LG acquires Israeli automotive cybersecurity startup Cybellum LG Electronics has acquired Israeli automotive cybersecurity startup Cybellum, adding a new boost to its ever-growing automotive electronics business. The South Korean electronics maker said on Thursd..

DRAM prices under growing downward pressure in Q4 A downward pressure on dynamic random access memory chip (DRAM) prices is growing, reigniting concerns about South Korea’s chip industry that is responsible for 20 percent of the export reliant countr..

LG Elec likely finish the year at global No. 1 in white goods sales LG Electronics Inc. will likely safely command No. 1 in global white goods sales led by its premium Object Collection appliances that have indulged young consumers who are willing to spend hefty amoun..

Korean Air expects earnings surprise in Q3 on strong air cargo demand, higher rates South Korea’s No.1 full-service carrier Korean Air Lines Co. expects a surprise earnings growth in the third quarter on robust air freight business and strengthened rates amid protracted port congesti..

Korean Inc. expected to keep up robust rebound momentum in H2 Earnings of Korean companies are projected increase nearly 50 percent in the third quarter and over 70 percent in the final three months of the year against a year-ago period, although slowed from the..

CJ’s Bibigo becomes corporate sponsor for LA Lakers South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang Corp.’s Bibigo brand has become the first global sponsor for Los Angeles Lakers at the invitation of the pro basketball team. CJ CheilJedang announced on Wedn..

Prolonged chip shortage to slightly hurt Hyundai, Kia’s earnings Q3 Earnings outlook for Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. in the quarter ending September have been pared slightly due to production disruption from ongoing chip shortage and virus crisis. According to pr..

LG Energy Solution acquires 4.8% stake in Chinese nickel and cobalt producer LG Energy Solution Ltd. signed a deal with Greatpower Nickel & Cobalt Materials Co. to take over a 4.8 percent stake in the raw material producer in China at 35 billion won ($29.7 million) to better e..

Kakao Mobility IPO put off on business streaming under remedial pressure Kakao Mobility Corp., a dominant car-hailing platform under South Korean app giant Kakao Corp., will reschedule its planned initial public offering (IPO) as it needs to realign its business scope upon..

Genesis GV60 adds face recognition tech for door lock Genesis GV60, the first all-electric SUV of Hyundai Motor’s luxury marque due to be out late this year, will sport a face recognition feature that enables its driver to lock and unlock the vehicle wit..

Eastar Jet to file rescue plan readying for service resumption early next year South Korean budget carrier Eastar Jet Co. under a new owner Sung Jung Co. will file its self-rescue scheme on Friday, readying to take off again early next year after a year-long hiatus. Eastar Jet..

SK Innovation will not rush with EV battery unit’s IPO: CEO SK Innovation Co. in a shareholders meeting Thursday gave a go-ahead to its scheme of breaking up the operation into separate energy flagship and battery pure player, and said it won’t rush to go publ..

Samsung Heavy wins $717.6 mn deal for six LNG dual-fuel container carriers in Europe Samsung Heavy Industries Co., one of three Korean shipyard majors, announced Thursday it has won 841.2 billion won ($717.6 million) deal to build six LNG dual-fuel container carriers in Europe. The ..

SK E&S to buy full ownership in Busan City Gas at premium to delist it later SK E&S Co., energy unit of South Korea’s SK Group, will voluntarily delist its unit Busan City Gas Co. instrumental in its hydrogen migration after purchasing remaining shares at a premium of more tha..

Halla Holdings invests $86 mn in EV battery separator maker WCP, shares up 15% South Korean auto parts supplier Halla Holdings Corp. announced Thursday it has made a 100 billion won ($85.5 million) strategic investment in electric vehicle battery separator manufacturer W-Scope K..

SK’s SOCAR Mobility Malaysia attracts $55 mn investment SOCAR Mobility Malaysia, the No. 1 ride-sharing app in Malaysia run by Korea’s SK Inc., has attracted $55 million investment to gain traction for faster expansion in the Southeast Asian market. The l..

Edison Motors, EL B&T, Indi EV join final tender for SsangYong Motor Two South Korean electric vehicle manufacturers and one American EV startup submitted final bids for a controlling stake in SsangYong Motor Co. under court protection, while Samra Midas (SM) Group and..

