Southeast Asia

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Economy Political crisis ups downside risk to S.Korea’s economy: S&P, Moody’s

Global credit rating agencies are warning of looming downward pressure on South Korea’s sovereign credit rating about a month after Asia&rsquo...

Economy Foreign direct investments in Korea hit record $34.57 billion in 2024

Foreign direct investments in South Korea hit a record high in 2024, driven by Chinese and Japanese investors in the manufacturing sector, the Minis...

Foreign exchange South Korea’s forex reserves drop to 5-year low in 2024

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves shrank to a five-year low at the end of last year after the country’s foreign exchange authoriti...

Food & Beverage S.Korea's office cafeteria firms expand into overseas markets

South Korea's office cafeteria companies, including Hyundai Green Food Co., Ourhome, and Samsung Welstory plan to expand overseas markets with the p...

Economy South Korea jumps to world’s No. 6 exporter; 2025 outlook dims

South Korea has sharply narrowed the gap in export value with Japan to a record low of $20.2 billion so far this year. But the country’s expor...

Business & Politics South Korea’s Acting President Han impeached; Stocks, won plummet

Han Duck-soo, South Korea’s acting president and prime minister, was impeached in Parliament on Friday amid a deepening political crisis batte...

Food & Beverage Samyang Foods to establish overseas plant in China

South Korea's Samyang Foods Co. said on Monday it will build its first overseas plant in China. The company plans to invest 64.7 billion won ($...

Automobiles Hyundai AutoEver establishes JV in Indonesia

South Korea's Hyundai AutoEver Corp. said on Monday it built the joint venture PT Terra Link technology in Indonesia with India's MapmyIndia. T...

Business & Politics South Korea’s sovereign credit rating stable: S&P, Moody's, Fitch

South Korea’s sovereign ratings remain stable despite the political turmoil caused by the short-lived martial law declaration of President Yoo...

Asset management Mirae Asset rises to 12th-largest ETF manager with $141 billion in assets

South Korea’s leading asset manager Mirae Asset Financial Group has emerged as the world’s 12th-largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) manag...

Economy South Korea’s economic system remains resilient: finance minister

The South Korean economy is solid, and the government will take “bold and swift’’ actions if needed to stabilize Asia’s four...

Venture capital S.Korean startup accelerators to boost overseas biz

South Korean accelerators (ACs) are turning to Southeast Asia and the Middle East market to support startups and expand their reach.ACs, companies t...

Food & Beverage Corstone Asia, Q Capital Partners to sell Norang Tongdak

South Korean private equity firms (PEF) Corstone Asia and Q Capital Partners plan to sell Norang Tongdak, the Korean-style fried chicken franchise.&...

Shipping & Shipbuilding HMM introduces S.Korea's first LNG-powered vessels

South Korea's HMM Co. said on Friday that it will introduce two 7,700 TEU (1 TEU equals one 20-foot container) container ships powered by liquefied ...

Korean startups Bering Lab eyes 7-fold jump in revenue in 5 years

Bering Lab Inc., a South Korea-based artificial intelligence technology-powered translation startup with specialties in legal, financial and intelle...

Logistics Korean logistics companies expand overseas businesses

South Korea’s logistics companies such as local industry leader CJ Logistics Corp. are expanding their overseas operations to take advantage o...

Cloud computing Salesforce outage disrupts businesses across Asia Pacific

Salesforce Inc., the world’s top customer relationship management (CRM) platform, is grappling with a major service outage affecting more than...

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...

Shipping & Shipbuilding Hanwha Systems, HJ S&C to enter overseas naval vessel market

South Korea's Hanwha Systems Co. said on Tuesday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with HJ Shipbuilding & Construction Co. to...