South Korean solar panel manufacturer Hanwha Q Cells received a preliminary notice from the US International Trade Commission indicating that the US body regards as unfounded the company’s patent infringement complaints against other foreign solar energy companies, the firm confirmed Friday. The USITC is set to announce an official ruling in about two weeks. Hanwha said it would “appeal immediately” if the decision were to be finalized. The reasoning behind the USITC’s pr

Pressure is mounting on the Moon Jae-in administration and the National Assembly to tweak the mandatory 52-hour workweek regulation for companies, especially by small and medium-sized companies which are “not yet ready” to embrace it. From January next year, companies with less than 300 employees will have to abide by the new workweek regulation. Large firms with more than 300 workers have been following the rule since July 2018. If a company violates it, the employer can face up to

Hyundai Heavy Industries submitted a request for formal approval from the European Union for its merger with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, HHI said Wednesday. The EU, which is believed to hold the key to the merger, plans to complete the first round of screening results next month. Hyundai Heavy said, “We are faithfully explaining to competition authorities in line with the review schedule and process of each country. We will do our best to ensure that the tie-up proce

South Korea is accelerating its oil hub project aimed at making Ulsan and Yeosu the center of petroleum trading in Northeast Asia, officials said Wednesday. The oil hub project in Northeast Asia began in 2008 to build large-scale commercial oil and gas storage facilities in the two cities. It seeks to make the regions a hub for the convergence of petroleum logistics, trading and finance in Northeast Asia as well as to enhance the nation’s energy security in the event of an international oi

GS Caltex said Tuesday it is the first South Korean oil refiner to take part in the launch of ICE Futures Abu Dhabi, a new exchange in the United Arab Emirates. The company has signed a deal with Intercontinental Exchange, an American company that owns exchanges for financial and commodity market exchanges, along with nine other energy traders for the launch of the exchange. The other large energy firms include Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., BP, Shell, Total, Vitol, Petrochina, Inpex, JXTG and

Posco announced Tuesday the launch of Innovilt, an integrated brand of its premium construction steel materials. The materials are used in buildings and other infrastructure projects. Posco said its new integrated brand will help not only construction experts but also end-users easily recognize and select the materials. “We are trying to cope with challenges such as oversupply of steel and slowing economic growth index through the integrated brand,” said Jang In-hwa, head of Pos

South Korean cable maker Taihan Electric Wire was chosen as the top-quality power manufacturer of the year by the Korea Electric Power Corp., according to the firm Tuesday.Taihan said its underground cables for distribution received an award at the 2019 BIXPO Awards hosted by Kepco in Gwangju last week. The evaluation was made based on quality factors such as defect rate, failure rate, electricity quality and violation of fair trade. Taihan was selected as one of the top 10 manufacturers am

Some owner families of South Korean conglomerates control many affiliates outside their holding company system, increasing their possibility of profit-taking, according to the nation’s antitrust watchdog Monday.The Fair Trade Commission noted that although large corporate groups have switched to a holding company structure, many of their affiliates are still controlled by owner families. There are currently 23 large companies that have adopted the structure following government regulations

Vickers Venture Partners is looking to invest in promising Korean startups, eyeing the market as a hot spot for innovation, according to a top executive of the Singapore-based firm.The largest venture capital firm in Southeast Asia, with around $1 billion in assets under management, invests in areas including information technology, real estate, platform and consumer goods. It hosted a networking event last week with seven other Southeast Asian VCs and some Korean startups in Seoul to look for i

Top-tier South Korean firms such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor may have to pay corporate taxes overseas due to the growing worldwide debate on digital tax, raising concerns about its economic impact here, according to experts. According to the Finance Ministry, a debate is underway in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to apply digital tax -- in the form of corporate tax -- on manufacturing companies selling consumer goods, such as smartphones, h

The fourth World Aviation Conference was held in Incheon this week, bringing together global aviation experts to share current issues and the future of the global airport and aviation industry, according to the Incheon International Airport Corp. on Thursday.The annual conference hosted by IIAC has been taking place since 2016 to provide a venue for relevant international organizations, academia and industry to discuss diverse issues of the aviation industry.At this year’s forum held from

Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon met with Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday to discuss business cooperation, including a rural automated teller machine project, which is the core welfare policy of the administration, the Korean firm said Thursday. The meeting held at the National Palace of Mexico comes after Hyosung’s information technology affiliate, Hyosung TNS, was awarded a contract from the Mexican government for 8,000 ATMs worth 203 billion won ($175 mil

The trade megadeal among 15 Asia-Pacific countries can be expected to provide South Korean exporters with new opportunities to enter fast-growing and promising markets in Southeast Asia and lay the foundation for a future trade bloc consisting of Korea, Japan and China, according to experts. After seven years of negotiations, the leaders of 15 nations reached agreement on Monday on all 20 chapters of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and expressed their willingness to sign it in 20

Leaders from 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, declared that they had reached agreement on all 20 chapters of a trade megadeal and expressed their willingness to sign it in 2020, officials said Monday. Called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, it is in essence a massive regional trade deal among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the six countries with which ASEAN has free trade agreements -

Forty-six foreign companies received government awards for their investments in advanced technologies and for creating jobs in South Korea, during an annual event for foreign companies held Monday. Foreign Company Day, hosted by the Industry Ministry and the Korea Foreign Company Association, or FORCA, is a ceremony that has taken place since 2001 to recognize contributions to attracting foreign investment here.  The 46 awardees include the Korean arm of US-based firm Air Products and Chemi

South Korea’s exports have declined for the 11th consecutive month due mainly to a slowdown in demand for chips and the weak global economy, data showed Friday. According to the Trade Ministry, the nation’s exports stood at $46.7 billion last month, down 14.7 percent on-year, the biggest decline this year. Exports have fallen since December last year, and the decline has been double-digit for five months since June this year. By product, exports of chips shrank 32.1 percent, whi

South Korea is seeking to reduce travel time in heavily congested metropolitan areas by building deep underground roads and adding new high-speed train services by 2030, officials said Thursday.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced its vision for “metropolitan transportation 2030,” presenting three goals: to shorten travel time in major regional hubs to 30 minutes, cut down travel costs by up to 30 percent, and reduce by 30 percent the time people spend transfe

South Korea has embarked on an autonomous ship project by investing 160 billion won ($130 million), seeking to boost the domestic eco-friendly and smart shipping industry and achieve a 50 percent global market share by 2030.The Industry Ministry and the Oceans Ministry announced Wednesday that the project they are jointly pursing has passed the preliminary feasibility studies.The project aims to develop key technologies related to autonomous navigation and system autonomy while laying the founda

Kazakhstan’s competition authority has recently notified its approval of the merger between the world’s two largest shipbuilders, said Hyundai Heavy Industries on Tuesday. According to HHI, the Kazakhstan government approved the tie-up with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering after comprehensively reviewing the definition of related markets and evaluating competition limitations.This is the first approval for the tie-up as the plan is currently undergoing a review in five ot

South Korea’s largest companies, including Samsung, Hyundai and LG, spent more on research and development and earned more in 2018 compared to the previous year, despite growing concerns about the slowing global economy, according to a local public institute on Monday. According to a new report released by the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology under the Industry Ministry, the combined investment on research and development of 1,000 companies amounted to 49.7 trillion won ($42.5