SEOUL, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Electronics estimated Tuesday that its second-quarter operating income fell about 4 percent from a year earlier as weak sales of its newest smartphones fell shy of expectations. Operating profit reached 6.9 trillion won (US$6.13 billion) in the April-June period, down 4.03 percent from the 7.19 trillion won posted a [...]
SEOUL, July 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean firms’ earnings outlook for the third quarter was drastically cut as the country’s first-ever outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has further sapped already feeble private spending, data showed Monday. The combined third-quarter operating profit of 117 listed firms on the main bourse was estimated at 29 [...]
SEOUL, July 1 (Korea Bizwire) – The larger companies are, the more they hire irregular workers including contract and outsourced workers, highlighting the fact that big firms are contributing to instability in levels of job security rather having a steadying effect. According to Ministry of Employment and Labor data on types of employment at 3,233 companies [...]
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Cheil Industries, the de facto holding company of Samsung Group, pledged Tuesday to deliver more dividends to shareholders and revamp its overall governance structure, as it seeks to convince investors ahead of a key shareholders meeting for a proposed merger with the group’s construction arm. The measures came as [...]
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean tourism industry has been hit hardest by the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) over the past month, but the slump may continue into the summer season from mass cancellations for hotels and tour packages, a poll showed Tuesday. The tourism and hotel industries were pummeled [...]
SEJONG, June 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea aims to increase its outbound investment by US$15 billion annually through an overhaul of tax schemes and more overseas investment by the state pension fund that can help offset some of the fallout from the country’s ballooning current account surplus, the government said Monday. The bold measures [...]
SEOUL, June 28 (Korea Biziwre) — A South Korean think tank downgraded the country’s economic growth forecast for 2015, citing weak exports coupled with the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which has claimed 32 lives. The Korea Economic Research Institute said it has slashed the economic growth forecast to 2.7 percent for 2015, compared [...]
SEOUL, June 26 (Korea Bizwire) – As the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus and drought devastate the local economy, Korean companies and local government bodies are implementing various measures to boost the economy. On June 25, Hyundai Motor, the largest automaker in Korea, decided to offer a grace period of three months to those who [...]
SEJONG, Jun. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea lowered its 2015 economic growth outlook to 3.1 percent Thursday, citing slumping exports and the negative impact of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak on Asia’s fourth-largest economy. The revised estimate represents a drop from the 3.8 percent gain predicted late last year and is lower [...]
SEOUL, June 23 (Korea Bizwire) – Among the top 10 richest cities in 2025 in terms of GDP per capita, Hwaseong (4th), Asan (5th) and Yeosu (9th) in Korean were included in a report from McKinsey & Company. Recently, CNN Money posted a story titled “These cities will be very rich in 10 years”, quoting the study conducted by [...]