Doosan hits full stride in global expansion

Doosan Corporation Chairman Park Yong-maan, third from left, poses with Peter Dawson, fourth from left, the secretary of the R&A, an organizer of The Open Championship at the Old Course, St. Andrews on Monday, after donating an excavator to the R&A. Doosan was an official patron for The 2010 Open Championship. Doosan was the first Korean company to join The Open, the oldest and most prestigious of the four major global golf events. / Courtesy of Doosan

Doosan Group targets some 15 trillion won or $12 billion in overseas sales this year, accounting for about 60 percent out of the target 24.4 trillion won in total sales, a senior group spokesman Shin Dong-gyu said, Wednesday.

The group's reliance on foreign markets captures the group’s globalization effort. 

The numbers only tell half the story.

Doosan has appointed foreign talent to key posts, while earnestly working on big M&A deals.

"Doosan Group is trying to find new earning engines that will cover developed to developing markets. As a business-to-business (B2B) focused company, it's quite natural to pay attention worldwide," Shin said. 

POSCO expands to Vietnam

Chung Joon-yang POSCO Chairman

POSCO’s effort to enhance its business in Southeast Asian markets is blossoming, as its Vietnamese unit, POSCO VST, will expand its stainless steel production capacity.

The world’s third-largest steelmaker said Wednesday that it will enlarge its capacity from 85,000 tons annually through 235,000 tons in 2013 to eventually 285,000 tons in 2014. 

POSCO said in March that it would boost its stainless steel production capacity by 200,000 tons per year in the coming years in order to meet growing demand in the region.

GS Caltex sets philanthropic standards

A teacher gives an art lesson at an elementary school in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. GS Caltex has been sending native English speakers to schools in small villages as part of its social contribution campaign. / Courtesy of GS Caltex

GS Caltex is one of the few firms that has not lost sight of the importance of human interaction when it comes to successful CSR campaigns for the poor and underprivileged. While its fund is sufficiently substantial ― it promises to spend more than 10 billion won ($8.3 million) each year in CSR activities until 2015 ― its human contribution plays an even bigger part in almost all cases. 

Under the slogan “Beautiful Korea through energy sharing,” the firm’s CSR activities are mostly based on participation from its employees and customers. On May 19, its 43rd anniversary, the firm invited 300 employees and their families, along with 300 disabled children from Seoul, Daejeon and Yeosu, to national parks. 

Mobis looks to rule markets with modules

A chassis module, the main frame of the car, built by Hyundai Mobis.

Hyundai Mobis, the car parts affiliate of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, is striving to lead the automotive industry’s third revolution in modules, the semi-assembled kits of vehicle components. 

By introducing the modular production in the late 1990s, earlier than its competitors, the Seoul-headquartered outfit has successfully climbed the global ladder. Now it looks to chalk up further growth by concentrating more on modules.

Modules refer to the building blocks of a car. For example, front-end modules include such components as the headlights, radiator, engine-cooling-fan systems, the bumper fascia and beam. 

``The global automotive industry has gone through a pair of revolutionary advances ― mass-production using conveyor belts in the early 20th century and the just-in-time (JIT) process of Toyota,’’ Mobis spokesman Park Se-hwan said. 

``Now, the just-in-sequence (JIS) method based on modules is coming to the fore to lead the industry’s third revolution. Mobis is set to spearhead the paradigm shift.’’

Otherwise dubbed as the “Toyota production system,” JIT has changed the face of the global car business over the past few decades by substantially cutting down on in-process inventory and related carrying costs. 

LG Display sees sales soar by 35% in Q2

LG Display CEO Kwon Young-soo

Flat-panel maker LG display reported better-than-expected second quarter profit and sales driven by rising demand for flat-screen televisions and computer monitors.

However, the company forecasted its growth in profit to slow in the second half due to continuing uncertainties in the global economy and an expected dip in television sales.

LG, the world's second-largest maker of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) behind domestic rival Samsung Electronics, posted a net profit of 555 billion won (about $461 million) for the April-June period, representing a 51 percent increase from the 367 billion won a year earlier.

The company's operating profit more than doubled from last year to reach 726 billion won, while its revenue of 6.45 trillion won marked a 35 percent year-on-year increase. 

