[THE INVESTOR] Hotel Lotte announced on Oct. 19 that it has been selected as the preferred bidder for Neul Proon Medical Foundation.The foundation operates Bobath Memorial Hospital, but entered rehabilitation process in September 2015. At the end of last year, the hospital’s assets stood at 101.3 billion won (US$ 90.19 million) and debt at 84.2 billion won. The cost of taking over the hospital is estimated to be over 100 billion won. Hotel Lotte is reported to have put in the largest bid. If suc

[THE INVESTOR] The bid to take controlling stake in Kumho Tire  could go down to a competition between non-Korean entities. The firm’s creditors are currently looking to sell their 42 percent stake in the tire maker. The preliminary bids will be received on Nov. 9. According to finance industry sources, all strategic investors that received information on the deal are overseas entities. From within Korea, a small number of private equity funds are said to have shown interest in the deal. The boo

[THE INVESTOR] The Korea National Oil Corporation on Oct. 18 issued bonds worth US$1 billion. They include 5-year bonds worth US$350 million with yield of 1.094 percent, and 10-year bonds valued at US$650 million at 2.575 percent. According to finance industry officials, KNOC was able to issue the bonds with lower yields due to the recent upgrade of its S&P ratings from “AA-“ to “AA” in August. By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] The National Tax Service has started its regular audit on Samsung Electronics , according to reports. The Seoul office of the tax agency reportedly dispatched officers to the tech giant’s plant in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Oct. 10. It is a regular audit conducted every five years and unrelated to the recent Galaxy Note 7 issue, sources said. By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] Renault Samsung Motors plans to launch a small electric commercial vehicle in 2019, according to news reports on Oct. 18. The company is reportedly planning to begin development this year with the aim of putting it on the market three years later. The vehicle is set to run for about 250 kilometers on a full battery. According to the company, the planned range will exceed the average driving range of small commercial vehicles in use in Korea. Renault Samsung chief Park Dong-hoonThe

[THE INVESTOR] STX Offshore and Shipbuilding may be sold off before its revival plans are approved, according to news reports Oct. 18. Citing unnamed sources, the reports said that the Seoul Central District Court is reviewing plans to sell STX Offshore and Shipbuilding in a package deal with STX France, and plans to make a public announcement as early as this week. The court reportedly planned to make the announcement on Oct. 18, but pushed back the date in order to take creditors’ views into a

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor, faced with increasing heat from the government, may be hoping to boost its lobbying capabilities with its new domestic sales chief. Lee Kwang-guk -- who headed Hyundai Motor’s Washington D.C. office -- was appointed as the chief of domestic sales on Oct. 14, replacing Kwak Jin. On the surface, the carmaker said that Lee was appointed for his “global sense and leadership,” which would help the company better respond to recent challenges. Hyundai is currently expected

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Capital announced on Oct. 17 that the European Central Bank has approved its application to establish Hyundai Capital Bank Europe. The automobile financing arm of the Hyundai Motor Group plans to offer automobile financing programs for Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors’ vehicles in the European market. Hyundai Capital Europe is held 80 percent by Hyundai Capital and 20 percent by Kia Motors. The company is located in Germany, and plans to begin operations in December. By Choi H

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Heavy Industries has won a contract for two oil tankers from a Greek shipping company. According to industry sources, HHI was signed on my Greece’s Enterprises Shipping and Trading to build two Suezmax tankers last month. The contract is reported to be worth US$ 57 million for each vessel. Local media citing unnamed sources also reported that the contract comes with an option for three more vessels. With this new order, HHI and its subsidiary Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries

[THE INVESTOR] State-run banks are expected to raise more than 3 trillion won (US$2.64 billion) to prevent Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering from being delisted. According to finance industry sources, the Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea are planning to raise funds within the 4.2 trillion won limit set in October 2015 to keep the shipbuilder listed on the local market. The two banks are reportedly planning to draw up detailed plans within the month. The funds w

