Rainbow Robotics on Tuesday announced that it will sell stock to raise 59 billion won The proceeds from the stock sale will be used mainly to finance its operations. According to a regulatory filing, the company will issue some 1.94 million common shares at a price of 30,400 won per share. The stock will be sold to the investors that the firm designated. (Yonhap)

Business chiefs say cloud of uncertainty hanging over Korean economy heightens need for innovation

The new CEO of Hana Bank, one of South Korea's top four commercial banks, vowed that the bank will become a leading lender that is stronger in times of crisis. To reach this goal, new CEO Lee Seung-lyul, 60, stressed that he will “enable honest communication and build solid trust within the organization” during an inauguration ceremony held at Hana Bank’s headquarters in Seoul on Monday. Lee also said the bank only exists because there are clients and asked employees to co

A merged entity of Posco Group’s trading arm Posco International and power generation unit Posco Energy has been launched with the former Posco President Jeong Tak as its new CEO, Posco International announced Monday. With the latest merger, the country’s largest trading company has scaled up, with annual sales surpassing 40 trillion won ($31 billion) and its annual operating profit reaching around 1 trillion won. In terms of sales, Posco International, the second-largest company wit

With China abolishing measures to quarantine its travelers starting 2023, South Korean duty-free shops are expecting a boost in its earnings, according to industry sources Monday. China's National Health Commission announced recently that starting Jan. 8, overseas entrants to China will no longer need to be quarantined or take PCR tests upon returning to the country. This marks the first time in three years since the pandemic broke loose that Chinese tourists will be able to travel abroad w

Hyundai Oilbank, one of South Korea’s leading refiners, said Monday that it handed out 1,000 percent of base salaries as bonuses to its staffers. The company declined to disclose the specific amount of the salaries given. In 2021, its employees received an average of 121 million won ($94,800) per person including bonuses at a 600 percent rate. The refiner’s lump-sum bonuses came in line with the refining industry’ stellar performance last year. In the third quarter alone, Hyu

Korean auto giant mulls setting up first Middle East car plant in Saudi Arabia, with details still under wraps

LG Electronics said Monday that it will debut a smart sleep care solution, called brid.zzz, at the CES trade show that kicks off Thurday in Las Vegas. The earbud-shaped device analyzes the user's brain waves and sleeping habits to help improve sleep quality. Its official market debut is expected to come in the first half of this year, the company added.

The head of South Korea's leading airline, Korean Air Co., said Monday he will focus on completing the acquisition of its smaller local rival, Asiana Airlines Inc., and preparing for pent-up post-pandemic travel demand. In November 2020, Korean Air signed a deal to acquire the controlling stake in Asiana in a deal valued at 1.8 trillion won ($1.42 billion) that would create the world's 10th-biggest airline by fleet. The national flag carrier has said it aims to launch a merged entity w

South Korea’s major biopharma companies were hit by a combined loss of 55 trillion won ($43.5 billion) in their market capitalization last year, Korea Exchange data showed Sunday. According to Korea Exchange, the KRX Health Care Index, comprising 83 major biotech and pharmaceutical companies listed on either the benchmark Kospi or tech-heavy Kosdaq, fell 29.2 percent on-year to 2,634.49 points as of Thursday, from 3,721.17 on Dec. 30, 2021. The combined market capitalization of the 83 list

Samsung Bioepis has brought forward its interchangeability study of Hadlima to speed up its processes for obtaining interchangeability designation in the US market, according to industry sources on Sunday. Hadlima is Samsung Bioepis' biosimilar referencing AbbVie’s blockbuster drug Humira, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and other conditions. Samsung Bioepis previously planned to complete its study needed to establish the interchangeability

Smaller rivals – SSG.com, Kurly, Oasis – bracing for stock debuts; fiercer competition among players to spur innovation in logistics

South Korea with some 550 corporate participants to become second-largest exhibitor behind only US

South Korea's exports rose 6.1 percent in 2022 from a year earlier to reach an all-time high, but it suffered the largest ever trade deficit on high global energy prices, the industry ministry said Sunday. Outbound shipments stood at $683.9 billion last year, the largest annual figure since 1956, when the country began compiling trade related data, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The previous record was set a year earlier with $644.4 billion, the ministr

      The government on Friday decided to raise the electricity rate in the first quarter of 2023 by 13.1 won per kilowatt hour, the largest on-quarter hike ever carried out. This means that four people household that uses around 307 kilowatt hours will have to pay around 4,022 won more per month on average. “From the second quarter on, we plan to decide whether or not to increase rates further by comprehensively reviewing global energy prices, inflation, domestic economic s