The Korea Times

Kumho shows M&A appetite

By Kim Yoo-chul Korea's Kumho Petrochemical is looking harder at merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities as it looks to strengthen its global profile and secure new growth engines. "We are seeking M&A deals, with particular focus on Asian markets, although it's too early to talk about details," a Kumho spokesman said, who declined to reveal Kumho’s budget for investment and M&As. The chemical firm has recently hired a number of seasoned M&A experts to hunt for deals. Companies in the raw-material sectors seem to suit Kumho. The firm's aggressiveness appears to be stoked by growing demand for petrochemicals in both developed and developing markets. "The situation requires chemical companies to be more active in pursuing growth. We think acquisitions make sense for Kumho as it looks for an edge over rivals in its main markets and to narrow the gap with leading competitors in next-generation segments," said a fund-manager from a European bank, who didn't want to be named. Last month Kumho signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with JG Summit Petrochemical Co

Apr 5, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Companies

HHI to build $30 mil. R&D center in Shanghai

By Kim Yoo-chul Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the world's biggest shipyard, plans to invest $30 million in China to build its first research facility in the biggest emerging market. "A maximum $30 million will be invested to our research and development (R&D) center in Shanghai," said a company spokesman, Monday. Further investment will be used to hire research personnel, while Hyundai has been set to spend to acquire the land and for administrative costs, the company official added. Hyundai said it is keen eyes to establish the center, the first among other top-tier Korean shipbuilders, as part of its China initiative to develop its strategic products. The overseas R&D center will be Hyundai's sixth after four in Korea and one in Hungary. In a statement it said the investment decision came amid Beijing's "favorable gestures" for foreign companies to acquire cutting-edge shipbuilding-related technology. ``China is giving more tax incentives and other benefits to foreign companies that operate R&D centers there. HHI is expected to boost its strategic partnershi

Apr 4, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

LG set to go for glasses-free 3D TV

Television chief expects early bottom line boost By Kim Yoo-chul LG Electronics' TV chief Kwon Hee-won sees his division gaining momentum thanks to the recent release of value-added TVs and cost-cutting efforts. At the center of Kwon's upbeat outlook is 3D-ready television that’s being developed using film-type patterned retarder (FPR) technology. "No doubt, LG's television business will improve in the first quarter from the previous one by profit," Kwon said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. "The sale of our FPR 3D televisions will rise sharply. LG plans its biggest-ever promotional campaigns for the products," said the top executive. Kwon said LG's 3D televisions were made available to consumers in Germany and France last month, while top-tier U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy started selling the sets in America last week. 3D TVs are still nascent as consumers aren't prepared to pay a premium for the sets amid a lack of customized content and falling prices for existing LCDs, LED-backlit LCDs and plasma models. But the market is steadily growi

Apr 4, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Hynix may pay out more cash dividends

By Kim Yoo-chul ICHEON, Gyeonggi Province ― Hynix Semiconductor, the world's second-largest supplier of computer memory chips, aims to pay cash dividends for the fiscal year of 2011 as it expects a steady recovery throughout this year. It's rare for chipmakers here to pay cash dividends as the sector is highly volatile and cyclical. They tend to use the liquidity as a cushion for survival amid sequential market downturns. Hynix CEO Kwon Oh-chul, however, is quite upbeat on paying dividends for the second straight year based on his bullish outlook for the market. "Chips are a cash-intensive business and also require bigger investments of profits into facilities. But, it's desirable to pay dividends this year as part of corporate consistency," said Kwon, Wednesday. The top executive, however, declined to unveil the amount that he has in mind. Kwon was speaking on the sidelines of the company's annual shareholders' meeting at its technology compound in Icheon. At the meeting, Hynix announced that it will pay a dividend of 150 won per share of common stock to shareh

Mar 30, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Exclusive SK Telecom chases Blockbuster deal

Acquiring DVD rental giant could help carrier in smartphone content battle By Kim Yoo-chul SK Telecom is in negotiations to acquire a major stake in Blockbuster, a U.S.-based DVD and games rental company that filed for bankruptcy last year. In acquiring the troubled Blockbuster, SK Telecom hopes to find a breakthrough in its efforts to strengthen its position in international markets. SK Telecom's first attempt to establish itself in the American market fell flat. In 2008, the company was forced to bail from "Helio," a mobile virtual operator (MVNO) that bought wholesale minutes from existing U.S. carriers to provide its own brand of phone services, due to high market costs and underwhelming profit. "It's true that SK Telecom has recently submitted a letter of intent (LOI) for stakes to Blockbuster's debt-holders," said a high-level financial industry executive involved in the deal. "SK Telecom sees a good chance to broaden our overseas business portfolios and Blockbuster is one of SK's M&A targets," he said. Although SK Telecom, Korea’s largest mobile-phone

Mar 29, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Companies

Glam opens in Korea

By Kim Yoo-chul Glam Media, one of the biggest publishing and advertizing networks in cyberspace, has launched an outlet in Korea. Korea is the fifth subsidiary spot for Glam after Canada, Germany, Japan and France. Glam Korea said its online channel will provide photos, videos and a broad range of lifestyle categories such as beauty, fashion and "wellness." "Big advertisers are struggling to find the right platform to present their own brands for women clients existing portals can't handle. However, Glam.com is quite competitive to offer distinguished services," said Chin Hee-sun, the country manager for Korea, Monday. The subsidiary has tied up with 15 content makers including Marie Claire, Luxury and iBestBaby. Chin, however, declined to comment about its specific revenue targets. Currently, Glam's global networks have a total reach of 90 million people a month in the United States and just under 200 million monthly visitors, according to Glam officials.

