Hyundai, Kia struggle to catch up with Toyota’s PriusHybrid cars of Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors have yet to gain popularity among domestic consumers.The affiliated automakers saw lethargic sales of the fuel-efficient vehicles, such as the Sonata hybrid and K5 hybrid, last year. Yearly sales of Hyundai’s Sonata hybrid and Kia’s K5 hybrid stood at 7,193 and 5,279 units, respectively.The figures indicate that the companies’ daily sales of the two eco-friendly sedans in Korea average

Woori Financial Group chairman Lee Pal-seung said the group would seek mergers and acquisitions in the non-banking sector and the state-controlled group’s privatization concurrently.“Though it (the non-banking unit M&A) may be desirable after we complete the privatization, the best timing for M&As is now,” Lee told reporters Friday.Lee reiterated his resolution to take over at least one financial company in the non-banking sector such as insurance and credit card, as he said that the “financial

GDP growth records 3.6 percent in 2011, thriving exports offset lackluster consumptionKorea’s per capita gross national income is estimated to have surpassed $30,000 (34.2 million won) for the first time in history last year when the actual purchasing power of the population is reflected.The Bank of Korea said Friday that the per capita GNI posted $22,489 in 2011, inching up 1.5 percent from a year earlier.But per capita GNI adjusted for purchasing power parity, or the average buying power, is e

Export-Import Bank of Korea will extend loans for several development projects pushed by the Vietnamese government.The loans totaling $58 million will be offered to Vietnam via the Economic Development Cooperation Fund, set up by the Korean government in 1987, according to the state-run bank.Korea Eximbank chairman and president Kim Yong-hwan signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnamese Finance Minister Vuong Dinh Hue on the development funds in Seoul on Thursday.“The projects include pr

Financial firms seek to diversify profit amid control of banks’ loansThe nation’s four major financial groups are revitalizing their competition to expand non-banking businesses to overcome the saturated banking industry.Though chiefs of the groups ― KB, Woori, Shinhan and Hana ― had vowed to enhance the non-banking sector, the ratio of their dependency upon the banking business is still high.The ratio of banking business accounts for more than 80 percent of the total, far surpassing the three m

Kim stresses significance of overseas opportunities in face of saturated local marketHana Financial Group chairman Kim Jung-tai unveiled his business policy to bolster the insurance sector during his first news conference as the group’s new chief.While the group has been operating a joint life insurance venture in coordination with HSBC, Kim expressed his willingness to expand the insurance business via mergers and acquisitions.“The insurance sector is the weakest among our business units,” he s

KB Kookmin Card is seeking to take the No. 1 position in the local credit card market on a “gradual basis” by focusing on quality-based growth, not reckless sales activities.Though the company has secured the No. 2 status since its establishment a year earlier, it plans not to be hasty in overtaking Shinhan Card.“For the second-year management strategies, we will reinforce market dominance by prioritizing customer-oriented and quality-based growth,” the company said in a statement.Its vision com

Critical factors involve households’  weaker capability to pay back debtCommercial banks saw the ratio of overdue household loans to their total lending to the retail sector climb to the highest level in 36 months.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the delinquency ratio in banks’ household loans came to 0.85 percent in February, up 0.07 percentage point from a month earlier.The figure is the highest in three years since the ratio reached 0.88 percent in February 2009 when the nation

Former Hana Bank CEO Kim Jung-tai took office as chairman of Hana Financial Group on Monday.The 60-year-old figure has been working for Hana Financial and its flagship unit Hana Bank for 20 years since its foundation in 1992. His term is three years until 2015 as the second chairman of the group.The new chief will take on the role of integrating the corporate cultures of Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank, which was acquired by the group this month, over the next few years.After serving as an exe

Financial regulators are poised to launch a full-fledged probe into banks’ lending practices amid snowballing household debt in close coordination with the Bank of Korea.Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Kwon Hyouk-se expressed his resolve for the joint inspection amid the critical level of the debt held by households at a press conference on Monday.“I believe the household debt issue cannot be resolved through only regulations by financial authorities,” he said. “While the FSS takes countermea

