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Economy S&P reaffirms South Korea’s AA credit rating with stable outlook

S&P Global Ratings has reaffirmed South Korea’s sovereign credit rating at AA with a stable outlook, citing the country’s resilient ...

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea Zinc faces multiple legal, regulatory challenges in fight against MBK

Korea Zinc Inc. Chairman Choi Yun-birm appears to have kept his grip on the world’s largest zinc smelter after successfully fending off an MBK...

Alternative investments Korean financial firms face growing risks in overseas property investments

South Korea’s financial institutions are increasingly at risk of their overseas real estate investments turning sour, government data showed o...

Private equity MBK sees better exit landscape in 2025, bets on governance reform

MBK Partners sees a recovery in the exit environment in 2025 and seeks to capitalize on the opportunities emerging from corporate governance reform ...

Retail Koreans’ craving for luxury goods fades

Until recently, it was not unusual to see people waiting in a long line in front of foreign haute couture brands’ stores early in the morning ...

Business & Politics Korea eyes laws akin to US AMPC to offer subsidies for its battery makers

South Korea, home to global top battery makers such as LG Energy Solution Ltd., SK On Co. and Samsung SDI Co., is seeking to enact laws that would l...

Mergers & Acquisitions MBK Partners poised to acquire CJ Cheiljedang’s $3.5 billion bio business

North Asia-focused private equity firm MBK Partners is on the verge of clinching a major acquisition deal by offering a higher bid than other conten...

Foreign exchange South Korea’s forex reserves dip to nearly 5-year low in February

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves diminished to the lowest level in nearly five years last month, largely due to the expanded forex swap...

Private equity MBK-owned Homeplus files for corporate revamp with Seoul court

South Korea’s leading hypermarket operator Homeplus Co., wholly owned by North Asia-focused private equity firm MBK Partners, on Tuesday filed...

Artificial intelligence SK Telecom to secure stake in IonQ, forges quantum partnership

South Korea’s largest telecom company SK Telecom Co. will acquire about a 3% stake in IonQ Inc., the world’s first publicly traded quant...

Tech, Media & Telecom Microsoft's quantum computing bet sparks controversy, again

In 2021, Microsoft Corp. faced significant scientific embarrassment when a landmark research paper it had sponsored was retracted.Published in the U...

Robotics Lotte Duty Free unveils robot bartender in Gimpo Int'l Airport

South Korea's Lotte Duty Free said on Thursday it placed its AI-based robot bartenders in Gimpo International Airport.Lotte Duty Free offers robot...

Cryptocurrencies Korea seeks tighter control over digital coins, mulls mandatory disclosures

South Korea plans to tighten its controls over cryptocurrency trade in the country by mandating information disclosures for listed virtual assets an...

Foreign exchange NPS initiates strategic currency hedging to unleash up to $48.2 billion

The National Pension Service (NPS), South Korea’s state-run pension fund and the country’s largest institutional investor, is set to beg...

Debt financing Korea debt financing faces woes as $34 bn in corporate bonds mature in H1

South Korea’s financial markets will see nearly 50 trillion won ($34 billion) in corporate bonds mature in the first half of next year —...

Corporate bonds Korea Inc. to face refunding risks with record corporate bond maturities

South Korean companies are expected to face refunding risks thanks to record corporate bond maturities in the first half of 2025, as fundraising con...

Foreign exchange South Korea to ease foreign exchange regulations, expand FX swap line

South Korea’s foreign authorities said on Friday they will ease foreign exchange regulations to allow more dollars into the domestic financial...

Real estate GIC to open 2nd tender for Seoul landmark building sale as bids disappoint

Singapore’s GIC Private Ltd., the world’s sixth-largest sovereign wealth fund, is set to seek more proposals from bidders to sell a land...

Beauty & Cosmetics LG H&H’s sales surge 156% on Amazon Black Friday

South Korea’s LG H&H Co. said on Thursday its sales on Amazon Black Friday this year surged 156% year over year.The Face Shop's Rice Water...

Business & Politics Korean chipmakers, battery makers face new risks with Trump’s comeback

With Donald Trump reelected as the next US president, South Korea’s major chipmakers, automakers and battery makers are on high alert as durin...

Business & Politics S.Korea set to scrap financial investment income tax

South Korea is set to scrap a plan to impose a tax on gains from financial investments – a scheme slated to be introduced early next year &nda...

Rights offerings Korea Zinc to raise $1.8 bn in rights issues amid face-off with MBK

Korea Zinc Inc. will raise 2.5 trillion won ($1.8 billion) in rights issues in December following its share buybacks and allocate 20% of them to its...

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea Zinc, MBK face proxy war for zinc smelter

Korea Zinc Inc.'s face-off with an MBK Partners-led consortium over control of the world’s largest zinc smelter looks set to escalate into a l...

Corporate restructuring Doosan to resume Bobcat, Robotics merger with new ratio

South Korea’s plant and machinery powerhouse Doosan Group will resume the merger of Doosan Bobcat Inc. and Doosan Robotics Inc. using a new me...

Earnings Samsung chip head vows drastic revamp after flagging weak Q3 earnings

Jun Young-hyun, vice chairman and head of Samsung Electronics Co.'s semiconductor business, on Tuesday vowed to take drastic steps to improve profit...

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea Zinc, MBK face-off for control of zinc smelter takes new twist

The face-off between Korea Zinc Inc. and MBK Partners for control of the world's No. 1 lead and zinc smelter shows no sign of abating as the private...

Electronics Samsung Display to build $1.8 billion OLED plant in Vietnam

Samsung Display Co., a leading South Korean display maker, will build a $1.8 billion organic light-emitting diode (OLED) line in Vietnam for small- ...

Retail S.Korean travel retailers face downturn without Chinese big spenders

Before COVID-19 swept the world, South Korea’s top two travel retailers Lotte Duty Free and Shilla Duty Free Shop ascended to the world’...

Petrochemicals S-Oil halts fire-hit paraxylene plant, faces revenue loss

ULSAN, South Korea -- It looks inevitable that S-Oil Corp., the South Korean unit of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., will take a substantial revenue hit from...

Fashion F&F to expand Discovery clothing business across Asia

F&F Co., a South Korean clothing company, has secured exclusive rights to use the Discovery Channel brand across Asia to reinvent the documentar...