The state-run Korea Development Bank said on Wednesday that it has recently completed the process to acquire the Indonesian company Tifa Finance. The latest takeover, which is in line with the government’s drive to beef up economic and geopolitical relations with countries in Southeast Asia, is aimed at expanding operations in the local market. In December, the Korean bank signed a contract to acquire an 80.65 percent stake in the Indonesian financial company from DSU Group, a manufact

SEJONG -- South Korea's vice finance minister on Wednesday hailed a multibillion-dollar order won by Samsung Electronics Co. to supply fifth-generation (5G) network equipment to Verizon Communications of the United States. The deal showed how South Korea's industrial sectors navigate through global technology rivalries, Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said in a meeting with experts, according to the ministry. Companies must step up their investment into new technologies, including next-g

Job market continues to bleed amid the coronavirus pandemic; officials paint bleaker picture for this month

More than 230,000 people in South Korea have entered a draw to buy Samsung Electronics Co.'s limited edition of the Galaxy Z Fold 2, company officials said Wednesday, as the South Korean tech giant tries to boost sales of its foldable devices. Those selected from the two-day online draw for a chance to purchase the Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition will receive the product from Sept. 25. Only 5,000 units of the Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition will be released globally. Industry insiders

Korean brokerage firm Mirae Asset Daewoo said Wednesday that its customer deposits exceeded 300 trillion won ($252 billion) as of end-August, amid growing interest in stock investments in times of ultralow interest rates. At the end of last month, the securities firm’s customer deposits neared 301 trillion won, up more than 60 trillion won from the 239 trillion won recorded at the end of last year. The customer deposits include retail and corporate investors’ money put in their s

Mirae Asset Global Investments, the asset management arm of South Korean financial group Mirae Asset, was selected as a preferred bidder to acquire Amazon’s logistics centers in the US for $17 million, according to local industry sources Wednesday. The three logistics centers, located in Indiana, Ohio and North Carolina, have been put on sale by Scannell Properties, a US real estate development firm, they said. The centers handle Amazon’s last-mile delivery. While Amazon is set to

To help delinquent debtors get back on their feet, Korean authorities plan to draft new legislation that enables them to request a debt restructuring program to financial institutions and have a mediator in the process, the Financial Services Commission said Wednesday. The “consumer credit bill” can force local lenders to cease debt collection activities, upon the debtor‘s request, and offer a revised version of a repayment program within 10 working days. Currently, borrowe

Bond sales in South Korea dropped more than 7 percent in August from the previous month amid rising interest rates, data showed Wednesday. The value of bonds issued in the country came to 67.7 trillion won ($56.9 billion) last month, down 7.2 percent from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Sales of state bonds climbed 6.8 percent, but the issuance of financial and corporate bonds sank 10 percent and 33.9 percent, respectively. The decline

Electric vehicle leader Tesla Motors Inc. has been South Korean investors' most-bought issue among foreign shares since July amid an overseas stock buying craze here, data showed Wednesday. Domestic investors bought a net $1.56 trillion won worth of Tesla shares between July 1 and Tuesday, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. Their net buying peaked at $761 million in July before declining to $471 million in August and rising again to $489 million this month. Market w

Construction equipment maker Doosan Bobcat Co. said Wednesday it has launched new mowers in the North American market. Doosan Bobcat aims to increase its sales to 100 billion won ($84 million) this year and double the sales by 2024 in the landscape equipment market in the region, the company said in an emailed statement. Doosan Bobcat bought the zero-turn mower business division from US landscape gear company Schiller Grounds Care last year. The zero-turn mower market in North America is es

South Korean banks' household loans increased by the largest amount on record in August amid rising home prices and a rally in the stock market, central bank data showed Wednesday. Outstanding bank loans to local households came to 948.2 trillion won ($796.9 billion) as of end-August, up 11.7 trillion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the largest monthly gain since 2004 when the BOK began compiling related data. In July, such lending gre

South Korea's power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Wednesday that it has signed a deal to provide pressurizers to the global artificial sun project consortium. Under the deal signed with the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) consortium launched in late 2006, Doosan Heavy Industries along with its British subsidiary Doosan Babcock will provide pressurizers by 2022, the company said in an emailed statement. The pressurizers will be use

South Korea said Wednesday it will allow pig farms hit by the African swine fever (ASF) last year to resume their operations, as no additional cases among domestic pigs were reported for about 11 months. The move will pave the way for 261 farms in the Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces, which have been closed due to the massive outbreak in 2019, to gradually raise pigs again, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The ASF swept through pig farms in the inter-Korean borde

SEJONG -- South Korea lost about 274,000 jobs in August, marking a decline in the number of the employed for the sixth consecutive month, as the coronavirus pandemic hammered job markets, data showed Wednesday. The country's jobless rate rose by 0.1 percentage point on-year to 3.1 percent in August, with the number of employed people falling to 27.08 million, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the longest fall since the eight months of decline posted in 2009 amid the

South Korean shares opened sharply lower Wednesday, taking a cue from a drop in tech stocks on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 27.2 points, or 1.13 percent, to 2,374.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment worsened as key US stock indexes tumbled, with tech shares in particular falling deep. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite plummeted 465.44 points, or 4.11 percent, to 10,847.69 on Tuesday (New York time). The Dow Jones Industrial Av