January 27, 2022

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EDITOR'S PICKS

• Markets 
  

  Banking groups beef up auto financing to lure young drivers

  South Korea’s banking groups have started upgrading their auto loan and financing services to the next level this year, aiming to go beyond their traditional business to attract mobile-first customers. KB Financial Group, the nation’s No. 1 banking group by total assets, has expanded its car financing services offered via online and mobile platforms, mostly through its leasing and installment financing unit KB Capital. On Jan. 4, KB Capital signed a deal with Volvo’s electri

• Markets 
  

  LG Energy Solution, GM to build 3rd EV battery plant in US

  LG Energy Solution and General Motors said Wednesday they will invest $2.6 billion to build their third electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in the US. The facility will be located in Lansing, Michigan. The factory will begin mass production in early 2025 and produce 50 gigawatt-hours of EV batteries per year once fully operational, which is enough to power 700,000 EVs that can travel more than 500 kilometers on a single charge. The investment is expected to create 1,700 new jobs. At

• Markets 
  

  [Korea Chips Act 2] New law to fuel chipmakers’ competition for high school talent

  This is the second installment of a two-part series on Korea’s Chips Act and controversies surrounding a law meant to support the local chip industry amid heated competition around the world. -- Ed. To tackle a chronic workforce shortage in the domestic chips industry, Korean semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have been ramping up efforts to acquire talents even before they become adults. Under a new law, a Korean equivalent to the CHIPS for America Act, chipmakers are

• Markets 
  

  Posco Chemical posts record sales on EV battery demand

  Posco Chemical posted record revenues in 2021, largely buoyed by a robust performance of its secondary battery materials business, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. According to the refractory and secondary battery materials arm of South Korean steel giant Posco, its sales surged 27 percent to 1.98 trillion won ($1.65 billion) on-year, a record figure in the company’s history. Operating profits also soared 101.9 percent to 121.7 billion won in the same period. Posc

• Markets 
  

  BOK says mock issuance, distribution of digital currency successful

  South Korea’s central bank said Monday that it has successfully completed the pilot testing of issuance and distribution of digital currency. The Bank of Korea has wrapped up the first phase of its two-part mock testing of the central bank digital currency in December and has been carrying out the second phase “smoothly.” Once the second phase wraps up in June, the BOK plans to start discussions on its actual launch and commercialization. It aims to expand the scope of the t

• Markets 
  

  Korea’s beer imports drop to all-time low

  South Korea’s imports of beer recorded an all-time low last year, amid a nationwide boycott of Japanese beer and other products, data showed Monday. According to the Korea Customs Service, imports of beer decreased by 1.7 percent on-year to $223.1 million last year. The figure surpassed the record-low imports of $181.5 million in 2016. The list of major beer import countries last year includes the Netherlands, followed by China, Belgium, Poland, Ireland, Germany and the Czech Republic.

• Markets 
  

  Kakao Mobility to hold 1st tech conference in Feb.

  Kakao Mobility will hold its first technology conference under the name of Next Mobility: NEMO 2022 with participation from global leaders in the mobility industry at Coex in southern Seoul on Feb. 10, Kakao group’s multi-transportation app operator said Monday. The participating companies include US autonomous mobility company Aurora, German aircraft manufacturer Volocopter and several Korean companies including LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, GS Retail and Woowa Brothers. Aurora

• Markets 
  

  Price growth in groceries, car fuel hits 10-year high

  SEJONG -- Consumer prices for groceries and transportation in Korea climbed at the fastest rate in a decade in 2021, adding a heavier financial burden on households amid the pandemic, state data showed Monday. These two items were found to have led the instability in overall consumer prices last year, despite the Bank of Korea’s two interest rate hikes, in August and November. According to Statistics Korea, consumer prices of groceries rose 5.9 percent in 2021 compared to the previous y