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  • Economy

    DWS Group bullish on Korea logistics, upbeat on stock market reforms

    DWS Group said Monday that European real estate is expected to deliver annual returns of 9 percent over the next five years, offering fresh investment opportunities for Korean investors despite their recent caution toward alternative assets. Speaking during a press meeting at the International Finance Center in Seoul, officials from the German asset manager noted that European real estate has become increasingly attractive as supply remains tight across major sectors, while demand continues to be supported by structural factors. Clemens Schaefer, global head of real estate for the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa at DWS Group, said vacancy rates in Europe's residential, logistics and office sectors are significantly lower than those in the U.S. But new supply is expected to remain limited, as high development costs and relatively low expected returns have discouraged developers from launching new projects. The company forecast that European real estate will generate annual returns of 9 percent over the next five years, compared with 7.2 percent for the U.S. and 7 percent for

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    DWS Group bullish on Korea logistics, upbeat on stock market reforms
  • Economy

    Korea's $519 bil. chip megaproject sparks Kosdaq rally, fails to lift KOSPI

    2 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    Korea's $519 bil. chip megaproject sparks Kosdaq rally, fails to lift KOSPI
  • Economy

    Korean won tumbles to fresh 17-year low on foreign stock selloff

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korean won tumbles to fresh 17-year low on foreign stock selloff
  • Economy

    Seoul shares down 2% late Monday morning on tech losses, Iran uncertainty

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Seoul shares down 2% late Monday morning on tech losses, Iran uncertainty
  • Economy

    Korea's ETF market overtakes Kosdaq for 1st time

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    Korea's ETF market overtakes Kosdaq for 1st time
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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

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Economy

Korean businesses lukewarm about gov't carbon-free drive

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki speaks during a ministerial-level meeting at the Seoul Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, Monday. / YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min Industry insiders have expressed the hope that the government will take a cautious approach and reassess its ambitious “carbon-free” policy initiatives because Korea's economic growth still depends heavily on carbon-based energy sources.“A huge amount of energy is required to build and operate memory chip lines,” an official from the local semiconductor sector said Monday. “From that standpoint, it's very challenging for us to use renewable energy. For us, the possible magnitude of the carbon reduction would be quite dramatic because carbon is still the largest source of energy.” The reaction came immediately after the government unveiled its vision to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. This would call for the country to kick its obsession with fossil fuels and accelerate investments into clean energy at a pace few dared believe possible.“If carbon neutrality is

Dec 7, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Korean businesses lukewarm about gov't carbon-free drive
  • Korea unveils blueprints to attain carbon neutrality by 2050
Economy

With AstraZeneca, SK Bioscience seeking IPO jackpot

SK Bioscience's L HOUSE vaccine center located in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of SK BioscienceBy Anna J. ParkSince a deal was reached in July for SK Bioscience to manufacture AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, the SK affiliate has already managed to produce the vaccine at its Andong L HOUSE vaccine center.While some vials of the vaccine produced have already been exported, SK Bioscience is working on production for the domestic market after the deal inked recently between the Korean government and the U.K.-based AstraZeneca to produce 25 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for local distribution. Considering that a full-on vaccination process in the country will begin as early as sometime in the first half of next year, SK Bioscience's plan to go public early next year seems “very timely” to raise its corporate value to the fullest.SK Bioscience selected NH Investment & Securities as its main underwriter firm, while Korea Investment & Securities and Mirae Asset Daewoo are also jointly tapped to lead the IPO process. The financial industry estimates

Dec 7, 2020By Anna J. Park
With AstraZeneca, SK Bioscience seeking IPO jackpot
Economy

Almost 30% of 'hagwon' teachers lost jobs amid pandemic: survey

GettyimagesbankMore than one out of four instructors at private institutes lost their jobs during the course of the new coronavirus pandemic, predominantly without unemployment benefits, a survey showed Monday. In an online survey on the effect of COVID-19 on 500 instructors released by Gabjil 119, a workers' advocacy group, 27 percent of the respondents said they experienced unemployment in the past 10 months since the virus outbreak. Commissioned by Gabjil 119, the survey was conducted from Nov. 20-24 on 500 private institute instructors by pollster Embrain Public.The figure was some 1.8 times higher than the average rate among all salaried workers, which stood at 15.1 percent in a similar survey conducted by the group in September. Among the reasons for unemployment, involuntary layoff and cancellations or closure of courses each accounted for 25.2 percent, followed by recommended job terminations with 20 percent. Of those laid off, only 4 percent said they have received unemployment allowance, with 55.4 percent of them unregistered with the state employment insurance program, acc

Dec 7, 2020
Almost 30% of 'hagwon' teachers lost jobs amid pandemic: survey
Economy

Gas prices rise

Employees at a gas station in Seoul fill a vehicle on Sunday. According to the Korea National Oil Corporation's Opinet website, gas prices around the country increased to 1,327 won ($1.22) a liter this week, an 8.2 won rise from the week before. / Yonhap

Dec 6, 2020By Anna J. Park
Gas prices rise
Economy

Koreans uneasy about Chinese real estate purchases here

A photo of apartment complexes in Seoul taken from Nam Mountain on Dec. 3 / YonhapBy Anna J. ParkWhile skyrocketing real estate prices ― particularly in Seoul ― have become a key social issue here, voices of criticism are rising against Chinese people's purchases of land and apartments here. This comes as many Koreans from low- and middle-income brackets are struggling to buy their own homes due to a series of government loan regulations aimed at curbing property speculation. According to statistics by the land ministry, the total amount of land in Korea owned by Chinese nationalities during the first six months this year increased by 2.6 percent from the end of last year. As of the end of 2019, 251.6 square kilometers of land in Korea was owned by foreign nationals, an area about 56 times the size of Seoul's financial district Yeouido. Chinese-owned property accounted for 19.8 square kilometers of the total land, which is the second-highest among people of foreign nationalities, following Americans. From 2011 to 2019, the amount of land in Korea owned by Chinese nationals has increa

