[THE INVESTOR]  Hanwha Life has submitted a letter of intent to acquire a stake in Woori Bank following a board meeting, the bank said on Sept. 22, a day before the bidding closed.In most cases, LOI submissions are not subject to board decisions, but Hanwha Life held the meeting due to its special relations with Woori Bank’s largest shareholder Korea Deposit Insurance Corp.State-run KDIC currently holds a 15.25 percent stake in the life insurance firm. KDIC said in a disclosure on Aug. 24 that i

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean chemical engineering firm OCI said on Sept. 21 it has completed its fourth coal tar refinery factory in China, the company said on Sept.22. The latest facilities will elevate OCI to the world’s third-largest with an annual coal tar refining capacity of 118 million tons. On Sept.20, OCI held a ceremony to celebrate the completion of Ma Steel OCI Chemical, a joint venture with China’s Maanshan Iron & Steel to produce an annual 350,000 tons of refined coal tar. OCI will

[THE INVESTOR] Park Geun-tae, CJ Korea Express CEO and head of the firm’s Chinese operations, has proclaimed a vision for undertaking a series of mergers and acquisitions in Europe and the United States to join the ranks of the global top five industry leaders by 2020. CJ Korea Express is currently the world’s 17th largest logistics firm. By 2020, the firm is looking to increase its sales by fourfold to 27 trillion won (US$ 23.95 billion). “Especially with the recent presidential pardon issued t

[THE INVESTOR] International credit rating agency S&P said on Sept. 19 that it has raised Woori Bank’s credit rating to “BBB+” from “BBB”. S&P attributed the upgrade to the bank’s upcoming issuance of BASEL III-compliant Tier 1 subordinated bonds, which it said would strengthen Woori’s capital adequacy. S&P also projected the bank’s risk adjusted capital ratio to stay above 7 percent over the next one to two years.Meanwhile, the government is seeking to privatize Woori Bank this year, with the s

[THE INVESTOR] Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities, formerly Daewoo Securities, is set to finalize its merger with Mirae Asset Securities in end-December, industry sources said on Sept. 19.The two sides are scheduled to hold respective board meetings on this day to change the merger date to Dec. 29 from the initially set Nov. 1. This follows reports last week that the merger deadline would be pushed back.The merged entity will be called Mirae Asset Daewoo, with its shares will be newly listed on the l

[THE INVESTOR] Although plants of major South Korean firms such as Samsung, LG and SK experienced temporary halts in operations following a series of earthquakes that hit the peninsula on Sept. 12, there were no major production disruptions, they said. A 5.1-magnitude tremor was detected at 7:44 p.m., followed by a record magnitude 5.8 earthquake that jolted most of South Korea at around 8:30 p.m.Samsung Electronics’ plants in Giheung and Hwaseong of Gyeonggi Province, along with those of SK hyn

[THE INVESTOR] Singapore-based asset management firm ARA is set to sell three office buildings in Seoul, industry sources said Sept.13. They include ING Center in downtown Seoul, CJ CheilJedang Center, also in downtown Seoul, and the YP Center located in northwestern Seoul. ARA is seeking to invite bids in October to sign a sales contract before the year is out. ING Center, measuring some 34,172 square meters, is expected to fetch around 23 million won (US$ 20,780) per 3.3 square meters, accordi

[THE INVESTOR] The planned merger between Mirae Asset Daewoo -- formerly Daewoo Securities -- and Mirae Asset Securities is expected to be postponed from Nov. 1 to December this year. The two sides are expected to issue a disclosure on the postponement following a board meeting on Sept. 19. Some say the merger may have been delayed due to a decline in Mirae Asset Daewoo’s stock price that recently fell below 8,000 won (US$7.22). On Sept.12, it closed at 7,860 won. The National Pension Service, w

[THE INVESTOR]  South Korean Access Bio will be receiving US$1.83 million funds from the Bill & Melina Gates Foundation for research purposes. The research period will be between September 2016 and January 2018. The funding will be used to fine-tune the firm’s Ultra-HST platform technology it developed for speedy and accurate diagnosis of malaria -- even in patients who fail to show symptoms. In March, Access Bio had received a US$800 million fund from the Global Health Investment Fund created b

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s largest steelmaker POSCO is likely to bid for a stake in Woori Bank, which the government is planning to privatize this year, industry sources said on Sept. 9. The controlling stake of 51.8 percent is currently held by Korea Deposit Insurance Corp., which is looking to sell off 30 percent, which will be divided into 4-8 percent stakes. Woori Bank holds a 1 percent stake in POSCO. POSCO currently has an interest in Woori via K-Bank, an internet bank operated by a number of