Hyundai Motor, LG Energy Solution break ground for $1.1 bn EV battery plant in Indonesia Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution Ltd. has begun construction of $1.1 billion first joint-venture electric vehicle battery cell production plant in Karawang industrial park in Indonesia that ..

Hanwha Systems to set up a JV on self-driving vehicle components Hanwha Systems Co., a major defense contractor in South Korea, has joined hands with vehicle-related sensor manufacturer Truwin Co. to produce automotive sensors and chips to support autonomous drivin..

Tender for SsangYong Motor likely be a horserace between SM and Edison Motors The tender for a controlling stake in South Korea’s SsangYong Motor Co. under court protection closes Wednesday in an anticipated horserace between domestic bidders Samra Midas (SM) Group and Edison M..

Seegene to mark another milestone in popularization of molecular diagnostic technology Seegene Inc., South Korea’s largest point-of-care diagnostic kit maker, will mark another significant milestone in the popularization of molecular diagnostic technology with an advanced real-time poly..

Korea’s PharmGen Science to lead commercialization of world’s first Covid-19 biosimilar PharmGen Science, a Korean biotech company, Thursday announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with U.S.-based AccessBio and IVY Pharma to co-develop and commercialize a biosimilar o..

Celltrion companies shares rally on test kit procurement deal in U.S. Shares of three Celltrion Group companies jumped on Thursday after the group’s U.S. subsidiary won a deal to supply its Covid-19 rapid antigen test kits to 25,000 facilities in the country. Celltrion..

Samsung Biologics out to set new standard in drugmaking with time-saving CDO platform Samsung Biologics has unveiled an innovative contract development organization (CDO) platform ‘S-Cellerate’ designed to dramatically shorten the novel drug timeline from cell line development to inves..

Korean startup Firstface wins patent battle against Apple in US appeal court Firstface Co., a South Korean information technology startup, defeated Apple Inc. in a patent dispute over fingerprint-authentication technology in an U.S. appeal court.The U.S. Court of Appeals for t..

Helixmith to start gene, cell therapy CDMO business next year Helixmith, a gene therapy company in Korea, will make a foray into the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) market for gene and cellular therapy products next year, with a focus ..

ETRI develops technique to make microLED TVs up to 20 times cheaper South Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has developed a new manufacturing technique to make expensive micro light-emitting diode (microLED) products affordable in th..

JW BioScience licenses out pancreatic cancer biomarker technology to Immunovia JW BioScience, a subsidiary of South Korea’s JW Life Science, has signed a non-exclusive agreement to license out its diagnosis technology for early detection of pancreatic cancer to Swedish company I..

Naver joins the race to tackle automated machine learning Naver Corp. is making strides in `automated machine learning` solutions that it is grooming as a future growth driver after unveiling hyperscale AI language model Hyper Clova in May. According to sour..

LG Uplus to launch commercial post-quantum cryptography service next year South Korea’s major mobile carrier LG Uplus will provide a new commercial security service based on quantum-resistant cryptography technology called post-quantum cryptography (PQC) for public and fina..

SK Biopharm’s new drugs meet hopeful response, eyes $864mn in sales from epilepsy drug SK Biopharmaceuticals’ novel drugs including epilepsy drug Xcopri (cenobamate) are gearing up for aggressive global expansion after their initial launches in key pharmaceutical markets North America a..

Korea’s active drug pipelines up by 160% from 3 years ago The number of active drug pipelines for cancer and other severe medical illnesses in Korea is close to 1,500, up nearly 160 percent from three years ago, according to a recent industry survey. The su..

Medipost expands stem cell potential to treat pulmonary disease South Korea’s Medipost is developing a new stem cell-based therapy to treat patients with acute respiratory failure or pulmonary fibrosis that may result from Covid-19, the company’s chief executive Y..

S. Korea’s first ultrapremature baby of under 290-gram birth weight goes home healthy The first ultrapremature baby of under 290-gram birth weight in Korea - Cho Kun-woo – was released from hospital healthy weighing over 2kg after 153 days of intense medical care.Asan Medical Cen..

