[THE INVESTOR] Housing costs increased 2.7 percent on-year in the first nine months of this year, according to government data on Oct. 19. The housing cost refers to overall spending related to maintenance, utility payments and other residential services, Statistics Korea said.In comparison, consumer prices rose 0.9 percent during the cited period. It means that the cost of owning and living in a home has jumped three times as high as that of consumer prices, it said.The housing cost has been st

[THE INVESTOR]  Major shipbuilders in South Korea are expected to see their earnings in the third quarter rise more than estimated, industry sources said on Oct. 19. According to Korea Investment & Securities, Hyundai Heavy Industries is forecast to have logged an operating income of 264 billion won (US$235 million) in the third quarter of the year, on sales of 9.15 trillion won.Samsung Heavy Industries, another major shipbuilder, may have racked up a third-quarter operating income of 52 billion

[THE INVESTOR]Major food and beverage companies in South Korea are seeking ways to diversify their business portfolios to recover from a drawn-out slump, industry officials said on Oct. 19. The country’s biggest confectionery Orion said it has joined with the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NongHyup) to venture into the food market. Under the deal, the two will construct a facility for processed food by the end of 2017.Orion said it aims to advance into the rapidly growing market f

[THE INVESTOR] Officials from Mercedes-Benz and Ford have come to South Korea to examine the latest technology and auto parts, a local trade agency said on Oct. 19. Nine officials from Mercedes-Benz and five others from Ford Motor will be joined by representatives from some 100 South Korean automotive firms until Oct. 21 for one-on-one business meetings and joint seminars, according to the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).The five-day event, which began on Oct. 17, is pa

[THE INVESTOR]  Thirty-eight Galaxy Note 7 smartphone owners in South Korea are poised to file a class action lawsuit against Samsung Electronics for alleged inconvenience, a law firm said on Oct. 19. Each person in the suit, which will be filed with the Seoul Central District Court on Oct. 24, is seeking 300,000 won (US$266.8) in damages, Harvest Law Office said. The proposed suit alleges that owners of the Note 7 were forced to visit stores several times for battery checks or to get replacemen

[THE INVESTOR] Celltrion, South Korean biopharmaceutical firm, has seen its market value increase the most among 100 largest listed local companies by market cap over the past decade, according to a market tracker on Oct. 19. Celltrion’s market capitalization stood at 12.6 trillion won (US$11.10 billion) as of Oct. 2 this year, over 700 times more than its value of a mere 17.4 billion won on Oct. 4, 2006, according to CEO Score that tracks corporate performances in the country.Leading furniture

[THE INVESTOR] The South Korean government approved four companies to carry out voluntary corporate restructuring under “one-shot act”, the Trade Ministry said on Oct. 19. The ministry said a government panel chose four firms -- Histeel, Leejin, Bokwang and Shinsung Solar Energy-- to endorse their proposed restructuring efforts to boost competitiveness.The announcement came a few weeks later when the Seoul government vowed to encourage local steel and petrochemical manufacturers.The government w

[THE INVESTOR] Ottogi, South Korean food giant, has come to the fore in the local instant noodle business with its doubled market share over the past few years, industry sources said on Oct. 19. Since its establishment in 1969, Ottogi had been known for such products as curry, soups, ketchup and mayonnaise, but the company has emerged as a strong contender to market leader Nongshim after entering the instant noodle market in 1987.As of the end of August this year, Ottogi’s market share came to 2

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors aim to boost their combined market share by launching a series of new vehicle models starting November, company officials said on Oct. 19. The first of the new vehicles will be the sixth-generation Hyundai Grandeur, which will be unveiled next month, according to company officials.The new Grandeur will be the first refreshed model in five years.Hyundai Motor is also expected to launch the G70 luxury sedan next year, the latest addition to

[THE INVESTOR] Home transactions in South Korea has climbed 6.3 percent on-year in September, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The number of home transactions came to 91,612 last month, the ministry said. September marked the second consecutive month of increase following a 13.6 percent on-year plunge in July. In August, home transactions gained 4.3 percent on-year to 98,130.The apparent boom in the housing market followed a set of government measures, announced la

