The Korea Herald

Samsung CEO stresses future competitiveness

IndustryNov 1, 2012

Samsung Electronics on Thursday celebrated its 43rd anniversary with its chief asking its employees to work toward transforming the firm into a global top 5 brand.“With the global economy continuously expected to see low growth, the electronics industry has met huge changes which we have never experience in the past,” said the company’s chief executive Kwon Oh-hyun. “If we stay satisfied with our current results and don’t gain future competitiveness, we will collapse before we even realize it.”I
SKT, SK Hynix hold first joint global technology summit

IndustryNov 1, 2012

SK Telecom and SK Hynix on Thursday jointly held their first global technology summit at Silicon Valley with about 40 Korean industry experts working in the U.S.At the event dubbed “Global Tech Leader Summit,” which was presided over by SKT chief executive Ha Sung-min, they discussed the future growth engines in the sectors of telecommunications and semiconductors as well as non-telecommunications, according to SKT officials.They also shared strategies and technologies valued by the two tech fir
Trade surplus widens to $3.8b in Oct.

Nov 1, 2012

South Korea’s trade surplus more than doubled in October from a year earlier as exports posted positive growth, ending their three-month losing streak, the government said Thursday.The country’s trade surplus is estimated to have reached $3.8 billion in October, compared with $1.44 billion in the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The figure also marks a slight growth from the trade surplus of $3.15 billion in the previous month.The country’s exports are estima
Shares dip on autos, shipbuilders

Nov 1, 2012

South Korean stocks sank 0.71 percent Thursday as investors dumped auto shares on a dim industry outlook in addition to the recent appreciation of the local currency. The Korean won lost against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 13.62 points to finish at 1,898.44. Trading volume was moderate at 395.6 million shares worth 5.17 trillion won ($4.74 billion) with decliners outpacing gainers 505 to 305. “There are growing negative market prospects about auto s
Consumer prices gain 2.1% on-year in Oct.

Nov 1, 2012

South Korea’s consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in four months in October on higher prices of farm products, but they remained within the central bank’s inflation target band, a government report showed Thursday.The country’s consumer prices index rose 2.1 percent in October from a year earlier, compared with a 2 percent on-year gain in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. The index fell 0.1 percent from September when the consumer prices rose 0.7 percent on-mo
Samsung Engineering wins $2.4b UAE order

Nov 1, 2012

Samsung Engineering Co., South Korea’s largest industrial plant builder, said Thursday that it has won a $2.4 billion order to build carbon black and delayed coker units in the United Arab Emirates.Under the deal with Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Co., the state-run company known as Takreer, on Wednesday, Samsung Engineering will build the units in the refining complex in Ruwais, west of Abu Dhabi, by January 2016.The units, when completed, can produce 40,000 tons of carbon black per year and 30,000 ba
Samsung Heavy Q3 net more than doubles

Nov 1, 2012

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Thursday that its third-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year earlier on increased orders for offshore facilities.Net profit reached 277 billion won ($254 million) on a consolidated basis in the July-September period, compared with a profit of 111 billion won a year earlier, the company said.Sales rose 19 percent on-year to 4.06 trillion won over the cited period, and operating income surged 39.2 percent to 324 billion won.In th
Korea, China end FTA talks with little progress

Nov 1, 2012

Korea and China ended their fourth round of negotiations for a free trade agreement on Thursday with little progress.But the two sides reached an agreement to include intellectual property in items to be discussed in negotiations.Trade Ministry officials in Seoul said the FTA talks held in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, did not yield specific results, expressing hope that the two countries would reach a consensus in the next negotiation talks in China.“The Korean government will seek to pr
Hyundai Motor sales hit monthly high

IndustryNov 1, 2012

October sales surpass 400,000 mark for first time; other carmakers show moderate growth
Japanese cans face antidumping duties from Korea

Nov 1, 2012

South Korea is moving to freshly impose antidumping tariffs on Japanese aluminium bottle cans, the government said Thursday.Following a yearlong investigation that began at the request of a local manufacturer, TechPack Solutions Inc., the Korea Trade Commission concluded that Japanese products were effectively damaging local manufacturers by preventing them from establishing firm ground for their business here.“The commission’s decision is the first of its kind in which the commission applied an
Instant coffee makers seek success abroad

IndustryNov 1, 2012

Some instant coffee mix producers are tapping or aiming at the global stage amid heated competition in the local market.Korea’s typical instant coffee product features three-in-one coffee mix sachets containing powdered coffee, powdered cream and sugar for a single serving.Namyang Dairy has initiated the moves abroad, called “coffee reexports,” by recently making inroads into countries such as China, the United States and Australia.Though the company’s current sales target in the overseas market
Income inequality in rural Korea hits record high

Nov 1, 2012

Income inequality in rural South Korea reached its worst level in 2011 due largely to the government’s misguided agricultural policies, a report showed Thursday.The top 20 percent of the rural households earned an average of 74.62 million won ($68,400) in 2011, a whopping 12.3 times the 6.09 million won for the bottom 20 percent, according to the report released by Rep. Hwang Ju-hong of the main opposition Democratic United Party.The income gap between the two brackets was much larger than 9.7 t
Lotte, Hi-mart aim for retail top spot

IndustryNov 1, 2012

Acquisition cost forces credit downgrade, but experts expect long-term synergy
Sharapova named Samsung publicity envoy in Russia

IndustryNov 1, 2012

Maria Sharapova, one of the world’s best-known tennis players, will promote Samsung electronic appliances in Russia as its goodwill ambassador.Samsung Electronics in Russia appointed the 24-year-old World No. 2 Russian player as its publicity envoy for Russia and the 2014 Sochi Olympics in a ceremony in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, officials said.Sharapova, a U.S. resident since 1994, had flown to Moscow a day earlier to attend the event. Samsung Electronics seeks to further enhance the image of S
In-flight magazine to go digital, wireless

IndustryNov 1, 2012

A Norwegian airline and an in-flight magazine publisher say they will use WiFi to bring airline passengers new options in in-flight entertainment.Norwegian Air Shuttle and Ink, which provides magazines for about 30 airlines around the world, said they would debut the new system next year, The New York Times reported.Using Norwegian Air Shuttle's free WiFi service, passengers will be able to access content including music, video and travel articles from the carrier's in-flight magazine on their s