Korea’s account surplus for May 2010 rose to a six-month high due to continued increase in exports and a lower deficit in travel balance. However, the capital and financial accounts, which marked the highest-ever net inflow the previous month, recorded a large net outflow in May. This is due to ban

A new generation called TGiF has arrived. With the familiar abbreviation, one might easily be reminded of the famous family restaurant TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday). However, this acronym has a different meaning. Twitter, Google, i-Phone and Facebook are the representing words for TGiF. These four s

An alarming trend of heavyweight Korean firms paying hefty fines for international price-fixing cartel allegations has come to light. In the past 4 years, Samsung Electronics, LG Display and Korean Air have all plead guilty to cartel charges abroad.Korean corporations alone have paid a total of 1.7

3QFY09 adjusted net profit in line with estimate* Hyundai Marine & Fire on Jan 29 reported 3QFY09 (fiscal year ends Mar 31) adjusted net profit of KRW68.1b, up 183% y-y and in line with our estimate. We attribute the increase to the firm’s expense ratio declining 7.9%pts y-y to 19.9% following a sl

Korea Midland Power Company (KOMIPO) has secured US$600 million through Project Finance (PF) in regards to its overseas power plant construction projects. With this, KOMIPO became the first power company in Korea to achieve such great outcome. On March 8, KOMIPO held a “Signing Ceremony for Fund Pro

Hyundai Mobis has been strengthening the competitiveness of Korean automakers by building module production bases in China, North America, India and Eastern Europe. The company recently completed the construction of a module plant in Georgia, its third such plant in the US after ones in Alabama and

The stocks of automobile companies are being recommended, with investment in automobile stocks in the first half of the year expected to be more profitable than in the second half. This is due to the fact that major overseas automakers, including those in the U.S., will begin full-scale restructuri

The Internet and game business began to grow after the end of the so-called “dot com bubble.” From 2000 to 2004, companies in this industry tried to find business models regarding the foundation of traffic and users. The period between 2005 and 2007 was a growing period, with fast growth in the are

I would give investors a buy recommendation for SK Telecom. The reasons I believe it is a strong stock is that the company’s market share is expected to continuously grow despite overly heated competition in the smart phone industry. Furthermore, weakened investment sentiment due to the launch of t

The Busan Jinhae Free Economic Zone (BJFEZ) Authority held a ceremony to celebrate its 6th anniversary on March 12 with approximately 500 employees participating. The ceremony included an anniversary speech, honoring employees and other programs to celebrate the occasion. There are currently 18 ber

The net incomes of 565 companies listed on the Seoul Bourse rose 58% in 2009 from a year earlier thanks to gains from foreign exchange rates and the valuation of investments using the equity method of accounting. Although their revenue decreased slightly, their total revenue reached 880.8 trillion

These days, the middle class of Korean society is becoming thinner and thinner. The size of the middle class began to decrease in the early 1990s, while the Asian financial crisis in 1997 widened the gap between the haves and have-nots and further undermined the middle class base in Korea.According

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) reported that the amount of FDI by Korean firms in 2009 dropped. According to the “FDI trends in 2009” announced by the Overseas Economic Research Institute, economic downturn and shaken investor confidence brought a 15.1% reduction in FDI by Korean firms. Ne

Prominent international experts on green growth convened in Seoul for a workshop Korea co-hosted with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to examine the consequences that green growth will have on the world’s economy and industries. In his speech, Rim Che-min, Vice Mini

Korean retailers are optimistic about the Korean economy in the second quarter, according to a recent survey by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Korean retailers believe strong consumer confidence will continue in the second quarter of 2010. According to the data from the Korea Chamber o

Yoon Jeung-hyun, the minister at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and Kim Choong-soo, the newly appointed governor of Bank of Korea held their first official meeting on April 5. The meeting was to confirm cooperation and information sharing between both parties. Yoon and Kim met at the Bankers

The Korean economy continues to show a stable recovery in both export and domestic demand. The mining and manufacturing and service industries showed a stronger growth pace in February, keeping up with the economic recovery. The mining and manufacturing production growth rate dropped to 19.1% compa

Pohang City's Enterprise Attraction Team visited Dresden, Germany, home of the Max Planck Society, in February in an effort to promote economic exchange and attract outstanding German companies to Pohang. Pohang City is attempting to attract German companies to the city's Parts & Material Industria

A range-bound market is expected to occur in the next 5-10 years. The global economy is not expected to be able to sustain the current recovery over the next several years. This is because that despite the unprecedented global fiscal input, the problems have not been fixed, but instead have simply

The Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC) is a public enterprise established by the Korean Government in order to turn Jeju into a global business hub. JDC has put its utmost efforts into promoting six major projects; an English education city, a health care town, a high-tech comple