South Korean shipbuilders held on to their global No. 1 status in terms of new orders of ships in January, outpacing their Chinese rivals for the seventh straight month, industry data showed Tuesday. According to the data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service, South Korean shipyards bagged new orders totaling 910,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs), representing 54 percent of the 1.7 million CGTs ordered globally in January, or 24 of 66 ships. The South Korean shipbuilde

South Korea's overall advertising expenditure inched down in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the digital ad market expanded at a double-digit rate, a report showed Tuesday. Advertising expenses in Asia's fourth-largest economy amounted to 11.99 trillion won ($10.7 billion) last year, down 0.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the report from Cheil Worldwide Inc. The country's leading advertising agency attributed last year's sluggish market growth to the COVID-19 outbreak tha

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that stemmed from growing hopes of progress in the US stimulus talks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 24.52 points, or 0.79 percent, to 3,115.76 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics added 1.81 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix hiked 3.2 percent. Hyundai Motor gained 1.07 percent following heavy losses the previous session after saying tha

Shares of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group affiliates saw their stocks slump Monday after an announcement that the carmaker is not in talks with US tech giant Apple for a self-driving vehicle project. Shares of Hyundai Motor crumbled 6.21 percent to 234,000 won ($208.94), with its smaller affiliate Kia plunging 14.98 percent to 86,300 won, at the closing bell. The firms at one point plummeted as much as 8.42 percent and 15.27 percent, respectively, in the early morning trade. Other key

The nation’s top financial regulators said Monday that their recommendation for lenders to limit dividend payouts was in line with global standards, rebutting criticism that it constituted excessive government intervention. The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service have urged local banks to curb their dividends, saying the prolonged pandemic could hurt local banks’ financial soundness.　 “The recommendation for a dividend reduction is a tempora

Once the fastest emerging source of foreign capital into European real estate asset investments, South Korea‘s investors were seen redirecting their attention to the Americas in 2020, data showed Monday. According to data from US-based property market tracker Real Capital Analytics, Korea’s capital going directly into assets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, each valued at $10 million or greater, fell by 78 percent on-year to $3 billion in 2020. Koreans in 2019 were the

South Korea's benchmark stock index slumped below the 3,100-point mark Monday despite spreading optimism for an economic rebound, largely on losses by Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Corp. as the two automakers said they are not in talks with Apple Inc. over an electric vehicle project. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 29.39 points, or 0.94 percent, to close at 3,091.24 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.3 billi

South Korea's finance minister instructed his officials Monday to spare no effort to thoroughly implement the government's latest massive housing supply plan in a bid to stabilize rising home prices. The government said last week it will ease construction regulations and support redevelopment projects in urban areas to increase the number of new homes by up to 836,000 nationwide in the next four years. "Now the key to stabilizing the housing market is to thoroughly implement the latest ho

Despite the recent stock price saga of US video gaming retailer GameStop, the company was not the most-traded stock among South Korean investors in January, according to data on Monday. In data compiled by Korea Securities Depository, a post-trade service provider, the gaming retailer came second in terms of stock transactions last month, with the trading volume reaching $2.4 billion. Korean traders net bought some $1.1 billion worth of GameStop shares and net sold $1.3 billion over the month

Apparel and clothing items produced in Vietnam with South Korea-made fabrics will be allowed to enjoy lower tariffs in the European Union, the trade ministry said Monday. Previously, clothes needed to be made with locally produced fabrics in order to enjoy the benefits of the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "With South Korea being the second-largest supplier of fabric in Vietnam, the latest policy will lead to stronger demand for S

South Korean manufacturers' domestic supply fell for the third consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter of last year amid the fallout of the prolonged pandemic, data showed Monday. The manufacturing domestic supply index stood at 108.3 in the October-December period, down 1.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the quarterly index has fallen since the second quarter of 2020, when it declined 4.5 percent on-year, the shar

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday on losses by auto-related shares in the wake of a paused partnership between South Korean carmaker Kia Corp. and US tech behemoth Apple Inc. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 20.01 points, or 0.64 percent, to 3,100.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading amid strong foreign selling. Auto shares dipped following reports that Apple recently paused its partnership discussions with Kia. The US tech giant has been reportedly in talks with mul

South Korean retail investors have bet big on global tech giant Samsung Electronics this year, but their investments have failed to pay off due to a recent pullback in its share price, data showed Monday. Local individual investors have purchased a net 13.4 trillion won ($11.9 billion) worth of shares of the world's leading smartphone and memory chip maker this year, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. The amount accounted for far more than half of retail investors 23.6 trillion won

South Korea's exports of kimchi reached a new all-time high in 2020 thanks to its popularity amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Overseas shipments of kimchi came to $144.51 million last year, up 37.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. The amount breaks the previous yearly record of $106.61 million registered in 2012. Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish normally made of fermented cabbage, salt and hot pep

Foreign investors remained net sellers of South Korean stocks last month, extending their selling spree for a second consecutive month, data showed Monday. Foreigners sold a net 2.65 trillion won ($2.35 billion) worth of local stocks in January, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). American investors sold a net 3.43 trillion won of stocks last month, while Singapore's investors net purchased 1.6 trillion won worth of stocks, according to the FSS. As of end-Janua