September 18, 2019

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Woongjin defers final bid for Coway to Oct.

Cash-strapped Woongjin, which recently decided to resell its stake in water purifier rental firm Woongjin Coway, has once again delayed its schedule for the final bid, according to sources on Sept. 18.The final bid was originally scheduled for early September, but Korea Investment &Securities, which is managing its sale, decided to delay it to Sept. 25 to accept more bidders.According to industry sources, Woongjin decided to delay its plan once again to Oct. 10 due to a request by bidders fo

Sae-A to acquire fiberboard maker Tailim Packaging

South Korean clothing manufacturer Sae-A Trading was picked as the preferred bidder for the country’s largest corrugated fiberboard makers Tailim Packaging and Tailim Paper, according to IMM PE, the largest shareholder that is selling them in a bundled deal, on Sept. 18. Sae-A is expected to pay between 700 billion won ($587 million) to 800 billion won for 71 percent in Tailim Packaging and 100 percent stake in Tailim Paper. Following the news, Kospi-listed Tailim Packaging saw its sh

Video-streaming war heats up in S. Korea

The video-streaming war in South Korea is intensifying, with CJ ENM and broadcasting firm JTBC the latest to join the battleground. The two companies announced Sept. 17 that they have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture for video-streaming services. They will also launch a new platform, based on the existing streaming service Tving owned by CJ ENM, early next year. CJ ENM will be the largest shareholder in the JV. “In order to gain a competitive edge in the growing video-str

Aveva to upgrade integrated industrial software in digital push

SINGAPORE -- UK-based industrial software developer Aveva said Sept. 17 it plans to introduce its newly integrated industrial software by November in its digital push to streamline large-scale projects.The news comes amid the UK company’s push for software integration following its merger with French multinational firm Schneider Electric’s industrial software business in March 2018. Since the merger, Aveva has strived to bring together its design, engineering and constructi

Ghost Kitchen secures additional W9.2b

South Korean shared kitchen startup Ghost Kitchen announced on Sept. 16 that it has secured additional funds worth 9.2 billion won.Its existing investors including startup accelerator Schmidt and shared office operator Fastfive funded the additional amount. New investors, including Smilegate Investment, Mega Investment and IMM Investment, also joined this funding round. The Korean company received around 2.1 billion won in February. In July, Choi Jung-ee, former key member of Korea’s

Medytox invests in US startup LifeSprout

Medytox has participated in the seed-funding round of US startup LifeSprout, according to industry sources on Sept. 16.Although the Korean company declined to confirm the specific amount that it has funded, a local news outlet reported that it invested around $1.5 million in this round.The US company secured $6.5 million in total from investors, including Kairos Venture Partners, Triskelion Investments, Maryland Technology Development Corporation, Ginkgo Gofar, and AngelMD also join LifeSprout&r

KT joins forces with Hyundai for electric bus

South Korean telecom giant KT announced on Sept. 16 that it would supply automotive solutions, called fleet management system, to manage electric buses manufactured by Hyundai Motor Company.The FMS helps analyze and manage data of electric buses, including GPS coordinates, operating records and the overall vehicle status. “KT and Hyundai will continue to work to develop new services to galvanize the EV sector, which is deemed to replace the conventional car industry in the future,&rdq

S. Korean companies expand presence on Dow Jones indices

South Korea’s leading businesses are increasing their presence on Dow Jones indices, indicating improvement in the sustainability of companies from Asia’s fourth-largest economy, according to the firms on Sept. 15.  SK Telecom, the country’s biggest mobile carrier, said it has been included on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the 12th consecutive year. The telecom giant’s record marks the longest period on the index among Korean businesses and the first a

Korean drug firms eye growth in South America

Korean pharmaceutical companies are making inroads into the Central and South American markets, betting on their steady growth. Samsung Bioepis, Celltrion Healthcare, Boryung Pharmaceutical, CJ HealthCare and Hanmi Pharmaceutical all announced in the first half of 2019 that they would begin or expand commercialization of flagship drugs overseas.Samsung Bioepis, the novel bio drug development arm of Samsung BioLogics, said Tuesday that it has begun sales of its autoimmune disease treatment Brenzy

Samsung heir flies to Saudi to check on metro project

Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman and heir apparent of Samsung Electronics, on Saturday flew to Saudi Arabia to check on Samsung C&T’s infrastructure project in the Middle Eastern country’s capital Riyadh, according to the company on Sept. 15. The de facto leader of South Korea’s biggest conglomerate visited the construction site for the Riyadh Metro project participated by Samsung C&T, the construction arm of Samsung.  The project, slated for completion by 2020, include

SKT-Ericsson test of standalone 5G network succeeds

SK Telecom and its Swedish partner Ericsson said Sunday they have successfully conducted a joint test of the 5G standalone network, opening the way for faster network services and better data management efficiency.Standalone (SA) is a method that is two times faster than the previous 5G non-standalone (NSA) method, which uses 5G connection side by side with the lower-grade Long Term Evolution network.  SK Telecom announced it has become the first Korean telecom company to achieve pure SA 5G

[INTERVIEW] How to ‘backstab’ startups

"Stop, if you have a sense of foreboding,” reads a motto in the office of Veluga Brewery, a Seoul-based startup that was recently forced to shut down its beer subscription box service in South Korea.And foreboding it was when in June, Korea’s National Tax Service summoned representatives of Veluga Brewery, whose business involves delivering a box containing four bottles of beer and food to subscribers every two weeks. NTS officials told the firm that it would come up with p

YG faces W6b tax penalty as Burning Sun scandal unfolds

Samsung to ramp up Galaxy Fold production

Video-streaming war heats up in S. Korea

Ghost Kitchen secures additional W9.2b

Sae-A to acquire fiberboard maker Tailim Packaging

Going digital critical for shedding complexity: Samsung Heavy

Samsung heir flies to Saudi to check on metro project

Samsung heir meets Saudi crown prince

LG Uplus to offer 5G roaming service in China

Mirae Ohsung Group to receive funds worth $55 m

Samsung Venture Investment funds US startup iBeam

Korea to set up W300b fund for fintech firms

Robo advisors outshine in bear market

US-Japan FTA to hurt S. Korea’s trade: report

S. Korea set to exclude Japan from whitelist this week

Auto exports down 3.4% in Aug.

Korean firms suffer extended slump in Q2

Imports of Japanese beer fall sharply on boycott

Celltrion’s Herzuma receives sales approval in Canada

Uber Eats halts service in S. Korea

Secondhand marketplace Danggeun raises W40b

Seoul’s test bed policy to open way for tech startups

Toy’s Myth signs MOU with Thai company at Start-Up Seoul

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