A more conservative system for marking the fuel efficiency of cars will be introduced next year as mileages are often exaggerated under the current system based solely on city driving test results, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Tuesday.The new mileage system will be based on the U.S. 5-cycle testing, which includes a highway driving test, a cold temperature operation test, a high acceleration/quick acceleration test, an air conditioning test in addition to a city driving test, to better

State-run Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) said Tuesday that its third-quarter loss widened from a year earlier mainly due to increased fuel costs and a weak local currency.Net loss reached 342 billion won ($298 million) in the July-September period, compared with a loss of 121 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales surged 24 percent to 5.06 trillion won over the cited period. KOGAS suffered an operating loss of 127 billion won in the third quarter, widening from an ope

ZTE Corp., China’s second-largest phone-equipment maker, plans to invest 2 billion yuan ($314 million) in a facility to support China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd.’s e-book service.The Internet center in Changsha will be expanded over the next three years to more than 1,000 workers from 300 now, ZTE Vice President Yu Yifang said in an e-mail to Bloomberg News Tuesday. The center will support the WoReading service that China Unicom started in April, he said.ZTE sees “very big potential” in winning comp

The Korean government invited officials and business leaders from the Middle East and northern Africa to explain its plans to help reconstruct Libya a month after the death of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. About 50 government officials and business representatives from countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Libya will attend a three-day “Korea-Middle East Week” starting Wednesday in Seoul, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.On Wednesday, Korean companies wi

HONG KONG -- About half of 70 major Chinese cities saw declines in their housing prices last month as Beijing tightened measures to ward off a bubble, a government report showed Tuesday.In October, prices of new residential properties in 34 medium and large cities dropped on-month, the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics said. Seventeen cities saw a slight rise in prices, while the average increase was less than 0.2 percent. Earlier this year, Beijing announced a set of measures to cool proper

South Korea’s external debt dropped in the third quarter from three months earlier mainly because local branches of foreign banks repaid overseas borrowing amid the eurozone debt crisis, the central bank said Tuesday.The country’s external debt totaled $394.3 billion as of the end of September, down $4.9 billion from a record high three months earlier, according to a report by the Bank of Korea.It marked the first quarterly decline since the foreign debt fell by $8.5 billion in the fourth quarte

South Korea’s finance minister on Tuesday expressed reservations about increasing the country’s fiscal spending in the face of an uncertain economic future.“Since it is hard to predict the country’s economic future and using fiscal policies can actually fuel market volatility, it may be advisable to take a more cautious stance,” Bahk Jae-wan told a meeting of senior economic policymakers.Maintaining a fiscal balance is a vital safety net in setting macroeconomic policies and it is unwise to use

HONG KONG -- South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. has introduced its first localized car model at an international motor show in China, vying to grab a larger share of the world’s largest automobile market, company officials said Tuesday. Hyundai Motor said earlier it would develop a new brand exclusively for China in a bid to provide a more tailored product for Chinese consumers.The new concept car is called the “Shouwang”, meaning being “of high birth” in the ancient Chinese language.

Global production of active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays is forecast to more than double in 2012 from this year, driven by smartphone and mobile demand, a market report said Tuesday. According to the report by IHS iSuppli, global shipments of AMOLED displays will jump 110 percent from this year and hit 154.7 million units in 2012. The market research firm estimated this year’s AMOLED shipments at 73.7 million units, a 55 percent growth from the previous year.AMOLED displ

Construction orders won by South Korean builders from Saudi Arabia topped a landmark $100 billion this week for the first time in nearly four decades, a trade association said Tuesday.According to the International Contractors Association of Korea, deals in Saudi Arabia that South Korean builders won reached a cumulative $100 billion as of Tuesday, 38 years after a South Korean company first clinched an order from the Middle Eastern country in 1973.It is also the first time that South Korean bui

South Korea’s trade volume is expected to surpass the $1 trillion mark for the first time this year, fueled by solid export gains to Asian countries, the government said Tuesday.The Korea Customs Service said total outbound shipments coming into this year stood at $475.8 billion with imports reaching $450.7 billion for a total of $926.5 billion.Despite mounting global economic uncertainties, two-way trade reached $29.8 billion in the first 10 days of November, it said, adding that at present pac

Denmark and Norway have chosen the Tucson ix35 sport utility vehicle by South Korea’s leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. as a fuel cell test bed vehicle, the company’s parent group said Tuesday.Hyundai Motor Group, whose flagship companies include Hyundai and Kia Motors Corp., said the selection highlights the competitiveness of its fuel cell technology and growth potential of the eco-friendly vehicles.Fuel cell systems convert chemical energy from natural fuel sources, such as hydrogen, direct