[THE INVESTOR] Optopac, a South Korean electronic part manufacturer, was approved for listing on the secondary bourse KOSDAQ, the Korea Exchange said on July 19.The company will be listed on July 20, and the indicative share price has been set at 5,900 won (US$5.19). Established in 2003, the company supplies image sensors for cameras in smartphones and laptop computers. It posted 31.66 billion won in sales and a net loss of 356 million won last year. By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] Labor disputes are spreading across South Korean industries with Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Heavy’s unions striking on July 19, while other major unions are taking steps to follow suit. The unions of Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Heavy Industries on July 19 staged a partial strike, collaborating in industrial dispute for the first time in 23 years. Hyundai Motor’s union is demanding a 7.2 percent raise and 30 percent of 2015 net profits as bonus of employees, among other conditions. Hy

[THE INVESTOR] Mirae Asset Daewoo on July 19 lowered the target price of CJ HelloVision to 11,000 won (US$9.67) per share in the next 12 months after its failed merger with SK Broadband, the IPTV unit of SK Telecom. In the day, its share closed at 9,550 won, down 3.14 percent from the previous day. The brokerage said the Fair Trade Commission’s disapproval of the merger would affect negatively the overall attractiveness of the nation’s paid TV market that is crowded with smaller

[THE INVESTOR] Korean biopharmaceutical firm Medytox is likely to post stronger-than-expected earnings in the second quarter on robust growth of its hyaluronic acid dermal filler brand Neuramis, a local brokerage NH Investment & Securities said on July 19. “Medytox’s Q2 sales and operating profit were estimated at 31.2 billion won (US$27.43 million) and 18.4 billion won, respectively, up 42.8 percent and 31.4 percent on-year,” said Lee Seung-ho, an analyst at the securities firm. NH Investment &

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean builder Daewoo E&C’s second-quarter earnings will meet market expectations, LIG Investment & Securities said on July 19. The securities firm expected that Daewoo E&C would post 2.73 trillion won (US$2.42 billion) in sales in the April-June period, up 5.8 percent from a year earlier. Its operating profit is likely to fall 5.6 percent to 98.4 billion won. “The Q2 earnings will be on a par with market consensus because of improved revenue from domestic housing and constr