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Hyundai Card signs data partnership with Visa

Hyundai Card Vice Chairman and CEO Ted Chung, left, poses with Visa CEO Ryan Mclnerney after signing a strategic data partnership at the latter's headquarters in San Francisco, June 21. Courtesy of Hyundai CardBy Lee Min-hyungHyundai Card has signed a strategic business partnership with Visa to seek potential opportunities in the area of payments data, the Korean credit card company said Monday.“We look forward to working with Visa and combining both companies'?expertise to provide advanced solutions that meet the needs of our partners and customers,”?Hyundai Card Vice Chairman and CEO Ted Chung said.?“In addition to bolstering our data capabilities, we envision a future where our data-driven technologies will transform the way individuals and businesses interact with financial services.” Chung visited Visa CEO Ryan Mclnerney in San Francisco to formalize the partnership.Both firms will leverage data science-related resources and expertise to jointly develop innovative data products, they said. Hyundai Card will offer its innovative data analytics platform glo

Jun 26, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
Hyundai Card signs data partnership with Visa

Korea to create $229.25 mil. fund for chip industry

In this photo provided by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, second from left, visits Samsung Electronics's chip plant in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul, April 7. YonhapKorea will create a fund worth 300 billion won ($229.25 million) to ensure the stable value chain of the chip industry by strengthening the logic chip sector and related materials, parts and components firms, the industry ministry said Monday.Samsung Electronics and SK hynix vowed to invest a combined 75 billion won, and the Korea Development Bank, the Industrial Bank of Korea and several other entities will extend another 75 billion won of policy financing for a parent fund, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The remaining 150 billion won will come from private investors, it added.The largest-scale fund for the semiconductor industry is expected to be launched within this year.The fund, in particular, is aimed at supporting fabless companies and those making materials, components and equipment of the chip industry so as to strengthen the overall "ecosys

Jun 26, 2023
Korea to create $229.25 mil. fund for chip industry

LG Chem begins mass production of single crystal cathodes

LG Chem's cathode plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, is seen in this June 26 photo provided by the company. YonhapLG Chem said Monday it has begun mass production of a next-generation high-nickel cathode material made with a single crystal structure that enhances the power of electric vehicle batteries. The first output of the single-crystal cathodes will be delivered to clients from its Cheongju plant, starting in July, the chemical company said in a release. Cheongju is located 112 kilometers south of Seoul.LG Chem plans to expand the single-crystal cathode production lines to its factory in the southeastern city of Gumi, with the aim of producing 50,000 tons a year. Single-crystal cathode materials are made with various metals, such as nickel, cobalt and manganese, into a one-body structure, regarded as a key solution to improving the lifespan and capacity of next-generation batteries.Cathodes are a core component that determines the power of lithium-ion batteries and account for about 40 percent of battery production costs. Conventional

Jun 26, 2023
LG Chem begins mass production of single crystal cathodes

INTERVIEW Star analyst-turned-CEO launches his own private equity firm

Aimbridge Founder and CEO Hwang Sang-youn / Courtesy of AimbridgeBy Anna J. ParkHwang Sang-youn is a trailblazer who has not hesitated to change his life's path during the last three decades of his career. His diverse work experiences as a stellar engineer, stock analyst, CFO and CEO led the 52-year to establish a private equity company of his own, Aimbridge LLC, earlier this year.He made the decision to open his own business shortly after resigning from his previous post as a head of the private equity business at Brain Asset Management late last year. Prior to the position, he served as CEO at Chong Kun Dang (CKD) Holdings, one of the major pharmaceutical companies in Korea, and as the CFO at MDimune, a bio-therapeutics venture firm. During his career path, constant challenges in new fields have expanded Hwang's realm of expertise. The bio and finance expert started his career as a chemistry researcher back in 1995, after receiving both bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry from Seoul National University. After working as a researcher at LG Chem for five years, he decided to

Jun 26, 2023By Anna J. Park
[INTERVIEW] Star analyst-turned-CEO launches his own private equity firm

Hana Financial Group offers scholarships for Marines

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, left, poses with Marine Corps Commandant Lt. Gen. Kim Gye-hwan, after delivering a scholarship at company headquarters in Seoul, June 23. Courtesy of Hana Financial GroupBy Lee Min-hyungHana Financial Group awarded scholarship funds worth 150 million won ($114,000) to the Marine Corps here to fulfill its corporate social responsibility (CSR), the financial holding firm said Sunday.The donated money will be used to help Marines and the bereaved families of those who sacrificed their lives for the country to continue their education.“I was able to continue my studies despite financial difficulties after I was discharged due to shoulder surgery while engaging in military training,” Lee Seung-soo, a Marine reservist, said after receiving the Hana scholarship.Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo pledged to keep operating the program to build a closer relationship with the Marine Corps.“We will continue our role as priming water for the Marines who are sacrificing for the country on the front lines, and keep supporting t

Jun 25, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
Hana Financial Group offers scholarships for Marines

