South Korean manufacturers were less upbeat about their business outlook for the third quarter than in the previous quarter after April‘s deadly ferry sinking slowed down domestic consumption, a poll showed Sunday.According to the poll of 2,473 companies by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Business Survey Index for the July-September period was tallied at 103, down 8 points from 111 in the second quarter. A gauge of corporate expectations on economic conditions, BSI index above th

Private and state-run think tanks have lowered their 2014 economic growth forecasts, according to reports out Sunday.The Hyundai Research Institute had earlier expected South Korea’s gross domestic product to grow 4 percent in 2014. The latest HRI report lowered the outlook by 0.4 percentage point to 3.6 percent, saying the slow recovery in private consumption and construction will drag down the domestic demand.The growth rate of private spending is expected to reach 2.5 percent, far below the G

South Korean companies were ranked in global top 10 in nine industries last year, CEO Score, a local company information provider, said Sunday. The researcher tracks corporate management data, based its results on global sales.Nine industries where South Korean companies ranked in the global top 10 based on sales included smartphones, home appliances, shipbuilding, semiconductor, automobiles, steel, auto parts, shipping, and communications, the company’s data showed.Samsung Electronics, the coun

Despite growing demand for safety nationwide, Korea lacks of measures to cope with sudden power cuts, France-based Schneider Electric, a global management solution provider, said Thursday. A survey of 1,496 organizations nationwide in different sectors, including major hospitals and data centers, found that only 40 percent had an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system. A UPS is a device that keep an organization to be powered for at least a short time when power is out. “UPS is an essential t

South Korea and Canada are expected to sign a bilateral trade pact in the second half of this year as the two nations’ chief negotiators signed the final draft of a free trade agreement in Seoul, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a press release on Friday.The signing is considered the last step before the official signing as the ministry has confirmed that the agreement in hand will no longer be subject to further changes.The draft, the English version of which can be read at th

Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin appeared to be determined to woo the media ahead of plans for opening the second Lotte World in July, making frequent appearances to highlight the significance of the landmark project. On Wednesday, Shin hosted a site tour for visiting board members of the U.S.-based Asia Society, a nonprofit organization aimed at boosting exchanges between the U.S. and South Korea. It marked the first time that Lotte had opened the complex to foreign visitors, with Shin mappin

Share prices of E-World and Deconetishion surpassed the 15 percent daily growth ceiling on Tuesday and Wednesday on news that their parent company E-Land Group has succeeded in attracting prominent investment from Wanda Group, China’s largest cultural enterprise. “Investments from the Chinese Group, led by China’s richest man Wang Jianlin, into E-Land have given a green light to the share prices of the two affiliates that had once been isolated in the capital market, ’’ Kiwoom Securities said in