Korea’s recent failure to legislate tax benefits for sukuk, or Islamic bonds, is seen to begin taking a toll on the country’s access to one of the world’s fastest growing financial sources. The Malaysian government is said to have declined requests by Korean companies to grant issuance of corporate bonds in the country, spurring concerns that it may be the first reaction to Korea’s reluctance to g

The Financial Services Commission is expected to approve Hana Financial Group’s takeover of Korea Exchange Bank in March, an official said on Monday. “There seems to be no major problem with its funding plans,” said an FSC official.He said the regulatory body is likely to approve Hana’s request at a meeting on March 16. His remark came after several securities firms raised the possibility that Han

LG Electronics said Monday it will hire 1,100 new employees for the first half of this year, up 83 percent from the number recruited during the same period last year.The world’s No. 3 handset maker said that 80 percent of its newly hired workforce in four different business units will be involved in research and development activities.The company will also employ more software developers so that t

Ssangyong Motors Co. on Friday posted net profits of 8.1 billion won ($7.2 million) for 2010, marking a return to profit after two years in the red.The company, which recorded net loss of 346 billion won in 2009 and 710 billion won in 2008, said that rising sales and cost-cutting efforts allowed it to return to profit.Last year, the company’s domestic and overseas sales increased by 131.6 percent

Fujifilm Holdings Corp. agreed to buy Merck & Co.’s BioManufacturing Network for making supplies used in clinical studies of biological drugs, a Merck spokesman said in an interview.The network Fujifilm is acquiring is made up of Merck subsidiaries Diosynth RTP LLC in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and MSD Biologics (U.K.) Ltd. in Billingham, England, Ian McConnell, a spokesman for Whiteh

Measures in force to reduce energy useSouth Korea raised its energy alert level on Sunday and will launch a set of emergency conservation measures on Monday to counter surging crude oil prices, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said. The government upgraded the country’s energy alert level from “blue” to “yellow,” the third-highest in the country’s four-tiered system. The country issued the “blue”

GENEVA (DPA) ― A stunner at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show is the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari ― a tiny super car in red, Scuderia-style stripes, lashings of mesh grille and unique Ferrari badging, and based on the Abarth 500.Built in cooperation with Ferrari, the 1.4-liter turbo motor has an output of 180 horsepower compared to the 135 hp of the standard model with acceleration from zero to 100 km/

STUTTGART, Germany (DPA) ― Porsche is presenting its second hybrid vehicle in the form of the Panamera S Hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show next month with an output of 380 horsepower and a consumption of only 6.8litres per 100 kilometers.Similar to the Cayenne, the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid is fitted with a 3-litre V6 compressor motor delivering 333 hp with the electric motor adding an additional 34

STUTTGART, Germany (DPA) ― Marking its 125th birthday Mercedes is entering for the first time the two-door compact coupe segment with a C-Class Coupe, deploying much of the same technology as in the recently launched C-Class.Tailored to a customer group aged 35-45, “we are consciously targeting new customers,” according to the head of Mercedes Sales and Marketing, Joachim Schmidt.Typical coupe fea

Korean shares will likely remain bearish this week as the political unrest in the Middle East will continue to drive up oil prices, adding more inflationary pressure on the economy, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,963.43, down 2.5 percent or 49.71 points from a week earlier on massive selling by foreign investors, who dumped 600 billion won ($531 m