SK Hynix said Thursday that it would team up with AMD, a U.S. semiconductor company, in developing high-bandwidth 3-D stacked memory technologies and related products. “The collaboration will be helpful for both firms as SK Hynix aims to commercialize HBM (high-bandwidth memory) in earnest, and AMD needs a high-speed and efficient product like this,” an SK Hynix official said. The HBM can be utilized for graphic processing units and networking applications.The agreement came after the two firms

Hyundai Rotem Co., a South Korean tank and train maker, said Thursday that it has secured a 124.8 billion won ($117.7 million) order to provide subway trains to a Brazilian subway train operator. The order was placed by Bahia Metro, an operator of Salvador Metro, which is a metro system under construction in the city of Salvador in Bahia state, Brazil, Hyundai Rotem said. The latest deal pushed Hyundai Rotem’s combined orders to over 1 trillion won since its first deal in 2003 with Brazil for 24

South Korea said Thursday that the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus tapering is likely to have a "limited" impact on South Korea as it can be seen as a signal of confidence in the world's largest economy.The finance ministry, the central bank and other financial authorities said it could rather serve as a positive factor as the Fed's decision would lift uncertainty that has been hovering over the financial market for months. After a two-day policy meeting, the Fed announced on Wednesday

The nation’s department stores and home shopping operators collected high commissions from their shop vendors or subcontractors this year despite government calls for reductions, data indicated Wednesday.Seven major department stores including Lotte, Hyundai and Shinsegae were found to have received an average 28.5 percent commission on their contract retailers’ sales, the Fair Trade Commission said. The average figure is a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier. The government has

South Korea's small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) saw their exports grow at a faster pace than large companies over the past five years, customs data showed Wednesday.According to the data by the Korea Customs Service, SMEs’exports grew 8.9 percent from 2007 to 2012, which is faster than a 7.6 percent gain tallied for large businesses during the same period.During the period, exports by SMEs accounted for about 38 percent of the country's total outbound shipments, the data showed.In 2007, SM

South Korea's top central banker on Wednesday downplayed concerns that the country may face deflation, given the underlying price pressure and inflation expectations.Some experts said South Korea's low consumer prices are raising concerns that Asia's fourth-largest economy may undergo deflation similar to that of Japan.Korea's inflationary pressure remains subdued as consumer prices ran below the 2.5-3.5 percent inflation target band of the Bank of Korea (BOK) for the 18th straight month in Nove

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the nation's biggest business lobby, vowed to vitalize the local economy as it opened its new headquarters building in western Seoul on Tuesday.The federation that represents the interests of South Korea's large family-owned conglomerates used the dedication ceremony attended by President Park Geun-hye, Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok and top executives of member companies to highlight economic gains it helped make in the last 50 years.In the more than fi

South Korea’s producer prices declined for the 14th straight month in November as oil prices fell and the local currency appreciated against the U.S. dollar, the central bank said Tuesday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, slid 0.9 percent in November from a year earlier, compared with a 1.4 percent on-year decline in October, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).On on-year growth basis, the producer prices have fallen every month since October 2012, when they fe

Overseas energy development functions held by state-run energy companies will likely be scaled down or merged in the first half of next year, government sources said Monday.State-run energy firms including Korea National Oil Corp., Korea Gas Corp. and Korea Resources Corp. are expected to go through massive restructuring in their overseas businesses as the government has vowed to reduce the huge debt incurred by public companies, sources said.The Ministry of Finance and Strategy, which is respon

Average operation rate of freight trains expected to fall to 40 percent

South Korea’s major stock-rich billionaires and their family members have reaped huge valuation gains over the past five years, with the value of their stock holdings growing faster than the overall rise in the local stock market, data showed Monday.The combined value of stocks owned by the chiefs of the country’s top 30 conglomerates and their families reached 49.17 trillion won ($46.65 billion) as of Thursday, more than doubling the 20.18 trillion won tallied five years ago, according to the d

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world’s largest shipbuilder, said Sunday that it has clinched a $970 million order to construct a power plant in Kuwait. Under the deal with the Kuwait government, Hyundai Heavy will build a power plant with a generation capacity of 1,500 MW. The plant will be built on a site located along the Persian Gulf, about 100 kilometers south of Kuwait City.The deal is part of a plan initiated by the Kuwait government to construct power and desalination plants. Hyundai H

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a South Korean shipbuilder, said Monday it has won a $500 million order for five tankers from an American shipping company.Under the deal with Scorpio Tankers, Daewoo Shipbuilding will deliver the tankers by the first half of 2016. Earlier this year, Scorpio Tankers placed orders for four tankers and three gas carriers, the South Korean shipbuilder said. Daewoo Shipbuilding has won orders worth of $12.5 billion so far this year, achieving 96 percent