Dongbu Group, the nation’s 17th-largest conglomerate in terms of assets, is in grave jeopardy. After the sale of key units of its flagship affiliate Dongbu Steel fell through, the group will now have to ask the steelmaker’s creditors to step in ― this means there is no hope of the steelmaker staying in one piece. On Tuesday, POSCO, the nation’s biggest steelmaker, gave up its bid for Dongbu Steel’s Incheon plant and Dongbu Power Dangjin Corp., citing low profit margins and excessive financial bu

Foreign beauty brands are feverishly seeking out Korean consumers as the country is fast growing into a test bed for the cosmetics industry.Kim Do-kyun, CEO of online cosmetics shopping mall SkinRx, is one man who saw a golden opportunity in this trend.“Cosmetic brands can be divided into three categories ― big global high-end beauty brands that occupy department stores, domestic brands distributed through brand street shops and newly imported cosmetic brands that don’t have retail channels here

The top management at POSCO, the nation’s top steelmaker, on Tuesday said it has decided to pull out of a package bid for Dongbu Group’s Incheon Steel Plant and a coal-fired thermal power plant in Dangjn. POSCO had been conducting due diligence on the request of the Korea Development Bank, the main creditor of the financially faltering Dongbu Group. “Based on the results, we concluded that the synergy effect from the deal would not be big enough, considering the financial burden,’’ POSCO chairma

A screen grab of Kmall24.com’s websiteKorea International Trade Association on Tuesday signaled the launch of Kmall24.com, an online shopping mall of Korean products, designed to woo overseas customers. KITA is the nation’s largest association of traders under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. “The mall, offering multi-languages and around-the-clock services, was designed to support the online transactions of quality Korean goods across the border,” said Lee Kwon-jae who has been in ch

South Korea’s non-life insurer Dongbu Insurance acquired a stake in a Chinese non-life insurance firm in an effort to tap overseas business opportunities beyond the saturated local market, the company said Sunday.Dongbu Insurance said it has received approval from the financial authorities of South Korea and China to acquire a 15 percent stake in Ancheng Property & Casualty Insurance, becoming the third-biggest shareholder of the Chongqing-based firm.It is the first time for a South Korean insur

South Korean manufacturers were less upbeat about their business outlook for the third quarter than in the previous quarter after April‘s deadly ferry sinking slowed down domestic consumption, a poll showed Sunday.According to the poll of 2,473 companies by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Business Survey Index for the July-September period was tallied at 103, down 8 points from 111 in the second quarter. A gauge of corporate expectations on economic conditions, BSI index above th

Private and state-run think tanks have lowered their 2014 economic growth forecasts, according to reports out Sunday.The Hyundai Research Institute had earlier expected South Korea’s gross domestic product to grow 4 percent in 2014. The latest HRI report lowered the outlook by 0.4 percentage point to 3.6 percent, saying the slow recovery in private consumption and construction will drag down the domestic demand.The growth rate of private spending is expected to reach 2.5 percent, far below the G

South Korean companies were ranked in global top 10 in nine industries last year, CEO Score, a local company information provider, said Sunday. The researcher tracks corporate management data, based its results on global sales.Nine industries where South Korean companies ranked in the global top 10 based on sales included smartphones, home appliances, shipbuilding, semiconductor, automobiles, steel, auto parts, shipping, and communications, the company’s data showed.Samsung Electronics, the coun

Citizens in Busan Metropolitan City, the nation’s second-largest city, with a population of 3.56 million, were shocked in 2012 when the city came behind Incheon in a global survey to measure its competiveness. Incheon was ranked 56th, while the survey put Busan at 64th. The Economist Intelligence Unit conducted the survey on 120 cities in the world to address emerging city power. “City policymakers took the survey results seriously and started considering how to boost the city’s competitiveness

Small and mid-sized South Korean beauty brands, which are in a neck and neck race in South Korea, have been turning their eyes to China for a while now to capitalize on the burgeoning demand for high-quality beauty products that are still affordable. Carver Korea is one such company that is working its way into the market. “China is a tough market to get into, but it is also a mine of opportunities,’’ Carver Korea director Ahn Jang-kyun said in an interview with The Korea Herald, noting that the