Voronoi inks $323.5mn licensing deal with U.S. Brickell Biotech South Korea-based Voronoi Inc. has licensed out its autoimmune disease treatment platform to Nasdaq-trading Brickell Biotech in an exclusive rights deal that could exceed $300 million.Under the agreem..

SK Biopharm’s narcolepsy drug Sunosi launched in Canada SK Biopharmaceuticals said on Wednesday its narcolepsy drug Sunosi (solriamfetol) has been launched in Canada by its global business partner Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Sunosi is an FDA-approved drug to tr..

Shares fall as Genexine shifts its Covid-19 Phase 2,3 trials for booster dose Shares of South Korean biotech company Genexine Inc. sank upon disappointment at the company’s strategic move to change clinical trial program for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate GX-19N to test its eff..

New CHA research head doubles down on global promotion of K-bio potential South Korea’s bio technology has become world-class level and needs to be better recognized, said new CHA Advanced Research Institute head.Dr. Yoon Ho-sup, 62, who was a star professor with tenure and..

Hanmi Science CEO Lim to become largest shareholder of Cancer Rop Lim Jong-yoon, CEO of Hanmi Science Co., will become the largest shareholder of molecular diagnosis company Cancer Rop Co. by acquiring a 19.57 percent stake. Cancer Rop announced in a regulatory fil..

CAR-T therapy developer Ticaros raises $21mn in series C financing Ticaros, a Korean biotech startup specialized in CAR-T cell therapy, has raised 25 billion won ($21.48 million) in its recent series C financing round, bringing total investments to 33 billion won in ..

Seoul to allow individual investors to borrow stocks for 90 days for short sale Individuals can borrow Korean stocks for short sale for 90 days, increased from 60 days, starting November, and can extend the loan upon expiry in new incentives to bring retailers closer to the compl..

Korea’s Q4 M&A pipeline packed with mega deals The bumper M&A year for South Korea is yet to be over as the fourth-quarter calendar is packed with mega deals. According to multiple sources from the investment bank industry on Wednesday, the final ..

Korea’s smaller crypto exchanges join shutdown of won-denominated trade South Korea’s smaller crypto exchanges joined a flurry of shutdown of Korean currency-denominated trade ahead of a regulatory deadline after they failed to renew real-name account contracts with partn..

Hyundai Heavy Industries make a volatile debut, swinging 33% on first day Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. made a volatile debut Friday, opening at double the initial price of 60,000 won ($50.96) and swinging 33 percent on the first day of trading at Kospi. The shares were tr..

EcoPro BM is red-hot stock, up nearly 50% in a week to leapfrog to Kosdaq No. 2 South Korea’s battery materials manufacturer EcoPro BM Co. has become a red-hot stock, with its value soaring 46 percent in just a week after it won a 10 trillion won ($8.48 billion) contract to suppl..

Korea Investment & Securities succeeds in local currency bond sale, IPO in Indonesia Korea Investment & Securities Co. successfully sold its first-ever Indonesian currency-denominated bonds and led an initial public offering of a local firm in the Southeast Asian country, rapidly expa..

DoubleU Games ready to grab M&A opportunities with $340 mn ammunition South Korea’s DoubleU Games will seek inorganic growth opportunities to diversify its portfolio beyond social casino games with fresh ammunition from the Nasdaq listing of its subsidiary DoubleDown In..

SK Bioscience stock under downside pressure from imminent lockup release Shares of SK Bioscience Co. stagnated after a vaccine-related boost could be weighed down by overhang issue upon institutional release of initial shares upon six-month lockup. SK Bioscience finished W..

HHI’s hot debut could be weighed down by foreign selling due to low lockup Hyundai Heavy Industries’ hot debut of initial public offerings is due on Friday, but its early performance could be weighed down by potential foreign selling due to low lockup mandate.Domestic instit..

Investors advised to pack out by next week as 38 crypto exchanges in Korea to close From Sept. 24, only four cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea can host Korean won-based trade while 24 others can only host digital coins, whereas 38 would no longer exist, according to the governm..

Korean state lender IBK issues $500 mn sustainable bonds at cheapest rate South Korea’s Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) has tapped $500 million in U.S. dollar-denominated sustainable bonds at the cheapest rate for a Korean issuer. The state lender announced Tuesday that it ..

