November 15, 2018

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US hedge fund Elliot renews pressure on Hyundai

[THE INVESTOR] US activist hedge fund Elliott Management ramped up its pressure on Hyundai Motors on Nov. 13 demanding to return excessive capital of 16 trillion won (US$14.12 billion) to shareholders and sell non-core assets. In an open letter to Hyundai Motor and its affiliates Kia Motors and Hyundai Mobis, the US hedge fund led by billionaire Paul Singer said that the Korean group owns excessive capital and its shareholder returns lag behind industry peers such as General Motors and Toyota Mo

Ant Financial highlights SMEs, blockchain, global partnerships for further growth

[THE INVESTOR] Ant Financial, an affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, said on Nov. 14 it will continue to focus on helping merchants and small and medium enterprises, implement blockchain technology and boost tie-ups with global partners in order to expand its reach globally. The Hangzhou-based firm operates Alipay, one of China’s most popular mobile payment systems with more than 700 million active users, about half of the country’s population. Consumers connect their bank accounts to

Samsung to offer glimpse of foldable smartphone in Seoul

[THE INVESTOR] Tech giant Samsung Electronics said on Nov. 14 that it plans to hold a developer conference in Seoul on Nov. 20, where it will showcase its foldable phone that was unveiled in the US earlier this month.The upcoming conference comes after the previous developer event in San Francisco on Nov. 7-8 where the tech behemoth took the wraps off its first foldable smartphone. Koh Dong-jin, CEO of Samsung's mobile division, speaks at the firm's developer conference held on Nov. 7-8 in San F

Able C&C acquires Mefactory for W32b

[THE INVESTOR] Korean cosmetics firm Able C&C announced on Nov. 13 that it will acquire its smaller crosstown rival Mefactory for 32.4 billion won (US$286.14 million).Mefactory, established in 2014, is well known for its flagship product c3-Step Premium Piggy Nose Strip. In 2016, it launched new popular brands like Body Holic and Merzy with another cosmetics firm Honesi. “By acquiring Mefactory, we now have a new growth engine,” Able C&C official Park Hyun-jin said in a statement. The company sa

Korean startup entrepreneur lives brewing dream

[THE INVESTOR] Jeon Dong-keun, CEO of Korean craft beer brewery The Satellite Brewing Company, was not really a big fan of beer. That is, until he tasted a peach-flavored craft beer at a pub near Kalamazoo College in Michigan, the US, where he studied economics. “I was first surprised by the variety of beer options at a pub in the US,” CEO Jeon told The Investor in an interview at the startup’s office in Gasan-dong in southwestern Seoul on Nov. 9.“Then I was mesmerized by the taste of craft beer

SK hynix introduces new DRAM chip

[THE INVESTOR] Chipmaker SK hynix said on Nov. 12 that it has developed a second-generation 10-nanometer class 8-gigabit DDR4 DRAM chip.The new chip manufactured using 1Ynm technology boasts 20 percent higher productivity and 15 percent more energy efficiency, compared to the previous generation 1Xnm DRAM. The letters, X, Y and Z, are used to indicate high-, mid-, and low-single digits -- a lower the number indicates more advanced chip fabrication technology.The new DRAM chip supports a data tra

JYP founder likely to gain W18b from exercising preemptive rights

[THE INVESTOR] K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment founder and Chief Communications Officer Park Jin-young is expected to gain more than 18 billion won (US$15.88 million) by exercising his preemptive rights to buy extra shares, according to sources on Nov. 12.According to Financial Supervisory Service, Park has exercised his preemptive rights to buy 695,894 shares for 4,311 won apiece when the company issues new shares on Nov. 15. He has already paid 3 billion won for the fee required to exercise

Average age of top 5 chaebol CEOs is 58

[THE INVESTOR] The average age of CEOs leading companies under Korea’s five largest conglomerates came to 58.1 years, raising the possibility of a potential C-suite reshuffle by the year-end, according to a Seoul-based corporate tracker on Nov. 12. They include 122 chiefs of affiliates under Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, LG and Lotte, as per data compiled by CEOScore. LG Group’s CEOs are the oldest with the average age of 60.9 years, followed by Hyundai Motor and Lotte at 59.3, Samsung at 57.4 and

Hyundai Motor heir touts hydrogen as ultimate clean energy

[THE INVESTOR] Amid Hyundai Motor’s efforts to capitalize on its fuel cell electric vehicles, its Chief Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun zoomed in on hydrogen energy as a key economic and social solution for clean mobility at a forum in Singapore last week, the company said on Nov. 11.　“The report (released by the UN) warns us that we must decrease global greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent below 2010 levels by 2030, in order to avoid a catastrophe. I sincerely believe without any shadow of doubt tha

Hyundai Oilbank mulls postponing W2tr IPO to next year

[THE INVESTOR] Local refiner Hyundai Oilbank is likely to postpone its highly anticipated initial public offering to next year because of a delayed audit and dismal market conditions, according to sources on Nov. 9. The firm received the green light for listing from the Korea Exchange after a preliminary screening in August, but it is still awaiting a financial audit by the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a procedure necessary for IPOs. Eve

Korea’s top game firms post disappointing Q3 earnings

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s leading game companies reported lackluster sales and profits in the third quarter, as momentum for their signature games slowed down. NCSoft logged 403 billion won (US$357 million) in sales with operating profit of 139 billion won, plunging 44 percent and 58 percent, respectively, the company said on Nov. 9. Its net profit nosedived 65.67 percent from a year ago to 94.4 billion won in the July-September period.The weak performance was largely due to a decline in sales of “

NCSoft hopes to shoot ahead with new mobile games next year

[THE INVESTOR] Korean game publisher NCSoft unveiled five mobile games on Nov. 8 that are expected to become its growth engines next year.The newly unveiled massive multiplayer online role-playing games include “Lineage2M,” “Aion2,” “Blade & Soul 2,” “Blade & Soul M,” and “Blade & Soul S” -- based on stories and characters featured in the original versions, “Lineage,” “Aion” and “Blade & Soul.”“Lineage,” originally a PC game first released in 1998, got huge success in the domestic and global mar

Trading of Samsung BioLogics shares halted

Game firms gear up to dazzle at G-Star 2018

Samsung to offer glimpse of foldable smartphone in Seoul

OliX’s RNAi therapy gets approval for phase 2 trials

FTC to sue Samsung chairman over deliberate law violation

NongHyup, IBK CEOs to brief NY authorities on anti-money laundering efforts

Samsung unveils new mobile AP optimized for AI

LG Electronics CEO seeks to recruit IT experts in US

Local Samsung Pay users up 58% in Oct.

Samsung set to widen gap with Intel

Samsung likely to release foldable smartphone in March

[EQUITIES] ‘KEPCO tackles cost burdens’

[EQUITIES] ‘Korean Air remains strong despite concerns’

[EQUITIES] ‘JYP Entertainment gains fast abroad'

[EQUITIES] ‘Fila Korea posts earnings surprise in Q3’

Samsung BioLogics reacts to SFC’s ruling on accounting irregularities

SK Innovation mulls car battery plants in US, Europe

Global PR Summit kicks off on Nov. 23 in Seoul

Hyundai, Vodafone sign deal for connected car services in Europe

SoCar showcases self-driving tech for car-sharing services

WeWork signs MOU with Busan City to launch new offices

Big Bang’s Seungri to head Headrock VR

Kakao Ventures invests W1b in K-beauty platform Limese in India

Why birth order is a big deal at LG

New thinking needed on GM Korea

Fall of the ‘Angel of Death’?

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