LG Display, which counts major device makers like Apple, Sony and Dell among its main clients, had benefited from the rebound in the global sales of electronics products and had been boosting its manufacturing capacity to meet the rising demand. 

IMF to seek $250 billion boost in its lending resources at G20

The International Monetary Fund is seeking a boost in its lending resources to $1 trillion, from the current $750 billion, at a Group of 20 summit in Korea in November, according to a Korean government official. 

The increase would help strengthen a global financial safety net to counter crises, the official said on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. Korea is chair of the G-20 this year. IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn told the Financial Times that a boost to $1 trillion in IMF lending firepower was a “correct forecast.” 

Around Hotels

Westin Chosun Hotel 

The Westin Chosun Hotel’s Japanese restaurant Sushi Cho is presenting “Live & Soba” every weekend till next month. Expert sushi chefs will make sushi and soba right before your eyes live. The exclusive set menu for the event is exquisite, including homemade tofu dish and buckwheat tea aside from live sushi and soba. The prices range from 60, 000 won to 120,000 won. For inquiries, call Sushi Cho at (02) 317 – 0373.



Hotel Novotel Ambassador Gangnam 

Hotel Novotel’s world-certified eco-friendly bar, Gran*A presents “Eco Green Monday.” Only on Mondays, the bar will offer a special 50% discount on drink orders for any guests, as long as they are wearing something in green: it can be their clothes, accessories, even purses. The promotion will last till the end of next month. For inquiries and reservations, call Gran*A at (02) 531-6868.


Sheraton Grande Walkerhill 

Sheraton Grande Wakerhill is launching poolside bikini parties from July 30 to early next month. The entrance ticket costs 80,000 won and includes a pass to the River Park pool, one glass of drink and the poolside canapé buffet. Musician Koo Jun Yup will be there to perform live. Guests must be 19 or older to enter. For inquiries, call (02) 455-5000. 


JW Marriott Seoul


JW Marriot Seoul’s Japanese restaurant Mikado presents special river ell and sea bass menus for the summer, starting July 1. Both river ell and sea bass are known to be the best sea foods for hot weather, boosting one’s energy and strength against the heat. Hence the “healthy-special” menu consist of 8 course-meal including sea bass soup, sashimi of tuna toro, river eel teriyaki, tempura of sea bass and river eel hot pot. Sweet deserts, muskmelon and lemon ice cream are also available. The special menu costs 135,000 won, while A la carte costs from 55,000 to 100,000 won. Prices are exclusive of tax and service charge. For more information, call (02) 6282-6751.



Lotte Hotel Seoul 

Lotte Hotel Seoul Delica-Hans is offering a unique selection of deserts from this month to August 31. The two exclusive selections – moist brownie and ice-cream, as well as waffles served with sherbet and seasonal fruits -- are offered throughout this period. The menus cost 12,000 won, inclusive of taxes. For inquiries, call Lotte Hotel Seoul Delica-Hans at (02) 317 – 7148~9.


Grand Hyatt Seoul

Akasaka, Grand Hyatt Seoul’s Japanese restaurant, is presenting a “Special Teppanyaki Menu” for the coming summer season. The unique teppanyaki style of Japanese cooking gives genuinely fresh taste of the ingredients, by quickly grilling meats, vegetables, seafood and noodles on a hotplate. Akasaka’s each set course comes with an appetizer, a clear tofu soup, sashimi, and Inaniwa udon or temaki, and fresh fruit with Azuki beans. Course A (90,000 won) offers Australian beef tenderloin; Course B (120,000) comes with a lobster, and Course C (150,000) can be enjoyed with Korean beef rib eye. Prices are exclusive of tax and service charge. For information and reservations, call (02) 799-8164.

Cho to focus on speed, passing

South Korea’s newly appointed national soccer squad manager, Cho Kwang-rae, said Thursday that he will make sure to improve the team’s pace and passing skills. 

Speaking at a news conference at the Korean Football Association in Seoul, the 56-year-old manager repeated that fast-passing is the key to the team’s future success. 

“There is a lot we can learn from Spain’s performance at the 2010 World Cup,” said Cho. 