Shinhan Asset to merge with Shinhan Alternative for synergy, diversification South Korea’s Shinhan Asset Management Co. will merge with its sibling Shinhan Alternative Investment Management Inc. in a bid to ramp up efficiency and competitiveness in asset management business th..

Market making practice to come virtually to a stop in Korea from this week As many as 13 out of 14 brokerages designated as market makers chose to surrender their role from Monday after the Korean financial authority alerted of a rare heavy fine on nine for alleged irregular..

Foreigners’ Korean stock selling spree continues while holding record high debt in Aug Foreign investors’ selling spree of South Korean stocks accelerated last month, while their appetite for the country’s debts remained insatiable with their debt holding hitting a fresh record. Accor..

Chicken breast brand I’m Dak owner Wise UX Global draws multiple bids for sale A tender for Wise UX Global, the operator of South Korea’s leading weight-loss meal brand I’m Dak, has attracted multiple bidders on expectations that the healthy food market would grow rapidly in the..

Korean shipbuilders gain full govt blessing for global dominance, stocks rise South Korea’s shipbuilding industry received full government backing to ride on its newfound boom and rank global No. 1 by commanding 75 percent of the green sea transportation market. “We will stren..

Toughened fintech regulations splash cold waters on Kakao Pay’s IPO The much-hyped initial public offering of Kakao Pay for October has been splashed with cold waters as heightened regulations on fintech services by dominant platform operators will likely cripple most..

Lotte Shopping tapped as the strategic partner for IMM PE’s Hanssem buyout South Korea’s retail giant Lotte Shopping Co. has been chosen by IMM Private Equity (IMM PE) over industrial and interior material giant LX Hausys as the fund’s strategic partner for an estimated $1 b..

Hydrogen stocks gain heat in Korea amid accelerated hydrogen drive Hydrogen stocks are gaining heat after Korean household corporate names formed an alliance for initiative and leadership in achieving hydrogen economy. Shares of Hyosung Advanced Materials Corp. clo..

IGIS Investment in final stage to buy meat wholesaler OK Meat at $102.5 mn South Korea’s venture capital IGIS Investment Partners is in the final stage of the process to acquire local meat wholesaler OK Meat Inc. as part of its aggressive push to add cold chain logistics to ..

S. Korea’s Sept. 1-20 exports up 23% on yr, easing from over 40% in previous month South Korea’s exports in the first 20 days of September were 23 percent higher from the same period a year ago, although easing from around 40 percent growth for the past four months. According to t..

Seoul markets warned of volatility from China Evergrande debt, US tapering risks Seoul authorities warned of volatility in Korean capital markets from the potential collapse of China’s real estate behemoth China Evergrande Group and jitters over a U.S. monetary tightening. The b..

OECD ups outlook for Korean economy this year to 4%, lowers global forecast The Organization for Economic Development (OECD) matched other brightening outlooks for the South Korean economy, raising its 2021 growth outlook to 4.0 percent from 3.8 percent, citing solid export g..

Korea’s Q2 direct overseas investment jumps 26.8% on year South Korea’s second-quarter direct offshore investment jumped 26.8 percent in a year on revived corporate investment sentiment from fast global economic recovery. The country’s direct overseas inve..

S. Korea’s fiscal deficit stretched to record high of $62 bn in 2020 The South Korean fiscal deficit stretched to a record-high of near 73 trillion won ($62 billion) last year due to the heavy spending to fight Covid-19 fallout. According to data released by the Bank ..

Carbon tax to weigh down economic growth, accelerate inflation: BOK A carbon tax as a means to achieve neutrality by 2050 could eat into South Korea’s economic growth while adding to inflationary pressure, according to a report released by the Bank of Korea on Thursda..

Korean Inc. records strongest sales and profitability improvement Q2: BOK South Korean companies saw their profitability improve in the second quarter, with sales soaring by strongest of nearly 20 percent from a year ago, driven by strong exports despite ongoing pandemic, c..

KHNP argues for greater nuclear reactor role to achieve zero carbon goal Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), the state operator of nuclear reactors that had complied with the government order to shut down Wolsong Unit 1 before its legitime lifetime, formally asked the ..

