[THE INVESTOR] Despite increasing sales and operating profit at the construction industry, companies appeared to be suffering from insufficient liquidity in the first quarter of the year, according to industry data. The current ratio -- a measure of company‘s ability to pay short-term and long-term obligations of 120 builders fell 10.7 percent compared to the same period in 2015 to 110.1 percent. at the same time, their debt ratio decreased from 168.6 percent to 162.9 percent. In total, the loca

[THE INVESTOR] Tech giant Samsung Electronics will help local start-ups and designers with mobile phone related ideas into business opportunities, the company said on June 24.  SamsungThe company will hold a program titled “Creative Square,” inviting start-ups, students, future entrepreneurs and designers to participate. When chosen as a partner, the selected parties will receive up to 100 million won (US$86,349) of funds to design. They can also use the research and design facilities at Samsung

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Merchant Marine’s stock closed at 15,400 won (US$13) on June 23, a 29 percent hike from the previous day, on the news that the financially troubled shipping line is on talks to join the world’s largest shipping alliance. HMM said it is considering to join the 2M Alliance, a vessel-sharing agreement between Denmark’s Maersk Line and Switzerland’s Mediterranean Shipping Company -- the world’s first and second largest container carriers.  Lee Sang-sub/The InvestorPreviously,

[THE INVESTOR] Apple’s popular music streaming service Apple Music is preparing to launch its service in Korea, the local media reported on June 23. “We formed a contract with Apple Music to begin streaming service here,” said an official from Federation of Korean Music Performers, a music copyright association. “We made agreements on how to pay the copyright fees to the artists.“He added that key terms of the contract can not be released at this time. Apple Music had previously attempted to ent

[THE INVESTOR] Major American companies such as Facebook, Microsoft and IBM as well as the South Korean government have joined in efforts to help local start-ups gain a foothold in the U.S.  　Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea held a ceremony on June 14 to mark the launch of the “Global Leading Companies Mentoring Startups” campaign, in partnership with the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. 　A total of 33 companies participated in the event, including 19 AMCHAM memb

[THE INVESTOR] July’s stock debut of Tokyo-based Line Corp., the mobile messenger platform owned by Korean portal Naver Corp., could be a burden for the tech giant initially, market watchers say, but it would likely benefit Naver’s share price down the road. Line on Friday announced that it is seeking to sell 35 million new shares through its initial public offering, raising as much as 113 billion yen ($1.06 billion). The new shares, which will be offered at 2,800 yen per share, will begin tradi

English online business news service The Investor opened Monday, with the aim of providing investors with timely, accurate and influential information on Korea’s business scene. Founded by Korean media and lifestyle company Herald Corp., The Investor delivers expert analysis, breaking stories and in-depth market coverage in English for people who make decisions around the globe. 　Foreign investments currently make up around 50 percent of ownership in major conglomerates in Korea. Despite signifi

Asia News Network, the regional media alliance of 21 leading newspapers, has launched its new website (www.asianews.network), which can also be accessed on mobile devices. The network, of which The Korea Herald is an active member, also unveiled a new logo. 　The new website, launched during the network’s annual board meeting in Beijing last week, will provide selected top stories from member papers on a daily basis. The new site boasts a reader-friendly interface. ANN also plans to launch a dail

Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., South Korea's second-biggest container carrier, is aiming to cut a deal that will set new rates on chartered ships this week, sources said Monday.   Hyundai Merchant is expected to sign an initial deal with the owners of chartered ships that can lower rates as early as Tuesday, government officials and industry insiders familiar with ongoing negotiations predicted.    The company has been in talks with 22 shipowners. It paid 976 billion won (US$823 million) in charte

North Korea's state-run media accused the South Korean Navy of violating its sea border Monday amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.  The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) monitored in Seoul said warships from the South violated its waters in the Yellow Sea around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday. It claimed that South Korea pushed 19 fishing boats into waters Pyongyang claims at its own.   The news wire said that the move was aimed at triggering a response from the North that could be used by Se

South Korea and the United States are discussing the possible location of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system that could be deployed in the country to deter North Korea's ever growing missile threats, military sources said Monday.   According to sources, the possible candidates for the base of the THAAD system includes U.S. military bases in the southern city of Daegu or Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul.    The interceptor missile systems and their related sensors

Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Kun-hee claimed the top spot among 23 holders of listed stocks worth more than 1 trillion won (US$843 million) as of last week, a local market research company said Monday.    According to Chaebul.com, a total of 23 people held domestically traded stocks worth over 1 trillion won and their combined stock value reached 65.42 trillion won as of June 3, slightly down 1.1 percent from early this year.    Chairman Lee maintained the No. 1 position with the value o

Cumulative vehicle sales by Hyundai Motor Group exceeded 30 million in 54 years after it entered the car-making business, the automotive conglomerate said Monday.   Since entering the market in 1962, Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. sold a combined 30.03 million units -- 18.46 million by Hyundai and 11.57 million for Kia. The sister companies together form the fifth-biggest car-making group in the world.   Their collective sales hit 10 million in 1996 and 20 million in 2007, and finally hi

South Korea will set up a special team that will systematically promote the spread of its rural development Saemaeul Movement in foreign countries, the government said Monday.   According to the Ministry of Interior, the governmental team will move to establish a long-term road map to spread the initiative that has been lauded for mobilizing South Korean villagers to modernize the country's rural areas in the past that played a part in significant agricultural productivity growth.   The movement

South Korean households' overseas spending jumped 12.9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier on increased outbound travel to neighboring countries, the central bank said Monday.    Korean households spent 6.95 trillion won (US$5.9 billion) overseas in the January-March quarter, up from 6.16 trillion a year ago, showed data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).    The quarterly data does not include local households' purchases through "direct buying" channels such as Aamazon.com and their expe

North Korean on Monday blasted a former Korean-American detainee who spent two years in its prison for criticizing the country's ruling ideology.   The state-run Internet propaganda site Meari said Bae's speeches made at his recent book release events in South Korea and the United States defamed the country by calling the juche idea and Kim Il Sungism the pillars that support the repressive regime in power.    Both juche or self-reliance, and Kim Il Sungism, named after the founder of the countr

South Korea and Cuba held their first foreign ministerial talks in Havana Sunday, breaking a decades-long absence of formal diplomatic exchanges between the two sides.   South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se arrived in the Cuban capital a day earlier to attend a summit of the Association of Caribbean States. But the focus of his two-day stay was widely expected to be on relations between South Korea and Cuba, which have yet to establish formal diplomatic ties. Yun is the first South Korean

Dividends payments by South Korean companies listed on the main stock market will exceed 21 trillion won (US$18 billion) this year as investors seek high-yielding assets away from low-yielding bank products, a brokerage report said Monday.   Local companies traded on the benchmark KOSPI market are likely to pay 21.1 trillion won in cash dividends for the 2016 fiscal year, up from 20.4 trillion won paid in the previous business year, according to a report from Samsung Securities Co.   The brokera

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that Washington and Beijing "stand firmly" on North Korea's defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons, calling for the North to stop all activities that escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.    Kerry made the remarks at the opening of the two-day U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), which is the highest-level regular dialogue channel between the two countries.   U.S. and China have been at odds over China's aggressive military behavior i

The United States and China on Monday opened annual high-level talks amid tensions over China's aggressive island-building activities in the South China Sea as well as trade disputes between the world's two largest economies.    North Korea was also expected to be on the agenda for the two-day U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED). The talks are the highest-level regular dialogue channel between the two countries.   Representing the U.S. at the talks are Secretary of State John Kerry