POSCO, the world's fifth-largest steelmaker by output, said Thursday it has signed a deal to buy a 30 percent stake in the Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation in Australia for $240 million in the latest move to boost its electric vehicle battery business. Under the deal with Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals Ltd., POSCO will be provided with a long-term offtake agreement for 7,500 tons of nickel in mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide precipitate (MHP) per year produced at Ravensthorpe, beginning in 202

Food and beverage company Hy, previously known as Korea Yakult, said on Thursday it will enter the plant-based protein market with its new brand Protein Code. Though the company previously released protein-focused products, it marks the first time it has launched a brand dedicated to protein-heavy products. “Protein Code products are 100 percent plant-based, keeping in line with consumer trends such as going vegan and value-based consumption,” the company said in a statement. The

Hyundai Motor and Kia, which together form the world’s fifth-largest carmaker in sales, saw their sales in Europe more than quadruple from a year earlier, reflecting a bounce back from the low-base effect from the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Thursday. The two automobile affiliates of South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group, sold a combined 78,495 units in the European market in April, up 317.3 percent from the same period last year, officials said, citing

South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday it has placed 32 highly indebted conglomerates under closer watch for debt reductions in order to prevent defaults. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the conglomerates that owe more than 1.91 trillion won ($1.68 billion) to local banks have been designated heavy corporate debtors this year. This compares with 28 such business groups last year. Shipping firm HMM and builder HDC were among the firms that were newly included on t

South Korean battery maker SK Innovation Co. and American automaker Ford Motor Co. are set to announce a battery joint venture in the United States to ensure a stable supply of batteries for electric vehicles, industry sources said Thursday. The two companies plan to announce a memorandum of understanding on the joint venture later in the day, as South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets with US President Joe Biden in Washington this week to discuss bilateral issues, including EV industry coope

Monthly active users of the US video streaming service Netflix Inc. in South Korea recorded a decline in the past three months, data showed Thursday, as the platform faces a slowdown in global subscriber growth and increasing competition from local players. Netflix's monthly active users in the country last month stood at 8.08 million, down 1.9 percent from 8.24 million in March, according to the data from market researcher Nielsen Koreanclick. The latest figure marks a dip since the platform

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday that it will team up with Google LLC to deliver a new smartwatch operating system (OS), as they seek to better compete with Apple Inc. in the wearables market. Yoon Jang-hyun, who heads Samsung's software development team, said in an editorial that the South Korean tech giant will develop a unified smartwatch platform with Google. Samsung currently uses Tizen OS for its Galaxy smartwatches, while Google offers Wear OS. Their OS partnership was first unve

The Philippine Board of Investments, the lead industry and investment promotion agency in the country, said it is eyeing South Korean electric vehicle parts and semiconductor firms to further grow their businesses and make it happen in the Philippines. Trade Undersecretary and BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo made this statement during an online briefing with South Korean companies in April on the recently-enacted Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act and the Strategic In

In the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea could step up as a global vaccine factory, if players unite to ramp up the country’s total production capacity, already the world’s second-largest, officials and industry insiders said Wednesday. Talks have already begun among local biopharmaceuticals to forge a consortium for co-production of the doses -- in particular the entirely new type of mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, the sources said.

Automaker suggests ‘removal of options’ for impatient customers

More retailers are joining the trend to go label-free on their water bottles amid growing environmental awareness and green marketing efforts in the industry. South Korean supermarket chain Homeplus said on Wednesday that it has so far sold some 1.34 million label-free bottles of water, which were released as part of its premium private brand Homeplus Signature late last month. Described as an “ethical consumption” product, the supermarket estimated the label-less water bottles red

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Wednesday departed for the United States, raising expectations about his visit to SK Innovation’s battery plant in Georgia, and a possible pledge for additional investments. Chey boarded a plane bound for a US city, with a handful of group officials. SK Group declined to reveal the destination of Chey’s flight. He is among the several Korean business leaders who are visiting the US in time for the first summit meeting between Presidents Moon

A group of South Korean biopharmaceutical companies are in talks to forge a consortium for co-production of COVID-19 vaccines in anticipation of a patent waiver, industry sources said Tuesday. According to the bio industry insiders who declined to be named, the talks involve about 10 local firms including Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Genexine, GC Pharma, GeneOne Life Science, ST Pharm, as well as Seoul National University, Pohang University of Science and Technology and Myongji Medical Foundation. T

Local demand for biotech company GC Pharma‘s experimental plasma treatment against the new coronavirus remains even after the company failed to receive conditional use approval here, according to industry sources Tuesday. According to sources, Kyungpook National University Hospital on Friday received an emergency use authorization for the treatment, just three days after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety rejected GC Pharma‘s application for conditional use. In South Korea, expe

State-run Korea Gas Corp. said Tuesday that it will build the world’s first hydrogen equipment inspection support center in Wanju, North Jeolla Province. The 50 billion-won ($44.2 million) inspection center, set for completion by 2023, will be responsible for safety checks on four types of hydrogen equipment manufactured domestically and imported from overseas -- stationary fuel cell, portable fuel cell, electrolysis equipment and hydrogen extraction equipment. In February, South Kore