By Kim Yon-seMajor commercial banks are poised to actively make inroads into Myanmar as the country is starting to implement an open-door policy toward international activity.Following Woori Bank and Hana Bank, which opened liaison offices in the Southeast Asian country last month, Shinhan Bank plans to join the movement as early as the first half of next year.The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea is also preparing to tap the new market in a bid to overcome the saturated market conditions at ho

SK Planet-SK M&C merger seen as first step in efforts to slim down

Three out of four Apple Inc.’s mega hit tablet computer iPads are equipped with liquid crystal displaypanels manufactured by South Korea’s LG Display Co. amid the heated patent row between Apple and Samsung Electronics Co., industry data showed Monday.According to data by research firm DisplaySearch, the global shipments of 9.7-inch LCD panels used for Apple’s fourth-generation iPad and iPad 2 came to 5.92 million units in October.The number of 9.7-inch panels produced by LG Display reached 4.25

The French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry will hold its annual gala for the French-Korean business community Saturday. The event has become a must-attend event for about 800 business figures from both nations every year. It is an exceptional opportunity to network and build relationships,” said an official at FKCCI through a statement. This year’s event will be held in partnership with Chamonix Mont-Blanc, and the most enchanted winter village scene will be reproduced at venue, the offi

Sales of venture businesses in South Korea rose nearly 14 percent in 2011 from a year earlier, outperforming large companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a report said Monday.The average revenue of local venture companies gained 13.9 percent on-year to 7.03 billion won ($6.47 million) last year, according to the report by the Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA). The report is based on a survey of 2,034 new companies throughout the country.The sales growth rate outpaced a

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday as investor sentiment got a boost from gains on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 0.80 points, or 0.04 percent, to trade at 1,912.13 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with LG Electronics increasing 2.1 percent while No.1 carmaker Hyundai Motor added 0.46 percent. Top chipmaker SK hynix moved up 0.78 percent.U.S. stocks ended higher Friday on rising consumer

South Korean consumers' confidence inched up in November from the previous month, but it remained close to a nine-month low as the economy continued to lose steam, the central bank said Monday.The consumer sentiment index -- a gauge of consumers' overall economic outlook, living conditions and future spending -- came in at 99 for November, up from a nine-month low of 98 tallied for October, according to a survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK).A reading below the benchmark 100 means pessimists outnum

State-run think tank revises down 2013 GDP growth projection to 3%

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Sunday worldwide sales of its Galaxy Note 2 have exceeded 5 million units since its rollout here two months ago. Shipments of the 5.5-inch phablet, a hybrid of a smartphone and a tablet PC, achieved the landmark in two months after it was first released in South Korea in late September, the company said in a statement.The Galaxy Note 2 recorded a much faster sales increase than the previous Galaxy Note model, which saw global sales top 5 milli

Daewoo International Corp., a leading South Korean trading company, said Sunday a consortium led by the company has clinched a $1.06 billion contract to build a cogeneration power plant in Algeria.The turnkey contract calls for Daewoo International, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. and Hyundai Engineering Co. to build the 1,200-megawatt power plant in an area some 230 kilometers southeast of Algiers, the capital of the African country. It will take 39 months to complete the cogeneration po