The Korea Herald

Hyundai nurtures young Brazilian talent

TransportMar 10, 2013

Hyundai Motor, which is gaining sales momentum in Brazil, is expanding social contribution activities as part of its efforts to renew its brand image there. On top of that, it is focusing on supporting young Brazilian talent through internship programs. The Korean auto giant, which entered the Brazil market in 1992, suffered a 29 percent plunge in car sales in the first half of last year after the Brazilian government toughened regulations and increased tariffs on imported car brands. Hyundai, h
Ferrari hybrid hits resurgent market

TransportMar 10, 2013

Ferrari, Bentley, Jaguar, and Rolls- Royce are roaring back with new leather-swathed models after a drop last year in European sales of ultra-luxury cars.At the Geneva Motor Show last week, Ferrari showed a 1 million-euro ($1.3 million) hybrid called LaFerrari. Bentley exhibited a revamped four-door Continental Flying Spur. Jaguar debuted the XFR-S, its fastest sedan ever. Rolls-Royce is adding a 245,000-euro coupe called the Wraith to its lineup. The highest end of the market ― vehicles costing
Jaguar XJ goes irresistibly light

TransportMar 10, 2013

British carmaker diversifies engine lineups to reach Korean customers
Eximbank, IIAC could join forces for Yangon airport project

BusinessMar 10, 2013

The Export-Import Bank of Korea could assist Incheon International Airport Corp to finance Myanmar’s new airport project as the state-run airport operator is currently looking into ways to fund the potential deal worth some $600 million, said sources familiar with the situation.IIAC could seek Korea Eximbank, which has a non-binding agreement with IIAC to support the export of its airport operation know-how, to back its consortium through the policy bank’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund o
Flights from NY airport fueled by cooking oil

IndustryMar 10, 2013

A Dutch airliner is flying from New York to Amsterdam on a fuel mix that includes leftover oil from frying Louisiana‘s Cajun food.The KLM flights from Kennedy Airport are powered by a combination of 25 percent recycled cooking oil and 75 percent jet fuel.After the first such flight Friday, the concept will be tested on 24 round-trip trans-Atlantic trips every Thursday for the next six months.KLM executive Camiel Eurlings jokingly told the New York Post that “it smelled like fries” while the pla
Samsung tops China‘s smartphone market in 2012

IndustryMar 10, 2013

Electronics Co. claimed the top spot in the Chinese smartphone market for the first time in 2012 by nearly tripling its sales in the world’s largest market, industry data showed Sunday. Samsung Electronics sold 30.06 million smartphones in China last year, up from 10.90 million units a year earlier, garnering a 17.7 percent market share, according to the data by market researcher Strategy Analytics.Last year‘s market share represents a 5.3 percentage point increase from the previous year. It als
S. Korea prepared to take necessary steps to stabilize market

Mar 9, 2013

South Korea will take necessary steps to stabilize its markets in case any additional provocations by North Korea result in heightening geopolitical risks, a senior finance ministry official said Saturday.The steps will be part of what is specified in contingency plans the government came up with to prepare for all stages of situations, Vice Finance Minister Shin Je-yoon told a meeting with other policymakers."The government is seeing that the U.N. Security Council's decision to impose sanctions
Hyundai Motor’s cumulative sales in U.S. top 8 million

Mar 8, 2013

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s leading automaker, said Friday that its cumulative sales in the U.S. surpassed the 8 million mark in February, 27 years after its made inroads into the world’s second-largest automotive market.Hyundai Motor began selling cars in the U.S. in 1986, with a single model, the Hyundai Excel. In that year, some 168,00 Excels were sold.Hyundai Motor, now the world’s fifth-largest automaker along with its affiliate Kia Motors Corp., achieved the 5 million sales mark in th
Korea’s effective jobless rate hits 5.8%: report

Mar 8, 2013

SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s jobless rate for 2012 could rise to 5.8 percent if “underemployed” people and other at-risk populations were counted, a report showed Friday, showing a large gap with the government’s official figures.According to the report compiled by the Woori Finance Research Institute, the country’s effective jobless rate could rise sharply if counting such people deemed to face almost the same tough working conditions as those technically remaining out of work.The rate
Homeplus mulls merger with Homeplus Tesco

Mar 8, 2013

Homeplus Co., the South Korean unit of British retail giant Tesco Plc, is considering merging its unit Homeplus Tesco Co. to increase its sales volume, industry sources said Friday. Homeplus, the second largest discount retailer in South Korea, bought a whole stake in Homever, the country’s No. 4 discount chain operator in May 2008 from E-Land Group, a local fashion retailing group which acquired the discount chain from French retailer Carrefour SA in 2006.“After the acquisition, Homeplus has op
Female CEOs scarce among listed firms

Mar 8, 2013

The ratio of female CEOs at local listed firms reached 0.7 percent, data showed Friday, raising concerns over the severe gender imbalance in the country’s business world.Among the country’s 1,787 companies listed on the main bourse and the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market, only 13 women currently serve as CEOs at 14 firms, according to the data compiled by research firm CEO Score.The number hovers far below 4.2 percent posted by the world’s top 1,000 companies tallied by the U.S. business magazine Fortu
KORAIL to support Yongsan project to avoid bankruptcy

Mar 8, 2013

State-run rail operator KORAIL has decided to inject 6.4 billion won ($5.9 million) of emergency funds into the faltering massive project to develop Yongsan in a desperate effort to avoid bankruptcy.KORAIL officials said Friday that the financial support will be made in the form of an advance payment guarantee on part of the 25.7 billion won compensation the project developer Dream Hub is supposed to receive from the Korea Post.Dream Hub, led by KORAIL and Lotte Tour, had faced bankruptcy as its
ITC delays ruling on Samsung-Apple case

TechnologyMar 8, 2013

The U.S. International Trade Commission has postponed to next week its ruling on patent infringement claims filed by Samsung Electronics Co. against Apple Inc., a decision that may lead to an import ban on iPhones.The ITC was originally scheduled to rule Thursday, but said it would delay its decision until March 13, according to its website.In June 2011, Samsung Electronics filed a complaint with the U.S. government agency, claiming Apple products infringed on four of its technology patents, inc
Korea to streamline distribution of farm goods

Mar 8, 2013

The government will step up efforts to streamline the country’s distribution structure for farming products in a bid to ease their price hikes and keep inflation under control, the Finance Ministry said Friday.South Korea’s consumer prices remain quite stable, but fresh food and other daily necessity costs have been rising in recent months, hurting the livelihoods of the ordinary working-class population.In a move to induce price cuts, the government plans to shorten the overall distribution pro
Korea, China, Japan to launch free trade talks this month

Mar 8, 2013

Korea, China, and Japan will kick off their official negotiations on a trilateral Free Trade Agreement in Seoul this month, said officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.The trade pact, if properly effectuated as planned, would become the first one to be clinched by the new Park Geun-hye administration. It would also form the world’s third-largest economic bloc, following the North American Free Trade Agreement and the European Union.President Park received related reports from the