[THE INVESTOR] The Financial Consumer Agency said on Oct. 5 it plans to file a complaint with prosecutors against Hanmi Pharmaceutical for “intentionally” posting unfavorable information belatedly, causing damages to investors. The civic group called for stern penalties on the Seoul-listed pharmaceutical firm for “committing an immoral act” for posting both winning and losing mega deals with global drug makers two days apart. “Hanmi Pharmaceutical abused disclosure rules by reporting favorable n

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Bioepis’ biosimilar of Roch’s blockbuster cancer drug Herceptinis has been submitted for regulatory review in Europe, the firm said on Oct. 4. According to Samsung’s biotech unit, European Medicines Agency has accepted for review its application to sell SB3, its biosimilar of Herceptin. “If SB3 receives an approval in Europe, it will contribute to improving the quality of female patients’ lives as treatment opportunities through breast cancer drug can be enhanced,” the fir

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung BioLogics is expected to raise up to 2.25 trillion won (US$2.04 billion) through its planned initial public offering next month, which will be the third-largest stock sale in the country’s history. According to a securities registration statement of Samsung Group’s biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing arm on Oct. 4, it will seek to sell some 16.54 million shares at 113,000 won to 136,000 won. If the company prices its IPO at the top end of its proposed range, it could

[THE INVESTOR] Shares of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, South Korea’s leading drug maker, fell more than 18 percent on Sept. 30, as its deal with a German firm over lung cancer treatment developed by the Korean firm fell through. Hanmi shares plummet 18.06 percent to close at 508,000 won (US$461.27) following the firm’s announcement in the morning that Boehringer Ingelheim will return its license of HM61713 to Hanmi, a third-generation cancer-fighting drug for the treatment of lung cancer patients who ha

[THE INVESTOR] Disgraced former CEO of Nature Republic Jung Woon-ho is looking to sell his majority stake in the company in the wake of scandals involving his alleged embezzlement and illegal lobbying, according to people familiar with the matter on Sept. 30. Jung, who stepped down from his post in June, is seeking to sell his 73.88 percent stake in the South Korean cosmetics firm in a deal that could value the company at around 700 billion won (US$634.17 million), or 90,000 won per share.Two Ch

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest pension fund by assets, has filed a damage suit against Volkswagen in a German court over the auto giant’s emissions scandal, it said on Sept. 30. “We joined a class action suit against Volkswagen as we saw huge losses from equity investments in Volkswagen due to the diesel-emissions manipulation,” an NPS official said. NPS, which held 26.7 billion won (US$24.17 million) worth of preferred shares in Volkswagen as of

[THE INVESTOR] Naver, South Korea’s largest internet portal operator, has risen to the country’s fourth most valuable public company in terms of market capitalization on upbeat earnings outlook. Shares of Naver closed 1.47 percent higher at 900,000 won (US$818.55), pushing its market cap to 29.66 trillion won. During the afternoon trading session, Naver shares reached an all-time high of 903,000 won. The new record put Naver above SK hynix, which is now the fifth largest company with 29.26 billi

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s steelmakers have to map out self-restructuring measures as their margins are expected to shrink due to lack of new shipbuilding orders, an analyst at Korea Investors Service, a credit rating agency, said on Sept. 29. “Shipyards’ volume of shipbuilding will decline sharply from next year as new orders dry up,” said Jeon Ji-hoon, senior analyst at KIS, at a press conference in Seoul. Korean steelmakers will face further oversupply risks from shipbuilders’ deteriorating

[THE INVESTOR] CVC Capital Partners and a sovereign wealth fund from Middle East have been excluded from the shortlist for buying minority stake in state-run Woori Bank, according to local media outlets on Sept. 29.After receiving letters of intent from 18 parties last week, Woori Bank’s advisors narrowed down the list of bidders and notified each group.Luxembourg-based private equity fund CVC Capital Partners and a sovereign wealth fund from Middle East, whose name was not disclosed, were exclu

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Heavy Industries is expected to win the largest orders among other local shipbuilders this year, according to a securities firm on Sept. 29.“Samsung Heavy Industries hasn’t secured any orders so far this year but there will be a turnaround from October,” said Kim Hong-kyun, an analyst at Dongbu Securities. The shipyard is likely to bag orders worth over US$4.3 billion during the rest of the year, he said. “The total size of orders will be the largest when compared to its g

[THE INVESTOR]  Korean Air, South Korea’s largest air carrier, has postponed its plan to raise US$300 million through the sale of 30-year hybrid bonds as potential investors demanded a higher interest rate, according to sources on Sept. 28.Korean Air initially planned to offer the bonds from Sept. 30. “The company started to gauge global institutional investors’ demand for the bond sale for two days from Sept. 26, but decided to put off the issuance as the interest rate that investors demanded w

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics is expected to post weaker-than-expected earnings for the third quarter due to deepening loss on poor smartphone sales, according to Hana Financial Investment. LG Electronics is expected to post an operating profit of 245 billion won (US$223.17 million) in the July-September period, down 11 percent from a year earlier, it said in a note to investors. The firm’s revenue in the third quarter is likely to decrease 6 percent year-on-year to 13.54 trillion won. “Its net

[THE INVESTOR] Dozens of business groups including Kakao and Celltrion will be excluded from being designated as conglomerates, as the government will raise the asset threshold for large companies that come under strict antitrust regulations. The revised rule which highlights increasing the standard for designating a company as a conglomerate from the current 5 trillion won (US$4.56 billion) of total assets to 10 trillion won will go into effect from Sept. 30. When the asset threshold is raised

[THE INVESTOR] Loan sharks are widening their reach in South Korea with the amount of loans provided by them increasing by 52 percent over the past three years, data from the country’s financial watchdog showed on Sept. 27. The total outstanding balance of loans extended by private moneylenders stood at 13.26 trillion won (US$12.07 billion) last year, from 8.70 trillion won in 2012, according to Financial Supervisory Service.The maximum interest rate that a private loan provider can legally char