic in Korea when people suddenly had to embrace remote working and social distancing, they turned to well-known tools provided by international tech companies, such as Google’s Hangouts and Microsoft’s Skype.  The biggest beneficiary of the increased demand was probably Zoom, a Nasdaq-listed startup that develops videoconferencing tools. Downloads of Zoom and other similar tools soared and the sudden popularity more than doubled Zoom&rsquo

The five major Korean carmakers and auto parts makers on Tuesday asked the government for liquidity support for the automobile industry, which has been hit hard by low sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and measures to boost domestic demand. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Minister Sung Yun-mo met with representatives of the country’s automakers, including Hyundai Motor Group President Gong Young-woon, Kia Motors President Song Ho-sung, SsangYong Motors President

South Korea's exports of automobiles plunged a whopping 45.8 percent in the first 17 days of April from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, apparently as the new coronavirus pandemic disturbed the global supply chain and weighed down demand. Outbound shipments of cars reached 48,800 units over the first 17 days of the month, falling sharply from 90,009 units posted last year, according to the data provided by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The automobile output also slipped 19.2

South Korea’s electronics industry is gearing up for a surge in demand in the post-coronavirus era, with some experts predicting it as early as the second half of this year, industry sources said Tuesday. Experts from the semiconductor, display, telecommunications and battery sectors gathered Tuesday at an event hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss how to prepare for a post-coronavirus market. Attendees agreed on the need for preemptive measures to respond

South Korea's two major display makers are expected to suffer an operating loss for the first quarter of the year, analysts here said Tuesday, due to the fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic. Samsung Display Co., the display manufacturing affiliate of Samsung Electronics Co., was projected to have posted an operating loss of 464.2 billion won ($378 million) and racked up 6.3 trillion won in sales in the January-March period, according to the data by 13 local brokerage houses compiled b

South Korea's top wire and cable maker, LS Cable & System, said Monday that it won a 134.3 billion won ($110 million) submarine cable project order from the Netherlands. In a regulatory filing, the company said the deal was reached with state-run TenneT on Friday (local time) to supply materials for an offshore wind power plant in the Western European country. The contract runs through the end of September 2023.    LS Cable had formed a consortium with Jan De Nul, a Belgium con

SsangYong Motor and its union on Monday signed a wage deal for the year amid the rising impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the automobile industry. SsangYong workers agreed on a wage freeze as they see stable labor-management relations as key to putting the company back on track amid virus worries, the company said in a statement.    The maker of the Korando and G4 Rexton sport utility vehicles sealed a wage deal with the union for the 11th consecutive year without strikes since

Samsung C&T’s fashion unit said Monday its business casual brand for the handicapped, Heartist will roll out a new line of clothes in collaboration with its other brand Beanpole, to celebrate the first anniversary of Heartist. Heartist, which was launched in April 2019, is the first fashion brand for the handicapped, introduced by a conglomerate here. Under the concept of “Fashion for All Abilities,” the brand presents business casual products specially designed for thos

Samsung Biologics posted a 65.27 percent on-year increase in revenue and posted an operating profit in the first quarter of 2020, the company notified shareholders Monday.  Samsung Biologics tentatively estimates 207.2 billion won ($169 million) in revenue and 62.6 billion won in operating profit. Net profit marked 39.1 billion won. Samsung Biologics explained that the shifted composition of the biologics drug products being manufactured in its first plant, and the increased sales of th

　Medytox, Korea’s largest botulinum toxin maker by market share, said Monday that it has submitted a request for suspension of execution on the Drug Ministry’s order to halt manufacturing and sales of its cash cow Meditoxin. While apologizing to customers and investors for causing concern, Medytox argued that the ministry’s order was based on dated findings, and there were no reports of Meditoxin products causing severe adverse effects in the 20 years it has been on the marke