The Korea Herald

Firms’ entertainment spending continues to rise

IndustryJan 6, 2013

Companies have increased their spending on entertainment despite the prolonged economic slump. A total sum of 460,614 companies’ annual entertainment spending in 2011 surpassed 8 trillion won ($7.5 billion), according to data from the National Tax Service. The figure is about 9 percent up from in 2010. By sector, finance and insurance spent the most, about 16 times more than that of the farm and fisheries sectors.The NTS added that firms with weak sales generally spent more money on entertainmen
LG vows W20tr investment this year

IndustryJan 6, 2013

Conglomerate also plans to hire more than 15,000 new employees
Insurance firms face sanctions for accounting violations

Jan 6, 2013

The Financial Supervisory Service is considering reprimanding major life insurance companies for breaches of accounting standards or irregular trading with their parent groups, officials said Sunday.The regulator conducted its investigation into eight major players last year and its possible sanction targets involve conglomerate-based players such as Samsung Life Insurance and Hanwha Life Insurance (then Korea Life).Some of the eight firms, including Kyobo Life, Tong Yang Life, Mirae Asset Life,
Polarization deepens in construction industry

Jan 6, 2013

Polarization has become a buzz word in the nation’s construction industry. Large builders are looking overseas amid the prolonged slump in the local real estate market. But small and medium-sized builders, who heavily depend on the local housing market, are being pushed further to the brink of bankruptcy. According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, overseas construction orders won by Korean builders in 2012 rose 9.8 percent to $64.9 billion (68.1 trillion won) from $59.1 b
Shops halt interest-free card installment plans

IndustryJan 6, 2013

Big retailers stopped offering sales based on interest-free monthly installments, as a protest against the revised laws which would burden both credit card firms and card settlement membership stores for additional costs. Despite customers’ complaints due to the unexpected halt of the zero-interest installment sales, retail chains including E-mart, online shopping mall G-market, Shinsegae Department Store and other retailers decided to ban the zero-interest installment promotions.The long-standi
Bond turnover hits record high in 2012

Jan 6, 2013

Companies sell record overseas bonds thanks to upgraded sovereign rating
Shares to stay flat on gloomy Q4 earnings outlook

Jan 6, 2013

South Korean stocks are expected to move in a tight range this week with investors sitting on the sidelines amid the announcement of fourth-quarter performances of local firms, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 2,011.94 in the first week of 2013, up 0.75 percent from the previous week.The KOSPI soared in the first trading session of this year on rising optimism following the settlement of the U.S. fiscal cliff issue.The U.S. Congress passed a budget bill t
Yu-Tsui from China to lead IBM Korea

IndustryJan 6, 2013

IBM said on Sunday it has appointed Shirley Yu-Tsui, general manager of IBM’s global business services for China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as the new chief executive of IBM Korea.Yu-Tsui has been named one of China’s top 10 women professional management leaders in 2004, and person of the year in China’s IT service the following year.She will be replacing Lee Hui-sung, who has headed IBM Korea for the past eight years. Lee was promoted to vice president of strategy for the growth market unit at IBM
Korea to provide 191 billion won to ADB

Jan 6, 2013

South Korea will provide the Asian Development Bank with an all-time high 191.2 billion won ($179.4 million) this year to assist developing countries, the government said Saturday.“South Korea decided to provide the assistance to the Asian Development Fund after reaching an agreement on the country’s share of expenses last year,” an official from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said.Introduced by the regional lender ADB in 1968, the fund aims to provide loans to developing countries at a lo
Korea to impose fines on buildings with open doors

Jan 6, 2013

Starting Monday, buildings and commercial shops in South Korea that keep their doors open while running heaters will face as much as 3 million won ($2,800) in fines, officials said Saturday. The measure is part of the government’s mandatory campaign to save electricity as the nation is bracing for an unusually cold winter amid risks of a possible power shortage. Big commercial buildings such as hotels and department stores will be required to keep their thermostats at 20 degrees Celsius or lower
Is BMW invincible?

TransportJan 6, 2013

Carmakers going all out to bite into sales of the best-selling foreign car firm
Porsche 911 triggers my racer instinct

TransportJan 6, 2013

The Korea Herald, in cooperation with carmakers, offers a test-driving experience to executive officials at multinational companies or ranking diplomats here. The opinion below is the author’s own. For any inquiry into this column, please contact jylee@heraldcorp.com. ― Ed. By Kim Byung-chul, Director of Philip Morris KoreaI sat ― no, drove ― in the lap of luxury when I had the opportunity to take the new Porsche 911 Carrera S for an outing on a recent weekend. The car is one of the fastest cars
Hyundai-Kia top midsize car sales in U.S.

TransportJan 6, 2013

Hyundai and Kia topped U.S. car sales in the midsize segment for the second consecutive month in December, industry data showed Sunday. Hyundai Motor Group, which owns Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, sold 32,834 midsize sedans in the U.S. market last month, slightly outpacing Japan’s Toyota that sold some 31,000 units. The Korean auto giant grabbed the top position in the segment in November for the first time since its entry into the U.S. market, largely driven by Hyundai’s Sonata and Kia’s K5 se
Sales of iPhone 5 miss market expectations

IndustryJan 6, 2013

Sales of Apple Inc.‘s iPhone 5 in South Korea have fallen short of market expectations largely because of its belated debut in the country, industry sources said Sunday.As of Friday, about 400,000 units of Apple’s latest gadget were sold in the South Korean market, well below an earlier estimate of up to 2 million, according to the sources.On Dec. 7, SK Telcom Co. and KT Corp., the country‘s two biggest mobile carriers, kicked off the release of the first iPhone that runs on the fourth-generatio
Credit card firms suspend interest-free installment purchases

BusinessJan 5, 2013

Local credit card firms have suspended interest-free installment purchases for card-accepting businesses with annual sales over 100 billion won (US$93.9 million) following a revised financial act, market sources said Saturday.According to the sources, South Korean credit card firms stopped their interest-free installment purchase services for businesses, including large discount stores, airliners, and mobile carriers.The suspension came as local credit card member stores refused to follow the re