[THE INVESTOR] Mirae Asset Life has formally jumped into the race to acquire UK-based PCA Life. Mirae Asset Life submitted a bid on Sept. 8, according to the life insurer the following day. PCA Life was established when Prudential Group acquired then YoungPoong Life in 1999. The preferred bidder is expected to be finalized in October or November this year. PCA is expected to fetch around 300 billion won (US$ 272.57 million).Should Mirae Asset Life be selected as the final bidder, the combined as

[THE INVESTOR] TOKYO -- Japanese battery makers are rushing to ramp up investment in Korean plants to increase production as more carmakers are pledging to go electric, according to Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun on Sept. 7. Toray, which supplies to both Panasonic and LG Chem, will invest 20 billion yen (US$196.65 million) to increase production of insulators, a key element in lithium batteries -- used in electric cars -- by 70 percent. Sumimoto Chemical, a supplier for electric car battery maker

[THE INVESTOR] Daishin Securities said on Sept. 8 it expects Samsung Electronics’ recent decision to recall its Galaxy Note 7 to cost between 700 billion won (US$639.97 million) to 1.2 trillion won. Daishin said given the 31.2 trillion won consensus for the electronic giant’s annual operating profit this year, the recall costs would slash the firm’s profit by 4.8 percent. Local brokerages have been issuing forecasts on the damages that the recall would cost Samsung. Samsung on Sept. 2 issued a g

[THE INVESTOR] NH Investment & Securities on Sept. 8 forecast that domestic carriers will post record operating profit in the third quarter. Rising passenger traffic and frequency of flights will contribute to the quarterly earnings.In August, the number of passenger traffic via Incheon International Airport reached 543.85 million, up 22.6 percent on-year. The number of international flights reached 29,939, up 18.4 percent on-year. Korean Air’s passenger traffic rose 5.6 percent to 147.86 millio

[THE INVESTOR] Heungkuk Securities forecast Hyundai Motor’s third quarter net profit will rise 24.9 percent to 1.5 trillion won (US$1.34 billion) based on solid sales in China.Operating profit, however, is expected to fall 6.5 percent to 1.4 trillion won, on rising value of the Korean currency, the brokerage said on Sept. 7.In the fourth quarter this year, the brokerage predicted the world’s fifth-largest carmaker will post an operating profit of 1.6 trillion won, up 10.3 percent on-year, with n

[THE INVESTOR] UK-based Hermes Investment disclosed on Sept .6 that it has purchased 275,830 shares of Lotte Fine Chemical along with five other persons with special interest.Consequently, its stake in Lotte Fine Chemical has risen to 6.12 percent from 5.05 percent. In 2004, Hermes Investment purchased a 5 percent stake in Samsung C&T. It claimed it had no interest in managerial control, but afterward, it demanded improvement in the firm’s corporate governance. By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.

[THE INVESTOR] This year will see several well-known gaming companies -- such as Netmarble, Neptune and Me2On -- floating their shares. But whether the IPO trend can continue remains to be seen, industry watchers say, citing the intensifying competition with Chinese gaming firms. Me2On, a social casino operator, is one firm that is scheduled for an IPO on KOSDAQ market in October. It is expected to draw up to 30.8 billion won (US$ 27.55 million) funds. Me2On was established in 2010, and it servi

[THE INVESTOR] NH Investment & Securities said on Sept. 7 that CJ CheilJedang’s third-quarter operating profit would rise significantly on improved performance in food-related businesses and stabilized finances. The brokerage forecast operating profit to rise 11.4 percent to 247.8 billion won (US$221.7 million), and its sales to rise 17.6 percent to 3.95 trillion won in the third quarter on a consolidated basis. By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] Shinhan Card, the nation’s largest credit card issuer, on Sept.6 held the opening ceremony for its subsidiary in Myanmar, Shinhan MicroFinance.The ceremony marked the beginning of operations for Shinhan card in the Southeast Asian country. It will soon by followed by Shinhan Bank, which is preparing for entry. This marks the first time for a Korean bank and its affiliated card company to simultaneously penetrate the Myanmar market. Shinhan Bank’s main focus will be on corporate fi

[THE INVESTOR] Blank golf memberships are losing their attraction as companies get ready for the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act that goes into effect on Sept. 28. Blank memberships are just as they are called -- golf club memberships that don’t come with nametags. They are usually bought by companies to entertain guests and buyers. The market for blank memberships, which can cost up to 400 million won (US$357,759), has been declining since 2008, in the wake of the financial crisis that forc