With newly-raised funds, Korean Internet giant seeks to defend Line’s top markets, looks to global expansion with investment into new technologies, services

Pangyo Techno Valley, a tech hub modelled after Silicon Valley in the U.S., is emerging as a new national growth engine as South Korea’s conventional manufacturing industries stutter.The complex located in southern Gyeonggi Province is comprised of more than 1,000 tech start-ups specializing in biotechnology, media content and nanotechnology. Big game companies such as NHN Entertainment, Nexon and NCsoft, as well as security giant AhnLab and mobile messenger behemoth Kakao all have a presence th

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics is renewing its automotive push with its latest decision to acquire sizeable shares in China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, BYD. The company confirmed the deal on Friday but declined to reveal the specific size of the investment. Earlier in the day, a local newspaper reported that Samsung would invest 3 billion yuan ($448 million) in the Chinese company. “The latest investment aims to strengthen our partnership on automotive and smartphone parts. Sams

The number of South Koreans who have downloaded the popular "Pokemon Go" augmented reality game was estimated at about 410,000, although the game is not currently available in the country, according to a survey by an app analytics company on Friday. Since the mobile game was launched in the United States last week, it has become a global hit with millions of users downloading Nintendo Co.'s latest game. Because the game uses data from Google's mapping service, which is restricted by the South Ko

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics said on July 15 that it will launch the Galaxy S7 Edge Olympic Games Edition in South Korea on July 18 in celebration of the Rio Olympic Games. The company has set the price at 1,067,000 won (US$ 943). The sales will begin at 10 a.m. exclusively on its online store, the company said. The phone features Olympic Games design with the five official colors of the Olympic Rings, around the phone and on the key apps. “We produced the limited edition version with full

Line Corp., a Japan-based global chat app operator, successfully debuted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday following a strong start on Wall Street overnight.The subsidiary of South Korea's dominant internet service firm Naver Corp. finished at 4,345 yen (US$41), up 32 percent from the IPO price, heralding a successful debut. Line sold a total of 13 million shares in Tokyo and 22 million on Wall Street.The dual listing drove up the firm's market value to around 10 trillion won (US$8 billion).

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics said on July 15 that it will launch its mobile payments service, Samsung Pay, in Brazil next week. Making inroads into South America for the first time, the company chose to launch in Brazil as the first Latin destination considering the nation’s soaring mobile banking users. “We are excited that Samsung Pay will be available in Brazil from July 19,” said André Varga, product director of Samsung’s mobile business division in Brazil. “Brazil will pave the way fo

[THE INVESTOR] China is the only Northeast Asian nation where LINE Corp. has yet to launch its mobile messenger service so far. Line is the mobile messenger service operator owned by Naver (chairman Lee Hae-jin)In a recent media interview, LINE’s chief global officer Shin Jung-ho said the firm could consider “setting up a joint venture with a Chinese company” to increase its foothold in a country where its services are blocked due to government regulations. The banners of LINE Corp. hang on the

[THE INVESTOR] LINE Corp., the mobile messenger service operator owned by Naver (chairman Lee Hae-jin), jumped 26.61 percent on the first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on July 14. LINE’s million American Depository Shares (ADSs) began at $32.84 topping the expected price range, and closed at US$ 41.58, rising 26.6 percent over the course of the day. Line Corp. CFO Hwang In-joon (center left), along with chief strategy and marketing officer Jun Masuda (center right), and chief glo

[THE INVESTOR] The head of Internet giant Naver who is in the hot seat for his alleged involvement in making illegal profits from game developer Nexon’s 2006 initial public offering is likely to be summoned by prosecutors soon.Naver CEO Kim Sang-hun reportedly made profits with inside information for Nexon’s IPO with borrowed money. Naver CEO Kim Sang-hun /The InvestorKim, prosecutor Jin Kyung-joon and Park Seong-joon, a director of Boston Consulting Group, purchased shares valued at 425 million

[THE INVESTOR] The global craze for Pokemon Go, Japanese game developer Nintendo’s augmented-reality smartphone game, has taken the nation by storm with downloads exceeding 400,000 as of July 13, according to a survey by market research firm WiseApp. The survey result is based on 14,439 Android phone users in Korea from July 7-13. The mobile game, which has not been officially launched here, achieved the feat in less than two weeks since its release in other parts of the world on July 5, includi

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean mobile game developer Netmarble Games’ recent bid to acquire Israel-based mobile gaming company Playtika is just one of a string of merger and acquisition deals that Netmarble has been pursuing to attract investors. By the end of this year, Netmarble Games is set to issue an initial public offering to draw at least 5 trillion won ($4.36 billion).  Netmarble founder Bang Joon-hyukBased in Tel Aviv, Playtika is an affiliate of Caesars Interactive Entertainment -- an SNS

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong and IBM CEO Virginia Rometty had a private meeting last week during the annual Sun Valley Conference in Idaho, it was confirmed on July 14. The high-profile meeting has drawn keen interest among industry watchers here as it could hint at a possible partnership between the two tech giants. Daily Mail homepageSamsung has recently been making a big push to elevate its software prowess. Sources predict Samsung could seek to share IBM’s so

[THE INVESTOR] Xiaomi founder and chief executive Lei June on July 14 held a meeting with Samsung Electronics executives, including Jeon Young-hyun, the company’s memory chip division chief, at the headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. According to industry sources, the CEO discussed ways to use Samsung’s high-density memory chips for its premium smartphones, including the upcoming Mi Note 2 phablet. Xiaomi founder and chief executive Lei JuneXiaomi, dubbed as “China’s Apple,” topped the Chi