Mar 28, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Xperia Arc available via SK Telecom

By Kim Yoo-chul Sony-Ericsson is planning to further boost its exclusive partnership with SK Telecom, as it begins to sell its latest Xperia Arc Android smartphone here. SK Telecom has been the nation's sole provider of Sony-Ericsson's Xperia handsets since 2009. Around 100,000 Xperia phones have been sold in Korea through the mutual alliance, officials and industry executives said. SK Telecom spokeswoman Kim Ji-won declined to give specific numbers, similarly followed by Lucy Park, a local representative for Sony-Ericsson. SK Telecom is set to begin carrying the super-sexy if slightly bulky Xperia Arc from April, locally, with SK keen to offer it to its smartphone customers. "It's been confirmed that Sony's latest smartphone will be released by SK Telecom's local network from next month," said Kim. She added some technical issues such as the amount of subsidies to users and pricing plans haven’t been fixed yet. Sony is known to have released its devices cheaper than existing premium smartphones such as Apple's iPhone 4 and the Galaxy S by Samsung Electronics

Mar 28, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

Samsung, LG make up in 3D TV dispute

By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics and LG Display are on a path toward reconciliation over their wrangling over 3D technologies. "We will accept the apology from Samsung for calling LG Display engineers 'stupid' during a recent meeting with reporters," LG said in a press release, Monday. "LG engineers have reached a broad consensus to accept the apology and the goodwill gesture from Samsung that will help the world's top two TV makers see fair competition in markets," it said in a statement. LG spokesman Sohn Young-jun said LG still hopes to hold open demonstration sessions to give better guidelines to 3D TV-hopefuls. The reconciliation came days after Samsung Executive Vice President Kim Hyun-seok sent an official letter of apology to LG. "Again, there's no chance that we will bring the issue to court. We will accept it, literally," said Sohn. Tensions have been high in the 3D battle between the Korean TV majors as LG is investing more resources in an effort to break Samsung’s TV dominance by pushing its 3D TVs. The 3D TV market is still nascent due to the l

Mar 28, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Companies

LG strengthens own tech amid 3D TV war

New CEO Koo bets heavily in efforts to regain industrial supremacy By Kim Yoo-chul A pair of special 3D glasses is still required but they are now lighter, less bulky and cheaper. They look better. Technically, LG Electronics say, the image seen through them has diminished flickering, cross-talk and image overlapping, which comes with a wider viewing angle. It was just months ago that top-tier television makers including LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics and Sony rolled out 3D-ready TVs, with great expectations. Now LG is pushing ahead with film patterned retarder (FPR) technology or Cinema 3D, which it claims gives the viewers an experience tantamount to being in a movie theater. LG’s FPR features an ordinary-looking pair of polarized glasses that are ``extremely lightweight’’ and a lot more comfortable than Samsung’s shutter-glasses (SG), which costs at least $150. LG’s glasses cost around $15. Samsung’s SG-embedded 3D TVs have the edge in providing more vivid and clearer images but top LG executives say FPR 3D televisions cause less eye-strain, in additi

Mar 24, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Tech & Science

iPad 2 to be marketed next month

By Kim Yoo-chul KT spokeswoman Kim Yoon-jeong said Wednesday that the company will start selling WiFi+3G and WiFi-only iPad2 models from next month. Kim declined to reveal pricing plans, only adding that the specific launch date will be announced later. Apple added Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong as new countries to release the iPad 2 in, and while not providing any pre-sales figures it said the demand was ``amazing.’’ KT was Apple’s first partner here, starting in November 2009. Kim declined to unveil the sales figures of the previous iPad in Korea, though it’s known that over 2.5 million have been sold. SK is set to follow this up with its own spring arrivals. ``Along with the iPad 2, Motorola’s Xoom, Samsung Electronics’ new 8.9- and 10.1-inch Galaxy Tabs and LG’s Optimus Pad are set to go on sale in April and May as part of the strategy to diversify SK’s tablet portfolios,’’ said a high-ranking SK Telecom executive, asking not to be identified. The iPad schedule follows Samsung’s decision to introduce its new 8.9- and 10.1-inch Galaxy Tabs at a technology exhi

Mar 24, 2011By Kim Yoo-chul

Kim Yoo-chul

Read more

Kumho shows M&A appetite

HHI to build $30 mil. R&D center in Shanghai

LG set to go for glasses-free 3D TV

Hynix may pay out more cash dividends

Exclusive SK Telecom chases Blockbuster deal

Glam opens in Korea

Xperia Arc available via SK Telecom

Samsung, LG make up in 3D TV dispute

LG strengthens own tech amid 3D TV war

iPad 2 to be marketed next month

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