October 22, 2018

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Battle between taxis, car-sharing services reaches turning point

[THE INVESTOR] On the same day thousands of taxi drivers in Seoul and surrounding Gyeonggi Province went on strike to protest Kakao’s planned launch of an Uber-like carpool service, Korea’s long-frustrated ride-sharing startups enjoyed unusual popularity. ‘The demand for PoolUs increased by 50 percent from a day ago and jumped by 150 percent during the morning rush hour,” CEO of car-sharing app Socar Lee Jae-woong said on Oct. 18. PoolUs, which used to be the largest ride-sharing app, is an affi

FSC to review Samsung BioLogics’ accounting fraud case on Oct. 31

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s top financial regulator said on Oct. 19 it will hold a meeting later this month to decide on penalizing Samsung BioLogics for alleged accounting fraud. The Securities & Futures Commission under the Financial Service Commission will review the case on Oct. 31 involving the contract drug manufacturer’s change of accounting methods for its stake in Samsung Bioepis. It had invited suspicions of using the new standards to inflate Samsung Biologics’ 2015 earnings ahead of its in

SK Networks denies rumors of acquiring Coway

[THE INVESTOR] SK Networks, the nation’s second largest car rental provider, on Oct. 19 denied news reports that it plans to acquire water purifier company Coway. “We have never considered acquiring Coway. The rumors that one of our affiliates will acquire the firm are not true,” an SK Networks spokesperson told The Investor.Since SK Networks is the parent company of the country’s second largest water purifier rental business unit SK Magic, it was considered as one of the possible candidates for

[Kosdaq Star] New MMORPG heralds Gamevil’s Q4 earnings surprise

[THE INVESTOR] There is growing anticipation for a turnaround in at Gamevil, a developer and publisher of mobile games, after the global market reacted positively to its recent releases and news of releases slated for the fourth quarter.　On Friday, Gamevil’s stock price jumped sharply, closing 14.9 percent up from Thursday. Its market cap came to 361.4 billion won ($319.2 million), ranking 121st in size among the 1,300 companies listed on Kosdaq. The uptick Friday was driven by a net purchase of

Korea’s Naver, Celltrion, Samsung BioLogics on Fortune’s ‘Future 50’ list

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean internet giant Naver and the country’s top biopharma companies Celltrion and Samsung BioLogics have been listed on Fortune’s Future 50, which ranks global companies with the best prospects for long-term growth.　　The global business magazine on Friday announced the Future 50 list, compiled annually in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group. 　Naver, which operates Korea’s dominant portal website, ranked sixth. Celltrion, a developer of biosimilar drugs, ranked 17t

Samsung opens AI research center in Montreal

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics said on Oct. 19 that it has launched its seventh artificial intelligence center in Montreal, Canada.The latest AI laboratory joins six other locations, including Cambridge in the UK, Moscow and New York.Montreal, second largest city in Canada and home to global IT companies, is one of the major AI clusters along with Toronto and Edmonton in the North American nation.The city houses 250 researchers and 9,000 university students in AI-related programs.The tech gi

BTS renews contract with Big Hit Entertainment

[THE INVESTOR] Big Hit Entertainment said on Oct. 18 that seven-member K-pop boy band BTS that is making waves globally has renewed its contract. “We signed a seven-year contract with BTS based on our existing trust and affection,” Big Hit Entertainment informed its shareholders. BTSThe band that is topping Billboard charts had earlier signed a seven-year contract with Big Hit Entertainment in 2013. The members still had a year left before the original contract ends but decided to extend the con

SKINFOOD sued by franchisees for seeking court receivership

[THE INVESTOR] Korean cosmetics maker SKINFOOD said on Oct. 18 that four of its franchisees have filed a lawsuit against it for seeking court receivership.“We are currently having talks with our franchisees to find a solution,” a SKINFOOD official said in a statement.Despite the company’s effort, according to sources, more franchisees are currently preparing to file a lawsuit against the company and CEO Cho Yoon-ho, after it announced on Oct. 8 that it has filed for court receivership due to mou

WeWork to launch new co-working space in Busan

[THE INVESTOR] Co-working space giant WeWork will launch an office in the port city of Busan next year in a bid to expand its operations outside the nation’s capital Seoul, according to news reports on Oct. 18.Matthew Shampine, general manager of WeWork Korea, and Busan Mayor Oh Geo-don have reportedly agreed to cooperate to open the new shared office space and create jobs in the city. Matthew Shampine, WeWork Korea general manager.Related:WeWork Labs opens first Asian operation in SeoulThe late

Bank ownership rules eased for Kakao, Naver

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s financial authorities on Oct. 16 announced a set of revisions to the current ownership law of internet-only banks, paving the way for select big tech firms like Kakao and Naver to own a full-fledged bank from next year. Under the current regulations on separation of financial and commercial capital, a non-financial company with more than 10 trillion won (US$8.60 billion) assets is banned from owning more than 10 percent stake in a financial company. The revision will eleva

SKINFOOD to close outlets in E-mart, E-Land Retail

[THE INVESTOR] SKINFOOD has decided to shut down its outlets at major hypermarket chains in Korea, industry sources said on Oct. 16.Although SKINFOOD declined to confirm the news, it has reportedly called for emergency meetings with hypermarket chain operators, including E-mart and E-Land Retail, to discuss the closure of its stores.“We have agreed with SKINFOOD to close down its 22 outlets at our stores in November,” an E-Land Retail spokesperson told The Investor. However, an E-mart official s

Chinese crypto exchange BTCC to launch service in Korea

[THE INVESTOR] BTCC, China’s first cryptocurrency exchange, formerly known as BTC China, is launching services in Korea on Oct. 31. BTCC, founded in 2011, was one of the largest exchanges in the world by trading volume before the Chinese government’s crackdown on cryptocurrency trading and initial coin offerings. It closed its Chinese operations in September last year and relaunched services in Hong Kong in January. Its Korean office will be helmed by Lee Jae-beom, with the beta service starting

SKINFOOD put under court receivership

Battle between taxis, car-sharing services reaches turning point

[Interview] Volvo CE president highlights Korea as global excavator hub

Samsung beats Apple in US computer reliability report

SKINFOOD to close outlets in E-mart, E-Land Retail

Google to set up data center in Korea next year

[EQUITIES] ‘JYP Entertainment to set earnings record in Q3’

LG Uplus in talks to acquire CJ Hello

SK Telecom, KT likely to post weaker Q3 earnings

Samsung expands startup program for innovation

Samsung introduces new 7-nm process utilizing EUV tech

[EQUITIES] ‘Hyundai Home Shopping to rebound next year’

[EQUITIES] ‘Jeju Air sputters in Q3’

[EQUITIES] ‘CJ CheilJedang strengthens overseas’

Korea ranks 7th highest in corporate tax rates among OECD nations

Korea Gas Corporation confident of retaining leadership in natural gas

Hyundai’s i30 N sales accelerate in Europe

Seegene joins hands with China’s Xi’an Tianlong

SsangYong Motor tops UK owner satisfaction survey

BTS’ investor LB Investment seeks IPO next year

Yanolja teams up with Terra to adopt blockchain solutions

[INTERVIEW] Y Combinator scouts next Memebox in Korea

Aroundus to launch web variety show with T.cast, BucketON

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