[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries announced on June 22 that its US$210 million Panama Canal contract has been completed. In 2010, Hyundai Heavy won the contract to build and install 158 small floodgates and 158 sets of hydraulic systems for the Panama Canal expansion project. An aireal view of the Panama Canal. Panama Canal AuthorityThe US$5.25 billion project will increase Panamax by a factor of about 1.5. The expansion project is set for completion on June 26. By Choi He-suk (chees

[THE INVESTOR] Asiana Airlines, the nation’s second-largest air carrier, is mulling a joint venture for in-flight catering, local news reported on June 22. Citing sources from the airline industry, the report indicated that Asiana has been discussing the plan with various companies here and abroad. “Asiana, which has outsourced catering, is planning on establishing a new JV,” a source was quoted as saying. Asiana began in-flight catering business in 1994 and continued until 2003 when it sold 80

[THE INVESTOR] Korean manufacturers consider the country far behind China in terms of speed of innovation, a Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry survey showed on June 22. In the survey on 300 manufacturing firms, local companies rated Korea’s speed of innovation as being 71 percent that of China. The respondents were asked to estimate the country’s speed of innovation in relation to China, whose speed of innovation was set at 100 kilometers per hour. The average Korea industries came in at 70

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s top four conglomerates -- Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK and LG -- were found to be focusing their overseas operations in China. One out of four of their offshore companies are located in China as of March this year, according to a local think tank on June 22.In contrast, only 2.1 percent are located in the United Kingdom, which is set to vote June 23 whether to stay in the European Union.Samsung affiliates, such asSamsung Electronics, Samsung C&T and Samsung SDS have 18

[THE INVESTOR] Korean cigarette maker KT&G’s performance will continue to improve buoyed by overseas sales, local brokerages projected. On June 21, NH Securities and Investment projected that KT&G’s second quarter sales will come in at over 1.12 trillion won (US$968.7 million), up 8.7 percent from the same period last year. For second quarter operating profits, NH Securities projected a figure of 340.4 billion won, up 12.3 percent over the same period.Other securities firms also projected a posi

[THE INVESTOR] The Korea Fair Trade Commission is probing e-commerce firms on suspicion of unfair trade practices, according to sources familiar with the issue on June 21.The antitrust agency conducted a field investigation on Coupang and Ticket Monster and secured evidence of unfair transactions of the two, including delayed payments to suppliers and unissued supply contracts.Jeong Jae-Chan, chairman of FTC, has said last month that the agency would start cracking down on social commerce and on

[THE INVESTOR] Overseas sales at 20 of South Korea’s top 30 industrial groups suffered a fall in 2015, according to CEO Score, a website specializing in corporate data. A total of 1,022 firms affiliated with the 30 groups saw their combined overseas sales decline 7.4 percent to 586.4 trillion won (US$503 billion) from the previous year, CEO Score said on June 22. Overseas sales also fell by a larger clip than domestic sales, which dropped by 5.2 percent. In particular, companies showed lackluste

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s top steelmaker POSCO plans to expand production of its quake-proof steel products in light of growing awareness that the peninsula is no longer safe from major seismic jolts following the Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011. POSCO has set its goal to expand production and sale of quake-proof steel products by 30 percent year-on-year, local news reported on June 21.Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul built with POSCO’s TMCP steel Under the plan, the steelmaker plans to expand

[THE INVESTOR] China’s slowing economic growth has given Korean products’ global market share room to grow, LG Economic Research Institute said in a report on June 21. According to the report, China’s slowing growth rate has curbed the rate at which Chinese products have taken up global market share, and damaged their price competitiveness. The LGERI report said that China’s rising labor and land costs coupled with falling raw materials costs brought on by slowing domestic consumption has narrow

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s competitiveness in advanced manufacturing sector has declined over the past years, due mainly to sluggish performance in semiconductor and mobile industry, according to a report by Hyundai Economic Research Institute released on June 21. From 2010 to 2014, added value in Korea’s advanced manufacturing industry -- which includes aerospace, semiconductor, IT and pharmaceutical, among others -- declined by 4.7 percent. Japan is the only other major country that dropped, by 9.

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Heavy Industries’ labor union is strongly opposing the company’s move to spin off its facility-assistance business unit, industry sources said on June 21.Although it is one of Hyundai Heavy’s key promises to its creditors, unionists claim that the move would lead to a rise in nonregular workers -- mostly the 994 employees who are currently working at the division. The union’s representatives decided to propose a general strike last week, denouncing the shipbuilder’s latest

[THE INVESTOR] Hanjin Shipping and Hyundai Merchant Marine disappearing from the market will result in loss of 5,400 jobs and damages of US$19.13 billion on the Korean economy, the Korea Shipowners’ Association projected on June 20. According to the association’s calculations, the two shipping firms being pushed out of the market will also prompt major global shipping companies to take their operations out of Korea’s Busan Port. Busan is currently ranked the world’s fifth largest port in terms o

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung SDS’ small shareholders are demanding Samsung Group to take measures to boost the company’s stock prices. On June 20, an online association of Samsung SDS shareholders posted a letter addressed to Samsung Future Strategy Office chief and Samsung Electronics vice chairman Choi Ji-sung.In the letter, the shareholders criticized the company’s plans to separate its logistics business, and called on him to show the company’s plans for buoying stock prices. Samsung SDS closed at