Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers, along with liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels, are emerging as a new cash cow to feed Korean shipbuilders in 2020. Due to strengthened vessel fuel emission regulations by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and a shale gas boom, demand for large LPG

SsangYong Motor, part of India's Mahindra Group, announced on Jan. 2 that the company sold a total of 12,923 units in December 2019 --10,574 units in domestic sales and 2,349 in exports.SsangYong’s December sales increased 20.2 percent from the previous month, driven by domestic sales growth. Sa

A senior executive of U.S. automaker Ford will visit SsangYong Motor this month to discuss ways to sell vehicles produced at Ssangyong’s plant in Pyeongtaek under the Ford brand in overseas markets. A triangular alliance involving Ssangyong, Mahindra and Ford has been forged to support the financial

Daewoo Engineering & Construction (Daewoo E&C) said on Dec. 30 that it received approval to set up an asset management company (AMC) from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Dec. 26.Daewoo E&C received preliminary approval to establish “Together Investment Management Co., Ltd.” (te

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) and Hyundai Heavy Industries Group have won orders near the end of the year.DSME received an additional order of six container vessels worth 891.8 billion won (US$768 million) from an African client on Dec. 27. DSME will deliver the vessels to their ow

SKC is expected to wrap up the acquisition of copper foil maker KCFT early next month. When the acquisition process is completed, SKC is planning to promote the establishment of KCFT’s production facilities in Europe.SKC is speeding up its business reorganization, including the separation of its che

BMW Korea has effectively won an administrative lawsuit it has filed against the 62 billion won (US$53 million) fines imposed by the Korean government for its fabrication of emission certification documents or its failure to report changes in emission test reports.The Seoul Administrative Court told

The fear of chain bankruptcy is growing among auto parts suppliers for Renault Samsung Motors as an auto part company in Gangseo-gu, Busan has decided to close down its business.They had to discontinue production from late 2018 to June 2019 due to prolonged strikes of the carmaker’s labor union. The

Kim Hee-jin, CEO of uLikeKorea, a smart livestock healthcare management company, announced on Dec. 30 that the company has successfully developed a health monitoring system for horses.Kim further said that her company will introduce the new product in the second half of 2020 in Japan and Europe.Ther

Lotte Hotel and Hana Financial Investment announced on Dec, 24 that they had signed a contract to acquire a hotel in downtown Seattle from American private equity fund Stockbridge.The acquisition was made through joint investment between Lotte Hotel and Hana Financial Investment. The acquisition pri

Leaders of Korea’s major business organizations in unison have called on the government to carry out regulatory reform. They expressed frustration over the growing set of regulatory bills, rising tax burdens and the deterioration of labor competitiveness.Indeed, with no economic drivers except for t

South Korea’s general machinery exports for this year have been tentatively estimated at US$52.5 billion, surpassing the US$50 billion mark for two consecutive years. Last year’s machinery exports reached US$53.6 billion.Export data released by the Korea Customs Service showed Korea’s general machin

OptimumNano Energy, the third largest electric vehicle (EV) battery supplier in China, has filed for bankruptcy and liquidation with a court in Shenzen, a Chinese media reported on Dec. 25.OptimumNano Energy’s bankruptcy may prompt a restructuring of the Chinese battery market. The Chinese governmen

LG Chem may spin off its battery business division as continued investment in new battery production plants has been increasing the company’s financial burden. Analysts speculate that the company may seek to raise funds through an IPO of the separated company.Referring to the speculation, LG Chem re

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has landed orders for six vessels worth 340 billion won in total, including a very large crude carrier and medium-sized container ships.Hyundai Mipo Dockyard announced on Dec. 26 that it has signed a contract with Evergreen of Taiwan to build four 1,800-TEU vessels for

Hyundai Engineering & Construction is in dispute with the Chilean government over construction of the Chacao Bridge, a US$740 million bridge that the Korean builder has been awarded in 2014.In a press release issued on Dec. 23, Hyundai E&C criticized the Chilean Ministry of Public Works (MOP) for se

The margins of petrochemical products such as ethylene have reached record lows and the industry is likely to have a hard time next year.The ethylene margin recently became negative with the prices of downstream products such as polyethylene remaining stagnant. Besides, the paraxylene margin has rem

Korea Development Bank (KDB) is reportedly considering extending the maturity of its 90 billion won loan to SsangYong Motor, which is suffering from severe financial trouble due to sluggish sales.If KDB agrees to extend the maturity of the loan, which matures next year, SsangYong Motor will be able

Large Korean companies increased investment in research and development (R&D) by close to 4 trillion won this year compared to a year ago despite declines in sales. The share of R&D spending in sales rose 0.34 percentage point to exceed 3 percent.Industry tracker CEO Score released a report on Dec.

Renault Samsung Motors said on Dec. 24 that its output had plunged by about 70 percent from the normal level since the labor union went on partial strike on Dec. 20. The carmaker’s Busan plant produced 210 units on Dec. 23, a 65 percent drop from 600 units before.On Dec. 24, 646 of the union’s 1,727