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Samsung to open software center in Bangladesh

By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics is planning to establish a software center in Bangladesh to take advantage of the wealth of skilled human resources in software-related business fields there especially in phones. That would be Samsung's twelfth research and development (R&D) center. The company will operate the new facility from early next year. "Samsung has decided to open a software center in Bangladesh. Despite the number of skilled workers, just a few chances are given to them to work for big IT companies. Samsung could use the highly-competitive human resources in Bangladesh rather than those in India," said a top-ranking Samsung executive, Thursday. The executive added Samsung has acknowledged that Bangladesh would run various models that are similar to those seen in India and the South Korean technology powerhouse is aiming to utilize more of the proven workforce to actively respond to rising calls over software-related capabilities. Further details such as the size of the new facility and the amount of the initial investment were not available. But Samsung e

Aug 5, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Companies

SK Networks targets $24 billion sales in 2012

By Kim Yoo-chul SK Networks, South Korea’s leading trading company, said Wednesday it is aiming to reap 28 trillion won or some $24 billion in annual sales by 2012 from the current 21 trillion won. Lee Chang-kyu, a chief executive at SK, said the SK Group’s trading arm has just named the following six _ iron ore, coal, auto, fashion, real estate and wine _ as the future earnings drivers. ``Corporate values will also be raised to 6 trillion won from 2.6 trillion won during the same period,’’ according to the top executive. Referring to the higher demand for raw materials in emerging markets, faster adaptation to automobiles, growth in consumer markets, urbanization and the aging society, Lee said SK Networks will respond to such industrial trends by implementing target and customized-based strategies. SK Networks has been on track to expand its business portfolio to raw materials, automotive services and retail goods. It is focusing on consolidating its position in those sectors especially in China and further penetrating into Indonesia, Vietnam and other emerging ma

Aug 4, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Saudi deal proves elusive for Doosan

By Kim Yoo-chul Korea's Doosan Group appears to have failed to close a lucrative deal to build a power plant in Saudi Arabia, which may prove to be a setback for its ambitions to flex its global muscle. Doosan had aimed to get about 60 percent of its targeted 24 trillion won ($20.5 billion) in revenue for this year and the Saudi Arabian project was considered a prerequisite for the company achieving its goal. Doosan, which relies on its duo of heavy industry units Doosan Heavy and Doosan Infracore to spearhead its attempts for going global, has been looking to exploit the growing demand for new power plants. Doosan Heavy was euphoric went it was named by the Saudi Arabia's state-run Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) as the preferred bidder to build a 2,400 megawatt power plant in the country, a deal that is thought to be worth up to $4.34 billion. However, the SEC recently withdrew its commitment to Doosan Heavy and declared to restart the bidding process, according to industry sources. "SEC notified Doosan that it will restart the bidding process, which will conti

Aug 4, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Companies

Which telecom stock do you prefer, SKT or KT?

By Kim Yoo-chul The local equity market has continued on an upward spiral on the back of a strong economic rebound. However, it is still uncertain whether IT shares will maintain a bullish run due to the uphill competition in the industry. Shares of KT and SKT have continued to rise in line with the growing popularity in smartphones. KT is an exclusive local partner to sell Apple’s iPhones, while SK Telecom is the loyal partner of Samsung for the Galaxy S smartphones. But it seems quite uncertain whether the shares of the carriers will go over “box trading” due to market volatilities. But stock analysts are giving more credit to the growth potential of KT shares. KT has been pressed to secure its bottom line over its smartphone customers as a delay in launching the iPhone 4 had allowed its rival SK Telecom to gain more new customers. According to the data from the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA), KT lost 50,000 numbers customers to rivals including SK Telecom and LG Uplus in July mainly due to SK Telecom’s aggressive promotions for the Galaxy S.

Aug 3, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Companies

LG Elec. names design chief

By Kim Yoo-chul LG Electronics announced Tuesday it has named Lee Kun-pyo as the head of the Corporate Design Center as part of its strategy to strengthen its interface-focused capabilities. Lee is a professor of industrial design at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and earned a Ph. D. from the University of Tsukuba in Japan in this field. ``LG hopes the new vice president will raise LG’s global recognition in design based on his proven experience in academia and networks-related knowledge,’’ said an LG spokesman Jerry Kim. In a statement, LG said Lee’s strengths range from interface-driven to human design. He was helping KAIST make its way into the top 30 design schools worldwide. Bae Won-beok, who previously led the design center and its global product strategy unit, will now focus on strategy management.