[THE INVESTOR]  South Korea’s exports of industrial parts and materials dropped on-year in the first nine months of this year, according to the Trade Ministry on Oct. 18. Outbound shipments of industrial parts and materials dropped 6.9 percent on-year to US$185.7 billion in the January-September period, accounting for a record 51.1 percent of the country’s overall exports, according to the ministry.Imports also fell 6.5 percent on-year to $112.8 billion over the nine-month period, with the count

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics has released an ultra-wide 38-inch computer monitor, it said on Oct. 18. With a 21:9 aspect ratio, it is expected to allow users to better work on multi-screen jobs, LG said in a statement. Users can resize and display multiple windows at once and customize the monitor layout for multi-screen work, it said. The monitor also features a resolution of 3440x1440 pixels, about three times clearer than a full high-definition monitor, according to the statement. The price

[THE INVESTOR] Demand for liquefied petroleum gas powered vehicles in South Korea has dropped, hurting the local LPG industry. The number of LPG-fueled vehicles registered here came to 2,219,370 as of end-August, down 56,291 from end-2015, the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed on Oct. 18. The number has steadily declined since 2014 with the rate of decline quickening from an average 4,624 in 2014 to 7,036 this year, it showed.Such a drop in LPG vehicles creates

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea and the United States will join hands to develop robotic technologies for disaster response and invest US$ 6 million over the next three years, according to the Trade Ministry on Oct. 18. Officials from the two governments, including South Korea’s Director General Kim Jeong-hwan and U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Stephen Welby, held a kick-off meeting in Seoul on the Korea-U.S. collaborative program sponsored by the South Korean ministry and the US Department of D

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics has signed a preliminary agreement with Russia‘s railway authority to ship its goods and parts to Eastern Europe via the Trans-Siberian Railway, the company said on Oct. 18.The deal will allow Samsung to reduce the lead time from 35 days of marine transportation to 18 days, the company said in a statement. “Shortened lead times will bring Samsung more benefits, including stable inventory control, and immediate and efficient adjustments when product models chang

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Merchant Marine is considering bidding for Hanjin Shipping’s Asia-US route, industry sources said on Oct. 18. HMM, currently under a creditor-led debt restructuring scheme, is planning to submit a preliminary bid for Hanjin Shipping’s route, seen as the most lucrative, and ships that are up for sales, the sources said. Last week, part of cash-strapped Hanjin Shipping’s assets went up for sale as the company is struggling to raise the cash needed to repay debts and unpaid b

[THE INVESTOR] The Financial Supervisory Service is seeking measures to restrain savings banks’ lending to households to tackle the nation‘s soaring household debt, officials said on Oct. 18. Savings banks’ loans to the household sector have been rising at a rapid clip since last year due to their aggressive marketing activities for borrowers with poor credit in South Korea already gripped by high household indebtedness.According to the officials, the watchdog is considering toughening rules on

[DISCLOSURE] Jusung Engineering (036930) announced on Oct. 17 that it has signed a 37.6 billion won (US$32.95 million) contract with LG Display (034220) to supply display manufacturing equipment. The contract cost is equivalent to 21.42 percent of Jusung Engineering’s 2015 revenue. The equipment will be supplied for its operations in China, and the contract lasts until Feb. 1, 2017.By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] The government on Oct. 17 revealed a list of 36,433 new citizens and companies with unpaid local taxes of more than 10 million won (US$8,763) for one year or longer, officials said.The Ministry of the Interior said that it decided to disclose the list after they refused to specify their reasons for failing to pay their taxes even though they have been asked to do so for more than six months.According to the ministry, the list includes 29,848 individuals whose unpaid taxes total 80

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea marked a trade surplus over 56 consecutive months in September, according to customs data on Oct. 17. The country‘s trade surplus came to US$6.9 billion last month, down 22.4 percent from $8.89 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.But it marked a 35-percent on-month jump from a seven-month low of $5.1 billion in August.The on-year decline in trade surplus was led by a steep decline in exports that outpaced a fall in impor