Mirae Asset Financial Group announced a massive reshuffle at the executive level on Monday, signaling a generational shift in leadership as its founding members are to step down. Mirae Asset Securities CEO and Chairman Choi Hyun-man, the group’s No. 2 man, will leave the firm 26 years after he co-founded the group together with Group Chairman Park Hyeon-joo back in 1997. Having served top posts at key affiliates, Choi was named the chairman of the brokerage firm in December 2021. Along wit

Hyundai Motor Company said Monday that it is set to launch a hydrogen mobility ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, in step with the kingdom's pivot away from its traditional oil-centric economy. Upon President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the Middle East, the Korean carmaker signed a memorandum of understanding on Sunday in Riyadh with three entities -- Air Products Qudra, a joint venture between Sau Air Products and Qudra Energy; SAPTCO, a Saudi public bus company; and the Korea Automotive T

South Korean bakery giant SPC Group's flagship bakery chain Paris Baguette will make its first inroad into the Middle Eastern and African market as a part of its efforts to tap into the global halal food market worth some $2 trillion in value, said SPC Group, Monday. SPC Group said it signed a memorandum of understanding with a United Arab Emirates-based conglomerate Galadari Brothers Group on Sunday to establish a joint venture by 2024. Galadari Brothers Group currently operates businesses

$500m deal comes as part of 46 memorandums of understanding, partnerships signed during Yoon’s state visit

Samsung SDI said Monday it has clinched a deal to supply electric vehicle batteries for Hyundai Motor Group – the first battery partnership between the two chaebol groups. Under the deal, Samsung SDI will supply prismatic batteries produced at its Hungary plant for Hyundai EVs made in Europe for seven years, from 2026 through 2032. Although the exact size of the deal was not disclosed immediately, industry sources predict that Samsung SDI could supply batteries to power up to 500,000 high-

Hyundai Elevator said Monday that its smart floor indicator has won Japan’s Good Design Award 2023, one of the four major international design awards. Launched last November, PI-DD is a smart floor indicator that purifies and sterilizes the air inside the elevator. The display device, sterilizer and air filter are all hidden behind the stainless metal perforated sheet that naturally matches the interior design of the elevator. The device draws in contaminated air through holes in the hidde

South Korean energy-to-retail conglomerate GS Group announced Monday that it is searching for startups and future entrepreneurs to join its incubator program it runs with Seoul National University. “The GS Challenges with SNU” is a joint program with Seoul Techno Holdings, which supports the commercialization of SNU's in-school technology. It provides local startups the opportunities to meet diverse actors outside the business for solutions. Startups with less than five years of

Korean biosimilar giant Celltrion and its sales unit Celltrion Healthcare received shareholders’ approval for their merger on Monday, paving the way for the launch of an integrated company planned for December. During the extraordinary general shareholders meetings separately held by the two companies in Incheon, Celltrion won with 97.04 percent of attendees voting in favor of the merger, while 95.17 percent of Celltrion Healthcare shareholder attendees agreed with the plan. The integrat

Korean battery makers, materials suppliers in search of alternatives before price hikes

Philips’ sustainability head stresses development must be blended sustainably with business, not treated as side activity

Three groups have submitted final bids to buy a major stake in cable news channel YTN, financial sources said Monday, with the results of the bidding expected to be announced later in the day. In November last year, two state-run firms announced a plan to put their combined 30.95 percent stake in YTN up for sale. Apparel exporter Hansae Co.; Eugene Group, with businesses ranging from distribution and finance to logistics and entertainment; and the Global Peace Foundation (GPF), established by Mo

Corporate direct financing in South Korea surged 39.3 percent from a month earlier in September on a sharp spike in stock sales, data showed Monday. Local companies raised a combined total of 27.57 trillion won ($20.37 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, up 7.78 trillion won from August, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Direct financing refers to raising funds directly from the stock and bond markets without borrowing from banks or other financial instit

Daily card spending in South Korea rose 8.4 percent in the first half from a year earlier on the back of the post-pandemic economic recovery, central bank data showed. Card holders spent an average 3.3 trillion won ($2.47 billion) per day in the January-June period, compared with 3 trillion won the previous year, according to data from the Bank of Korea. Credit card spending rose 8.8 percent on-year to a daily average of 2.56 trillion won, led by use on e-commerce platforms. Credit card use for

LG Electronics’ exhibition booth is seen at the 2023 Digital Art Fair Hong Kong, Asia’s largest digital art trade show, being held from Thursday to Monday. The Korean tech giant is displaying some 100 OLED TVs and signage products as an official sponsor. (LG Electronics)

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with a group of top executives from Japanese electronic parts vendors for their annual meeting in Seoul, which had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to industry sources, Sunday. The annual meeting between Samsung and its Japanese electronic parts makers is known as “Lee Kun-hee and his Japanese Friends,” or LJF for short. The meeting was established in 1993 by the executive chairman's father, the late S