Xiaomi Corp., whose investors include billionaire Yuri Milner, more than doubled its sales revenue last year, according to a blog posting by Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun. The Beijing-based company’s revenue before tax rose to 74.3 billion yuan ($12 billion) in 2014, Lei said on his microblog today. It sold 61.1 million mobile phones, 227 percent more than in the previous year. Xiaomi plans to release a Redmi smartphone and will hold a press conference on Jan. 15 to issue an “important flagshi

South Korea benefited from an own goal to defeat Saudi Arabia 2-0 on Sunday in its final tune-up match ahead of the AFC Asian Cup, a result that masked some underlying problems for the team with the continent's largest football tourney on the horizon.Saudi Arabian defender Osama Hawsawi deflected a South Korean free kick into his own net in the 67th minute and unheralded forward Lee Jeong-hyeop scored his first international goal in his debut in injury time, as South Korea blanked its long-time

Global tech companies’ entry into the nation’s mobile payment market may hinder the growth of early-stage fintech startups, industry watchers say. Fintech, a convergence of finance and technology, is a range of new financial services offered through information technology platforms. Amid slow growth in the local fintech industry, global tech giants including America’s PayPal and China’s Alipay have already expanded their financial services from simple mobile transactions to loans, investment and

Experts are calling for eased regulations on financial technologies to allow the growth of the local fintech industry. The two most burdensome regulations include the strict separation of commerce and banking, and the prohibition on authenticating consumers through non-face-to-face channels, industry watchers said. The current rule on separation of commerce and banking restricts financial and industrial companies from holding each other’s capital on to prevent conglomerates from controlling bank

South Korea’s consumer inflation rate was 1.3 percent last year, the same pace as in 2012, according to government data released on Wednesday. The figure was 1 percentage point below the Finance Ministry’s forecast of 2.3 percent at the end of 2013. December’s price index rose 0.8 percent on-year, the lowest on-year growth in 15 years. “The drop in oil prices has pushed the nation’s inflation rate to a zero percent level, putting downward pressure on prices for the time being,” said Kim Bo-kyung

The state-run Korea Development Bank said on Thursday it had set up a new digital system for its company magazine for the first time in the local financial industry.The bank said the system would enable users to more conveniently access its content on various digital devices such as computers, smartphones and tablets in a unified form. The bank added that it was an upgraded version of conventional systems that only allow access to content on the website. Using EPUB 3.0, or electronics publicatio

The South Korean government on Monday downgraded its economic growth forecast for the year 2015 to 3.8 percent from the 4 percent it predicted in July, citing weak consumption and investment amid growing economic uncertainties in its statement. This year’s growth rate was also cut to 3.4 percent from 3.7 percent on account of a slower-than-expected economic recovery despite the government’s expansionary policy moves. Next year, the government plans to put stronger emphasis on structural reforms

The South Korean prosecution said on Sunday it had identified the location of the hacker who posted information on nuclear reactors on the Internet. The joint investigation team looking into the cybercrime said it had dispatched investigators to the province where the Internet protocol address associated with the hacker was sourced. Investigators were also sent to nuclear reactors at the Gori and Wolseong nuclear power plant complexes, which were targeted by the hacker. On Sunday, the hacker use

The government is expected to announce Monday its economic policy priorities for next year, which will center on structural reform.Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan hinted at the policy direction Friday, saying that as economic uncertainty and structural vulnerability have slowed recovery, the government plans to focus on structural changes to the economy.His remark came amid a slower-than-expected economic recovery, despite the government’s latest expansionary policy al

Woori Bank employees deliver coal briquettes for fuel to low-income families in Nowon-gu, Seoul, last December. (Woori Bank)Woori Bank is forging closer partnerships with local community centers to more actively engage in corporate social responsibility activities, the bank said Thursday. The company said that through these partnerships it was stepping up its social responsibility campaigns to share its benefits with more regional communities under the mission of pursuing humanity, happiness and