Korea’s job growth stagnates amid virus resurgence, jobless rate falls to 8-year low South Korean payroll additions plateaued at around 500,000 for the third straight month in August amid raging Delta variant that cut business hours to curb daily infection cases in four-digit numbers,..

Korea’s growth potential to slow to 2.0% 2021-2022 on Covid-19: BOK South Korea’s growth potential would stop at an average 2.0 percent for this year and the next due to Covid-19 fallout, according to a study by the Bank of Korea Monday. The BOK estimated the country..

Korea’s car output estimated to rise 4.4% on year, domestic sales down 3.5% this year Korean car output is expected to increase 4.4 percent from pandemic-stricken 2020 to 3.66 million units this year, although sales at home is projected to fall 3.5 percent to around 1.84 million units ..

Korea’s Sept 1-10 exports up 30.7%, imports rise faster 60.6%, chip shipments fall South Korea’s exports sustained robust growth, gaining more than 30 percent in the first 10 days of September against a year-ago period, although the pace slowed from the previous months of around 40 ..

S. Korea’s C/A in surplus streak for 15th month, on track to top $80 bn for 2021 South Korea sustained a surplus streak in its current account for the 15th month in a row in July driven by a sharp recovery in transportation account on a surge in international freight rate and a ri..

Sales of Korean diners and bars at record low from social distancing measures Korean eatery and drinking locations have seen sales shrivel to their worst-ever this year amid repeatedly toughened business constraints from social distancing. The retail sales index of restaurants..

S. Korea’s online shopping hits record high in July, topping $86 bn in Jan-July South Korea’s online shopping hit a fresh record of 16.2 trillion won ($14 billion) in July as the Tokyo Olympics on top of Covid-19 resurgence kept people more at home, bringing the total turnover fo..

Import car sales slow in Korea on chip shortage, Benz E-class top seller Sales of imported cars in South Korea contracted in August from the previous month and grew just 1 percent on year as shipments were disrupted by chip shortage.According to data released by the Korea ..

Hawkish FSC chief and BOK head agree to cooperate on containing household debt Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol and Financial Services Commission (FSC) chairman Koh Seung-beom on Friday agreed to “mutually keep pace” and “closely cooperate” in monetary and financial policy man..

Additional SDR allocation bumps up S.Korea’s Aug FX reserves to fresh new high Foreign currency deposits held by South Korea hit a fresh high of $463.9 billion in August upon adding increased special drawing rights (SDR) allocation from the International Monetary Fund, data show..

S. Korean economy gains 0.8% on qtr in Q2 on private and government spending South Korea’s economy ran at a faster clip of 0.8 percent than the preliminary estimate of 0.7 percent in the second quarter versus earlier three months on stronger consumption and aggressive fiscal s..

S. Korea’s inflation keeps up nine-year strong pace of 2.6% in August South Korea’s inflation in August kept up strengthening above the mid-2 percent level on continual rise in food and commodity prices. According to Statistics Korea on Thursday, the country’s consumer..

Incheon airport operator to push ahead with $5.4 bn expansion by 2025 despite Covid woes Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC)’s planned 6.4 trillion won ($5.4 billion) investment from this year to 2025 in preemptive readiness for post-pandemic air traffic demand will stay intact reg..

Korea starts test on hydrogen trams for commercialization by 2023 South Korea has initiated a 42.4 billion won ($35.8 million) project to commercialize hydrogen-powered trams by the end of 2023 as the next-generation eco-friendly urban transportation means to expand..

KEPCO granted with first power bill hike in 8 years in Q4 The government granted Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) to raise electricity bill for the first time in eight years in the fourth quarter to improve the state utility’s worsening financial balance d..

FSC warns of stern oversight on crypto exchanges ahead of registration deadline South Korea’s financial authority vowed strengthened watch over cryptocurrency trade as the country falls under a new set of rules from this week. Koh Seung-beom, chairman of the Financial Services ..

Moon expedites bids to turn Korea into global vaccine powerhouse during U.S. visit South Korean President Moon Jae-in is expediting bids to turn the country into a global vaccine hub attracting $52.5 million investment from a U.S. vaccine material producer and striking a series of v..

S. Korea’s home-grown satellite launch vehicle standby for Oct. 21 blastoff South Korea’s first fully domestically developed satellite launch vehicle Nuri went into countdown on its Oct. 21 blastoff for a maiden space trip from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla. ..

