Asia GDP growth

Arts Seoul appeal: Korean art captivates Indonesia’s affluent connoisseurs

JAKARTA – Last Thursday, Baik Art gallery in Jakarta, Indonesia, was crowded with well-heeled art patrons eager to meet a revered artist from ...

Earnings Shinhan Financial’s overseas business blooms, on track for record earnings

Shinhan Financial Group Co., South Korea’s leading financial holding company, is poised to surpass 1 trillion won ($692 million) in annual net...

Economy Korea’s Q1 economic contraction adds to stimulus expectations

South Korea's economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter as exports and consumption fell amid a political crisis and fears over the impact...

Earnings KB Financial logs 61% profit growth, rebounding from ELS fiasco

KB Financial Group Inc. on Thursday reported a 61% jump in first-quarter profit, led by a nearly threefold rise in earnings at its flagship unit Koo...

Alternative investments Meritz backs half of ex-manager’s $210 mn hedge fund

Meritz Financial Group Inc., one of South Korea’s most aggressive alternative asset managers, has committed 150 billion won ($105 million) to ...

Culture & Trends S.Korea’s medical tourism thrives on weak currency

Foreign visitors to South Korea jumped nearly 20% early this year, largely driven by a sharp depreciation in the country’s currency value agai...

Central bank BOK stands pat; rate cut likely within 3 months as economic growth slows

The Bank of Korea (BOK) left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.75% on Thursday, with Governor Rhee Chang-yong warning that a surge in globa...

Asset management South Korea’s young rich vs old rich: Coins, art outpace bonds, funds

Young South Korean millionaires, placing bold wagers on unconventional financial assets such as cryptocurrencies and art, are gaining ground fast, g...

Beauty & Cosmetics K-beauty defies trade headwinds as exports to China, US lead sales growth

South Korea’s beauty industry is mounting a powerful global push, defying trade pressures and economic uncertainties with a surge in exports t...

Business & Politics S.Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ousted; new presidential election coming

South Korea’s Constitutional Court permanently removed President Yoon Suk Yeol from office on Friday, making him the country’s second pr...

Real estate Asia Property to buy WeWork building in Seoul

Seoul-based real estate investment firm Asia Property has been picked as the sole preferred bidder for an office building currently occupied by cowo...

Electronics LG’s global HVAC push takes off with new deal in Singapore

LG Electronics Inc. has landed a deal to supply its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to a fulfillment center in Singapore, a...

Banking & Finance Hana Financial CEO set for reappointment with foreign investor backing

More than half of the foreign shareholders in Hana Financial Group have thrown their support behind Chief Executive Ham Young-joo for a second term,...

Leadership & Management Kakao founder Kim to resign as control tower chair

Kakao Corp. founder Kim Beom-soo, also known as Brian Kim, will step down as chairman of the South Korean tech giant’s top decision-making bod...

Private equity South Korea emerges as private equity firms’ global hub

New York-based Apollo Global Management and London-based Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) have joined the ranks of global private equity firms that ...

Economy S.Korea logs current account surplus in Jan; Growth slows

South Korea reported a current account surplus for 21 straight months in January but with a moderated gain largely due to a contraction in the goods...

Business & Politics Asia’s defense stocks climb on hopes of more European arms spending

Defense stocks in key Asian markets jumped on Tuesday, buoyed by expectations that European nations will boost security spending amid fears that the...

Earnings Coupang posts profit for 2 straight years in 2024 on new growth drivers

Coupang Inc., South Korea’s answer to global e-commerce giant Amazon.com, ended last year with profit for the second straight year thanks to t...

Central bank Bank of Korea cuts rates, growth forecast on Trump tariff policy

South Korea’s central bank on Tuesday cut interest rates while sharply reducing its economic growth forecast as lingering political turmoil fo...

Alternative investments Korea Investment & Securities aims to be Asia's top securities firm

Korea Investment & Securities Co. will step up its asset management business by launching innovative global investment products, aiming to surpa...

Electronics LG Innotek ventures into automotive AP module market

LG Innotek Co., a major South Korean electronics parts developer, has forayed into the automotive application processor (AP) module market, poised f...

E-commerce Korean e-commerce platforms’ growth cools; Naver Shopping sales down

South Korea’s major e-commerce platforms, including Naver Shopping, are showing signs of slowing growth amid the rise of Chinese platform gian...

Corporate bonds LG companies flock to debt, equity markets to raise $2.8 billion

Companies under South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate LG Group scrambled to sell shares and bonds to raise 4 trillion won ($2.8 billion) e...

Real estate PAG raises $4 bn for opportunistic Asia real estate fund

PAG, an Asia Pacific-focused alternative investment firm, on Friday announced the final close of its 10th opportunistic real estate fund at $4 billi...

Economy South Korean state think tank cuts 2025 growth forecast, flags US tariff risk

South Korea’s state-run think tank has cut its growth forecast for the country this year, citing President Donald Trump’s trad...

Mergers & Acquisitions MBK-led consortium to take over Japan’s FICT for $656 mn

MBK Partners, the largest private equity firm in North Asia, will acquire a controlling stake in FICT Ltd., a semiconductor printed circuit board (P...

Artificial intelligence LG, SNU team up to develop AI modeling for protein structure predictions

LG AI Research Institute, the artificial intelligence think-tank of LG Group, South Korea’s fourth-biggest conglomerate, on Thursday signed a ...

Bio & Pharma Celltrion’s Vegzelma: Most-prescribed cancer treatment in Europe

South Korea’s leading biosimilar drug developer Celltrion Inc.'s Vegzelma, a cancer drug referencing global biopharma Roche’s Avastin, h...

Leadership & Management Samsung set to rebuild with leader Lee cleared of all charges

Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong was found not guilty of accounting fraud, stock manipulation and other criminal charges by a Seoul app...

League table Korean law firms' 2024 revenue soars on M&As, management disputes

South Korea’s major law firms saw rapid growth in revenue last year as the economic slowdown sparked business overhauls at top conglomerates, ...