Free trade pacts with EU, U.S. spark heated competition to offer value for moneyKorean and foreign carmakers are battling to lower vehicle prices amid lackluster domestic consumption.Their drive for lower prices is also sparked by the nation’s free trade agreements with Europe and the U.S., which took effect on July 1, 2011 and March 15, 2012, respectively.Hyundai Motor’s discounts range between 200,000 won ($175) and 1 million won.The nation’s largest carmaker is offering a 1 million won discou

Korean lenders in competition to launch financial groups for expansionKorea’s banking industry is pushing ahead with expansion, seemingly running counter to the global trend of slimming down.Major banks in the local market have established finance holding firms over the past few years and smaller players have followed or plan to join the move.Following Nonghyup Bank, which launched a financial group early this month, Jeonbuk Bank, a provincial lender based in Jeonju, is poised to follow suit.Jeo

A certain portion of expat employees in Korea will be exempted from service charges on their overseas cash transfer when they use the preferred service offered by Standard Chartered Bank Korea.The commercial bank said the service is applicable to employees from 48 countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal.The 48 nations were designated by the United Nations and the service will continue until Sept. 19.Banks operating in Korea have been bolstering their services for foreign

Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Seung-yu finished his 15-year career as chief of the financial company on Friday.Kim worked as chief executive of Hana Bank between 1997 and 2005 and as the first chairman of Hana Financial Group between 2005 and 2012.The 68-year-old banker has been highly evaluated as one of the few figures to foster their organizations via mergers and acquisitions in the nation’s financial industry.Hana, which took over Seoul Bank in 2002, Boram Bank in 1999 and Chungcheong Ba

Hyundai Heavy Industries has set the goal of achieving 100 trillion won ($88 billion) in yearly sales within four years.The shipbuilding group’s sales target was announced during an event celebrating the 40th anniversary of its foundation on Thursday.While the group posted sales of 66 trillion won in 2011, it is aiming at 52 percent growth in four years to reach 100 trillion won in 2015.Hyundai Heavy CEO Lee Jae-sung vowed to meet new challenges for further development during his speech at the e

Kim Jong-jun, former chief executive of Hana Capital, launched his two-year term as Hana Bank CEO on Thursday.His predecessor Kim Jung-tai will take office as chairman of Hana Financial Group on March 26.The new Hana Bank CEO has said he would do his best to help the parent company Hana Financial become one of the world’s top 50 financial groups by supporting the new chairman.Born in Busan in 1956, Kim graduated from Sungkyunkwan University before he began his career as a banker at Korea Investm

Asiana Airlines has launched a program to set up partnerships with schools in China.The nation’s second-largest air carrier signed a tie-up with a middle school in China’s northeastern city of Tumen on Thursday.It donated 40 personal computers, 1,000 books and a piano to the school and agreed to provide a class.Asiana plans to increase the number of sisterhood alliances with schools in the carrier’s 20 destinations in China. The cities include Xian, Yanji and Changchun. “We have been carrying ou

KB Financial Group chairman Euh Yoon-dae has been invited to the meeting of globally influential chief executives, dubbed G100 Europe.It will be the first time for a Korean CEO to participate in the meeting of about 100 global senior figures, which will be held in London from March 27-28.He is scheduled to attend a variety of discussions such as “The role of CEOs during the changing period” and “Changes in the banking sector’s effects on the manufacturing industry.”The G100 members include Jack

Citibank Korea has decided to shift its asset management business focus to the middle-income bracket, from its earlier target of wealthy customers.While the bank had mainly focused on private banking for customers with deposits of at least 100 million won ($87,700), its target will be expanded to those with financial assets of at least 20 million won.“Among total Korean adults, the proportion of them whose financial assets come to 20 million won is 35 percent,” Citibank Korea CEO Ha Yung-ku told

But earnings from charging service fees remain robust: FSS dataThe yearly earnings of credit card firms dropped in 2011 for the first time in three years amid financial regulators’ stricter policy on blocking reckless business expansion.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, six major credit card issuers saw their combined net profit stay at about 1.3 trillion won ($1.15 billion) in 2011, down 51 percent from 2.7 trillion won a year earlier.This was the first fall since their net profit