KT&G Corporation

Corporate strategy KT&G eyes overseas M&A after rejecting activist fund's offer

KT&G Corp., South Korea’s dominant tobacco and ginseng producer, is seeking to acquire a Japanese ginseng company after dismissing a 1.9-t...

Artificial intelligence KT rolls out Thai-tailored large language model

South Korean telecom service provider KT Corp. has built a large language model (LLM) platform tailored for the Thai market in collaboration with Ja...

K-pop KAIST launches Korean rapper G-Dragon’s music into space

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) has launched the music and iris image of G-Dragon, a Korean rapper and singer-songw...

Airlines Korean Air changes badge before full integration with Asiana Airlines

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s largest full-service carrier, has undergone a major makeover of its corporate identity (CI) for the first ...

Regulations MBK Partners under Korean tax agency scrutiny

MBK Partners, a leading North Asia-focused private equity firm, has come under a probe by South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) amid the br...

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...

Shareholder value Hana Financial to boost corporate value by raising shareholder returns

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group aims to increase corporate value by ramping up shareholder returns based on a sustainable profit structure ...

Corporate bonds One-third of Korean petrochem bonds incur valuation losses

South Korean institutional investors, including banks, insurers and securities companies, have yet to fully benefit from recent declines in bond yie...

Shareholder value S.Korea’s top financial regulator pushes tax support for value-up program

South Korea is ramping up efforts to encourage companies to enhance shareholder value by providing tax support for its corporate value-up program, a...

Corporate bonds S.Korea’s corporate bond market cools amid poor earnings

Investors’ appetite for corporate debts sold by South Korea’s petrochemical, retail and battery companies has waned this month amid grim...

Tech, Media & Telecom Microsoft CEO Nadella seeks AI alliance with Hyundai, POSCO, Shinhan, KT

Microsoft Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Satya Nadella is seeking to forge an artificial intelligence alliance with major South Korean companies...

Tech, Media & Telecom KT to sell financial security unit for $59 mn for restructuring

South Korea’s KT Corp. is set to sell Initech Co., its Kosdaq-listed financial security unit, for 85 billion won ($59.1 million) as the leadin...

Private debt Real estate debt outshines corporate credit: Savills IM

Private credit has been among the top picks for alternative investors over the past few years. During the period of high interest rates, corporate l...

Corporate bonds Korean petrochemical sector to sell corporate bonds amid downturn

South Korea’s petrochemical producers are set to issue corporate bonds to take advantage of ample liquidity at the beginning of the year amid ...

Retail KT&G establishes Uzbekistan corporation

South Korean tobacco maker KT&G Corp. said on Monday it established the Uzbekistan corporation, aiming to boost its tobacco brand awareness in...

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...

Debt financing POSCO to raise up to $691 million as next year’s 1st corporate bond issuer

South Korea’s steel-to-battery materials conglomerate POSCO Group plans to raise up to 1 trillion won ($691 million) in the country’s fi...

Shareholder value LG Electronics to retire about $50 mn treasury stock in 2025

LG Electronics Inc. will retire 761,000 shares in 2025, or around 0.5% of its outstanding shares, to increase shareholder returns, the South Korean ...

Corporate strategy Doosan Bobcat unveils massive corporate value-up plans

Doosan Bobcat Inc., a global construction machinery maker owned by South Korea’s Doosan Group, has unveiled massive corporate value-up measure...

IPOs Sono International seeks IPO in 2025 with $2.1 billion in corporate value

South Korea’s top resort operator Sono International Co. is seeking an initial public offering of its shares on the Korean market next year, r...

E-commerce China’s Alibaba acquires 5% of Ably in 1st equity investment in Korean firm

Chinese online shopping giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has invested 100 billion won ($71.4 million) in South Korea’s top women’s cloth...

Corporate bonds Triple-A rated SK Telecom, KT tap 10-year bond market

South Korean companies with top-notch credit ratings such as SK Telecom Co. and KT Corp. are returning to the long-term bond market amid growing int...

Corporate governance LG Group affiliates unveil value-up plans

LG Group affiliates— LG Display Co., LG Innotek, LG Chem Ltd., and LG Energy Solution Ltd. —unveiled their ambitious growth strategies o...

Corporate bonds Korea Inc. rushes to booming local corporate bond market

South Korean companies are rushing to raise money in the local corporate bond market, which is unusually buoyant at year's end amid expectations of ...

Fashion Korean indie fashion brands spread wings to Japan, China

Matin Kim, a rising designer brand in South Korea, will open its first offline store in Japan in the first half of next year, joining other Korean i...

Aerospace & Defense SpaceX's Falcon 9 launches S.Korean satellite into orbit

A Falcon 9 rocket developed by Tesla Inc. founder Elon Musk’s SpaceX has successfully launched the Koreasat-6A, a communication satellite that...

Leadership & Management SK to nurture 10,000 AI talent, introduce Board 2.0 to enhance governance

SK Group, South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate, said on Monday it plans to nurture 10,000 artificial intelligence professionals over the ...

Shareholder activism KT&G to buy back shares, rejects Ginseng unit buyout offer

South Korean tobacco maker KT&G Corp. on Thursday unveiled a plan to buy back shares and pay dividends totaling 3.7 trillion won ($2.7 billion) ...