Hyundai’s Accent sedan ranked first in the small sedan segment in the Chinese market, customer satisfaction survey showed Wednesday.This was the first time that Hyundai topped the list in a product rating for satisfaction among Chinese consumers, which was conducted by U.S.-based J.D. Power and Associates.The Accent, dubbed Verna in China, garnered 854 points out of a maximum 1,000 in the poll among consumers who bought automobiles between October 2010 and June 2011.The Hyundai sedan tied with t

Private lenders saw their outstanding loans snowball by more than 1 trillion won ($877 million) in the first six months of the year.Outstanding loans extended by private lenders reached 8.63 trillion won at the end of June, up 14.2 percent from 7.56 trillion won at the end of December 2010, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The number of borrowers in the industry also increased by 267,000 from about 2.2 million to 2.47 million during the period, the FSS said.Credit-based lending acc

Korea’s automakers saw their exports to European countries surge 40.1 percent on a year-on-year basis, which could be interpreted as an outcome of the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement that took effect in early July.Five carmakers including Hyundai Motor posted 347,207 units in exports to EU countries for the first 10 months of 2011, compared to 247,909 units over the same period last year.The 40.1 percent growth is noteworthy, considering the growth of their total exports around the world was 13.2

Unionized workers of Korea Exchange Bank have mapped out a plan for a general strike, calling on Hana Financial Group to scrap its preliminary deal with Lone Star Funds.Their plan comes after Hana Financial signed a revised preliminary deal to take over KEB from Lone Star over the weekend.Despite the two parties’ recent agreement to lower the takeover price, the KEB union said it is against Hana’s move to pay Lone Star huge management premiums.“According to the situation, we could choose to stag

Customers’ card payment ceilings likely to be slashed to reduce soaring household debtTough screenings are expected for applications for new credit cards, starting later this month, as financial authorities strengthen supervision of card firms. Customers will also likely see monthly payment ceilings on new credit cards slashed sharply compared to the average ceiling on current cards, according to financial regulators.As part of policymakers’ efforts to curb snowballing household debt, the Financ

Unionized workers of Korea Exchange Bank have mapped out a plan for a general strike, calling on Hana Financial Group to scrap its preliminary deal with Lone Star Funds.Their plan comes after Hana Financial signed a revised preliminary deal to take over KEB from Lone Star over the weekend.Despite the two parties’ recent agreement to lower the takeover price, the KEB union said it is against Hana’s move to pay Lone Star huge management premiums.“According to the situation, we could choose to stag

Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-koo plans to offer educational support to students from low-income households, the automotive group said Sunday.Chung, who donated 500 billion won ($440 million) via the carmaker’s foundation for social activities last August, mapped out a program to support 84,000 underprivileged students over the next five years.The program involves comprehensive support for elementary, middle, high school and college students residing in farming and fishing villages across th

Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Seung-yu has pledged to ensure the job security of about 8,000 Korea Exchange Bank employees if the group successfully acquires the lender.During a news conference on Sunday, Kim downplayed the possibility that Hana will conduct a massive manpower restructuring after a merger.He also said the financial group will file a bank merger application with the Financial Services Commission on Monday.The application will seek the regulatory approval of Hana Financial’s r

Hanbul Motors CEO predicts eco-friendly technology to determine fate of automakersThe world’s first diesel-electric hybrid vehicle, developed by Peugeot and currently on sale in Europe, will likely be imported into the Korean market next year.Hanbul Motors Corp., the official importer and distributor of vehicles of France-based PSA Peugeot-Citroen, plans to launch the diesel-electric hybrid version of its 3008 crossover hatchback here.The Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 has been gaining popularity in the

Hana Financial Group has reached an agreement with Lone Star Funds on lowering the takeover price for Korea Exchange Bank, Dow Jones Newswires reported Thursday.An anonymous source was quoted by the U.S.-based news provider as saying that “Hana Financial agreed to a deal with Lone Star Funds to buy a 51.02 percent stake in Korea Exchange Bank for 3.916 trillion won ($3.48 billion), 11 percent lower than the original sales price of 4.41 trillion won.”A Hana spokesman declined to confirm the repor