[THE INVESTOR]  The listed affiliates of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group increased their market capitalization by 57.3 percent this year, the highest among the 10 largest conglomerates. In total, the combined market cap of top 10 conglomerates’ listed companies rose 5.4 percent or about 36.49 trillion won (US$31.93 billion) on Oct. 12 compared to the last trading day of 2015. With the increase, companies belonging to the 10 largest conglomerates now account for 55.2 percent of all KOSPI-listed fi

[THE INVESTOR]  Local conglomerates have invested nearly 23 trillion won (US$20.33 billion) in international tax havens since 2011, financial authorities’ data showed on Oct. 14.According to the information revealed by Rep. Park Kwang-on of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, local conglomerates transferred nearly 441.55 trillion won to known tax havens between 2011 and 2015. Over the same period, 318.18 trillion won was transferred into Korea from the concerned regions including the Caym

[THE INVESTOR] The Korea Overseas Infrastructure Fund could make its first investment within the year, local media reported on Oct. 14.The Korea Overseas Infrastructure Fund was established last year with an initial capital of US$2 billion. According to reports, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has narrowed the candidates to three overseas projects led by South Korean companies. Citing unnamed construction industry sources, the reports said that the ministry plans to make its r

[THE INVESTOR] The South Korean government will develop Hyundai Merchant Marine as the country’s flagship shipping company, local business daily Chosun Biz reported on Oct. 14. According to the report, the government and the Korea Development Bank plan to strengthen HMM to fill the gap left by Hanjin Shipping after consultations are completed in mid-November. Before it ran aground, Hanjin Shipping was ranked seventh in the global market, and HMM is currently not included among the top 10 shippin

[THE INVESTOR] Alpha Holdings announced on Oct. 13 that it has acquire additional stake in the US-based immunity anti-cancer medicine firm Viral Gene. Including the stake held by its subsidiary Alpha Biolabs, Alpha Holding’s is now the US-based company’s largest shareholder with 37.64 percent stake. Alpha Holdings acquired Viral Gene shares held by TJU Asset Management and Penn Life Science, which each acquired 1.66 percent of its shares. Viral Gene is currently developing a treatment for colore

[THE INVESTOR] AJ Rentacar announced on Oct. 14 that it has acquired tire retailer Tirebay and renamed it AJ Tirebay.AJ Rentacar hopes to strengthen its presence in the aftersales market with the acquisition. In addition to car rental services, AJ Rentacar operates used car sales and maintenance services. “The plan is to expand into general automotive parts in addition to tire-related parts,” AJ Tirebay chief Kim Sang-jun said. By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR]  The plans for privatizing Seoul Guarantee Insurance have been put on hold, Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Gwak Bum-gook revealed on Oct. 13.Speaking at the parliamentary audit, Gwak said that the financial authorities have approved putting the plans on hold. Seoul Guarantee is 94 percent held by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation. “Seoul Guarantee Insurance is playing an important role in propagating mid-range interest loans,” Gwak said. “A policy decision on w

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics announced on Oct. 14 that it will concentrate on sales of Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones to compensate for losses incurred by Galaxy Note 7 discontinuation. The company also estimated that the opportunity cost incurred by the developments to be in the mid 3 trillion won (US$ 2.66 billion) range.By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] CJ E&M announced on Oct. 13 that its music platform and related businesses including Mnet.com will be spun off into a new company. The decision to set up the tentatively named CJ Digital Music will be put to the vote at the shareholders meeting scheduled for Oct. 28. “The new company will strengthen the sales and platform businesses, and will focus on creating contents to increase efficiency,” the firm said. By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] The National Pension Service has been concentrating its overseas investments on IT and pharmaceuticals firms, with Apple seeing the largest investment in the first half of this year, data showed on Oct. 13.According to the information obtained by Rep. Ki Dong-min of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, Apple shares in NPS’ portfolio increased by the largest margin in the January-June period. The data showed that the NPS purchased US$142 million worth of Apple shares this yea