Korean platform cos’ chiefs face grilling at this year’s National Assembly audit Representative chiefs of South Korea’s big platform operators including Naver Corp., Kakao Corp. and Coupang Inc. are summoned to a parliamentary hearing amid political and government move to contain ..

FTC probes Kakao Entertainment for power abuse allegation South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has initiated a probe on alleged power abuse of Kakao Entertainment, as the government step up to correct platform giant Kakao Corp. in unfairness during its rapid ..

Try Everything: Corporate identity and people define startup success: FiscalNote CEO Corporate identity and the people behind it define the power and sustainability of startups, according to Tim Hwang, a young CEO of FiscalNote, a fast-growing legal analytics firm and rising star in t..

WKF: Koreans owe to kimchi for fewer deaths from Covid-19: French expert Korea has a low fatality rate of Covid-19 patients because they eat a lot of fermented food represented by kimchi, Professor Jean Bousquet of the University of Montpellier in Paris, said as he joined ..

WKF: Korea should not doubt US alliance after Afghan withdrawal: Heritage Foundation South Koreans need not worry about any changes in security alliance with the United States including troop drawdown following the American withdrawal from Afghanistan as the two nations consider one a..

Seoul to establish a municipal wealth fund to invest in startups next year The Seoul government will institutionalize a municipal wealth fund next year to promote the South Korean capital as venture hub and remove regulations to supply 80,000 housing annually up to 2030 at a..

S. Korea succeeds in test launch of submarine-launched ballistic missile South Korea has become the world’s seventh county operating a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) after it succeeded in its test launch on Wednesday, setting off an intensified missile develop..

WKF: Ethereum 2.0 will be coming soon in ultra-scalable, cheap, safe: Vitalik Buterin The upgraded Ethereum 2.0 backed by Proof-of-Stake (PoS) “will be coming soon” in secure, user-friendly and scalable blockchain, ready for employment in finance, enterprise and non-fungible tokens (NF..

WKF: Hot U.S. inflation likely to tame sanctions on Chinese imports next year: Yifu Lin Inflation hovering at 5 percent level could turn the United States softer on restrictions on Chinese imports next year, a top Chinese economist forecast on Wednesday. “The situation (U.S. restriction..

WKF: Universal basic income may not help ease disparity amid job migration : Paul Milgrom Income disparity has widened further during the pandemic with the rise of automation, but whether a universal basic income may be a solution cannot be certain due to a shift in job skills, said 2020 r..

Seoul readies response as ISD ruling versus Lone Star likely come out within the year The South Korean government is preparing follow-up measures to respond to an imminent international arbitration ruling over the longstanding investor-state-dispute (ISD) between South Korea and U.S. p..

WKF: Govts must go extra mile to achieve net-zero emissions: Nigel Topping Governments must ratchet up climate change mitigation drive and motivate the private and civilian sectors to join the goal of meeting net-zero emission by 2050, said Nigel Topping, British high-level ..

WKF: Pompeo advises to deal with NK nuke problem “directly”, NK’s leader not to be trusted Former United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who had arranged the U.S.-North Korean summits under the Donald Trump administration implied a pessimistic tone about a breakthrough in U.S.-North K..

Google fined and disallowed to force Android compatibility commitment on Korean makers South Korea’s antitrust watchdog imposed a provisional fine of 207.4 billion won ($177 million) on Google for abusing its dominant influence to force Korean handset makers to use its Android mobile op..

Arkhom rebuffs fiscal criticism The Finance Ministry has brushed off critics suggesting a near-bankruptcy status of the government`s fiscal position by citing Thailand`s economic fundamentals. The three indicators exemplifying the ..

EU firms optimistic about Việt Nam’s business climate in 2021 HCM CITY — The latest Business Climate Index (BCI) unveiled by the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Việt Nam on Wednesday indicated that EU companies in Việt Nam ended 2020..

BioThai slams wet market closures The government must not resort to preferential treatment when it comes to enforcing orders to close wet markets as part of Covid-19 containment measures, says the BioThai Foundation. BioThai (Biodive..

