January 22, 2019

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Sandbox Network aims to go public by 2021

[THE INVESTOR] Sandbox Network, one of Korea’s top YouTube management companies, is eying an IPO within the next couple of years, according to a top executive. “We are looking at the year 2021 or 2022 to go public,” Sandbox CEO Lee Pil-sung said in a recent interview with The Investor. “According to our analysis, we believe we will grow big enough to float our shares by that time. To help reach this goal, Sandbox Network is aiming to stabilize its business by generating revenue of 50 billion won

Activist fund to be more involved in Hanjin’s management

[THE INVESTOR] Korea Corporate Governance Improvement, a local private equity firm, has unveiled plans to more actively participate in the management of Hanjin Group.The activist fund, led by former LK Investment Partners head Kang Sung-bu, claimed that the family-owned conglomerate has a weak governance structure, high financial leverage, as well as inertia in risk management and response to market conditions.  Hanjin headquarters building in Seoul.To fight this, KCGI suggested forming separate

Unison Capital inches closer to selling Gong Cha Korea

[THE INVESTOR] Japanese buyout fund Unison Capital has inched closer to selling milk tea franchise Gong Cha Korea by choosing Goldman Sachs Seoul branch as the deal broker, according to industry watchers on Jan. 21. Beverages of Gong Cha KoreaGong Cha KoreaBased in Tokyo, Unison currently owns 76.9 percent of Gong Cha Korea through an SPC, and currently runs offices in Seoul and San Francisco. It first invested in the tea business, having bought a 65 percent stake in what used to be an offshore

Hana Financial kicks off in-house venture projects

[THE INVESTOR] Hana Financial Group announced on Jan. 21 that it has kicked off two projects on its in-house venture platform. Korea’s third-largest financial group in terms of net profit has been gearing up to foster ventures after launching Connect & Development Factory, an in-house venture platform by its affiliate Hana Financial TI, in August. It was launched as part of the group’s efforts to discover new business opportunities and foster a culture of open innovation. Hana Financial official

Kakao Pay, KT to take part in govt’s Zero Pay

[THE INVESTOR] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on Jan. 21 that more payment gateway and value-added network firms, including Kakao Pay and KT, are likely to participate in the government’s mobile payment system Zero Pay.The ministry, which sought applications from additional service providers from Jan. 7 to 18, said Kakao Pay, KT, eBay Korea, online shopping mall 11st and 11 other companies have stated their intention to join. Some 16 value-added network companies such as NICE Inform

Yanolja hires former Tesla Motors Korea chief

[THE INVESTOR] Accommodation booking platform operator Yanolja said on Jan. 21 it has named Kim Jin-jeong, former head of electric car maker Tesla Motors’ Korean office, as chief of offline operations. Kim, who holds an MBA from Yonsei University, worked for 18 years at Starbucks Korea from 1999 to 2017, taking charge of sales and marketing. His last role at the coffee giant was operational chief. He then moved to Tesla Motors in 2017, helping the electric car maker establish its footing in the

A tale of two sports cars in wintery Korea

[THE INVESTOR] Driving a sports car on slippery roads in wintertime is definitely not a smart thing to do, but can be fun if you know how to handle the adrenaline-stimulating horsepower from a turbocharged engine. And the advanced safety features of the latest sports cars to hit the market, including GM’s all-new Camaro and Mercedes-Benz’s 400 d 4MATIC, ensure a driving experience that’s fun but not terrifying.As GM Korea CEO Kaher Kazem described it, the New Camaro SS inherited Chevrolet’s perf

Samsung Bioepis’ breast cancer biosimilar gains FDA approval

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Bioepis’ Ontruzant, a breast cancer treatment biosimilar referencing Roche’s Herceptin, won US Food and Drug Administration approval on Jan. 19, expanding the list of Herceptin successors in the US market to three. Ontruzant is the third FDA-approved biosimilar of Switzerland firm Roche’s blockbuster breast cancer antibody. Its FDA approval is preceded by Mylan’s Ogivri in December, 2017, and Celltrion’s Herzuma in December, 2018. The three firms’ biosimilars

KB, Shinhan regroup as competition heats up for ‘leading bank’ title

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank held nationwide meetings to review and recognize last year’s business performance and set fresh operational strategies for 2019, as the country’s two largest banking groups step up their competition to clinch this year’s “leading bank” title. Over the weekend, KB Kookmin Bank held a strategy meeting that brought together the bank’s CEO Hur Yin and the deputy directors at the bank’s nationwide branches to discuss the bank’s performance la

Woori Financial poised for M&A binge

[THE INVESTOR] Woori Financial Group wrote several pages of Korea’s financial history when it became the first banking group in the country to have a holding company structure. The process, however, wasn’t done voluntarily, as it was created by putting together five commercial banks that had to be injected with government funds in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The modern day structure was the result of a whole bunch of sell-offs by state-owned Korea Deposit Insurance Corp., t

Pearl Abyss works on mobile game for Samsung’s foldable smartphone

[THE INVESTOR] Korean game publisherPearl Abyss will likely roll out a specially tailored version of its hit MMORPG “Black Desert,” for Samsung Electronics’ upcoming foldable smartphone, according to sources on Jan. 18.The release schedule of the game has not been confirmed yet, but it could coincide with the launch of the long-awaited foldable phone in February. According to a source quoted by Korean news outlet Asia Today, half of the screen can be used when playing the mobile game, while the

Four foreign banks fined W693m for price-fixing of FX derivatives

[THE INVESTOR] Korea's antitrust watchdog said on Jan. 20 that it has fined four foreign banks 693 million won (US$618,000) for fixing the prices of foreign exchange derivatives and selling them to five Korean companies.The Fair Trade Commission said Standard Chartered Bank Korea and the local units of Deutsche Bank AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSBC agreed on prices of foreign exchange derivatives on seven occasions between March 2010 and February 2012.Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSB

Mega-hit ‘SKY Castle’ is a formula for killer contents

Samsung Galaxy S10 leaks, accident or publicity stunt?

Unison Capital inches closer to selling Gong Cha Korea

Macquarie, IMM shortlisted for acquiring Linde Korea

Tinder, not just a dating app in Korea

LG Electronics to unveil foldable smartphone for VIPs at MWC: source

Samsung Bioepis’ breast cancer biosimilar gains FDA approval

LG Uplus to complete 5G network in major cities this year

LG, GS Caltex sign MOU on hybrid fueling stations

SK Broadband to double network size for Netflix users

FTC claims Apple exploited local mobile carriers

Lotto sales hit record high in 2018

Mirae Asset picked as preferred bidder for State Tower Namsan

Orchestra PE reshuffles digital imagery firm Vision Holdings

Mirae Asset, Naver invest W56b in Indonesian e-commerce unicorn

Drug makers’ tech exports reach W5tr in 2018

Court suspends FSC’s penalties on Samsung BioLogics

Hyundai Mobis targets US$2b orders this year

Hyundai develops safer air bag deployment system

Experts urge exemption for startups from new VAC bill to curb red tape

Kakao Mobility’s woes over carpooling service expected to linger

SoCar receives W50b funding from VCs

More investment to the startups: Woori group chairman

Why birth order is a big deal at LG

New thinking needed on GM Korea

Fall of the ‘Angel of Death’?

Wherever you end up going