Hyundai Engineering & Construction shares jumped Monday as the company has been tapped as the preferred bidder for a $14 billion worth nuclear plant project in Bulgaria. The builder's shares ended at some 34,000 won ($25.5) on Monday, around 2 percent higher than last week. On Sunday, the company said that it has been selected as the preferred bidder for a nuclear plant project to build two nuclear reactors, with a combined capacity of 2,300 megawatts (MW), in Kozloduy, located around 2

South Korean conglomerates are expanding birth incentive programs to help boost the country’s record-low fertility rate amid mixed expectations about their effectiveness. Underwear maker Ssangbangwool announced Thursday that the company will provide up to 100 million won ($75,000) to employees who are expecting babies. Under the company's birth incentive scheme, an employee can receive 30 million won for the first child, another 30 million won for the second and 40 million won for the

Kolmar Korea, a cosmetics original design manufacturer, said Thursday it has found a microbiome that can slow down skin aging induced by sun exposure for the first time, which could be a breakthrough innovation in the anti-aging skincare industry. Photoaging refers to the characteristic changes to the skin caused by cumulative sun damage over a lifetime of exposure. Recent research has found that the skin microbiome could serve as a potential tool to prevent and treat skin photoaging. Kolmar Kor

South Korea is confronting a deepening shortage of cephalosporins, a commonly prescribed class of antibiotics used to treat a range of bacterial infections, as pharmaceutical firms discontinue product lines due to unprofitability and growing raw materials costs. “As the number of local and overseas pharmaceutical companies have recently halted or downsized cephalosporins production here, it has become increasingly difficult to get them,” an industry source from one of the largest pha

Eight out of ten construction firms here said they are experiencing difficulties in paying debt interest, according to a local survey released on Monday. According to the Federation of Korean Industries' survey involving 102 construction companies among the top 500 construction firms, 76.4 percent of the respondents said they are experiencing difficulties paying debt interest with their operating profit. Only 17.7 percent said they can cover debt interest with their profits. “Not only

Overseas biosimilar sales of Samsung Bioepis, a biosimilar developer under Samsung Group, reached an all-time high in 2023, according to its partner companies on Sunday. According to Samsung Bioepis’ US partners, Biogen and Organon, sales of Samsung Bioepis’ biosimilar products in overseas markets came to $1.36 billion, or some 1.8 trillion won in 2023. The figure was up 11 percent from $1.23 billion in 2022. Biosimilar sales through Biogen came to $770 million, up 3 percent on-year,

LG Chem announced Thursday that the company will work together with food giant CJ CheilJedang to produce bio-based nylon, an eco-friendly alternative to traditional synthetic polymers. LG Chem said the two companies signed a heads of agreement on Wednesday to establish a joint venture that will produce ingredients and bio-based nylon products. “It has not been determined yet, but the two companies are expected to establish the joint company as early as this year,” an official familia

Celltrion announced Tuesday that the company has submitted its application for marketing authorization to the European Medicines Agency for CT-P47, a biosimilar referencing Roche's Actemra. Roche's Actemra (tocilizumab) is approved for a wide range of uses, including rheumatoid arthritis, giant cell arteritis, systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis and cytokine release syndrome. Celltrion’s application has been based on the results from a glob

South Korean whiskey providers are searching for new import markets like those in Taiwan, India, Spain and Australia, as consumers here crave new varieties at reasonable prices. “Local demands for affordable whiskey products are increasing with the surge of people consuming highball cocktails. Yet, whiskey products from major whiskey producers such as the UK, the US and Japan are expensive and less available to local consumers,” an industry source said. “Whiskey products from A

A better-than-expected inflation report for January bolstered hopes that price hikes is near its end -- but consumers are still wary as the cost for some food items for Lunar New Year ceremonies continues to soar. “I have visited two different discount stores and searched online shopping platforms to compare prices and buy cheaper fruits and other food items that I need for family gatherings during the Lunar New Year holiday,” Lee, 63, a woman living in Gyeonggi Province said. Among

