The Korea Herald

China says manufacturing slows in May

Jun 1, 2011

China’s manufacturing expanded at the slowest pace in nine months in May as the government extended a campaign to cool inflation and the property market, a survey of companies indicated. The Purchasing Managers’ Index was at 52 from 52.9 in April, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in an emailed statement. The number was higher than the median forecast of 51.6 in a Bloomberg New
Samsung, LG to jointly develop thin-film solar cells

May 31, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. will take part in a government-private research program to develop next-generation thin-film solar cells, officials said Tuesday.The program is one of the five research and development efforts to be pursued by the government and private sector up until 2013 at a cost of 700 billion won ($648 million), the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.Samsung an
Merck seeks Korean partners for growth and diversification

May 31, 2011

Merck Korea, the local unit of German-based Merck KGaA, is looking to broaden ties with Korean companies to spearhead new technologies for future growth, its president Juergen Koenig said Tuesday. The world’s oldest pharmaceutical and chemical group has been expanding its sphere into new fields such as electronics, biotechnology and renewable energy in recent years. As part of its growth strategy,
Hyundai Heavy Q1 figures soar on ship, equipment sales

May 31, 2011

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.’s first quarter revenues jumped 70.1 percent from a year ago buoyed by rising ship and construction equipment sales, the company said Monday.According to the regulatory filing, Hyundai Heavy posted first quarter sales of 12.7 trillion won ($11.8 billion), up 70.1 percent from the same period last year.The company’s operating profits for the period came in at about 1.71
SKT spins off platform unit

May 31, 2011

SK Telecom, the country’s top mobile carrier, announced Tuesday it would split its platform division and create a new platform subsidiary, which will be in charge of non-mobile businesses, as early as October.“The company has made the decision to build a new subsidiary to form business operation structures and business cultures that are a good fit to the two separate telecom and platform sectors,”
African nations learn standardization from LG

May 31, 2011

LG Electronics, the flagship unit of LG Group, is passing down its know-how for standardizing technology to African nations to help bolster growth in the region, the Seoul-based company said.The African Organization for Standardization and the chiefs of technology standardization at eight other African countries gathered at the standardization test lab in LG Electronics’ research and development c
Russia bans German, Spanish vegetable imports

May 31, 2011

MOSCOW (AFP) ― Russia on Monday banned the import of all vegetables from Germany and Spain and warned the sanction could soon be applied to the rest of Europe because of the deadly E. coli bacteria scare.The country’s consumer protection watchdog said in a statement that the ban covered “raw vegetables” including tomatoes, cucumbers and salad produced in Germany and Spain.Vegetables including Germ
Ireland may need more EU/IMF cash

May 30, 2011
Naver top ad platform in Korea

May 30, 2011

NHN Corp., Korea’s portal giant operating Naver and Hangame, proved itself a formidable advertising platform as its stake in the lucrative market reached 14 percent last year, a report showed Monday.According to the report by Digieco, a think tank affiliated with KT Corp., NHN’s ads sales topped 1.1 trillion won ($1.02 billion) last year, outstripping traditional leaders like newspapers and broadc
Economy to grow 4.3% this year: poll

May 30, 2011

Korea’s economy will likely grow 4.3 percent this year, falling short of a 5 percent expansion forecast earlier by the government due to external uncertainties, a poll showed Monday.According to the survey of 32 experts by the Federation of Korean Industries, the economy will likely expand 4.4 percent in the second half of this year, with 38 percent of those surveyed citing global economic uncerta
Jobs at listed firms hit new high in 2010

May 30, 2011

The number of jobs offered by South Korea’s listed companies soared to a record high last year as companies increased employment on the back of their strong earnings, data showed Monday.A total of 1.09 million people were hired by the 719 companies listed on the Seoul main stock index in 2010, up 10.8 percent from the previous year, according to the data by the Korea Listed Companies Association.
S-Oil to buy into poly-silicon producer

May 30, 2011

S-Oil Corp., the country’s third largest refiner, announced Monday that it will acquire a third of Hankook Silicon Co.’s stakes as part of its drive to expand into the renewable energy business.S-Oil said that the deal, which will see the refiner gain 33.4 percent of Hankook Silicon for 265 billion won ($245 million), will be finalized next month.The company said the decision to buy into the compa
SK Innovation breaks ground on new battery plant

May 30, 2011

SK Innovation Co., Korea’s top refiner, broke ground on its second plant Monday to produce batteries for electric vehicles, upping the ante for its fledgling green energy business as a next-generation revenue source.Located in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, the facilities will start manufacturing 200-megawatt-hour batteries early next year and 300-MWh batteries by the end of 2012, SK Innovati
[Herald Interview] Edwards seeks bigger Asian presence with new plant

May 30, 2011

The decision to build a plant in Korea for manufacturing dry pumps for semiconductors was a natural one designed to give Edwards a leg-up in the Asian markets. “Korea is geopolitically well-situated to be able to export to the (Asian) markets due to its proximity to the customer, ability to form intimate relationships with them and concentration on technology and right quality of people,” Mathew T
STX shipbuilder gets $150m order from Greece

May 30, 2011

STX Offshore and Shipbuilding Co. announced Monday that it has won a $150 million contract from a Greek shipping company.The Changwon, South Gyeongsang-based shipbuilder said that the contract for four petroleum product carriers was signed with the Greek shipping firm Thenamaris Ships Management Inc. on Friday.The shipbuilder said that the first of the four vessels will be delivered to Thenamaris