S-OIL’S NEW YEAR CHARITY -- S-Oil CEO Nasser Al-Mahasher (second from right) and company employees pass out tteokguk (rice cakes with soup) to hundreds of underprivileged citizens living in single-room occupancy housing in a shantytown near Yeongdeungpo Station in Seoul ahead of the Lunar New Year. The oil refiner has been carrying out this charity event annually since 2007. (S-Oil)

GS Caltex, South Korea’s second-largest oil refiner, said Tuesday it has established a new office in Monterrey, Mexico, to oversee its forthcoming plastic compounding business in the country.As the first Korean company to do so, GS Caltex Mexico S.R.L. plans to build a plastic compounding plant near Monterrey this year. The plant is set to begin operations in 2017 with an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons, which will be expanded to 50,000 tons by 2020. “The opening of a Mexican office ma

Hanwha Q Cells, the solar business unit of Korea’s Hanwha Group, said Monday that it has signed a 50 megawatt solar photovolataic module supply deal with India’s Adani Group.　The development comes about half a year since Hanwha sealed a similar contract to supply 70 MW of PV modules to Adani in July 2015. Solar panels (123RF)The solar plant, scheduled for completion by March 2016, will be installed in the Tamil Nadu province, according to Hanwha.“We are pleased to partner with Adani Group again,

Roh Soon-ai, the wife of late SK Group founder Choi Jong-kun, died in Seoul on Thursday evening. She was 89.The late Roh is remembered for having been a close supporter of the late SK Group founder, a bold businessman who acquired a derelict factory in 1953 and established Sunkyong Textiles, which later became today’s SK Group.South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate, SK Group is considered a global leader in the energy, chemicals and semiconductors businesses with more than 80 affiliates.Roh So

S-Oil, South Korea’s third-largest oil refiner, said Thursday it swung to profit in the fourth quarter of 2015 thanks to high refining margins prompted by heightened demand for oil products.The firm posted an operating profit of 17 billion won ($14 million) in the October-December period last year, up by 5.6 percent from the previous quarter, and swung to profit from an operating loss of 240 billion won posted during the fourth quarter of 2014.  S-Oil CEO Nasser Al-Mahasher (S-Oil)“The operating

An immunodeficiency drug developed by Green Cross, a South Korean biopharmaceutical company, has been accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Green Cross said Tuesday that that FDA accepted the drugmaker’s biologics license application for IVIG-SN -- human normal immunoglobulin G for intravenous administration -- on Jan. 22.IVIG-SN (Green Cross)The news prompted the company’s stock price on the main Korean bourse KOSPI to surge by 2.01 percent on Tuesday to close at 228,000

A treatment for a rare obesity treatment, originally developed by South Korea’s Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical and licensed to Zafgen in 2009, is geared to fully resume clinical trials in the near future.Zafgen, a U.S. biopharmaceutical company, said last week that beloranib has shown proven effectiveness in reducing body weight in a final-stage clinical study which was temporarily halted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year.The FDA took the decision after the company confirmed the

PHILIPS LAUNCHES AQUA VACUUM CLEANER -- Philips Korea launched the PowerPro Aqua (FC6401/01), a cordless vacuum cleaner equipped with both vacuuming and mopping features for heightened cleaning convenience, in South Korea on Monday. Priced at 369,000 won ($310), the PowerPro Aqua is available for purchase through local online retailers. Promotional discounts of up to 70,000 won are available throughout February. For more information, visit the Philips Korea website or its Facebook page. (Philips

Dayou Winia, a South Korean consumer electronics company best known for its kimchi refrigerator brand Dimchae, is planning to launch its new rice cooker, the Dimchae Cook, in China this year.As the premium rice cooker officially began sales at Lotte Hi-Mart stores nationwide on Thursday, a Dayou Winia executive revealed plans to “introduce Dimchae Cook in Chinese markets within the first half of this year.”Dayou Winia’s business operations director Choi Jun-bong (right) and a model hold up a Dim

Hanwha Q Cells, the solar energy unit of South Korea’s Hanwha Group, has sold off its three solar power plants in operations in the United Kingdom to NextEnergy Solar Fund in a 100 billion won block deal.　 (Hanwha Q Cells)The company said Wednesday it sold Fenlend Farm (20.4 MW), the Green End PV parks (24.8 MW) and the Tower Hill Solar Park (8.1 MW) to the U.K.-based fund earlier this month.The block deal also marks the first time that Hanwha has sold its solar plants -- built exclusively with

LG Life Sciences, the biopharmaceuticals unit of LG Group, said Wednesday it plans to begin selling its self-developed diabetes treatment Zemiglo in five countries in Central America and India starting in March. The scheduled launch comes after the Korean drugmaker sealed a licensing partnership with French-based pharma giant Sanofi and Mexico’s Stendhal in 2013 to distribute and market the new diabetes drug in 104 countries globally.Sanofi will handle Zemiglo’s local marketing in India whereas

As global oil prices have been continuously falling over the past few months, the average price of diesel in South Korea hit a 9-year low this week, according to the Korea National Oil Corporation on Wednesday.The average price of diesel sold at gas stations nationwide this week stood at 1,169.93 won ($1) per liter, cheaper than the 1,162.44 won recorded during the second week of 2007, according to KNOC-operated Opinet.Diesel, which reflects changes in global crude oil prices faster than gasolin

SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won and high-level group officials including the CEOs of SK’s core affiliates are scheduled to attend this year’s World Economic Forum. The forum, scheduled to draw some 2,500 politicians, business leaders, activists and officials from around the world, is set to begin Wednesday in Davos, Switzerland and continue until Saturday.Eyeing forthcoming changes in the global business landscape following the Paris Climate Conference last month, SK’s top leadership plans to foc

Celltrion is drawing closer to launching its rheumatoid treatment Remsima in the U.S. 　The company said Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to hold a committee meeting Feb. 9 (local time) to review and discuss Remsima’s approval in the North American market. 　Remsima is a biosimilar replication of Johnson & Johnson’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis treatment Remicade.The entrance to Celltrion's headquarters in Incheon (Yonhap)　The news prompted Celltrion shares to sur

Samsung Bioepis said Sunday it has won official approval from the European Commission to begin selling Benepali, its biosimilar replication of Amgen’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis treatment Enbrel (Etanercept), in Europe.The approval marks an important milestone in Samsung Group’s latest push to expand into the promising field of biosimilar production, and elevates the drugmaker’s market value in a forthcoming public listing on the U.S. Nasdaq this year.Benepali is the first Enbrel biosimila