positive outlook

Central bank BOK turns more dovish after 25 bp rate cut; 2025 growth outlook halved

The Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.5%, citing growing concerns over faltering do...

Mergers & Acquisitions Harman acquires Masimo’s audio arm in Samsung’s car audio push

Harman International Industries Inc., wholly owned by Samsung Electronics Co., has acquired Masimo Corp.’s audio business for $350 million, a ...

Mergers & Acquisitions CJ CheilJedang scraps sale of Brazilian unit CJ Selecta to Bunge

CJ CheilJedang Corp., South Korea’s largest food company, has cancelled the sale of a 66% stake in Brazilian soybean crusher CJ Selecta S.A. a...

Automobiles Genesis premieres premium electric off-road SUV X Gran Equator Concept

NEW YORK – Genesis, the luxury brand of South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co., has premiered its first electric off-roader conce...

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 ...

Asset management Stay liquid, be selective, look outside US tech, says TCW CEO

Global financial markets are facing rising volatility and uncertainty this year as the US stock market rally led by Big Tech is losing steam amid co...

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...

Corporate strategy LG Group units step up joint marketing for in-vehicle electronics

Chief executives of LG Group’s key units, including LG Electronics Inc., will visit the headquarters of global carmakers for a series of close...

Electronics LG renames premium built-in appliance brand; Moody’s outlook up

LG Electronics Inc., South Korea’s top appliance maker, has rebranded its 10-year-old premium built-in kitchen appliance business to double do...

Banking & Finance Hana Financial, Bain Capital to expand investment in S.Korea

South Korean Hana Financial Group and the US-based global well-known private equity fund (PEF) Bain Capital plan to strengthen their strategic par...

Earnings LG Energy logs 1st quarterly loss in over 3 years, outlook remains gloomy

LG Energy Solution Ltd. reported its first quarterly loss in more than three years on Thursday, adding to concerns that the world’s third-larg...

Automobiles Hyundai, Kia sell 7.23 mn units together in 2024, eye more sales in 2025

Hyundai Motor Co. and its sibling Kia Corp. have set a target to sell a combined 7.39 million units around the globe this year with greater focus on...

Upcoming IPOs Rosy outlook for South Korean fintech IPOs in 2025

The South Korean fintech industry, which bloomed a decade ago, is poised to take the next step for the coming 10 years after prominent players began...

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...

Electronics Samsung unveils AI-powered Galaxy Book5 Pro to take on Apple’s MacBook

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday unveiled its new Galaxy Book5 Pro, packed with various AI functions, to compete with archrival Apple Inc.’...

Executive reshuffles Samsung reshuffles top brass; Co-CEO to control memory business

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s No. 1 memory chipmaker, reshuffled its leadership on Wednesday in a sweeping move as it faces an uph...

Central bank BOK to keep rate at 3.25% in Nov despite dim GDP outlook: survey

South Korea’s central bank is expected to freeze its policy rate at 3.25% during its last monetary policy meeting of the year to prevent any f...

Banking & Finance Hanwha Securities buys 5.4% stake in Edinburgh Airport

Hanwha Investment & Securities said on Monday that it acquired a stake in Edinburgh Airport in Scotland.Edinburgh Airport is jointly owned by Gl...

League table UBS retains top position on Korea’s M&A advisor list after Ecorbit deal

UBS Group AG remained on the top of the South Korean merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory market as of the end of the third quarter after addin...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix shares nosedive after Morgan Stanley downgrade

The share price of SK Hynix Inc. plummeted as much as 11% at one point on Thursday after Morgan Stanley sharply cut its target price in an about-tur...

ESG SK Enmove gets gold rating of EcoVadis ESG evaluation

South Korea’s lube oil maker SK Enmove Co., Korea’s top oil refiner SK Innovation Co.'s subsidiary, said on Thursday it received a Gold ...

Tech, Media & Telecom Samsung expands AI horizon with B2B-specific SmartThings Pro

BERLIN – South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. is entering the AI-powered business-to-business connectivity platform market with its...

Automobiles Hyundai Motor, Kia gets A- credit rating from S&P Global

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. said on Thursday that S&P Global upgraded their credit ratings from BBB+ to A-, with a Stable outlook for both c...

Electronics Samsung Electronics tops global TV sales in H1

Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its top position in the global TV market in the first half of this year, bolstered by robust sales of its newly i...

E-commerce Gmarket CEO vows to reclaim lead with know-how from Alibaba, Coupang

The new chief executive of South Korea’s Gmarket Inc. on Monday pledged to drive the local retail giant Shinsegae Group’s online shoppin...

Earnings Samsung’s Q2 profit soars on AI chips; second-half outlook rosy

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday flagged a more than 15-fold increase in its second-quarter operating profit as the artific...

Petrochemicals Lotte Chemical's rating outlook cut on worsening financials

South Korea’s No. 2 petrochemicals maker Lotte Chemical Corp. has taken a hit from a lowered credit-rating outlook of the company and its majo...

Corporate bonds Hyosung Chemical receives negative credit rating outlook

South Korean credit rating agency NICE Investors Service Co. (NICE) downgraded Hyosung Chemical's credit rating outlook from stable to negative on W...

Rights offerings Dim outlook for Korean biotech firms’ rights offerings

South Korea’s bio and tech-heavy Kosdaq-listed Shaperon Inc. raised 12.7 billion won ($9.2 million) from its latest rights offering, selling o...

Banking & Finance Liquidity crisis looms at S.Korea’s M Capital amid project financing debacle

South Korea's financing and finance leasing firm M Capital Co. is facing a growing risk of liquidity crunch as its attempts to refinance maturing de...