The Korea Herald

Shares end lower on dampened China outlook

Mar 5, 2012

Korean stocks closed 0.91 percent lower Monday, as investors sought to offload their holdings after China announced a downward growth target for this year, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. Moving in a tight range, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 18.57 points to 2,016.06. Trading volume was heavy with 541.1 shares worth 5.05 trillion won ($4.51 billion) with decliners outstripping gainers 528 to 297.“China’s growth forecast took the steam out
Foreign reserves hit record high in Feb.

Mar 5, 2012

Korea’s foreign exchange reserve soared to a fresh high in February as the strength of the euro and the British pound boosted the conversion value of those assets, the central bank said Monday.The country’s foreign reserves reached a record high of $315.8 billion as of the end of last month, up 4.46 billion from January, according to the Bank of Korea.The previous record was $312.29 billion set in August last year. Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its foreign reserves surpass the $300 billion m
Business start-up courses at SGC

IndustryMar 5, 2012

The Seoul Global Center Business Center is inviting future entrepreneurs to the first session of their Business Start-up School for the year. Together with their business counseling service, this program provides foreign business entrepreneurs in Seoul with the necessary information to set up and run a business successfully, as well as a chance to network with other expatriate and local professionals. The Business Start-up School is a tuition-free program run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government
AmCham to meet trade chief, auto committee

IndustryMar 5, 2012

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea plans to hold two luncheons later this week.For the first luncheon, the American Chamber has invited as guest speaker Trade Minister Bark Tae-ho to this month’s general membership meeting.At the luncheon on March 8 from 11:30 a.m., Bark will hold a lively discussion on the strategic value of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.A veteran economist, Bark took over the post when Kim Jong-hoon stepped down late last year after playing a pivotal role in final
BCCK examines compensation trends

IndustryMar 5, 2012

Korean compensation trends and the outlook for this year will be the focus of the coming British Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting.The meeting on March 8 will also examine trends in compensation and total awards.Held at the Grand Hyatt’s Paris Grill, the event at 8 a.m. will be moderated by Aon Hewitt senior consultant Simon Ferry.Based in Seoul, Ferry regularly updates regional and global stakeholders on the Korean compensation and benefits environment. Ferry has more than a decade’s experi
Cancham outlook for Korea’s economy

IndustryMar 5, 2012

To examine Korea’s economic prospects for the year in depth, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce will hold a luncheon on March 8 in the Grand Ambassador Hotel’s Chardonnay Hall. Panelists will be Shaun Cochran, director of Korean Research CLSA one of the region’s largest and most highly rated independent equity brokers and financial services groups; local director and head of markets at Jones Lang Lasalle Korea Darren Krakowiak; and Tony Mitchell, managing director of the Korea Associates Business
EUCCK job fair in Busan

IndustryMar 5, 2012

The European Union Chamber of Commerce plans to hold a global job fair where interested participants can explore various vacancies while engaging with people who have real work experience in Busan.It is not always easy to research and find suitable vacancies at foreign firms in Busan even though it is the nation’s second-largest city.Starting at 2 p.m., the event on March 7 at BEXCO is run by recruitment teams for global brands such as ABB, Lloyd’s Register, Rolls Royce Marine, ibis Hotel and ma
Deutsche Bank sued over alleged stock market manipulation

Mar 5, 2012

A group of investors has filed a damage suit against Deutsche Bank AG alleging stock market manipulation by the German financial firm, which they blame for subsequent investment losses, a Seoul court said Monday.The six investors filed the suit with the Seoul Central District Court against the globa
Overcoming growing pains for Italian chamber

Mar 5, 2012

Many challenges for companies working outside their cultureThe economic crisis in European countries raised the awareness of possible business opportunities in Korea for Italian companies, but still, even with the free trade agreement between Korea and the EU, the divide seems to be as far as both countries are geographically.To build bridges in the business world, the Italian Chamber of Commerce is organizing activities such as trade visits with the hope that companies in both countries will ge
New design for The One Impact

IndustryMar 5, 2012

KT&G Corp., Korea’s largest tobacco producer, said it plans to release a repackaged version of its The One Impact cigarettes starting Monday. The renewed One Impact, the latest in its six-variety range, comes in sky blue packaging and gives a rich flavor despite lower levels of tar, the Seoul-based manufacturer said. Introduced in March 2011, the product contains 1 milligram of tar and 0.1 milligram of nicotine. It costs 2,500 won ($2.2) per pack. (heeshin@heraldm.com)
LG releases 5-inch smartphone Optimus Vu in Korean market

TechnologyMar 5, 2012

LG Electronics on Monday released the five-inch smartphone Optimus Vu on the local market, which was unveiled first during the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona last week. The company said that the Long Term Evolution device comes with a 5-inch, 4:3 aspect display ratio, which is rare among phones, but widely adopted by PCs, e-Book readers and Apple’s iPad for readability. Another distinctive feature is the “quick memo” button that enables users to take notes with a capacitive stylus or fi
‘Hynix to benefit from market consolidation’

Mar 5, 2012

Brokerages draw up positive earnings outlook for the Korean chipmakerHynix Semiconductor, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, is likely to see its earnings improve in step with market consolidation and stronger DRAM prices, analysts said. “As the DRAM industry is going through a phase of restructuring, the prices of DRAM are on the rise, which will help Hynix swing to a profit,” said Song Jong-ho, an analyst at Daewoo Securities. Song predicted that the world’s DRAM market will be recon
Maersk benefits from Korea’s economic ascent, e-commerce boom

IndustryMar 5, 2012

Chief of Korea unit forecasts up to 6% growth for 2012While spiraling oil prices, falling rates and the oversupply of ships cast a blight over many shipping companies at home and abroad, Maersk Korea Ltd. appears rather bullish. A growing thirst for Korean products around the world, coupled with a global e-commerce boom, is helping keep the world’s largest shipping line afloat amid the industry’s biggest crisis in years. Yet, this drift will only continue in the coming years, the chief of the Da
Major insurers cut repair charges on imported cars

Mar 5, 2012

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co. has agreed with local dealers of Audi and Mercedes Benz to cut insurance premiums on repair charges by up to 20 percent, the insurer said Monday.“We talked with the Audi dealers to bring down the repair charges by 10 percent. Similar downward adjustments will be finalized soon with the dealers for Lexus and Honda,” a PR official at the country’s largest nonlife insurer said.The latest agreement with Audi dealers follows Samsung’s agreement with Benz dealers fr
Shinhan Card draws most complaints

Mar 5, 2012

Regulators examining credit card companies’ cyber security measuresShinhan Card drew the highest number of complaints from customers last year in the local credit card industry.According to the Credit Finance Association, Shinhan Card was responsible for 447 dispute cases filed with financial regulators in 2011.Shinhan has been capturing more than 20 percent of the credit card market since acquiring LG Card, formerly No. 1 before the 2003 credit card fiasco.Disputes between customers and card is