SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – Across-the-board downgrading of the credit ratings of Korean shipbuilders is likely. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, major Korean shipbuilding firms have invested heavily in offshore plants and took on a huge amount of orders in FPSO (floating production storage and offloading) and other related areas as a way to overcome [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – Pantech, Korea’s third-largest mobile handset manufacturer after Samsung and LG, petitioned to the President following its appeals to three mobile telecom service operators for help. The Council of Pantech’s Partner Companies said on August 5 in a statement addressed to President Park Geun-hye, “We implore you to consider our predicament. Without [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Korea Bizzwire) – China’s shipbuilding industry is leading the global market in both merchant ships as well as offshore plants. With the help of the Chinese government in winning overseas orders and lending financial support, the country’s shipbuilding industry has swept the world market in the first half of 2014. In contrast, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Following the lead of GM Korea, the management of Ssangyong Motor has also proposed to the labor union that it would include regular bonuses as “ordinary wages.” It remains to be seen whether this will be adopted in other car makers and all other manufacturing firms. Unions have long demanded [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — The volume of thick plate imports from China is rapidly on the rise, putting further pressure on the domestic steel makers already suffering from low profitability. According to the Korea Iron & Steel Association on July 30, the total imports of thick steel plates during the first half of the [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Electronics has entered an “emergency mode,” following the mediocre sales performance of the Galaxy. Some within the company are talking about the possibility of a downsizing or a major reshuffling. In a leader-less situation, Samsung’s state of panic is getting more serious. As expected, the second-quarter financial results released on July [...]
SEOUL, July 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering announced that it has signed a contract to provide complete diagnosis and consulting service for enhancing efficiency in shipyard operations, with BAE Systems Surface Ships Ltd. of Britain. The main purpose of this agreement is to conduct diagnosis on BAE’s shipbuilding business and dockyard operation system [...]
SEOUL, July 30 (Korea Bizwire) – Amid an enviable situation of the rising current account surplus, a controversy broke out that claims the rising surplus is a worrisome sign. According to this argument, the rising current account surplus is largely due to weak domestic consumption and a fall in imports, rather than an indication of Korean industry’s [...]
SEOUL, July 28 (Korea Bizwire) — LG CNS, an affiliate of LG Group, announced on July 27 that it had successfully developed a “smart lighting solution” which can control lighting devices using its intelligent IT system. According to LG CNS, a global provider of comprehensive IT services, it could save as much as 6.3 billion won a [...]
SEOUL, July 23 (Korea Bizwire) – In order to prevent the instances of fabricating mill test certificates and thereby reduce the volume of low-quality steel product imports, the Korean Iron & Steel Association has introduced a new QR code-based scheme called “QReal” and entered an emergency mode to fully implement the scheme. According to the association, the [...]