[DISCLOSURE] Lotte Chemical (011170) announced on Oct. 24 that it has decided to acquire 80 shares of its affiliate Lotte Chemical USA for 378.4 billion won (US$333.19 million), increasing its stake to 71 percent (200 shares).(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

[DISCLOSURE] Hanssem (009240) reported on Oct. 24 that its operating profit in the third quarter hiked 31 percent to 42.34 billion won (US$46.04 million) from the same period last year. Its revenue rose 16 percent to 474.83 billion won on-year. (theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] Nature Cell announced on Oct. 24 that it has filed for approval of the US Food and Drug Administration to initiate the first and second phases of clinical trials for AstroStem, a stem cell therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, in the US. Since 2008, Nature Cell has been seeking to develop a novel medicine for the still-incurable brain disease. Its CEO Ra Jeong-chan and a team from Seoul National University jointly had confirmed the possibility of a therapy using autologous adipose tiss

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Duty Free has maintained the third place for two consecutive years among the world’s duty-free operators by 2015 revenue, it announced on Oct. 24.According to The Moodie Report, Lotte’s sales in 2015 reached 3.75 billion euros (US$4.08 billion), after Switzerland’s Dufry (5.68 billion euros) and US’s DFS Group (3.77 billion euros). Lotte beat France’s LS Travel Retail to the third rank in 2014, and has closed in on DFS, in line with its aim to become the top duty-free operat

[THE INVESTOR] AmorePacific Group will launch its better-priced range Innisfree with a flagship store in Manhattan in 2017, according to Money Today on Oct. 24. Actor Lee Min-ho attending the opening ceremony for Innisfree`s Shanghai flagship store in 2015. InnisfreeThe South Korean beauty giant is looking for a site for the store slated to open as early as the first half next year, and will open multiple outlets across the US, where it already has four brands Amore Pacific, Sulhwasoo, Laneige a

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Confectionary’s third-quarter earnings will not be able to meet market expectations, according to Korea Investment and Securities on Oct. 24. The securities firm adjusted the target price to 250,000 won (US$219.11) from 290,000 won, forecasting its third-quarter operating profit will rise only 2.6 percent, as overseas affiliates including Rakhat in Kazakhstan are yet to show improved performance due to the depreciated local currencies. From the fourth quarter, however, opera

[DISCLOSURE] SeAH Steel (003030) acknowledged that it is in talks to acquire Russian steel pipe manufacturer OMK’s tube factory in Texas, US to strengthen its competitiveness in North America, but that nothing specific was determined, in a statement released on Oct. 21 in response to Korea Exchange’s inquiry regarding media reports. (theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

[THE INVESTOR] Hana Financial Group reported on Oct. 22 its net profit in the third quarter surged 76.6 percent on-year to 450.1 billion won (US$396 billion) on a consolidated basis. The third-quarter earnings were Hana’s highest quarterly results since the first quarter of 2012.Interest income came to 3.45 trillion won in the January-September period, up 2 percent on-year, boosting the performance. However, the group’s net interest margin, a key barometer of profitability, slipped 0.01 percenta

[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