The Korea Herald

Lending controls invite resistance from banks

Aug 31, 2011

Credit card firms also voice discontent with regulatory policiesUneasiness and skepticism over the financial regulators’ policy to curb household loans are growing in the banking sector and among think tanks.While the Financial Services Commission plans to unveil additional measures to curb househol
SC First Bank to keep 42 branches shuttered until strike ends: CEO

Aug 31, 2011

The head of SC First Bank said Wednesday that the lender will not re-open 42 temporarily shuttered branches until the ongoing labor strike comes to an end.More than 2,500 unionized workers at the South Korean unit of Standard Chartered Plc. has been on strike since late June, the longest walkout in
KDB to manage Mongolian bank

IndustryAug 31, 2011

South Korea’s state-run Korea Development Bank said Wednesday that it has signed a contract with the Development Bank of Mongolia to manage DBM for four years.Under the deal inked in Ulan Bator Tuesday, KDB will build an overall business operating system for DBM and take charge of its development fi
Automation in the air dulls pilot skill

IndustryAug 31, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Are airline pilots forgetting how to fly? As planes become ever more reliant on automation to navigate crowded skies, safety officials worry there will be more deadly accidents traced to pilots who have lost their hands-on instincts in the air.In this June 14, 2009 file photo
Sony shows wearable 3-D personal theater

TechnologyAug 31, 2011

TOKYO (AP) _ Sony is launching a head mounted display that provides a three dimensional theater of music videos, movies and games. Head Mounted Display “Personal 3D Viewer” (HMZ-T1) (www.Sony.net)Sony Corp. showed the 60,000 yen ($800) ``HMZ personal 3-D viewer‘’ Wednesday. The machine is set to go
Mandarin Chinese most useful business language after English

Aug 31, 2011

Mandarin, China’s official tongue, is also the top language worldwide for business other than English, according to Bloomberg Rankings.Mandarin, spoken by 845 million people, scored highest in a ranking of languages, excluding English, based on business usefulness. The ranking scored languages accor
Samsung Electronics to spend over W10tr on R&D this year

Aug 30, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest memory chipmaker, may spend over 10 trillion won ($9.3 billion) on research and development this year as part of efforts to enhance its global competitiveness, sources said Tuesday.In the first half, the company’s R&D expenditures totaled 4.98 trillion wo
Companies’ H1 profits slip on global slowdown

Aug 30, 2011

The first half net profit of some of the country’s largest companies dropped more than 7 percent from a year ago, while one in 10 companies posted net losses, damped by global economic slowdown, data showed Tuesday.According to the Korea Exchange and the Korea Listed Companies Association, the combi
Samsung to aid retired cancer-diagnosed workers

IndustryAug 30, 2011

Samsung Electronics announced Tuesday it will support the treatment costs of workers at semiconductor and liquid crystal display manufacturing lines if diagnosed with cancer within three years of retirement.The company said it will pay the patient’s treatment costs for 10 years and provide 100 milli
Hyundai Group drops libel suit against Hyundai Motor Group

IndustryAug 30, 2011

Hyundai Group said Tuesday that it has decided to withdraw its lawsuit against Hyundai Motor Group in a sign of a thaw in their relations, long sour since an acquisition battle for Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co.In November, Hyundai Group filed a libel suit against Hyundai Motor for publishin
Medium-sized builders face crisis

IndustryAug 30, 2011

Troubled Prime Group companies headed for workout programThe fates of Prime Development Co. and affiliate Sam An Corp. will be decided Friday with their creditors set to decide on whether to allow them to begin debt workouts, sources said Tuesday.According to industry sources, Nonghyup and other cre
Smaller firms to get W19.4tr in financial support

Aug 30, 2011

The government will provide 19.4 trillion won ($18.06 billion) in loans and other financial support for small and medium enterprises as part of its efforts to stabilize the livelihoods of ordinary people ahead of the Chuseok holiday, the finance ministry said Tuesday.Under the plan, which was approv
Korean builders to spend $500,000 in Libyan aid

IndustryAug 30, 2011

Korea’s 16 construction firms on Tuesday unveiled a plan to provide $500,000 worth of humanitarian aid to Libya’s new leaders, joining the government’s efforts to step up economic and diplomatic ties.The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs named Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Da
Hana Financial sees growth with soundness

Aug 30, 2011

In the years since the 2008 global financial crisis, Hana Financial Group has been successful in attaining qualitative growth and asset soundness at home and abroad over the past few years.A variety of indices show that the nation’s fourth-largest financial group has made headway in its move to crea
Firms’ loan growth hits near-2-year high in Q2

IndustryAug 30, 2011

South Korean financial firms’ corporate loans grew at the fastest pace in nearly two years in the second quarter as the economic recovery continued, the central bank said Tuesday.Corporate lending extended by banks and non-bank institutions stood at 746.5 trillion won ($695.1 billion) as of the end