[더인베스터(코리아헤럴드)=박가영기자] 중국 M&A의 큰 손 푸싱그룹 (Fosun Group)이 국내 시중은행 한 곳의 중국지점 지분 획득에 관심을 보이고 있는 것으로 알려졌다. 　베이징주재 한 업계관계자는 11일 더인베스터에 “푸싱그룹이 올 상반기 한 국내 은행에 합작 제안을 했으며 해당 은행 역시 이를 검토 중”이라고 밝혔다. 　푸싱그룹 궈광창회장그는 해당 은행을 구체적으로 밝힐 수는 없다면서도 국민은행, 우리은행, 신한은행 등 소위 '빅3' 중 한 곳이 유력하다고 덧붙였다. 　푸싱그룹은 1992년 궈광창 회장과 4명의 대학동기가 설립한 회사로 컨설팅회사로 시작해 현재 제약, 보험, 부동산 등을 아우르는 대기업으로 성장했다. 최근에는 프랑스의 리조트체인 클럽메드와 푸르투갈 보험사 카이사 세구로스 등을 인수하는 등 적극적인 M&A를 펼치고 있다. 　국내에서도 2014년 현대증권과 KDB생명, 2016년 ING생명 등의 인수전에 뛰어들었으나 번번히 실패했다. 　업계에서는 푸싱이 한국

The head of Woori Bank, South Korea’s recently privatized lender, will soon embark on a trip to find investors to take over the government’s remaining stake, the bank said Friday. Woori Bank CEO Lee Kwang-goo (Yonhap)Woori Bank CEO Lee Kwang-goo will meet potential overseas investors in the first half of the year in an attempt to seek buyers of stake held by the state deposit insurer. Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. holds 21 percent of Korea’s second-largest lender by assets. Lee, whose term was e

South Korean companies will benefit from the upcoming unitary patent system in Europe, which simplifies and lowers the cost of applications, the European Patent Office’s principal director for unitary patents said Friday. “By reducing costs and complexity of the process, the unitary patent system will benefit South Korean companies, one of the most active applicants to the EPO,” Margot Fröhlinger, the principal director for unitary patent, European and international lega

South Korea’s state-owned electricity supplier is toying with the option of joining a nuclear plant project in the UK, weighing the pros of expanding its global account and the cons of entering the shaky venture. Last month, the head of Korea Electric Power Corp. had expressed his interest in joining the nuclear plant project in the UK, confirming market speculation that Kepco might purchase Toshiba’s stake in the project. At that time, Toshiba was holding a 60 percent stake in the

Kakao Bank, the mobile bank of Kakao Corp., won its final regulatory approval Wednesday. The Financial Services Commission held a meeting Wednesday and gave the green light to Kakao Bank to operate as an internet bank that provides banking and financial services without any physical branch network. With the final regulatory hurdle cleared, the bank will begin its services as early as June after final checks and preparation, the company said.  “At the beginning we will provide basi

Cash-strapped Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, a major South Korean shipbuilder whose fate hangs on a meeting of its creditors later this month, has secured a $250 million deal to build three very large crude carriers, the company said Tuesday. Daewoo will deliver three 318,000-ton VLCCs to Maran Tankers Management, a unit of Greece’s largest shipper Angelicoussis Shipping Group by 2018. Since 1994, Angelicoussis, a longtime contractor of DSME, has ordered 92 ships and Daew

Official websites and blogs of Samsung Group, which disbanded its corporate strategy office in February, were shut down Monday in what was seen as an attempt by the country’s largest conglomerate to improve its public image. The group’s website and blogs were used to advertise the conglomerate’s history, philosophy and corporate social responsibly activities of Samsung affiliates. The website www.samsung.com is now automatically redirected to the Samsung Electronics website.

Hyundai Heavy Industries, which launched four separate companies on Saturday, will invest 3.5 trillion won ($3.1 billion) in research and development by 2021 in its efforts to secure new growth engines, the group said Monday. The HHI group officially launched four independent business units on Saturday -- HHI, Hyundai Electric and Energy System, Hyundai Construction Equipment, Hyundai Robotics -- after the spinoff plan was given the green light at the shareholders’ meeting on Feb. 27. Pr

This is the 38th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. – EdCJ O Shopping, a leading home-shopping channel in South Korea, is likely to benefit from recovering consumers’ sentiment as the country is set to hold the presidential election in May, as well as an overall improvement in its competitiveness analysts here predicted.Shares in CJ O Shopping, the 12th largest on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market in terms of market capitalization with 1.3 trilli

