July 21, 2018

• 
• 
• 

Contract dispute between Reyon and ViroMed deepens

[THE INVESTOR] A patent licensing dispute between Reyon Pharmaceutical and ViroMed is intensifying as a gene therapy candidate developed by the latter is expected to become commercialized.Seoul-based Reyon threatened to sue ViroMed on July 19 if its long-time partner manufactures the potential drug VM202 at a US plant that ViroMed recently acquired. Reyon claims that such an action would breach a license agreement under which Ryeon has the right to produce the ingredients of the drug.“We will ta

Schindler claims W300b from Korean government over Hyundai Elevator

[THE INVESTOR] Swiss elevator manufacturer Schindler Group, which is the second-largest shareholder of Hyundai Elevator, has launched a legal claim seeking at least 300 billion won (US$264 million) from the Korean government as compensation for damages over its approval of paid-in capital increase of the Korean lift maker from 2013 to 2015. The Ministry of Justice on July 19 said Schindler submitted a notice of intent seeking a resolution through the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism.

Woori Bank’s net profit jumps 19 percent to 11-year high in H1

[THE INVESTOR] Woori Bank posted a net profit of 1.31 trillion won (US$1.15 billion) in the first half of the year, an 11-year record, the bank said on July 20. The figure, which is higher than market expectation of 1.1 trillion won, is an 18.9 percent increase from a year earlier, the bank said in a regulatory filing. Woori Bank said the gains were backed by overseas businesses and local asset management, which together represents 43 percent of its total profit. “The first-half bottom-line was

Neptune, Dunamu & Partners invest in blockchain gamemaker Memory

[THE INVESTOR] Korean gamemaker Neptune and Dunamu & Partners, the investment arm of cryptocurrency exchange Upbeat operator Dunamu, announced on July 19 an investment in blockchain-based game developer Memory.Netune and Dunamu Partners each invested 500 million won (US$440,817) through convertible preferred shares in the three-year-old company behind mobile game “Battle Cats Rangers.” “Memory is planning to introduce a crypto game which combines popular copyrighted characters and games. While c

Korea’s top institutional investor eyes realty in major US cities

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s top institutional investor Public Officials Benefit Association plans to invest 200 billion won (US$177 million) in commercial properties in nine major US cities, including New York and Chicago, as it seeks aggressive alternative investments overseas, industry sources said on July 19. POBA has committed the investment via KB Asset Management in a US$825 million private debt fund managed by Square Mile Capital, a subsidiary of USAA Real Estate Company. POBA’s investment tak

Woori Card to boost capital in microfinance subsidiary in Myanmar

[THE INVESTOR] Woori Card, the credit card unit of Woori Financial Group, plans to recapitalize its subsidiary in Myanmar as it bets on high growth potential in one of the fastest growing Southeast Asian countries, industry sources said on July 19. The board of directors of Woori Card will convene later this month to approve a capital increase of about 3 billion won (US$2.60 million) in its microfinance subsidiary TUTU Finance-WCI Myanmar. The capital increase is backed by a faster-than-expected

Innisfree, Tmall open new store in Hangzhou

[THE INVESTOR] Innisfree, a budget cosmetics brand of Korean beauty giant Amorepacific, on July 18 announce that it has jointly opened a new store in Hangzhou with Alibaba’s online e-commerce platform operator Tmall. The launch of the new store came after the Chinese e-commerce giant announced its plan to support Korean companies, especially cosmetics firms like Innisfree, to further expand their presence in its home market.The Chinese firm emphasized that customers can try the cosmetics product

Scammers cashing in on fake Kakao ICO

[THE INVESTOR] Fake Kakao ICO websites are rampant since the Korean internet giant debuted its own blockchain business unit Ground X in March.During the launch event, Kakao’s co-CEO Joh Su-yong made it clear the firm has no plans to launch its own coin. “There are so many rumors about our ICO but all of them are scams,” he said at the time. Despite the CEO’s warning, the rumors about Kakao’s planned ICO have shown no signs of abating, with malicious people rushing in to scam investors. Related:K

Samsung to sell off another office building

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Life Insurance plans to sell its office building in Gangnam, southern Seoul, according to The Bell on July 19. Citing unnamed industry sources, the report said the insurance business unit of Samsung Group recently sent a request for proposal letters and plans to hold a bid to select the deal advisor next week. Established in 2010, the building is a relatively new one with 17 stories and 30,647 square-meter space. Considering the transaction prices near the Samseong-dong ar

Kolon Life Science signs W230b deal to spply Invossa to China

[THE INVESTOR] Kolon Life Science said on July 18 that it has entered an agreement with a Chinese health care provider to export Invossa, an injectable cell gene therapy for osteoarthritis in a deal worth 230 billion won (US$203.50 million). Under the deal, Kolon Life Science will supply Invossa to Hainan, an island province of China that the government is pushing to turn into a medical tourism destination, while China Life Medical Centre will be in charge of regulatory approval, sales and marke

Why Korea is the world’s hottest place for ICOs, blockchain

[THE INVESTOR] Despite the latest boom and bust in Korea’s cryptocurrency market, industry experts believe the tech-savvy nation is still the hotbed for testing and developing blockchain projects, and to advertise initial coin offerings. “We don’t live in a single country, but within a global network. This means, if a project has great value, it can raise capital from all over the world,” Simon Kim, CEO and founding partner of Hashed, Korean blockchain project accelerator and investor, said in h

[Q&A] SoCar CEO Lee Jae-woong hints at aggressive investments

[THE INVESTOR] Lee Jae-woong is Korea’s first generation of entrepreneurs. The 50-year-old founded internet giant Daum Communication, now Kakao Corp. After stepping down as Daum CEO in 2007, he has focused on investing in startups and social ventures. In April, while announcing that SoCar secured an investment of 60 billion won (US$53 million) from Private equity firm IMM PE, Lee made a comeback as CEO by heading Korea’s largest car-sharing platform. He is also the largest shareholder of the com

Samsung mulls merging Galaxy S Plus and Note lineups

Samsung to sell off another office building

Korea’s top institutional investor eyes realty in major US cities

Woori Card to boost capital in microfinance subsidiary in Myanmar

Innisfree, Tmall open new store in Hangzhou

Civic group files complaint against Samsung BioLogics

Contract dispute between Reyon and ViroMed deepens

Samsung Electronics ready to become ‘first-mover’ in global 5G equipment business

Samsung to pay record high incentives to partners

Kakao affiliate Hasys plans to raise W6b funds

BOE to supply OLED for Huawei’s Mate 20

J&W Partners nears acquisition of SK Securities

KB sees W2tr in H1 net profit, expected to maintain top position

[EQUITIES] ‘E-mart to regain momentum from Q3’

[EQUITIES] 'Medytox to maintain momentum'

Janssen to test JNJ-64565111 as treatment for severe obesity, diabetes

Ministop Korea denies rumors of closing shop

Hahn & Co. to receive LOI from Woongjin Foods bidders in July

Lotte Mart to expand further in Mongolia

Kakao Ventures invests W1b in shift scheduling app for nurses

SoCar invests in self-driving technology firm RideFlux

CareLabs acquires dating app operator BNK Lab for W11b

Recruitment platform Wanted acquires Kreditjob.com

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