Banks to introduce domestic credit chip cards to promote cashless payments HÀ NỘI — The National Payment Corporation of Việt Nam (Napas) last week said it would work with seven banks to introduce domestic credit chip cards with unified standards to lim..

Indonesia Extends 14-Day Entry Ban on Foreign Arrivals Jakarta. Indonesia will extend the entry ban on foreign visitors for another 14 days. The announcement comes a few days ahead of its deadline. "President Joko `Jokowi` Widodo has agreed to extend th..

Labour sector reaches significant results in five years HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam has created new jobs for more than eight million workers over the past five years and is one of 10 countries worldwide with the lowest unemployment rate. Mini..

Vietnamese billionaires’ net worth increases after battling headwinds of 2020 HÀ NỘI — 2020 was a difficult year for the global economy including Việt Nam, but some Vietnamese billionaires still saw their net asset value increase. According to Forbes, be..

YTB finalises plans to commercialise Covid-19 vaccine KUALA LUMPUR: Yong Tai Bhd (YTB) is finalising its plans to commercialise Covid-19 vaccine with Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co Ltd (SZKT) through its latest partnerships with Tiong Nam Logist..

Hà Nội maintains economic growth amidst COVID-19: top official HÀ NỘI — Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hà Nội has maintained its economic growth, with gross regional domestic product (GRPD) expanding by about 3.98 per cen..

SEC enlists tech for probes The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics to investigate false accounting information next year, following the implementation of rob..

Ministry conducts early bidding for 1,900 of next year`s construction projects The Public Works and Housing Ministry is conducting an early bidding process for thousands of projects for next year, as it strives to ramp up state spending to support economic recovery and boost the..

Retirement age to increase starting 2021 HÀ NỘI — Starting next year, the retirement age will be increased to 60 years and three months for men and 55 years and four months for women. This is part of Government Decree No..

Experts upbeat about VN’s post-pandemic economic recovery, urging firms to focus on new trends HÀ NỘI — Experts are upbeat about Việt Nam’s post-pandemic economy, urging enterprises to grasp opportunities arising from new trends, such as digital transformation, energy inf..

Metronic aims RM180 million profit from Covid-19 vaccine KUALA LUMPUR: Metronic Global Bhd (MGB) through its subsidiary Metronic Medicare Sdn Bhd (MMSB), has inked a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corporation (MVC), to distribu..

Vietnamese đồng to strengthen in 2021: VNDirect Securities HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese đồng will remain stable for the rest of the year but may appreciate by 0.5 per cent in 2021, VNDirect Securities Corp forecast. The State Bank of ViN..

Protesters slam charter vote Parliament`s rejection of the people`s constitution amendment draft has left anti-government protesters with no other choice but to press on with their street protests to achieve their goals, Jatupat ..

Bank of Thailand ‘has tools to handle strong baht’ Thailand`s central bank has the necessary policy tools to handle the strengthening of the baht, the finance minister said on Monday, as the currency hit its highest level in more than 10 months agains..

Property sales recovery to be derailed by CMCO: MIDF Research KUALA LUMPUR: The worsening Covid-19 situation in Malaysia will derail property sales recovery as economic outlook turns uncertain with the re-imposition of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMC..

Government considers additional support policies for industrial sector HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) said it had advised the Government to implement a number of policies to support Việt Nam`s industrial sector, especially t..

Bank Islam issues RM700mil sukuk under RM10bil sukuk Murabahah issuance KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd has today issued the third tranche of RM700 million subordinated sukuk under its RM10 billion Sukuk Murabahah programme. This is the second sukuk issuance by Ban..

S. Korean startups find lucrative biz opportunities in K-pop’s global rise The ever-evolving K-pop that has made South Korea one of global top four music exporters has cut out new niche market and lucrative business opportunities for Korean startups.ND Soft CEO Park Nam-do i..

Krafton, Kakao Games, Pearl Abyss rise with new releases, while traditional majors stumble South Korea’s mid-tier game publishers Krafton Inc., Kakao Games Corp. and Pearl Abyss Corp. have stolen the limelight with packed lineup and gratifying stock performance whereas traditional major tri..

Kakao and Naver battling fiercely to top digital comics market in Thailand A horserace between Korea platform rivals Kakao Corp. and Naver Corp. intensifies as the two clash over leadership in the digital comics realm across Asia and the United States. According to applicati..

