PEFs

CEO of MBK Partners-owned Korean retailer to resign

Lim Il-soon, chief executive of South Korean retailer HomePlus, is stepping down after leading the MBK Partners-owned discount store chain for about ...

Hydrogen economy

SK Group inks $1.5 bn deal to acquire US hydrogen fuel cell maker Plug Power

South Korea’s SK Group has signed a $1.5 billion deal to acquire a controlling stake in US hydrogen fuel cell maker Plug Power Inc. and launch ...

Future mobility

GS Caltex to showcase drone delivery, future gas stations at CES 2021

GS Caltex Corp., a South Korean oil refiner aiming to become a serious logistics player by navigating hard-to-access areas for delivery, is looking f...

EV Batteries

SK Innovation to raise $920 mn for US battery plant expansion

South Korea-based SK Innovation Co. is ramping up investment for its US-based electric vehicle battery business, with plans to raise up to 1 trilli...

M&As

Korean Air wins shareholders' approval for Asiana deal

Korean Air Lines Co. will proceed with its planned $1.6 billion acquisition of Asiana Airlines Inc. after winning approval from a majority of its sha...

Rubber business disposal

Japan’s JSR reaches out to Lotte, LG for sale of synthetic rubber business

Japan’s JSR Corp. is reaching out to Korean chemical companies to dispose of its synthetic rubber business and focus instead on semiconductor m...

AI technologies

Kakao Enterprise exceeds $920 mn in enterprise value

South Korea-based Kakao Enterprise has topped 1 trillion won ($921.5 million) in enterprise value, just a year after its inception in 2019, followin...

Foundry boom

Samsung, other foundry players at full capacity as chip orders surge

Samsung Electronics Co. and other global foundry players are running their plants at full capacity as makers of cars and electronic devices compete f...

Shipbuilding orders

Korean shipbuilders kick off 2021 with $1 bn container ship, LNG carrier orders

South Korea’s two major shipyards have started off 2021 with decent orders, brightening the outlook for the country to retain its leadership in...

ESG

Samsung Elec steps up efforts for river management

Semiconductor manufacturing plants use an enormous amount of water, earning the semiconductor industry the nickname of "a thirsty business." Samsung ...

Fuel cell plants

Hyundai Motor to build first overseas hydrogen fuel cell plant in China

Hyundai Motor Co. will build its first overseas hydrogen fuel cell systems plant in China as the South Korean company aims to enter the world’s...

Startups

Live commerce app Grip posts over $22 mn in transactions

South Korea-based live commerce app Grip saw its cumulative transaction amount surpass 24 billion won ($22.2 million), just two years after its incep...

Games

S.Korean game industry boasts strong growth; set to exceed $16 bn

South Korea’s game market size is projected to exceed 18 trillion won ($16.6 billion) this year, driven by game enthusiasts who have remained l...

Semiconductor exports

Korea’s chip exports to top $100 bn in 2021, second-best performance ever

South Korea’s semiconductor exports are expected to top $100 billion this year, led by rising demand for DRAM and system chips.According to the...

EV batteries

Korea’s EV battery trio among world’s top 5; seen gaining further ground

South Korea’s three major electric vehicle battery makers have grown significantly over the past year, securing spots on the world’s top ...

Rights offerings

Battery boom to drive POSCO Chem's $1.1 bn rights offering

South Korea-based POSCO Chemical Co. has begun preparations for its rights offering, to the delight of shareholders as the company’s share pric...

M&As

Korean companies sit on record dry powder, may open M&A floodgates

South Korea’s major companies are sitting on a record amount of cash reserves, setting the foundation for the merger and acquisition (M&A) ...

Startups

S.Korean unicorn companies line up for IPOs

Huge sums of money have been flowing into growth sectors globally, prompting South Korean unicorn companies, or non-listed companies with an enterpri...

Kakao, NCSoft likely to lead record-breaking earnings in 2021

South Korea’s mobile platform giant Kakao Corp. and game developer NCSoft Corp. are looking to post their best-ever earnings for a second strai...

M&As

Samsung Elec draws attention with $92 bn in idle cash

Samsung Electronics Co., sitting on a cash pile of 100 trillion won ($92 billion), has been absent in global M&A markets over the past few years ...

SUV sales

SUVs drive up Hyundai, Kia in US market; G80 named safest car of year

A slate of new sport utility vehicles are driving up Hyundai Motor Group's market share in the US, where its two automaking units have relied on seda...

Rights offerings

Kakao Bank wraps up $921 mn rights offering

South Korea's mobile-only bank has wrapped up its $920.5 million rights offering, placing the enterprise value at around 9.3 trillion won ($8.6 bil...

Startups

Masks as fashion statement through art collaboration

Face masks have become essential in the COVID-19 era to prevent the spread of the virus. But aside from protecting users against the pandemic, masks ...

Fried chickens

Korea’s fried chicken brands fly high on food delivery boom

Once derided as a tomb for the self-employed due to cut-throat competition, fried chicken franchises in South Korea have emerged as a main beneficiar...

Biopharma CMO

Moderna deal shows Korea’s prowess as global hub for biopharma CMO

South Korea is emerging as a global hub for the contract manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals following its latest deal to procure COVID-19 vaccines f...

Pre-IPOs

JTBC raises $366 mn from Tencent, Praxis Capital

South Korean TV drama production firm JTBC Studios Co. will raise a total of 400 billion won ($366 million) by issuing convertible preferred shares t...

COVID-19 treatment

Celltrion seeks to distribute COVID-19 treatment from mid-Jan

South Korea's Celltrion Inc. has completed second-phase clinical trials of its COVID-19 treatment and is seeking conditional approval of its distrib...

Insolvency protection

Ssangyong Motor gets 2-months' grace before court-led restructuring

Ssangyong Motor Co. has received court approval for a two-month suspension of its obligations to repay debt as the troubled automaker is seeking to f...

Earnings

Korean firms' Q4 earnings seen to jump, led by exporters

Exporters, including Samsung Electronics Co., LG Chem Ltd. and Samsung SDI Co., are estimated to have led a sharp increase in listed South Korean co...