After Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. has jumped up to be the world’s eighth largest global pharmaceutical company through a bold merger and acquisition (M&A) strategy, there are growing calls for domestic pharmaceutical firms to consider an aggressive M&A strategy to become truly global companies
A plan is in the works to make the highest decision-making body at the National Pension Service standing and more specialized. The authority and treatment of the head of the Fund Management Department will be enhanced as well. However, the government reiterated a policy of actively exercising its sh
Kakao Ventures, a venture capital company specializing in funding in initial rounds, released an infographic that sums up its investment activities in 2018.This year, Kakao Ventures carried out new and follow-up investments worth 33.7 billion won (US$29.8 million) in 43 startups. Investments in seed
Almost half of KOSPI-listed companies’ sales and operating profits fell year on year for the first nine months of this year. According to data released by the Korea Economic Research Institute on Dec. 13, 268 out of the 578 companies listed on the stock exchange witnessed a year-on-year decline in s
The Korea Development Bank (KDB) will invest US$375 million in GM Korea on Dec. 26 to fulfill its promise to invest a total of US$750 million in the ailing company to normalize its operations. The KDB invested half of the promised US$750 million in June.GM Korea announced on Dec. 13, that it decided
A simple cryptocurrency purchase service first introduced in Korea is spreading overseas. The advantage of 'simple purchasing' is that users can invest in cryptocurrencies more easily because exchanges or communities have already verified their identities. In addition, this new service reduc
The South Korean government is planning to temporarily block services of global IT companies such as Google and Facebook if they violate domestic laws or cause significant damage to users.The government’s move comes amid growing criticism of global IT companies for neglecting their social responsibi
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has recently submitted a proposal to the commission’s plenary session to file complaints with the prosecution against Kim Hong-gook, chairman of the Harim Group, and Lee Hae-wook, vice chairman of the Daelim Group, on charges of enriching themselves through unjustifie
The Visit Korea Committee provides the Top 30 Recommended Privileges and Theme Events during Korea Grand Sale 2019 scheduled for Jan. 17 to Feb. 28, 2019.Next year’s Korea Grand Sale is expected to come with various promotion events and discount opportunities with more airlines and lodging service p
Samsung Electronics announced on Dec. 12 that it would shut down its mobile phone manufacturing factory in Tianjin at the end of this month. In China, Samsung Electronics has produced mobile phones in Tianjin and Huizhou, with most of the smartphones produced in Tianjin exported.The company’s decisi
KB Kookmin Bank has issued global covered bonds for the third time this year. However, it was the bank’s first private placement of bonds.According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on Dec. 12, KB Kookmin Bank issued US$100 million (112.9 billion won) worth of private covered bonds oversea
South Korea’s financial authorities have launched an audit of Celltrion Healthcare Co. and is expanding the audit review to the company’s affiliates such as Celltrion Inc. and Celltrion Pharm Inc. Accordingly, there is a growing concern that the audit can lead to a prolonged war that goes through th
SsangYong Motor announced on Dec. 12 that it signed a memorandum of understanding with SK Telecom and the global map service company Here to develop a high-definition (HD) map for self-driving vehicles.The MOU was signed on Dec. 11 by Lee Tae-won, head of SsangYong Technology Research Institute, Par
The National Tax Service has reportedly launched a surprise tax probe against Google Korea.The National Tax Service sent investigators to Google Korea's headquarters in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and secured documents such as accounting books, Yonhap News Agency reported on Dec. 12, quotin
Shares of Samsung Biologics Co. surged on Dec. 11, making a sharp rebound to compensate for the drop prior to a 19-day trading suspension at a stroke.Korea Exchange decided on Dec. 10 to keep Samsung BioLogics listed, despite the financial regulator’s punishment against the company for its accountin
The Korean version of the so-called "Google tax," which refers to a value-added tax (VAT) on the gross revenues of global IT giants, such as Google and Facebook, has gotten to first base. It is still not clear what the exact tax revenue from global internet companies will be but the figure is estima
Samsung Electronics will pull the plug on its ARTIK project in four years after starting to develop the internet of things (IoT) platform.The tech giant recently told employees of the IoT Commercialization Team of the System LSI Department of the Device Solution (DS) Division that the ARTIK project
When the South Korean government introduces the multiple derivative action system, a shareholder can take action against 1,188 affiliates of listed holding companies with only 3.5 million won (US$3,103), according to a recent survey. This is why some experts point out that the system will make liste
More details have been disclosed about the Samsung Galaxy S10, which is scheduled to hit the market early next year to mark the 10th anniversary of the Galaxy brand.According to the smartphone industry analysts on Dec. 10, the disclosed details were reliable and provided information about the number
Trading of Samsung BioLogics stock resumed on Dec. 11 as Korea Exchange (KRX) concluded on Dec. 10 that the company could remain listed on the local stock market despite its accounting malpractices.Trading of Samsung BioLogics stock has been suspended since Nov. 15, as the Securities & Futures Commi