BTS and HYBE coolly respond to accusation of fan manipulation in Billboard chart K-pop superstar boy band BTS coolly confronted chart manipulation accusation raised by fans of some competing artists, saying the “fair question” of how to rank a song is up to the chart operator like..

NCSoft joins hands with Sony Music Korea to strengthen content biz on Universe South Korea’s major game publisher NCSoft Corp. has teamed up with Sony Music to ramp up its content and entertainment business. NCSoft said Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with S..

Naver brings BTS and DC superheroes to its webtoon world Naver Webtoon Corp. in a faceoff with archrival Kakao on the global digital comics landscape brought K-pop sensation BTS and superheroes under DC Comics onboard to raise competitiveness on its content..

Nexon to hire over 1,000 workers by 2022 with 10 new IP titles in the pipeline South Korea’s gaming giant Nexon Co. has unveiled a series of new titles to be rolled out in the coming months to strengthen its video game lineup along with a plan to add more than 1,000 employees by..

CrossFire creator Smilegate invests $100 mn in new AAA game studio That’s No Moon Smilegate Entertainment Inc., a South Korean game developer behind blockbuster first-person shooter series CrossFire, has invested $100 million in That’s No Moon, a new video-game development studio i..

Kakao Entertainment to launch Kakao Webtoon with moving thumbnail design Kakao Entertainment, an entertainment unit of Kakao Corp., will launch its digital content platform Kakao Webtoon on August 1 with an ambition to deliver a novel experience of “watching” digital comic..

BTS Vs BTS in round 2: “Permission to Dance” returns Billboard top to “Butter” “Butter” zoomed back to top the Billboard main singles chart this week, trading places with the newest song “Permission to Dance”, putting Kpop sensation BTS in a rare extended competition against its..

Com2us expands “Summoners War” IP with “The Walking Dead” creator South Korea’s Kosdaq-listed game publisher Com2us Corp. is expanding the intellectual property (IP) of its globally-hit mobile title “Summoners War” in cooperation with Skybound Entertainment founded ..

YG Enter stock buoyant ahead of Blackpink comeback Shares of YG Entertainment Inc. are being lifted on anticipation of improved earnings in the latter half of the year due to packed lineup including main girl group BlackPink. YG Entertainment shares ..

Krafton partners with Hollywood producer Adi Shankar to create PUBG animated series Krafton Inc., South Korea’s game powerhouse behind hit mobile game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), has partnered with Hollywood film producer Adi Shankar to create an animated series based on th..

NCSoft unveils AI-based translation tool dedicated to gamer jargons and colloquialisms NCSoft Corp. has developed and implemented its own AI-based language translation engine capable of processing colloquialisms, abbreviated words and even slangs used by gamers. The Korean mobile and ..

The heyday of NCSoft Lineage may be coming to end by Odin of Kakao The Lineage legacy who has reigned over the multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) names from South Korea is under threat as Kakao Games Corp.’s new label “Odin: Valhalla Rising” (hereinafter r..

BTS Butter on Billboard No.1 for 7th week, may be joined by Permission to Dance BTS’ single “Butter” spends its seventh week at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and may be challenged by the K-pop sensation’s newest all-English feel-good song “Permission to Dance” in coming weeks. ..

Korean action film “The Villainess” to be made into TV series by Amazon Studios South Korean director Jung Byung-gil’s action film “The Villainess,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017, is set to be adapted for a TV series by Amazon Studios, Next Entertainment Wor..

BTS’ “Butter” sets new record by topping Billboard Hot 100 for sixth week The journey by BTS is undone as it achieved yet another milestone in the history of K-pop with its new single “Butter” retaining at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for the sixth consecutive week. “B..

Kakao Games stock sees double-digit jump on success of “Odin” Shares of Kakao Games Corp. are running high on the success of the publisher’s first self-made label “Odin: Valhalla Rising” (hereinafter referred to as “Odin”). On Monday, Kakao Games shares jumped ..

Overseas foray by Korean games gain traction from China sanctions, Covid-19 Sanctions by China acted as a boon for South Korean game publishers as they eagerly sought out the greater global market through mobile and console labels amid self-entertaining momentum during Covid-..