POSCO’s troubled $12 billion steel mill project in India appears to have hit a snag as the steelmaker and an Indian local government are in dispute over payment for its construction site.According to Indian news reports, a high-ranking government official said POSCO had shown unclear intentions about the project that has remained idle for 10 years.“POSCO must clarify its intention whether it wants to set up the plant or not,” Indian Steel and Mines Minister Prafull Kumar Mallick was quoted as sa

“It is not good manners to not strike one’s neck when one has asked for it. I will strike in the most bloody and painful way possible.”The graphic comments are not threats by IS terrorists on YouTube videos. Instead, they are from Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction chairman Park Yong-sung, a business tycoon, in an email he sent to professors at Chung-Ang University in Seoul where he was serving as the board chairman. Park on Tuesday stepped down from all three posts after sparking controve

Hanwha Q Cells, a solar panel unit of Hanwha Group, has signed a 1 trillion won ($923.7 million) deal with Florida-based light company NextEra Energy to supply 1.5 gigawatts of solar panels, a record for a single contract in the domestic industry.The company will supply solar modules to NexEra’s solar plants under construction from the fourth quarter through the same period next year, the company said in a statement Monday. NextEra currently aims to build solar power plants with a capacity of 1.

Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co., Hyundai Motor Group’s main construction arm, is expected to post a significant increase in its earnings in the first quarter this year. According to Shinyoung Securities, Hyundai E&C will likely post first-quarter sales of nearly 3.84 trillion won ($3.54 billion) and operating profit of 228.1 billion won. The figures are respectively 16.7 percent and 21.6 percent higher than the same period last year. Buoyed by the expectations, a number of local trading

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, said Wednesday that its German wind energy affiliates may be liquidated due to their prolonged losses.The Germany-based subsidiaries in question ― Jahnel-Kestermann Getriebewerke GmbH and JaKe Service GmbH ― have posted deficits ever since they were acquired by the Korean shipbuilder in 2011.“Many options, including liquidation, are being considered,” said Hyundai Heavy spokesman Ryu Geun-chan.“As our company is also experiencing difficu

Hanwha Group, the nation’s 10th-largest conglomerate, has won a $200 million project to establish hospital facilities and provide medical assistance in Bismayah, Iraq.  Under the agreement, Hanwha Engineering and Construction will build the hospital on a 77,000 square meter plot of land. The group’s trade and commerce team will assign medical staff and manage the operation, Hanwha officials said Tuesday. The group is said to be in talks with Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital in Seoul for a par

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction vice chairman Jung Ji-taek (front, left) and Lilama president Le Van Tuan (front, right) shake hands on Friday in Hanoi, Vietnam, after signing a deal to build a coal-fired power plant in Hau Giang, about 200 kilometers southwest of Ho Chi Minh City, by October 2019. (Doosan Heavy Industries& Construction)

Concerns over labor conflicts are rising again at Hyundai Heavy Industries as the shipbuilder reportedly tried to penalize those who refused to take the latest early retirement program, the firm’s voluntary workforce cut plan.The HHI branch of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, the nation’s biggest umbrella union, claimed that a number of its members working for the shipbuilder were subjected to unreasonable demands by the management since they rejected the voluntary retirement scheme, which it be

The largest shareholder of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering has denied speculation about the shipbuilder’s takeover of its debt-ridden rival, STX Offshore and Shipbuilding.The state-run Korea Development Bank, the main creditor of DSME, said Sunday that speculation about DSME’s takeover was “unrealistic.”“Merging KOSPI-listed DSME and STX, which is under a restructuring program, would most definitely anger shareholders,” a KDB official said on condition of anonymity. “The rumor is simp

South Korean conglomerates are cashing in on the promising global water market, with the water shortage emerging as a global agenda. According to Global Water Intelligence, a U.K.-based water industry research firm, the size of the world’s water treatment market is forecast to expand up to $1 trillion by the end of 2015. Betting on the industry’s high growth potential, Korean players have sharpened their competitiveness in the “blue gold’’ sector, where European water giants like Veolia and Suez

