[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Group is actively seeking to strengthen its presence in Vietnamese real estate market. Lotte Asset Development announced on Oct. 21 that it has decided to acquire 10 percent stake in Lotte Properties (Hanoi) Singapore for 16.32 billion won (US$14.43 million), to develop and manage real estate properties in Hanoi. It already operates Lotte Center Hanoi since 2014, the group’s first overseas complex. “Lotte affiliates as well as local partners will invest and acquire remaining

[DISCLOSURE] Cosmax (192820) announced on Oct. 21 that it has decided to increase its capital by 120.75 billion won (US$106.81 million) to finance operations and invest in facilities. It will issue 1.05 million shares and offer to shareholders at 115,000 won per share. The new stocks will be listed on January 3, 2017.(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] Crown Confectionary (005740) announced on Oct. 21 that it will spin off its food division, into a new entity which will carry the company name, while the remaining division will operate as Crown Haitai Holdings, its holding company. It will maintain its listing on the stock market and the new spin-off will seek relisting. The due date for the split is March 1, 2017.(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] The world’s largest asset management company BlockRock has acquired 5.13 percent stake each inPOSCO andShinhan Financial Group, according to Financial Supervisory Service’s data on Oct. 20.BlackRock Fund Advisors and 14 others in special relationship reported that they have newly acquired 4,415,820 shares of POSCO and 24,320,723 shares of Shinhan Financial Group. South Korea’s largest steelmaker has shown the best performance since the second quarter in 2013. Its operating profit

[DISCLOSURE] Hanjin Shipping (117930) acknowledged that it is seeking to sell its Long Beach Terminal in the US but nothing has been specified, in a statement released on Oct. 21 in response to Korea Exchange’s inquiry regarding media reports. “To secure funds for turnaround, we are seeking to sell the stake in our subsidiary Total Terminals International,” said the company. (theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] SM Entertainment’s third-quarter operating profit will fall 34 percent to 7.5 billion won (US$6.63 million) from the same period last year, and standalone sales will be down 7 percent to 54.7 billion won, according to Shinhan Investment on Oct. 21. In addition to the revenue from albums, downloads and appearances, “concerts including EXO’s seven, Yesung’s three, Taeyeon’s three in Korea as well as SHINee’s Japan concert with 430,000 attendance, will boost its bottom line. The comp

[THE INVESTOR] YG Entertainment’s operating profit in the third quarter will hike 27 percent to 7 billion won (US$6.19 million) and revenue will jump 55 percent to 74.1 billion won in the third quarter, according to Shinhan Investment on Oct. 21.“Concerts should drive top-line growth: Big Bang is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a concert in Japan with attendance of 280,000, 10 in China and one in Korea; iKon has four tours in Asia; and Sechs Kies has two. Sales contribution should increase

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Group is in talks with Lahore PepsiCo, a bottling company of Pepsi-Cola in Pakistan, to take over a major stake, according to news reports on Oct. 20.The South Korean conglomerate acknowledged that it positively reviewing the acquisition, unlike in February when it said it is merely one of the candidates available for merger.Lotte has an agreement with Pepsi for manufacturing and distribution in South Korea since 1976 through Lotte Chilsung Beverage. It also owns 34.4 percen

[THE INVESTOR] KB Financial Group reported on Oct. 20 that it more than met the market expectations with a 564.4 billion won (US$503.75 million) net profit in the third quarter. The net profit between January and September reached 1.69 trillion won, a 25.1 percent hike on-year. Despite the lower base rate since June, it succeeded in offsetting it by lowering the interest expense by 14.1 percent. Its total assets increased by 9.2 percent from the end of 2015 to 489.8 trillion won as of the end of

[THE INVESTOR] Shinhan Financial Group reported on Oct. 20 that it has reaped 7.08 billion won (US$631.83 million) net profit in the third quarter, up 4.3 percent from the same period last year. For the first time in four years its net profit in the first nine months surpassed 2 trillion won, increasing 10.2 percent on-year to 2.16 trillion won. This unexpected result comes from higher interest income and lower loan-loss reserve that led to a 20.3 percent spike in operating profit to 936.9 billi

