British American Tobacco Korea said Monday that it would apply a 200 won price cut to three types of its 2,500 won ($2.30) ultra-slim cigarette Vogue, starting March 14. The company said it decided to adjust the price of Vogue 1 mg, Vogue Blue and Vogue 0.3 mg to better compete against the 2,300 won rival products. Now 2,300 won a pack, “(Vogue) will be armed with stronger competitiveness in the (tobacco) market,” BAT Korea chief executive Guy Meldrum said in a statement. Previously, the tobacco

Profit growth of domestic-oriented companies in South Korea has far outpaced that of exporters, as a strong local currency helped them reduce costs and gave them an advantage in price-setting, data showed Monday. The combined net profit of 25 major domestic-focused firms here is estimated at 1.81 trillion won ($1.67 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2012, up 104.3 percent from 888.5 billion a year earlier, according to the data by local financial information provider FnGuide Inc. The correspondi

South Korean stocks closed 0.66 percent lower Monday, led by institutional profit-taking, while investors remained relatively calm toward the U.S. spending cuts, analysts said. The local currency fell sharply against the U.S.dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 13.34 points to finish at 2,028.55. Trading volume was moderate at 352.4 million shares worth 4.28 trillion won (US$3.95 billion) with losers outstripping gainers 482 to 310. "Investors shrugged off th

FSS to reprimand executives, salespeople for irregularities over 4 years

South Korean stocks traded 0.24 percent lower late Monday morning, led by losses in steelmakers and chemical companies, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.92 points to 2,021.57 as of 11:20 a.m. Leading steelmaker POSCO sank nearly 3 percent, with smaller player Hyundai Steel also dropping 2.4 percent. Chemical issues trended downward, with LG Chem dipping more than 2 percent. In contrast, autos gathered ground. Hyundai Motor was up 1.2 percent and Ssang

Samsung Electronics was placed third among global IT firms in terms of market capitalization last year, according to a report by a local IT policy and research body on Monday.The National IT Industry Promotion Agency said that Samsung rose to third place, up from fifth in 2011. Apple Inc. was ranked No. 1 and Google was No. 2.The agency obtained the data using Reuters Knowledge, a Web-based information and analytics tool.Microsoft and IBM, which ranked second and third in 2011, respectively, too

South Korean stocks turned lower after a strong start, as investors remained concerned over the automatic spending cuts in the United States, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped1.47 points, or 0.07 percent to trade at 2,025.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Steelmakers and shipping lines lost ground, with No. 1 player POSCO falling 1.7 percent and logistics company Hyundai Glovis retreating 1.6 percent. Top-cap Samsung Electronics, however, gained

South Korea's consumer prices increased at a slower pace in February, with the growth rate staying in the 1-percent range for the fourth straight month, a government report showed Monday.The country's consumer prices index rose 1.4 percent on-year in February, compared with a 1.5 percent on-year advance in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. From a month earlier, it grew 0.3 percent.The on-year figure marked the fourth straight month that the price growth has remaine

Sting operations to crack down on luxury brand knockoffs have become a regular part of the job for Alexis Touzin, director of legal affairs at the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea. Touzin, who heads the chamber’s Intellectual Property Rights Center, is determined to eradicate the widespread practice of selling and buying counterfeits in the country. “(Our mission) started with Myeong-dong, where the visibility of counterfeits was very high,” Touzin said in an interview with The Korea Herald

The insurance payouts for the four major German brand carmakers in Korea rose 25.2 percent on average from 2010 to 2012 while those for Korean cars grew by 1.9 percent, a lawmaker said on Sunday, citing data from the nation’s top insurers. Mercedes-Benz gave the highest insurance payout for a single car accident, while Volkswagen vehicles took the most days to be repaired, said Rep. Min Byung-doo of the main opposition Democratic United Party.Mercedes-Benz incurred an average insurance payout of