Posco Holdings said Thursday it has named Chang In-hwa, former CEO of steelmaker Posco, to lead the nation's fifth-largest business group as its next chairman. The result was announced after seven members of the CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee of Posco Group interviewed six candidates in the final list on Wednesday and Thursday. If approved at the group’s annual general meeting of shareholders and board meeting on March 21, Chang will be appointed as chairman of the country&rsq

South Korean conglomerates are becoming more reluctant to finalize their hiring plans this year or downsize the number of new employees as their business prospects are shrouded in uncertainty, a poll on job recruiters showed on Thursday. Some 67 percent of conglomerates with over 1,000 employees confirmed that they have recruitment plans this year, falling for the third year in a row from 72 percent and 73 percent in 2023 and 2022, respectively, according to a report by online job portal Incruit

GNT Pharma said Monday that the company has signed an agreement with Pfizer's contract manufacturing arm for overseas production of the company’s veterinary medication GedaCure. Under the recent agreement, Pfizer CentreOne, which has production facilities in around 30 countries, will provide GNT Pharma with CDMO services in the countries, including the US and Europe, where GNT Pharma launches GedaCure. GedaCure is a chewable tablet of crisdesalazine and the world’s first multi-t

South Korean dietary supplements manufacturers are accelerating their entries into the growing Chinese market as the number of elderly people continues to increase in the country, according to industry sources on Sunday. On the back of an aging population, the Chinese dietary supplements market grew 3 percent on-year to reach around 73 trillion won ($54.5 billion) in 2022, according to a report released by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. Among Korean companies, Korea Ginseng Corp.,

BAT Rothmans, the Korean unit of British American Tobacco, announced Thursday that the company has appointed Song Young-jae, a BAT veteran, as its new country manager. The company said Song is a marketing and finance expert who will be tasked with promoting BAT’s combustible products. “Song is an expert in the global tobacco industry and the right person to spearhead the company’s future innovation,” an official from BAT Rothmans said. Graduated from the London School of

Kakao Healthcare, the digital health care unit under platform giant Kakao, on Thursday launched an artificial intelligence-based mobile blood sugar management service, PASTA, in Korea, hinting at plans for its overseas debuts in Japan and other countries. “Health care costs attributable to diabetes are increasing every year, and we aim to help reduce the costs through our new service," Kakao Healthcare CEO Hwang Hee said during a press conference at the company’s headquarters in

Posco Group and the United Arab Emirates' Abu Dhabi National Oil Company will collaborate on blue hydrogen production facilities in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, Posco International said Wednesday. Posco International, Posco Holdings and ADNOC signed a three-way strategic collaboration agreement at the UAE energy group’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi. Under the agreement, the three companies will build blue hydrogen production facilities at Posco International’s liquefied natura

Samsung Biologics shares extended a rally Tuesday on upbeat sentiment that the company may be benefiting from US-proposed legislation that aims to restrict Chinese biotech firms from accessing the all-important American market. Last week, members of a bipartisan House Select Committee introduced a bill barring contracts with Beijing Genomics Institute and some Chinese biotech companies for their alleged connection with China’s People’s Liberation Army. The proposed bill specifically

Daewoong Pet, the pet health care arm of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, seeks to gain growth momentum by launching veterinary drugs and securing patent exclusivity as the need for veterinary care continues to surge amid an aging pet population. The firm's main aim is to develop and introduce drugs with the proper dosage and formulation for pets, with a particular focus on senior pets, which increasingly require health care services, Daewoong Pet co-CEO Lee Hyo-jun said. “Many veterinary hos

Celltrion has completed its submission of a biologics license application (BLA) to the US Food and Drug Administration for CT-P47, a biosimilar candidate mimicking Roche’s rheumatoid arthritis treatment Actemra (tocilizumab), the company said Monday. The BLA submission was based on results from the global phase 3 clinical trial involving 471 patients. In the clinical trial, the company tested the efficacy, pharmacokinetics, safety, and immunogenicity of CT-P47 compared to the reference pro