[THE INVESTOR] NongHyup Financial Group and its subsidiaries are jointly launching a mobile platform to provide one-stop services for various products from insurance policies to car loans.The holding firm and NongHyup Bank held a launching ceremony for All One Bank on Aug. 8. The service will be officially opened on Aug. 10. Users can subscribe to various financial products offered by the non-life insurance, savings bank and automotive finance subsidiary of the group on All One Bank’s website. 

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s three mobile carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus announced their subsidy plans for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on Saturday, as they began receiving preorders for Samsung Electronics’ latest smartphone on the day.Citizens examine the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 at a promotional space set up inside Coex in southern Seoul. SKTUnder current law, local smartphone buyers who purchase a smartphone and sign up for a payment plan here can choose from one of the following two subsidi

[THE INVESTOR] Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering is going all out to secure cash amid growing concerns over a possible liquidity crisis and a widening probe into accounting fraud. The shipbuilder, currently under a creditor-led corporate rehab, plans to submit later this week a detailed plan to secure funds to its creditors. According to local reports, the plan may include an earlier than scheduled spinoff and initial public offering of its special-purpose ship business. The shipbuilder h

[THE INVESTOR] NEW YORK -- When Samsung Electronics first launched the Galaxy S6 Edge featuring a curved display in 2015, it caught the eyes of many thanks to its stunning, unprecedented design.However, Samsung fell short of gaining traction in sales as it failed to catch up with the demand for the S7 Edge due to glitches in producing the display curved on both sides.Journalists and industry officials try out Samsung Galaxy Note 7 at the launch event held in New York on Aug. 2. Samsung Electroni

[THE INVESTOR] NEW YORK -- Sprawling roughly between West 16 Street and Hudson Street in Manhattan, the Meatpacking District was where meat factories were up and running in the early 1900s. The blocks in the area, currently filled with upscale restaurants and bars and fashion boutiques, have since become the gem of New York City, attracting millions of tourists, partygoers and locals every year.Samsung Electronics’ U.S. marketing center Samsung 837 at 837 Washington Street in New York. Kim Young

[THE INVESTOR] The Financial Supervisory Service said on Aug. 7 it will push 32 companies, including listed conglomerates, to restructure their bad debts through intensive creditor-led workout or court receivership programs.After a rigorous credit screening and evaluation of some 600 companies that borrowed more than 50 billion won ($45 million) from the financial sector, the regulator graded 13 companies “C” and 19 “D.” The C-graded companies, including Hanjin Shipping and Hyundai Merchant Mari

[THE INVESTOR] LG Household & Health Care officially stepped into South Korea’s soaring market for pet grooming and care products on Sunday with the launch of its new pet care brand “O’s Sirius.”The brand offers diverse pet care goods such as pet shampoo, conditioner, body mist and deodorizers — sold under two product lines Alpha and Beta which respectively target long-haired and short-haired dog breeds.Alll of O’s Sirius products exclude potential irritants such as sulfate, artificial coloring

Positive earnings surprise in 2Q16, led by the defense divisionHanwha Techwin delivered a positive earnings surprise for 2Q16. Consolidated sales came to W820.6bn (+27.7% QoQ, +35.1% YoY) and operating profit to W44.4bn (+40.2% QoQ, swing to profits YoY). Operating profit exceeded the consensus of W36.7bn (SHIC estimate: W35.3bn) by a wide margin as one-off costs disappeared. The biggest driver was the defense division. Defense sales went up 40% QoQ to W191.1bn. More remarkable is that the margi

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s brokerage firm NH Investment & Securities has clinched a license to operate a private equity investment arm in a move to pursue high returns amid a stagnant stock market, the nation’s top financial regulator said on Aug. 5.This is the first time that Financial Services Commission has given permission to a local securities company since the regulator announced a set of measures to encourage local brokerage firms to enter PEF business in May to boost their competitiven

[THE INVESTOR] NongHyup Capital, a subsidiary of South Korea’s leading banking group NongHyup Financial Group, has become the second-largest shareholder of a financial leasing firm in China in a bid to make a foray into the fast-growing financial leasing market, the company said on Aug. 5. NongHyup Capital bought a 29.82 stake in China Co-op Group International Leasing in a deal worth 85 million yuan (US$12.77 million). Under the deal, the Seoul-based company has the right to appoint a director

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s cosmetics stocks took sharp losses in fear that China could impose sanctions following Korea’s decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. Industry heavyweight AmorePacific dropped 2.28 percent to 364,000 won (US$327.16) while its smaller rival LG Household & Health Care shed 4.26 percent to 922,000 won in early trading on Aug. 5. TonyMoly slid 3.36 percent, Cosmax shed 6.07 percent and Hankook Cosmetics lost 3.54 percent. Cosmetics coners in a

[THE INVESTOR] Korea Investment Partners, a private equity company specializing in small- and mid-cap business, has invested 15 billion won (US$13.48 million) in a Busan-based shoe maker C&K Trading, according to industry sources on Aug. 5. Woori Partnership New Technology Private Equity Fund, run by KIP, secured a 20 percent stake in C&K Trading by purchasing convertible redeemable preference shares and some of shares owned by the company’s CEO Jung Chang-kon. With the deal, KIP became the seco

[THE INVESTOR] Casamia, South Korea’s furniture maker and decor studio, will morph into a high-growth firm by aggressively expanding its foothold and market share, the company’s CEO said on Aug. 4 ahead of its public offering planned for later this month. “Through the stock market debut, Casamia will find a new growth engine. We will push to expand the number of stores to 150 by 2020 and enter the Chinese market,” said Lee Hyun-koo, CEO of Casamia at a press conference held in Seoul. Currently,

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s leading casino operator Paradise Group has logged solid second-quarter earnings, showing signs of recovery from last year’s slowdown. The group -- whose casino operations account for 85 percent of its business, besides hotels, integrated resorts and construction -- posted a consolidated operating profit of 32.76 billion won (US$29.4 million) in the quarter ended on June 30, up 147.6 percent from a year earlier, it said on Aug. 4.Country’s leading foreigners-only casino ope