Korea’s major automakers once again recorded contrasting sales performances at home and abroad in November.Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors saw their exports increase in November from a year earlier, but their sales at home dropped.Hyundai Motor sold 320,790 units, including exports and overseas production, abroad last month, up 26.1 percent from a year ago.Five major overseas plants in the U.S., China, India, Russia and the Czech Republic posted steady growth in sales, the company said in a stateme

Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-koo was selected as Asia’s best automobile industry leader by the U.S.-based publication Automotive News on Wednesday.In this year’s list of auto industry “All-Stars,” Automotive News selected Chung as the top CEO among Asian firms for his part in increasing Hyundai Motor’s presence in the global market.He grabbed the top post for the second consecutive year, beating chief executives of Japanese carmakers.The list names top CEOs and executives from the automotiv

Hana Financial Group has reportedly been striving to ask Lone Star Funds to agree on lowering the takeover price of Korea Exchange Bank.The alleged price negotiation between Hana Financial and the U.S.-based equity fund comes after the Financial Services Commission instructed the financial group to submit a revised application for the deal.Though Hana Financial applied for the FSC’s regulatory approval in acquiring a 51.02 percent stake in KEB from Lone Star one year ago, the regulator has yet t

Kim Gyu-bok, a former chairman & CEO of the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, has been nominated as the only candidate for chairman of Korea Life Insurance Association.The 60-year-old, who is expected to replace the current KLIA chairman Lee Woo-chul, will be appointed to the post on Dec. 5, according to the life insurance lobby.Born in 1951 in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, Kim graduated from Seoul National University and University of Pennsylvania.He had mostly served in government as a public

Financial Services Commission chief Kim Seok-dong pushed ahead with the decision to impose a “mild sanction” on Lone Star Funds despite some working-level officials’ resistance, financial sources said.The sources said Kim finalized the heated issue on how to sanction the U.S. buyout fund, convicted of stock manipulation, despite reluctance among a group of investigators in the FSC.“I have found that the staff were unwilling to (issue a light sanction),” a former high-ranking official of the FSC

The Financial Supervisory Service has launched a probe into the local brokerage industry to weed out irregularities and prevent financial accidents.The regulator is targeting 62 securities firms and eight futures trading firms, chiefly their internal controlling.The companies have been ordered to submit reports on their operations for internal monitoring by Dec. 10.The irregular practices also include unauthorized insider trading with major shareholders and unfair sales of retirement pension fun

Chairman Kim to discuss measures for low carbon-based growth at high-level aid forum in BusanKorean policymakers are paying close attention to green growth at home and abroad as one of the nation’s future development engines.The 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, slated for Nov. 29-Dec. 1 at the BEXCO in Busan, is expected to be an opportunity for the nation to take the initiative in emphasizing the need for global cooperation on green growth.Kim Yong-hwan, chairman and president of Expo

Hyundai Motor is broadening its ties with Chinese dealerships in an apparent judgment that China’s rapidly growing car market could decide the fate of the Korean automaker.The company has invited more than 50 dealers from China to introduce the Korean headquarters’ management philosophy and future development strategies in detail.The dealers from Beijing Hyundai Corp. are scheduled to visit a Hyundai Steel factory, an affiliate of the carmaker and participate in Korean cultural events until this

Shinhan Bank has once again been picked as the best among Korea’s major commercial breaks in terms of customer satisfaction.Last week, Shinhan was selected as the No. 1 bank in the Korean Standard-Service Quality Index for 2011, grabbing the title for the 10th consecutive year.Of particular note was the bank’s new “Service Capability Level” system, designed to enhance the staff’s customer-oriented mindset. The system was added under the initiative of CEO Suh Jin-won, who took office early this y

FSC official says the U.S. fund was ‘financial investor’ between 2003 and 2006The Supreme Court ordered the Financial Services Commission to make public the fund’s eligibility as the biggest shareholder of Korea Exchange Bank on Thursday.The FSC, which lost the original trial in 2007 and the second trial in 2009 in a lawsuit filed by Solidarity for Economic Reform, appealed to the highest court two years ago. The FSC and the Financial Supervisory Service are poised to clarify their stance on Lon