[THE INVESTOR] The United States has again included South Korea on its monitoring list of trading partners that may be pursuing unfair currency practices, according to a report by the US Department of Treasury on Saturday. This is the second consecutive report after an April issuance under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 in the US, which requires the Treasury Department to monitor key indicators related to foreign currency operations and economies that are deemed to be u

[THE INVESTOR] A steep rise in sales of high fat dairy products including butter and cheese seems to be related to the growing popularity of a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, industry officials said Sunday, citing recent data.Sales of high-fat products such as butter, cheese and pork belly have sharply grown since mid-September, according to E-mart, a supermarket chain of retail giant Shinsegae Group.caption: Dairy products are displayed at an E-mart store in Seoul. E-martButter was the most po

[THE INVESTOR] The South Korean Supreme Court’s latest ruling over the legality of wiretapping the country’s dominant mobile messenger KakaoTalk for investigative purposes is igniting controversy between the prosecution and related stakeholders.　Last Thursday, the Supreme Court of Korea ruled that conversations taken from KakaoTalk severs cannot be recognized as wiretapped evidence, as they were not seized in real time as mandated by the legal definition of “wiretapping.”The ruling over what con

[THE INVESTOR] Four South Korean venture capital firms have decided to invest US$16 million in a UK-based cancer drug maker Celleron Therapeutics, according to sources on Oct. 14. Korea Investment Partners will invest US$6 million while three others including NHN Investment will commit a total of US$10 million into the company developing personalized medicine for cancer patients.The move marks the first time that Korean venture capital firms are funding a British biotech startup. As valuations o

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean pharmaceutical company Celltrion has received a patent for dolastatin 10 derivative in Australia which is considered a promising anti-cancer drugs showing potency against breast and liver cancer, the firm said on Oct. 14. The drug maker was granted the license for the process for preparing dolastatin 10 derivative and anti-cancer agents comprising the same. “Dolastatin 10 derivative which constitutes CT-P26 is proven to outsmart existing carcinostatis substances in te

While another base rate cut in 2016 is unlikely, the BOK’s weakening confidence in the Korean economy should raise expectations for a rate cut in 1H17. As such, we predict that the bond market will remain range bound until end-2016. Against this backdrop and believing that yields have now peaked, it appears as though a good dip buying opportunity has emerged. We also advise expanding weighting on KTBis?low-base effect should keep inflation strong until 1Q17. ▶BOK freezes base rate for fourth con

[THE INVESTOR]  South Korean pharmaceutical company Celltrion will accelerate its growth and market expansion, driven by the recent exclusive partnership with Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries to commercialize its biosimilar candidates, a local brokerage said on Oct. 13. Celltrion Healthcare, the company’s overseas marketing affiliate, has struck a deal to give Israel’s Teva the exclusive right to commercialize Celltrion’s CT-P10 and CT-P6 in Canada and the US on Oct. 6. “The move will lead to fas

[THE INVESTOR] Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, South Korea’s second-largest shipyard, has rejected a draft assessment report by McKinsey Korea that will be a guideline to the government’s restructuring scheme for the nation's embattled shipbuilders overall. “After thoroughly reviewing McKinsey’s draft, we expressed the view that we cannot accept the recommendations made to Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding Association as the report did not reflect Daewoo Shipbuilding’s future strategy an

[THE INVESTOR] Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering will speed up its restructuring process by shedding thousands of jobs by the end of this year amid growing concerns of a possible liquidity crisis, according to the firm on Oct. 12.“We are pushing for a swift and intensive self-rescue scheme including reducing jobs to under 10,000 within this year,” DSME said in a press release. This means that the financially troubled shipbuilder will cut over 20 percent of its work force, or nearly 3,000

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean pharmaceutical company Huons Global has been granted approval from the health authorities to export its botulinum toxin, the firm said on Oct. 11. The move came after the Huons’ newly developed drug HU-014JU, which is designed to help smooth out forehead frown lines, got the green light from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for its first and second clinical trials in August. “The product is set to enter the domestic market in 2018. We will push ahead with plans to

[THE INVESTOR] Doosan Infracore, South Korea’s biggest construction equipment maker, is under the threat of a possible credit downgrade as its unit Doosan Bobcat withdrew its plan for an initial public offering which was aimed at helping cut the parent’s debt. Local credit rating agencies began monitoring affiliates of Doosan Group in the aftermath of Bobcat’s announcement on Oct. 10 to delay the 2.45 trillion won (US$2.21 billion) IPO by one to three months and trim down the offering size. The

[THE INVESTOR] Doosan Bobcat, the South Korean firm that controls U.S. construction machinery-maker Bobcat, has delayed what would have been the second-largest initial public offering in the country’s history due to insufficient investor demand, the company said on Oct. 10. The Seoul-headquartered company, which sought to float its shares on the main KOSPI market on Oct. 21, will push back the schedule to November as earliest or January 2017 after slashing the size of the deal.“There has been se

[THE INVESTOR] Doosan Bobcat, the South Korean firm that controls US construction machinery-maker Bobcat, is stepping up plans for further business expansion in emerging markets like China and Brazil to bolster its global presence with its planned initial public offering this month. “Based on our dominant position in the North American market, the company will tap into emerging markets to create demand for our products,” said Kim Jong-seon, managing director of Doosan Bobcat, ata press conferenc

[THE INVESTOR] The main creditor of Hyundai Merchant Marine has ruled out the possibility of selling the financially troubled cargo ship operator to foreign firms. Korea Development Bank Chairman Lee Dong-geol said that disposing the shipper, which is under a creditor-led restructuring program, could help the state-run bank to improve its financial health but “selling the firm to foreign buyer needs a cautious approach.”“We need to see a bigger picture like fostering Hyundai Merchant Marine into

 [THE INVESTOR]  The planned initial public offering of Samsung BioLogics could value the company at up to 9 trillion won (US$8.08 billion), a local brokerage said on Oct. 5. “It could have a market value of about 7.5 trillion won to 9 trillion won as the company is expected to raise 1.8 trillion won to 2.3 trillion won through the public offering,” said Kang Sun-ah, an analyst at KB Investment & Securities. Samsung BioLogics plans to use proceeds from the share sale on production facilities and