operating profit margin

Mergers & Acquisitions Mubadala, Goldman Sachs to invest $700 mn in Kakao Mobility

United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. and Goldman Sachs are set to invest a combined $700 million in Kakao Mobil...

Earnings KakaoBank posts record Q1 profit, eyes Thai expansion after Indonesia

KakaoBank Corp., a leading South Korean internet-only bank, posted its highest quarterly profit in the first quarter, defying a drop in interest inc...

Mergers & Acquisitions Soon for sale: Altos Ventures-backed Cafe Knotted operator

Silicon Valley-based Altos Ventures-backed Good Food For Good (GFFG), operator of South Korea’s popular dessert cafe, Cafe Knotted, will likel...

Real estate Mirae Asset to be named Korea Post’s core real estate fund operator

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. is set to manage the mandate of more than 600 billion won ($416.8 million) in core real estate fund investment by...

Bio & Pharma Samsung Biologics bags $514 mn CMO contract from US pharma

Samsung Biologics Co., the world’s largest contract manufacturing organization (CMO), said on Monday it has secured a $5.14 million order from...

Earnings Kia maintains double-digit margin in Q1 with record revenue

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, extended its double-digit profit margin streak to a 10th consecutive quarter, posting recor...

E-commerce JD.com opens Korean logistics centers, preluding C-commerce invasion

JD.com, often dubbed China’s answer to Amazon.com, has opened its own logistics centers in South Korea, becoming the first Chinese e-commerce ...

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...

Earnings SK Hynix’s Q1 profit soars on HBM chips, beats Samsung’s overall earnings

SK Hynix Inc., the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, reported a dramatic surge in first-quarter profits on Thursday, delivering the sec...

Airlines Korea’s Incheon Airport to upgrade, operate Uzbek airfield in $140m deal

INCHEON – South Korea’s Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) is set to upgrade and operate an airfield in Uzbekistan to expand the...

Travel & Leisure Korean hotels bask in rising foreign visitors; travel agencies in trouble

Hotels in South Korea are booming thanks to a surge in foreign visitors on a weaker won currency, while domestic travel agencies are suffering from ...

Automobiles Kumho Tire eyes Poland, Serbia, Portugal for 1st European plant

Kumho Tire Co., South Korea’s No. 2 tire maker, is evaluating Poland, Serbia and Portugal as a potential site for its first plant in Europe as...

Aerospace & Defense South Korean defense industry thriving on strong overseas demand

The South Korean defense industry's current heyday is expected to continue for a while as global demand for Korean-made weapons and combat systems h...

Earnings Samsung’s Q1 profit beats expectations; Q2 outlook murky on tariff war

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest memory chipmaker, posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter operating profit on Tuesday, booste...

Electronics Samsung unveils upgraded AI-powered OLED TVs

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday showcased its new lineup of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs with advanced artificial intelligence features...

Mergers & Acquisitions IMM consortium owns 100% of Hyundai LNG Shipping; Stake sale eyed

A consortium of IMM Private Equity Inc. and IMM Investment Corp. has secured full ownership of Hyundai LNG Shipping, South Korea’s top liquefi...

Mergers & Acquisitions KFC’s Korean operations up for sale

Orchestra Private Equity has begun the process of divesting the South Korean operations of fast-food chain KFC, which has seen earnings growth since...

Entertainment SM Entertainment acquires additional 11.4% stake in DearU for $9.2 mn

SM Entertainment Co., South Korea’s music powerhouse behind internationally popular boy and girl bands like EXO and aespa, has acquired an add...

Fashion LF to open Korea’s 1st standalone fashion outlet in India

LF Corp., a leading South Korean clothing company, will foray into India with its flagship brand Hazzys to build its presence in the rapidly growing...

Energy Alaska governor seeks Korean partners for $44 bn LNG project

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy arrived in South Korea on Monday to hold a series of one-on-one meetings with top executives from Korean energy and st...

Banking & Finance Hana Asset Management to merge with Hana Alternative Asset

Hana Financial Group, the parent of Hana Bank and Hana Securities Co, will merge its two asset management arms to bolster its non-banking services, ...

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,...

Pension funds KB, Samsung SRA, Capstone named NPS’ core property fund operators

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has selected three asset managers to oversee its domestic core real estate platform fund — ...

Hydrogen economy Samsung E&A buys Norwegian Nel stake for hydrogen business push

South Korea’s Samsung E&A Co. has purchased a stake in Norway’s hydrogen technology company Nel ASA at 47.6 billion won ($32.8 milli...

Webtoons Naver’s Webtoon hints at ad business expansion in 2025

Webtoon Entertainment Inc., the Nasdaq-listed storytelling platform operator under South Korea’s internet giant Naver Corp., is set to expand ...

Automobiles Kia’s Chinese operations turn to profit after 8 years; Export strategy pays off

South Korea’s No. 2 automaker Kia Corp. saw its Chinese operations turn profitable in 2024 for the first time in eight years as brisk exports ...

Private equity MBK commits to restoring Homeplus operations: MBK Vice Chairman Kim

MBK Partners, facing increasing scrutiny over its highly leveraged acquisition of Homeplus Co., has pledged to go all-out to restore the struggling ...

Mergers & Acquisitions Gaming company NXC looks to unload stroller maker Stokke

NXC Corp., the holding company of South Korea’s Nexon Games Co., is looking to unload Stokke AS, a premium baby stroller brand, for around 700...

Sovereign wealth funds S.Korea’s sovereign fund KIC logs 8.5% return in 2024

The Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) reported an annual return of 8.49% last year thanks to steady gains from equity investments led by the AI tec...

Alternative investments S.Korean investors name their 33 favorite alternative asset managers

Blackstone and HarbourVest Partners are South Korean institutional investors’ preferred private equity firms, according to a survey by Korea I...