[DISCLOSURE] KB Financial Group (105560) reported on Oct. 20 that its operating profit in the third quarter hiked 33.27 percent to 721.4 billion won (US$643.88 million) from the same period last year. Its revenue fell 1.46 percent to 6.87 trillion won on-year. (theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] POSCO Daewoo’s stock price will continue to recover as the oil price is stable, according to Mirae Asset Daewoo on Oct. 20. The securities firm maintained a “buy” recommendation and raised the target price to 32,000 won (US$28.56) from 30,000 won. Its revenue in the third quarter will decline 4 percent to 4.01 trillion won, and operating profit by 4.5 percent to 83.9 billion won on-year, forecast Ryu Je-hyeon, an analyst at Mirae Asset Daewoo. Although the operating profit from th

[THE INVESTOR] STI  will record its best earnings this year, according to Shinyoung Securities on Oct. 20. It forecast that the firm’s revenue in 2016 will reach 170.8 billion won (US$151.60 million) and operating profit will be 19 billion won, up 36 percent and 58 percent, respectively, from the previous year.The securities firm maintained a “buy” recommendation and raised the target price to 16,500 won (US$14.73) from 15,000 won.“After Apple announced that it will use OLED panels for its next

[THE INVESTOR] Fila Korea will defend its management rights in Acushnet by increasing its stake up to 50 percent before the US golf equipment manufacturer goes public this month, according to news reports on Oct. 19.With 33.1 percent stake, it currently is the largest shareholder of Acushnet, the world’s largest golf equipment and apparel company that owns Titleist and FootJoy. Acushnet will offer 19.3 million shares to the public, to raise up to US$463.2 million, and its total post-IPO market v

[THE INVESTOR] Kolmar Korea will stay on the upturn as it continues to fare well at home and overseas, according to Shinhan Investment on Oct. 20.The securities firm maintained a “buy” recommendation and target price of 130,000 won (US$116.03), forecasting that the cosmetics original development manufacturer’s third quarter turnover will reach 156.8 billion won, up 22.3 percent on-year, with a 18.8 billion won operating profit, up 19.8 percent on-year, meeting the market consensus.It will contin

[THE INVESTOR] AmorePacific Group will maintain a steady growth momentum as Innisfree continues to thrive and Etude’s both sales and profit leap, according to NH Investment and Securities on Oct. 20. It maintained a “buy” recommendation and projected a 207,000 won (US$184.76) target price, up from 190,000 won. The beauty giant’s third-quarter revenue will hike 26.4 percent to 1.70 trillion won, and its operating profit 48.8 percent to 280.2 billion won, from the same period last year, forecast H

[DISCLOSURE] Ssangyong Motor (003620) reported on Oct. 19 that its operating loss in the third quarter increased to 7.3 billion won (US$6.49 million) on a consolidated basis. Its revenue increased 3.8 percent to 850.8 billion won and net profit 2.7 billion won returning to black from the same period last year. (theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] Arion Technology acknowledged that its subsidiary DreamT Entertainment is in the process of being listed on the Singapore stock market by merging with a local listed company, in a statement released on Oct. 19 in response to Korea Exchange’s inquiry regarding the news reports. DreamT is South Korean idol group Girl’s Day’s agency.   Girl's DayArion is seeking to list three entertainment subsidiaries, Line and YMC as well, and is looking at the best way to create synergies with a l

[THE INVESTOR] Boryung Pharmaceuticals has signed an agreement with South Africa’s Kiara Health to supply cancer drugs worth 7.8 billion won (US$6.93 million) to 10 African countries, it announced on Oct. 19. The South Korean pharmaceutical company will provide three injectable medicines including AD mycin (Doxorubicin) to South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Kenya for five years. Kiara Health is a leading medical distributor based in Johanne

[THE INVESTOR] Hanwha Group will turn to black in the third quarter and post 152.1 billion won (US$135.14 million) controlling shareholder net income, according to Hana Financial Investment on Oct. 19. The securities firm maintained a “buy” recommendation and the target price of 46,000 won.Hanwha’s operating profit in the third quarter will soar 422.8 percent to 535.2 billion won, remarkably higher than market consensus, said O Jin-won, an analyst at Hana, following “Hanwha Engineering and Const