Cosmetics shares are spiking over hopes that rising Chinese demand for Korean products will push up their quarterly earnings.Shares of Hankook Cosmetics gained 0.6 percent to 15,600 won ($14.3) at the close of trading Wednesday, after hitting 17,500 won. The price is up more than 140 percent from 7,140 won a month ago. “As we enter the new earnings season, investors are turning their eyes to cosmetics-related stocks that have shown strong momentum,” KB Investment & Securities analyst Yang Ji-hye

The union of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering has reacted angrily to the choice of Jung Sung-leep as new chief of the world’s second-largest shipbuilder.The state-owned Korea Development Bank, the largest shareholder of DSME, on Monday recommended Jung, the incumbent CEO of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, as the company’s new president. The development comes after months of indecision whether to reappoint current DSME president Ko Jae-ho or find a new candidate.“(Choosing an outsider) refle

The nation’s top chaebol tycoons are banking on their daughters to lead their conglomerates’ hotel businesses overseas.Lotte Group founder and general chairman Shin Kyuk-ho recently positioned his granddaughter Chang Seon-yoon to lead Lotte Hotel’s overseas expansion efforts. The move comes at a time when Lotte’s rival Hotel Shilla, led by Lee Boo-jin, the eldest daughter of Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, is actively seeking market expansion overseas.  Lotte Hotel senior executive Chang Seon-yoon

Suh Kyung-bae, chairman of South Korean cosmetics giant AmorePacific Group, has outpaced Samsung Electronics’ vice chairman Lee Jay-yong to become the nation’s second richest person, according to market data released Thursday.Suh ranked 169 on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, which lists the world’s richest people. Suh’s stocks were valued at around 8.8 trillion won ($8 billion) as of Thursday.  Suh Kyung-baeSamsung heir apparent Lee was placed 182nd on the index. Lee’s father and Samsung chairm

Saudi Arabia will seek to strengthen cooperation with South Korea when its top government and business leaders visit Seoul later this month, industry sources said Wednesday.Sources said the Saudi oil minister and top executives of Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil exporter, will meet Korean officials and industry leaders to discuss bilateral cooperation in the energy sector.The Saudi delegation includes Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi and Aramco presid

Showbox Mediaplex, the film-making arm of Orion Group, the nation’s second-biggest snack-maker, made headlines on March 25 when the company announced its expansion to China by signing an exclusive partnership with China’s leading entertainment giant Huayi Brothers.The news once again brought the limelight to the business group’s chairman Tam Chul-kon as the Chinese-Korean is apparently hoping to recreate his “rags-to-riches legend” once again and take the faltering conglomerate back to its glory

Local card companies are fiercely competing to become the sole contractor for Costco stores in South Korea.The U.S. retail giant, which has had an exclusive partnership with Samsung Card for 15 years, is considering terminating its exclusive contract in May, according to news reports.Spotting an opportunity, some other card companies were quick to establish a task force in a bid to get a share of the U.S. retailer’s 2.86 trillion won ($2.59 billion) revenue in Korea. Hyundai Card, the country’s

The latest prosecution’s raid on Dongkuk Steel Mill and its investigation into the group owner are casting a cloud on the future of the nation’s faltering third-largest steelmaker, which had hoped for revitalization through its ongoing Brazil project.The prosecution unexpectedly raided the headquarters of the steelmaker in Seoul on Saturday, on suspicion that the firm stashed some 10 billion won ($9.06 million) in U.S. accounts to avoid taxes. It is also suspected of exaggerating the sales price

South Korea’s two retail giants Lotte and Shinsegae are duking it out to attract the growing number of rich Chinese shoppers visiting the country. Lotte Department Store is reportedly reviewing plans to build an eight to nine-story building next to its headquarters in the shopping district of Myeong-dong, Seoul, a popular destination for Chinese and Japanese tourists.  Chinese tourists visit the shopping district of Myeong-dong, Seoul, during the Lunar New Year holiday in February. (Yonhap)The n

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, the country’s top shipbuilding conglomerate, is speeding up consolidation of the business management units of its three shipbuilding-related subsidiaries in an effort to streamline operations.The group said Tuesday that Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard will come under a single management system for finance, accounting, information technology and public relations. “We hope to lower the cost and burden of overlapping