The Korea Herald

LGE looks to boost sales of air conditioners in Europe

IndustryMar 1, 2011

LG Electronics said Tuesday it aims to more than double its share in the European air conditioning market this year.Korea’s second largest electronics maker is showcasing its air conditioning and heating products at a tradeshow in Madrid, Spain, this week.“We will target the European air conditioner market by strengthening our lineup with market-leading products, service capabilities and infrastru
Korea posts $2.85b trade surplus in Feb.

Mar 1, 2011

Surplus down from January but country posts record daily exports of $2.05b despite Mideast turmoilKorea posted a $2.85 billion trade surplus in February, the 13th straight month that it has recorded a favorable balance, official figures showed Tuesday.The preliminary figures marked a slight decline from the revised $2.92 billion surplus for January, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.Exports i
Data roaming gets cheaper, easier

IndustryMar 1, 2011

KT Corp. offers affordable and unlimited mobile data access in AsiaKT Corp. on Tuesday launched a new international roaming service that enables users to access mobile data more cheaply and conveniently in 11 Asian countries.Under the new program, customers can use unlimited 3G data roaming and 100 megabyte Wi-Fi roaming service at 10,000 won ($8.87) per day.The company has run a trial service in
Tech giants team up for green technology

IndustryMar 1, 2011

Samsung Electronics, KT to cooperate for energy-efficient cloud serviceSamsung Electronics and KT Corp. are joining forces in a project to foster energy-efficient cloud computing to cope with exploding data demand amid a smartphone boom.The two companies signed an agreement Monday under which Samsung will install its new memory chips into a low-power server that KT is setting up in its data center
Think tanks revising inflation outlooks

Mar 1, 2011

Korea’s major think tanks are expected to revise up their 2011 inflation outlooks for the country as oil and commodity prices are rising at a faster-than-expected pace.Industry sources said Tuesday that the nation’s leading private-sector think tank Samsung Economic Research Institute will likely raise its inflation outlook to mid-3 percent from its previous forecast of about 3 percent.LG Economic
Australia’s RBA keeps rate at 4.75%

IndustryMar 1, 2011

The Reserve Bank of Australia left its benchmark interest rate at the highest level in the developed world as consumer restraint and a strengthening currency tempered gains in inflation. Governor Glenn Stevens held the overnight cash rate target at 4.75 percent Tuesday, as forecast by all 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Stevens told lawmakers in testimony less than three weeks ago the ce
Ford named most improved automaker

IndustryMar 1, 2011

Ford Motor Co. improved the most since last year in Consumer Reports’ annual automaker rankings, bolstered by reliability for resale value, the magazine said. Ford received 67 points out of 100, according to results released Monday at the National Press Club in Washington. It didn’t provide a year-earlier comparison. Consumer Reports commended the manufacturer for the amount of room inside its veh
One in five Korean firms consider reducing business with Middle East: survey

IndustryMar 1, 2011

About one in five South Korean firms doing business in the Middle East expressed their intention to reduce operations in the region mired in an intensifying anti-government protest, a survey here showed Tuesday.According to the survey of 300 companies by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 18.7 percent said that they consider reducing their business with the Middle East countries as part o
S. Korea's trade surplus reaches $2.8 bln in Feb.

Mar 1, 2011

South Korea's trade surplus reached $2.84 billion in February mainly due to solid export gains in the face of unfavorable global developments, a government report showed Tuesday. The February trade surplus marked a slight dip from the $2.92 billion tallied for January, although on a daily basis exports reached a record 2.05 billion, the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said, This mark
Hyundai, Kia form partnership with Vodafone for automobile IT

IndustryMar 1, 2011

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. formed a partnership with the mobile telecom service provider Vodafone to collaborate in telematics and related fields, the South Korean carmakers announced on Monday.Based in London, Vodafone is the world’s largest mobile telecom service provider in terms of revenue.Telematics, which combines telecommunications with informatics, is applied to a range of onbo
U.S. working hard to ratify Korea FTA this spring: USTR

Mar 1, 2011

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is working hard to clear the pending free trade deal with South Korea through Congress this spring so as not to lag behind the European Union, which ratified a similar deal with Seoul set to take effect in July, the chief U.S. trade official has said. "The EU-Korea trade agreement is scheduled to take effect on July 1 of this year," U.S. Trade Representa
LGE to step into energy consulting business

IndustryFeb 28, 2011

LG Electronics, Korea’s leading consumer electronics manufacturer, said Sunday that it plans to start a business-to-business energy consulting service next month as a new source of income.The business will involve analyzing energy flows, including heating and air conditioning in office buildings and providing solutions for energy saving. LG’s initiative reflects the group’s efforts to secure futur
Libyan unrest worries Korea

Feb 28, 2011

The intensifying turmoil in Libya and the Middle East is feared to serve a major blow to the Korean economy and its firms doing business in the region. Korean builders seem to be hit hardest by the political crisis as most of their projects there have been put on hold and workers have fled Libya during the past week. Local firms’ unpaid fees from their Libyan partners have reached about $19 millio
China’s 5-year plan promises big changes

IndustryFeb 28, 2011

BEIJING (AP) ― China’s leadership is promising to steer the economy in a new direction in its blueprint for the next five years that would empower consumers and narrow a yawning wealth gap but require politically contentious reforms.The latest Five-Year Plan ― a throwback to central planning but a useful roadmap of party goals ― calls for creating self-sustaining growth based on domestic consumpti
Korea to expand tariff quota on powdered milk, pork belly

Feb 28, 2011

Korea will expand the amount of powdered milk and frozen pork belly subject to no import taxes as part of efforts to ease price hikes sparked by the massive slaughter of livestock amid the spreading foot-and-mouth disease, the finance ministry said Monday.The measure, finalized during a Cabinet meeting held earlier in the day, will go into effect from early March under the government’s quota tarif