Owners of large South Korean conglomerates have been buying their low-priced shares amid the stock plunge caused by the coronavirus pandemic, raising questions as to whether they are taking advantage of the situation for their succession plans. Over the past two months, Korean stocks have tumbled and major firms have lost their market value by a third. Amid the stock market crash, the repurchase of treasury stocks has been on the rise. The cumulative spending on treasury stocks amounted to aro

German companies doing business in South Korea are concerned about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their business operations but are likely to retain their local workforce, a survey showed Tuesday.  The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry released the results of a survey measuring the impact of COVID-19 on its member companies. It was conducted from March 19 to April 2, and 82 companies took part.  According to the chamber, one-third of respondents said the curre

Market capitalization of the nation’s top 100 companies has fluctuated widely amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, while that of bio-related companies surged, according to a local corporate tracker Tuesday. Korea CXO Institute surveyed the market cap of more than 2,300 listed companies in the first quarter, noting that the combined market value of the top 100 companies fell 17 percent from 1,218 trillion won ($994 billion) on Jan. 2 to 1,011 trillion won on March 31. Despite the stock

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has approved HDC Hyundai Development Company’s acquisition of shares of Asiana Airlines, officials said Friday. HDC signed a deal to acquire 61.5 percent of the airline’s shares on Dec. 27 and reported it to the Fair Trade Commission on Jan. 30. “There is no concern of restricting competition,” after reviewing the effect of the tie-up on competition in related markets, the FTC said. “(We) judged that the major sectors of

The European Commission has recently suspended the screening of Hyundai Heavy Industries’ acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering amid the coronavirus pandemic. The commission site showed the “deadline” of the screening was “suspended” without specifying the reason. The EU recently notified on its website that due to the complexities and disruptions caused by the coronavirus, companies were encouraged to delay merger notifications original

CJ Group plans to donate dumplings to Korean residents in New York who are suffering from the coronavirus outbreak, the firm said Friday. The dumplings -- enough for 1,600 servings -- will be given to the Korean Community Service in New York through the Korean American Association. “The donation was made with the aim of adding some support to the Korean community suffering from the impact of coronavirus in New York,” the group said. CJ plans to deliver the food produced at its

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Thursday it planned to give benefits to companies that support small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the coronavirus. Since early February, conglomerates have offered support for their suppliers facing disruptions in production and supply. Korean SMEs, which rely mostly on manufacturing and exports, are directly hit by production setbacks and drops in demand caused by the coronavirus. In a recent survey of 407 companies by the Korea Federa

Major South Korean companies saw their operating profit fall to half in 2019 on-year and have cut their investments by more than 10 percent, amid the worsening global economic crisis, according to a local corporate tracker Wednesday. CEOScore analyzed the financial records of 358 affiliates of Korea’s conglomerates -- with more than 10 trillion won ($8.2 billion) in assets -- submitted to the Financial Supervisory Service. Booyoung Group, GM Korea and Jungheung Construction were exclud

LG Group said Tuesday its four affiliates -- LG Electronics, LG Chem, LG Innotek and LG International Corp. -- have donated 50,000 coronavirus test kits to the Indonesian government. The donation was made in response to a request by the country, which lacks diagnostic kits due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, and to contribute to overcoming international difficulties caused by the infectious disease, the group said. Supplies of some diagnostic kits to the Indonesian National Board for Dis

South Korean companies should keep a close eye on the protectionist trade policies in the US as President Donald Trump is expected to raise trade barriers there ahead of the November presidential election amid the worldwide spread of coronavirus, a local trade association said Tuesday. The Korea International Trade Association’s new report said the coronavirus pandemic has emerged as an important variable in the Trump administration’s trade policy and the US presidential election

South Korean companies operating in Europe are reeling from the coronavirus pandemic that has devastated the region, a survey showed Monday. The domestic situation is also dismal, with the business sentiment that gauges the nation’s export outlook hitting the lowest level in 135 months. The Korea International Trade Association surveyed 80 Korean companies doing business in Europe between Wednesday and Friday. According to the survey, 41 companies said the damage was “very ser

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun, who recently purchased treasury shares, has seen gains from the stock market recovery as well as the strengthening of his control. The market capitalization of Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Mobis shares totaled 100 billion won ($81 million) as of Thursday, with 49.4 billion won for the automaker and 50.7 billion won for the parts unit. From Thursday last week to Wednesday, Chung bought shares of Hyundai Motor at a price between 68,435 won

The duty-free zone of Incheon International Airport’s Terminal 1 appears quiet Wednesday afternoon. As the industry was hit hard by the sharp drop in outbound travelers due to the spread of the new coronavirus, some of the airport’s duty-free shops couldn’t pay the rent in February. SM Duty Free pays about 3 billion won ($2.4 million) a month in rent and incurs interest of nearly 16 percent per year if it can’t pay on time. (Yonhap)

The novel coronavirus pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of South Korean industries that are deeply integrated with the global supply chain. Korea’s global value chain participation rate was 55 percent and ranked sixth among 18 developed economies of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries as of 2017, according to a recent report of the Korea International Trade Association. The nation’s active role in global production, in turn, has revealed frag

South Korea’s largest steelmaker Posco said Wednesday it has signed agreements with 17 local companies for certification of 23 products of its premium construction steel materials brand Innovilt. Construction steel materials are generally used in buildings, houses, roads and bridges, but are not exposed outside, making it difficult to identify which steel products were used. In November last year, Posco launched the integrated steel bran Innovilt which allows consumers to easily recogn