The number and value of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals declined in the first quarter of 2019, the first time in 10 years. Restructuring-type deals accounted for the lion's share, with private fund and venture capital more active than conglomerates. In the advisory market, which has been domi
Incheon International Airport has become one of the top five airports in the world in terms of the number of international passengers.The number of international passengers who used the airport reached 67.68 million in 2018, the largest since the airport’s opening on March 29, 2001, Incheon Internat
As a hack took place even in Bithumb, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, investors are becoming anxious. A spokesperson of Bithumb said, “It is not a hack carried out by an outsider but by an insider.” About 14 billion won (US$12.31 million) worth of cryptocurrencies were aberrantly
Robert Rosenstein is chairman and founder of Agoda and strategic advisor to the CEO of Booking Holdings. Peter L. Allen is the managing director of Agoda Outside, Agoda’s public affairs division. Agoda is the Asia-based subsidiary of Booking Holdings, the world’s leader in online travel. Allen can b
SOMESING, a Korean startup operating a blockchain-based karaoke app, announced on March 18 that it has signed a strategic partnership with CTIA, a Singapore-based blockchain consulting firm, to cooperate in healthy development of the blockchain industry.CTIA is a consulting firm with branch offices
Teachers around the world are undergoing a truly challenging time as they have to prepare their students for the future that is getting increasingly difficult to define. Technological innovation is so rapid that by the time their students graduate, they will face a world of work that is totally diff
Sungjee Construction Co. announced on March 15 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Indonesian state-owned port company PT. Pelabuhan Indonesia 1 (Persero) for joint development of Tanjung Sauh Container Port.The project calls for building a container port on Batam Island in t
The Financial Supervisory Service announced on March 19 that the current net income of South Korean banks’ overseas branches totaled US$983 million in 2018 with a year-on-year growth of 22.2 percent. The amount is equivalent to 8 percent of the banks’ net income for the same period. The total credit
GlobalFoundries (GF) said on March 14 that neither the company itself nor its Fab 7 in Singapore are put up for sale.In a statement, the world’s third largest semiconductor foundry said, “Rumors and speculation about the sale of GlobalFoundries’ Fab 7 in Singapore are false. Fab 7 is not for sale an
GlobalFoundries, the world's third-largest semiconductor foundry, is looking for a buyer for its 300 mm fab (Fab 7) in Woodland, Singapore, Taiwan's Digitimes has reported. The report came in less than two months after the U.S. foundry signed a contract to sell its Fab 3E in Singapore to Van
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meet to talk about the denuclearization of North Korea in Hanoi, Vietnam, from Feb. 27 to 28. To this end, Kim arrived in Vietnam after a 66-hour long train journey which would only take six hours by air. Will this become a prelude of a
Incheon Port Authority (IPA) announced on Feb. 23 that it successfully held port sales events in Singapore and Thailand for five days from Feb. 18 to 22, which were led by Lee Jeong-haeng, vice president of the Operations Division.The IPA sales team visited global shipping companies’ Asian headquart
Growth in South Korea’s labor productivity per worker in the manufacturing sector dropped from 7 percent to 2.8 percent a year between the periods preceding and following the global financial crisis of 2009. The latter figure is lower than China’s 8.6 percent, Japan’s 4.1 percent, Germany’s 4 percen
Korea Aviation Engineering & Maintenance Service (KAEMS) has started providing aircraft maintenance service.KAEMS was established by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in 2017 for aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO).The company held a ceremony on Feb. 21 at its headquarters in Sacheon, So
The average utilization rate of U.S. oil refineries fell to 85.9 percent, the lowest level in 15 months, easing competition among oil refiners around the world, analysts say. Singapore’s refining margins, an important benchmark of profitability for refining companies, also rebounded to the US$2 rang
Drops in prices of Korea’s main manufacturing items such as polysilicon, ethylene and gasoline, on top of semiconductors, are pushing Korean manufacturers into a downward cycle. Prices of these items are dropping due to China's supply glut, the continuing trade war between the United States and
DigiTimes, a daily newspaper for semiconductor, electronics, computer and communications industries in Taiwan and the Greater China region, reported on Feb. 15 that Global Foundries may be sold after its downsizing that started last year.Global Foundries is currently the world’s third-largest foundr
The Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) is the first-ever free economic zone in Korea. Since its inception in 2003, it has been serving as an excellent role model for free ecnomic zones (FEZs) in Korea and other countries. Last year, it accounted for more than 80 percent of foreign direct investment p
South Korea’s financial authorities announced on January 31, that their investigation into initial coin offerings (ICOs) led them to maintain a negative stance on the institutionalization of ICOs in the future. They added that their investigation found that ICOs lacked information disclosure for inv
SK Telecom is expanding its mobility business overseas through “T MAP” ranking first among mobile navigation map services in Korea.On January 30, SK Telecom announced that it signed an agreement to set up Grab Geo Holdings (JB), a joint venture in Singapore with Grab, the largest shared car company