North Korea on Thursday said it had reached agreement with Malaysia for the return of the body of a citizen killed in  Kuala Lumpur in February and identified by South Korean and U.S. officials as the half-brother of the North's leader.The body is to be returned to family in North Korea, the official KCNA news agency said, adding that both countries would lift reciprocal bans on travel by citizens and guarantee their safety, letting nine Malaysians now in Pyongyang return home.The agreement was

POSCO, the country's top steelmaker, said Thursday that its first-quarter net profit is estimated to have more than doubled from a year earlier, driven by firm demand and higher prices.In a regulatory filing, POSCO said its net profit is estimated at 800 billion won (US$716 million) on a consolidated basis in the January-March period, compared with a profit of 338 billion won a year earlier.Its operating income is forecast to be some 1.2 trillion won, up 82 percent from a year earlier, and its s

Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., South Korea's top shipping firm, said Thursday that it expanded its route linking China, South Korea and Russia as part of an effort to capitalize on a surge in shipping demand. (Yonhap)The shipper has been providing its shipping services on the route along with Russian shipping firm FESCO and French firm CMA-CGM.Under the expanded service, Hyundai Merchant will mobilize one container ship for the route every week, with FESCO to put two container vessels into operati

Former FIFA Vice President Chung Mong-joon has decided to take his appeal against a five-year ban from football to the world's top sports tribunal, his camp said Thursday.Chung, who was a FIFA vice president from 1994 to 2011, will file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport over FIFA's decision to kick him out of the football community for five years, according to officials working with the 65-year-old South Korean. Chung will further discuss his decision at a press conference next T

A Japanese scholar on Thursday proposed the establishment of a memorial engraved with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's latest apology over Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women. Haruki Wada, an emeritus professor at Tokyo University and expert in Korean history, made the proposal during a forum in Seoul as a follow-up on a 2015 bilateral agreement to settle the long-standing dispute between the two neighbors. (Yonhap)"I think installing a memorial monument will be meaningful given the pu

Oaxaca, a state in Mexico, hopes to learn from South Korea‘s economic miracle and is eager to boost economic ties with the country, its economic secretary told The Korea Herald Thursday. Mario Jesus Rodriguez, the secretary of economy of Oaxaca, and his team, are on a four-day visit to Korea where they hope to learn from the country’s economic development model, he said. “South Korea is important because we know the success of South Korea,” Rodriguez said. “The

The head of the ailing shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering on Wednesday urged employees to take part in a pay cut, warning that it is their last chance to save the company. Jung Sung-leep, the president of DSME, asked workers to undergo a pay cut of 10 percent saying it is for the sake of the company’s survival.  Jung Sung-leep, CEO of DSME, explains the company`s restructuring plans to the media on Friday. (DSME)“Before I ask you to join the pay cut move, I will return 100 pe

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, a South Korean ailing shipbuilder, is facing looming uncertainties over the company’s future, with bondholders raising skeptical voices over a fresh rescue plan which might have an impact on securing deals, experts said Tuesday. It is expected that the shipyard, which has the world’s largest backlog orders, will sign two deals by the end of April. DSME is scheduled to sign a $250 million deal this month at the earliest to build three very large crude c

Korea Development Bank, South Korea’s policy bank, has made its eighth donation aimed at helping underprivileged students with their education, the bank said Monday. The bank donated 10 million won ($8,990) to “Daddy-Long-Legs Classroom,” an after school program that provides one-on-one sessions for students who come from a low-income household. Korea Development Bank’s Lee Dong-geol (right) delivers a donation of 10 million won to Kang Myeong-hee, the head of the “Daddy-long-legs Classroom” pro

Korean builder Hyundai Engineering and Construction will focus on expanding and diversifying overseas businesses to maintain financial stability, the company said Monday. By focusing on foreign markets and quality construction projects, the company saw an operating profit exceeding 1 trillion won ($898 million) last year, a first among South Korean builders, bucking the trend in the sluggish overseas and domestic construction markets, the company said.Hyundai Engineering and Construction’s power

Amid questions being raised over its political neutrality, the National Pension Service is again standing at a crossroads that could determine a company’s fate – this time troubled shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. In the coming weeks, the state pension fund will have to decide on a debt restructuring plan for DSME proposed Thursday by the Financial Services Commission and the firm’s main creditors -- Korea Development Bank and The Export-Import Bank of Korea. The main credit