South Korean trading company STX said Friday it had decided to initiate a paid-in capital increase of 80 billion won ($58 million), in a bid to finance funds for expanding its global secondary battery businesses and Trollygo, the company's new business-to-business trading platform to be launched next month. According to STX, the firm held a board of directors meeting at the STX headquarters in Jung-gu, central Seoul, to decide new issuance of a total of 7.36 million common shares. The price

Visitors browse a preview of the Nintendo pop-up store in Seoul at HDC IPark Mall in Yongsan, central Seoul, Thursday, a day before its official opening. The pop-up, operating from Oct. 20 to 26, is the first official Nintendo goods store opened in South Korea. Video game enthusiasts will have the opportunity to purchase unique and limited-edition merchandise previously available only at stores in Japan, as well as experience the latest game, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which released Friday. (Y

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, unveiled on Thursday its new global foundry business road map, with a particular focus on automotive chips. The plans were announced at Samsung Foundry Forum 2023, hosted by the tech giant in Munich, Germany. “We seek to take the lead in the field of autonomous driving and electric vehicles through technological innovations that meet global customer demands in a timely manner,” said Choi Si-young, president and head o

South Korean oil refiner S-Oil announced Thursday that it has joined forces with Shinhan Bank to bolster its transition to achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. Under a memorandum of understanding signed by the two on Wednesday, the Korean lender will support S-Oil in reducing its carbon footprint in the refining industry, one of the key contributors in global greenhouse gas emissions. As the industry is calling for prompt action to tackle carbon emissions, the agreement will be an opport

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong (right) reviews construction work at the site of the company's new R&D complex in Giheung, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Before the inspection, Lee held a management meeting on chip strategy at Samsung Electronics Semiconductor Research Center and urged executives to create a turning point for innovation as global uncertainties continue. (Samsung Electronics)

Mirae Asset Securities, Korea's largest investment bank and securities firm, said it plans to initiate a share buyback program worth 60.2 billion won ($44 million) in an effort to boost shareholders’ value, the firm said Wednesday. The firm will repurchase its 10 million shares, which is equivalent to some 2.1 percent of the market cap, over a three-month period from Thursday to Jan. 18 through intraday trading. The firm’s market cap stands at 3.83 trillion won as of Thursday.

Samsung Bioepis, a biosimilar developer under Samsung Group, said Thursday that the company has completed the launches of its hematology biosimilar Epysqli, a biosimilar close to Soliris, in three European countries, hoping to gain ground in the rare blood disease biosimilar market. According to Samsung Bioepis, the company introduced Epysqli in Germany in July, and the biosimilar made its debut in Italy and Spain last month. Samsung Bioepis is also preparing for Epysqli’s launch in France

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate firm Kia were ranked in ninth place on a new Greenpeace study on 15 automakers' decarbonization efforts, down four spots from the environmental organization's assessment a year ago. According to Greenpeace East Asia’s analysis on Thursday, the South Korean carmakers received 5.58 points for the proportion of zero-emission vehicle sales and a mere 3 points for decarbonizing efforts in their supply chains. Noting that the sales of sports utility vehi

Starbucks’ recent decision to allow customers to purchase items cheaper than the value of their coupons and get a refund on the price difference is being greeted with enthusiasm by Korean consumers. The new coupon system, which is expected to take effect starting as early as December, has been a longstanding wish among consumers here -- until now, they were often required to spend extra money if they wanted to use mobile gift certificates and coupons at the nation's most popular coffe

Executive's arrest raises questions about Kakao's overseas expansion plans with SM Entertainment

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won urged top executives of the group's affiliates to respond with agility to survive in a fast-changing market environment and deepening geopolitical crisis, according to the group on Thursday. In the closing ceremony of the group's annual CEO seminar held in Paris on Wednesday (local time), Chey spoke about his awareness to executives of the group’s key affiliates and announced he would start implementing measures to counter risk factors in the macro

South Korean construction management firm Hanmi Global said Thursday the company will hold the 2023 Datacenter Innovation Forum at Coex, southern Seoul, on Nov. 6. Via presentations from global companies such as program management service provider Turner & Townsend, British design engineering company Bryden Wood and architectural design company Arup, the forum will review the latest global trends in the efficient construction of data centers. "Following the emergence of digitalization a

Korean automaker Kia presents the EV9, the carmaker’s first three-row battery-powered sport utility vehicle, to its brand ambassador and renowned tennis player Rafael Nadal at the IFEMA Convention Center in Madrid on Wednesday. In October 2021, the company gave Nadal the EV6, its first electric vehicle to have adopted Hyundai Motor Group’s EV platform. Kia has sponsored Nadal since 2004 and recently renewed the partnership until 2025. (Kia)

LG Energy Solution said Thursday it is set to launch a new residential energy storage system device lineup called LG enblock S in the United States next month. Installed with nickel, manganese and cobalt batteries, the LG enblock S is a device with high energy density that can provide a wide range of power sources for households. “With LG enblock S products, households can save energy and lower electric bills. They can also be used as a backup power source when the electricity is shut do

Cha Medical and Bio Group said Wednesday that the group will hold the Global Forum on Future Medicine 2023 at Cha Bio Complex in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on Oct. 27. The forum will invite experts in stem cell research, regenerative medicine and cell and gene therapies, as well as officials from the government's regulatory agency. “The forum will provide opportunities for us to share the latest trends and new findings in the stem cell and GCT research areas,” said Yoon Ho-sup