Aug 3, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

IT shares face uncertain future

By Kim Yoo-chul The local equity market has continued on an upward spiral on the back of a strong economic rebound. However, it is still uncertain whether IT shares will maintain a bullish run due to the uphill competition in the industry. Shares of KT and SKT have continued to rise in line with the growing popularity in smartphones. KT is an exclusive local partner to sell Apple’s iPhones, while SK Telecom is the loyal partner of Samsung for the Galaxy S smartphones. But it seems quite uncertain whether the shares of the carriers will go over "box trading" due to market volatilities. But stock analysts are giving more credit to the growth potential of KT shares. KT has been pressed to secure its bottom line over its smartphone customers as a delay in launching the iPhone 4 had allowed its rival SK Telecom to gain more new customers. According to the data from the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA), KT lost 50,000 numbers customers to rivals including SK Telecom and LG Uplus in July mainly due to SK Telecom’s aggressive promotions for the Galaxy S.

Aug 3, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Boom or bust?

Green stocks in demand but question is sustainability By Kim Yoo-chul Green is emerging as a buzzword in business circles here, as corporate leaders are struggling to foster green businesses as a future growth engine in order to bounce back post-financial crisis. Growing interest over green businesses has spiked the prices of the so-called green shares, or stocks of companies engaged in eco-friendly enterprise, re-igniting a debate over a potential "green bubble." The recent bullishness of green stocks took market participants back to two years ago when a "green boom" had hit the local equity market. They might have sensed a dejavu as both booms were propelled by the encouragement from presidents. In 2008, the first green boom was triggered by President Lee Myung-bak when he announced a vision to transform the country into a green economy. This year, U.S. President Barack Obama has led the trend. Green stocks have risen sharply after he said on July 16, "LG Chem's rechargeable battery plant in the U.S. is our future." Now people are trying to figure out

Aug 2, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung employs new strategy to beat cycle of ups, downs

Heavy investments may crowd out competitors By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics may be a leading global tech firm but it is still subject to cyclic ups and downs. Now with its big cash holdings, the Korean firm is trying to do something that has rarely been tried before ― beating the cycle. Its rationale goes that if it can control this, the company won't need to worry about oversupply and can ensure a steady stream of business. For that, it needs to bulk up its size. The leading chip and flat-screen manufacturer has obviously learned its lesson in the trough of the previous business cycle. Samsung posted 910 billion won in losses ― 560 billion won in memory chips and 350 billion won ― in the fourth quarter of 2008. This wasn't so bad, considering the sweeping global recession at that time. Samsung has tried to go for industrial domination before and ended up with bad publicity. Its aggressive pursuit of increasing output capacity was to blame for the insolvency of Germany's Qimonda. But that was then. Now, Samsung is making another attempt at the same

Aug 2, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

LS Industrial reports profit rises

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff reporter LS Industrial System said Friday its operating profit for the April-June period edged up year-on-year. The quarterly profit of the company, which sells electric machinery, was 46.4 billion won _ an increase of 2.9 percent year-on-year. But sales for the second quarter decreased by 8.4 percent to reach at 347.5 billion won, it said. Net profit during the quarter was up 5 percent to 33.8 billion won. Quarter-on-quarter, sales retreated by 5.1 percent, while operating and net profit spiked by 90.9 percent and 44.4 percent, respectively, it said in the regulatory filing. "It is expected that the second half will be better as our new businesses are seen to lift us," said a company spokesman. The official said LS is planning to revise up this year’s operating profit and sales target from the earlier prediction of 165.8 billion won and 1.433 trillion won, respectively. The official didn't elaborate further. LS Industrial is driving up its efforts to strengthen its competitive edge in green-related businesses, including eco-friendly b

Jul 30, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung posts record operating profit of W5 tril.

Korean tech giant focused on reducing smartphone gap with Apple, RIM By Kim Yoo-chul Staff reporter South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics reported a record operating profit of 5.01 trillion won (about $4.23 billion) for the second quarter, driven by robust sales in computer memory chips and liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Samsung executives have a cautious outlook for the remainder of the year, citing uncertainties such as the volatile nature of the chip and flat-screen markets, the increasing price competition in finished products like televisions and mobile phones, and the continuing economic turmoil in Europe. The second-quarter operating profit, which shattered previous company records, marked an annual growth of 88 percent, while its revenue of 37.89 trillion won represented a 17 percent year-on-year increase. Net income was 4.28 trillion won for the April-June period, Samsung said in a filing, Friday. "Our main goal for the second-half is profitability. We expect to face difficulties in maintaining our current level of profitability because of econ

Jul 30, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
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