Despite growing demand for safety nationwide, Korea lacks of measures to cope with sudden power cuts, France-based Schneider Electric, a global management solution provider, said Thursday. A survey of 1,496 organizations nationwide in different sectors, including major hospitals and data centers, found that only 40 percent had an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system. A UPS is a device that keep an organization to be powered for at least a short time when power is out. “UPS is an essential t

POOSCO, the nation’s top steelmaker, said on Wednesday it received the most competitive award for 2014 from World Steel Dynamics, a global steel information service provider. The steel giant received the award for the fifth consecutive year, the company said in a press release. In an assessment of 36 steelmakers around the world, WSD gave the top mark of 7.91 points out of 10 to POSCO. It said POSCO received highest points in four segments, including technological innovation and human resource m

South Korea and Canada are expected to sign a bilateral trade pact in the second half of this year as the two nations’ chief negotiators signed the final draft of a free trade agreement in Seoul, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a press release on Friday.The signing is considered the last step before the official signing as the ministry has confirmed that the agreement in hand will no longer be subject to further changes.The draft, the English version of which can be read at th

Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin appeared to be determined to woo the media ahead of plans for opening the second Lotte World in July, making frequent appearances to highlight the significance of the landmark project. On Wednesday, Shin hosted a site tour for visiting board members of the U.S.-based Asia Society, a nonprofit organization aimed at boosting exchanges between the U.S. and South Korea. It marked the first time that Lotte had opened the complex to foreign visitors, with Shin mappin

Share prices of E-World and Deconetishion surpassed the 15 percent daily growth ceiling on Tuesday and Wednesday on news that their parent company E-Land Group has succeeded in attracting prominent investment from Wanda Group, China’s largest cultural enterprise. “Investments from the Chinese Group, led by China’s richest man Wang Jianlin, into E-Land have given a green light to the share prices of the two affiliates that had once been isolated in the capital market, ’’ Kiwoom Securities said in

Ssangyong Engineering & Construction said Wednesday it had signed a contact with Indonesia-based Rajawali Group for a project to build the six-star St. Regis Hotel and a convention center in Langkawi, Malaysia.“The company sealed the 82 billion won ($81 million) contact to build facilities for the upcoming ASEAN Plus Three Summit in Malaysia,” the builder said in a press release. The gathering of Asian leaders in Langkawi, Malaysia, will be held in April 2015. All 87 of the rooms will be high-en

When Booyoung Group chairman Lee Joong-keun vied for sponsorship of the nation’s 10th baseball team with KT Corp., the nation’s second-largest mobile carrier, in early 2013, it was a wakeup call for many about just how rich the usually low-key business tycoon was. At the time, the 73-year-old chairman, who usually chooses to remain in the shadows, greeted the media with open arms, even donning a baseball cap to show how serious he was about owning the team. He also confidently addressed the conc

Kang Hak-seoHyundai Motor Group on Monday announced that it appointed Kang Hak-seo, current vice president and chief financial officer of Hyundai Steel, as the new CEO of its steel business arm. “The top-level management reshuffle at Hyundai Steel is aimed at improving falling profitability of the steelmaker and securing funds for new growth engines,’’ Hyundai Motor Group said in a press release. The 59-year-old Kang is a finance specialist who has managed finance teams of different affiliates o

A rendering of the 26.2 megawatt solar power plant to be built on the site of a golf course abandoned in Fukushima after the 2011 earthquake by 2015. Hanwha Q Cells supplied solar modules to Japan’s biggest solar power plant. (Hanwha Group)Hanhwa Group said Thursday that it will continue expanding its overseas solar power business by making inroads into emerging markets, including countries like Chile and Turkey, while further tapping into new business opportunities in strategic markets such as

With increased shareholdings in the nation’s leading conglomerates, foreign investors now face rising pressure to take an active role as shareholders that could force the companies they invest in to change unethical management practices. One of the most recent cases involves discount chain E-Mart and one of its largest shareholders, Aberdeen Asset Management Asia. E-Mart, the country’s largest discount store chain, is owned by retail giant Shinsegae Group.Singapore-based Aberdeen is the second-l