Dec 6, 2020By Anna J. Park
Koreans uneasy about Chinese real estate purchases here
Economy

KKR, Shinhan bolster ties

KKR Co-President Joseph Bae, left, and Shinhan Chairman Cho Yong-byoung. / Korea Times fileBy Park Jae-hyukKohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and Shinhan Financial Group are reinforcing their partnership through collaborations in several major projects here and overseas, dispelling worries that their strategic relationship may fizzle out.The Korean financial group said Sunday its global investment banking (GIB) desk in London provided 25 million pounds ($33 million) recently to Viridor, the United Kingdom's second-largest waste management company that KKR acquired for 4.2 billion pounds in March from Pennon Group.Shinhan's GIB desk is the group-wide team comprised of employees from its banking, brokerage, insurer and leasing service units. The group organized its London GIB desk in January last year at its bank's branch there. It also runs GIB desks in New York, Hong Kong and Sydney.Industry sources said that BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole, the co-underwriters for the lucrative deal of providing a syndicated loan to KKR's portfolio company, initially wanted bidders to skip on-s

Dec 6, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
KKR, Shinhan bolster ties
Economy

Shinhan creating new paradigm for digital transformation

By Lee Min-hyungShinhan Financial Group is setting a new paradigm for digital transformation by realigning its business structure to achieve its goal of becoming a “digital finance company.”The top-tier financial holding firm is building a digital portfolio for all of its affiliates to become digitally agile, so that the new slogan ends up with becoming a cliche chanted by most financial firms in the post-coronavirus era.To differentiate its digital strategy from those of its rivals, the company created a new division called “LoonShot” in October directly controlled by Chairman Cho Yong-byoung. The new unit consists of 30 officials, and places its focus on mapping out Shinhan's next-generation digital platform strategies.“The unit is focused on creating and finding new content that can attract more traffic to our online and mobile platforms from a financial and non-financial viewpoint,” a company official said. “We are going to generate a stronger network by enhancing the openness of our platforms in order to unite customers, the platforms an

Dec 5, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
Shinhan creating new paradigm for digital transformation
Economy

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan to stay out of Kakao Bank IPO

A Kakao Bank user makes a transaction using his mobile phone. / Courtesy of Kakao BankBy Park Jae-hyukGoldman Sachs and JPMorgan are unlikely to bid to become underwriters for Kakao Bank's planned initial public offering (IPO) because of possible conflicts of interest, according to sources, Friday.The two U.S. investment banks are underwriters for the listing of KakaoPay, Kakao's mobile payment services provider. Because Kakao Bank and KakaoPay are fintech firms, the investment banks could take measures that favor one side if they were selected as underwriters for both subsidiaries.Kakao Bank is expected to announce the underwriters for its IPO within next week at the earliest, taking into account the possible conflicts of interest.The underwriters will make handsome profits, so major foreign investment banks have also paid attention to the planned IPO.On a related note, CEOs of major local securities firms gathered at Kakao Bank headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, Friday, to convince the nation's leading internet-only bank to select their companies as underwriters.NH Investme

Dec 4, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan to stay out of Kakao Bank IPO
Economy

Market bets on Google, Facebook takeover of KineMaster

A KineMaster user edits video using the app. / Courtesy of KineMasterKim & Chang selected as legal adviser to M&ABy Park Jae-hyukKineMaster shares have soared throughout this week, after its major shareholders confirmed their plan to sell their controlling stake in the mobile video editor services provider. Its share price closed at 29,050 won, Friday, up from 12,050 won a week earlier.Founded in 2002 as NexStreaming, the Kosdaq-listed company operates the mobile video editor app KineMaster, which generates 80 percent of its revenue, and the mobile video player PlayerSDK, which generates the remaining 20 percent. It posted 8.6 billion won ($8 million) in sales during the third quarter, a 57.26 percent increase from a year earlier.According to a regulatory filing by its largest shareholder Solborn, major shareholders of KineMaster agreed on Nov. 25 to sell a combined 55.02 percent stake. Solborn said the selection of an underwriter and advisory firms was underway.A KineMaster official confirmed the company selected Kim & Chang as the legal adviser for the planned sale. A s

Dec 4, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
Market bets on Google, Facebook takeover of KineMaster
Economy

Employment rate for working moms with underage children falls amid pandemic

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, third from left in the back row, listens to working mothers' difficulties at the company's workplace in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Sept. 14. / Courtesy of Samsung ElectronicsThe employment rate for working mothers with underage children declined during the six-month period ending in April as the job market remained sluggish amid the new coronavirus outbreak, data showed Friday.The employment rate for working mothers with children aged under 18 reached 55.5 percent in the November 2019-April 2020 period, down 1.5 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea.The portion of such women who worked or sought to find jobs also fell to 56.8 percent in the cited period, down 1.6 percentage points from the previous year.The number of working mothers with under-aged children reached 4.81 million as of the end of April, accounting for 56.1 percent of all married women.The fall in their employment rate and economic participation came as the COVID-19 pandemic hurt face-to-face service sectors, in which many marri

Dec 4, 2020
Employment rate for working moms with underage children falls amid pandemic
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