Korean battery makers expected to report upbeat Q2 earnings on solid demand, IRA

In this June 9, 2021 file photo, staffs of the LG Energy Solution booth show their company's batteries at the InterBattery 2021 at COEX in Seoul. Korea Times fileMajor Korean battery makers are tipped to post strong quarterly profits in the second quarter, continuing the robust growth on the back of solid demand in North America and tax benefits from a new U.S. law on green energy, industry data showed Sunday.Top player LG Energy Solution (LGES) is forecast to report 742.5 billion won ($565.9 million) in operating profit in the three months ending in June, according to a median estimate by local brokerages, compiled by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.That marks a 279.6 percent increase from a year earlier and 17.3 percent from the previous quarter.The upbeat profit is attributable to the solid growth in output in North America and the effects of tax credits it would have received in the U.S. market under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), analysts said. The tax credits, known as the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit (AMPC), are applied to eligible

Jun 25, 2023
Korean battery makers expected to report upbeat Q2 earnings on solid demand, IRA

Samsung's chip biz, SK hynix to remain in the red in Q2 amid weak chip demand

GettyimagesbankSK hynix and the chip division of Samsung Electronics are expected to post quarterly losses in the second quarter after reporting losses in the previous three months as the chip downturn drags on, market data showed Sunday.Samsung Electronics is projected to report an operating profit of 100.4 billion won ($76.5 million) for the April-June period, a 99.3 percent drop from the 14.09 trillion won operating income it registered a year earlier, according to a median estimate based on the outlooks by local brokerages, compiled by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.Samsung's Device Solutions (DS) unit in charge of chip business is forecast to log an operating loss of between 3 to 4 trillion won, although that would mark a decline from the 4.58 trillion won operating loss in the first quarter.The dismal earnings outlook came as the slump in the global chip industry is continuing, as people and companies reduce spending on tech products amid the runaway inflation.Samsung, the world's largest memory chip and smartphone maker, reported the worst quarter

Jun 25, 2023
Samsung's chip biz, SK hynix to remain in the red in Q2 amid weak chip demand

Korean insurance companies seek new growth engine in Vietnam

NH Property & Casualty (P&C) Insurance CEO Choi Mun-seob, left, stands next to Duong Thanh Danh Francois, chairman of PVI Insurance, during an MOU signing ceremony in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of NH P&C Insurance market in Vietnam posts 20 percent growth annually By Anna J. ParkFaced with the limitations of an aging and shrinking population, Korean insurers are looking to the Vietnamese market and its population of nearly 100 million for expansion.Currently, seven Korean insurance companies ― Hanwha Life, Mirae Asset Life, Shinhan Life, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, KB Insurance and Seoul Guarantee Insurance ― are operating either subsidiaries or as branches in Vietnam. Some insurance companies, yet to establish local branches in Vietnam, have instead decided to strengthen partnerships with Vietnamese insurers, seeing the potential for overseas expansion in the Southeast Asian country. NH Property & Casualty (P&C) Insurance signed

Jun 23, 2023By Anna J. Park
Korean insurance companies seek new growth engine in Vietnam

CJ CGV's rights offer drags down other CJ unit shares

A promotional image of CJ CGV multiplexes / Courtesy of CJ CGVBy Anna J. ParkUpon the announcement of CJ CGV's 1 trillion won ($767 million) paid-in capital increase plan earlier this week, the stock prices of CJ CGV, as well as other CJ subsidiaries and holding company, have plunged this week, showing markets' deteriorated investor sentiment over the plan. According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), the bourse operator, CJ CGV's stock price closed at 9,950 won on Friday, a fall of 5.24 percent from the previous session. After the film multiplex chain announced the capital increase plan on Tuesday, its stock price logged a three-day losing streak during the remainder of the week. The price nosedived by 21.1 percent on Wednesday, shed another 8.22 percent on Thursday and hit the 5.24 percent decline on Friday. As a result, the stock price lost over 30 percent in just the last three daily sessions, hitting the all-time low level marked during the 2008 global financial crisis.As the massive paid-in capital increase plan involves the participation of CJ, the holding company of the conglomerat

Jun 23, 2023By Anna J. Park
CJ CGV's rights offer drags down other CJ unit shares

Naver, Kakao fail to regain glory on earnings slowdown

Corporate logos of Naver and Kakao / Courtesy of each firmBy Lee Min-hyungShares of Naver and Kakao ― two representative internet stocks here ― are losing almost all of their pandemic gains amid a pessimistic outlook on their earnings growth.The stock price of Naver hit an all-time high of 465,000 won ($359) per share in July 2021 on then-growing expectations for the rise of the contactless economy. But the tech giant has since failed to extend the glory, with its share price continuing to display a steep downward trajectory to below 200,000 won per share.This is a drop of more than a half, and the outlook remains cloudy over short-term recovery due to its weak earnings recovery. According to data from market tracker FnGuide, Naver is estimated to attain an operating profit of 361.7 billion won in the third quarter, up merely 7.58 percent from a year earlier. The slowdown in earnings growth is attributed to the overall downturn in the advertising market.The internet companies plan to release their game-changing artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to seek a major breakthrough in its

Jun 22, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
Naver, Kakao fail to regain glory on earnings slowdown
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