The Korea Development Institute has called for more flexibility in Korea’s labor structure in terms of its wage system and working hours. “With unemployment and the working poor becoming serious social issues in Korea, companies should no longer stick to their old-fashioned labor system,” said KDI researcher Yoon Hee-sook at the state-run think tank’s seminar on labor market changes on Wednesday. Pointing to Korea’s rigid wage and promotion system, she noted that Korean companies have long favor

British American Tobacco Korea will unveil its new charcoal-filtered cigarette “Vogue Prima” later this month, according to the company on Tuesday. BAT Korea said this new super-slim tobacco would allow consumers to experience smooth taste from charcoal filters. “The demand for super-slim cigarettes continues to grow in Korea. We expect that Vogue Prima, with a competitive price, would satisfy adult consumers who are looking for smart spending,” BAT Korea’s chief Guy Meldrum said.  Vogue Prima o

Japan’s weak yen would continue to affect major Korean exporters following Shinzo Abe’s landslide victory in Japan’s national elections on Sunday, as he is likely to push ahead with “Abenomics,” aggressive monetary policies and fiscal stimulus spending, industry watchers said. According to local economists including Jung Kyu-cheol of the Korea Development Institute, “Japan may continue its weak yen policies in a bid to reach its 2 percent inflation target and to recover from its prolonged econom

The Korean financial sector should prepare for the Volcker Rule, which will be implemented in the U.S. in July next year, in order to avoid disadvantages and fines, according to a local attorney.“Local securities and asset management companies should have more understanding of the rule and its potential impact on them,” said Lee Haeng-gyu, an attorney at Jipyong, a South Korean law firm, in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. The Volcker Rule, named after former Federal Reserve Chairman Pa

Kim Won-sik, a 59-year-old Seoulite, is looking to move away from apartment living ahead of retirement next year. Like many other retirees, Kim also has a dream of spending the rest of his life in a house with natural surroundings and with a small yard where he can grow vegetables. However, making the decision to move to the suburbs was not easy, as he would have to give up all the amenities and conveniences he enjoyed here in Seoul as well as his relatives and friends.“As an alternative to movi

KB Financial Group’s chief Yoon Jong-kyoo stressed the importance of rebuilding customer trust as a part of the company’s efforts to reclaim the title of the nation’s leading financial group, the company said Thursday. The group’s new head has said he would place the highest priority on rebuilding trust and customer relationships, and also boosting employee morale. “Rebuilding the trust of our customers, who I see as our biggest assets, is of utmost importance if we are to once again become Kore

The Korea Forest Service successfully reinforced its partnership with ASEAN countries in the forestry sector at a two-day Korea-ASEAN Special Ministerial Meeting on Forestry that started Wednesday in Busan. “It was a good opportunity for Korea to share its forestry experiences with ASEAN countries, Korea’s important economic and trading partners,” Shin Won-sop, minister of the Korea Forest Service, told The Korea Herald in an email interview. ASEAN countries together make up Korea’s second-large

South Korean banks are being forced to close down branches amid increasingly digitalized banking systems and moves from tech firms to jump into the competition, according to industry watchers.A total of 119 branches of the nation’s top four banks were shuttered this year, related figures showed on Tuesday. Kookmin Bank shut down the largest number of branches at 49, followed by 43 by Shinhan Bank, 18 by Hana Bank and nine by Korea Exchange Bank. “Banks are downsizing as more customers are using

Korea’s outbound shipments to China are likely to post a negative growth in 2014 for the first time in five years, according to government data released on Sunday. Industry watchers said this downward trend may continue with the Chinese economic slowdown deepening and even worse, the country is slowly reducing its reliance on Korea’s intermediate goods. Shipments to China slipped 0.5 percent on-year through November this year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and

Citing the nation’s continuously falling consumer prices, local experts are raising concerns that the Korean economy may suffer deflation.South Korea’s consumer price growth has been at the 1 percent level over the past two years. In November, the figure dropped to a solid 1 percent ― the lowest in nine months ― according to Statistics Korea. “The Korean economy has already fallen into a de-facto deflation considering that consumer prices tend to be set about 1 percent higher than real prices,”