“No doubt that Spain is the best team in the world at the moment. In particular, we should adopt their fast-paced performance and quality passing skills,” he added. 

The former national midfielder, who played at the 1986 Mexico World Cup, also emphasized that there is room for improvement in the team’s defense. 

“We played quite well at this World Cup, though we showed a lack of discipline in the defense area,” he said. 

Speaking of his role at Gyeongnam FC, the new chief of Taeguk Warriors said: “I’m afraid it would be difficult for me to take care of both jobs.”

Book chronicles story of independence crusader

From Ahn Jung-geun, Yoon Bong-gil to Yu Gwan-sun, Korean independence fighters during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) have been taught to youths for decades but not much has been known of one American’s contribution to the country’s liberation ― a man who told an AP reporter on his deathbed “I would rather be buried in Korea than in Westminster Abbey.”

Overshadowed by his Korean compatriots, a recently published book written by Kim Dong-jin sheds light on the life of American missionary and journalist Homer B. Hulbert’s (1863-1949) 20-year efforts to modernize the Korean education system and spread the word on Japan’s forceful annexation of the peninsula. 

As one of the King Gojong’s envoys, Hulbert’s story has been rarely told.

According to the book, he was at the forefront of establishing a modern educational system in Korea, as he believed it was the key to Korea’s independence from Japan’s rule.

“Crusader for Korea” chronicles the life of Homer B. Hulbert, who devoted two decades of his life to working for Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule.                                      The True Friend

BoA to come back with new album

Korea’s pop diva BoA will resume her career in Korea with a new album to be released on Aug. 5, her management agency said on Thursday. 

Ahead of her official comeback, SM Entertainment has released a photo of BoA showing a feminine yet powerful image.

BoA had focused her music activities overseas rather than in Korea. After a music career in Japan, she recently advanced into the U.S. music industry. The year 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of her debut in 2000 when she was 13.

“Coming back to stages in Korea makes me nervous and happy. Please expect much more developed music and performance,” the K-pop star said in a statement. She will begin album promotion to coincide with the release of the new songs.

Box office revenue up, attendance down

Buoyed by the rise in ticket costs and the higher priced admissions for 3-D IMAX films, the total box office revenue tallied thus far at the half-way mark of this year has seen a significant increase compared to 2009 despite a drop in the total number of tickets sold.

The local movie industry saw a 14.6 percent spike in its total box office take over the same period last year, according to a recent report released by the Korean Film Council.

However, the number of admissions at multiplexes was down 3.9 percent.

From January to June, a total of 69.44 million tickets were sold -- about 2.8 million less than during the same period last year while current revenues are up with a record haul of 547 billion won ($454 million) compared to 476 billion won in the same period last year.

The reason for this anomaly is due mainly to the increase in standard ticket prices from 6,600 won to 7,880 won, the KOFIC says.

However, largely helping boost the box office earnings was the runaway success of James Cameron’s 3-D extravaganza “Avatar,” which drove the nation’s film revenue to a record high.

Muan County offers lotus flower heaven, octopus on sticks

Muan County offers lotus flower heaven, octopus on sticks



By Song Woong-ki



MUAN, South Jeolla Province -- There’s more to lotus flowers than meets the eye as a recent trip to Muan County in South Jeolla Province proved just a few weeks ahead of “The Lotus Industry Festival of Korea Muan, 2010.”

Despite the jarring, cold nature of the festival’s official English moniker, the venue itself is anything but.

Hynix operating profit tops W1tr

Analysts expect momentum to slow in second half

Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s No. 2 memory chip maker, on Thursday reported a record high operating profit of 1.04 trillion won ($864 million) for the second quarter. 

But its shares slumped 4.24 percent, as its earnings momentum is expected to weaken in the second half. 

With a strong recovery of the memory chip market, Hynix’s operating profits shot up 3 percent from the previous quarter. Hynix also reported its historic high sales of 3.2 trillion won during the April to June period. 

However, analysts said Hynix’s profit is expected to slow down in the second half, as DRAM prices are falling amid worries about the faltering economic recovery and rising chip supply. 

“Hynix’s earnings are likely to decline in the third quarter,” Kim Young-jun, an analyst at LIG Invest & Securities said, citing Hynix’s lower-than-expected shipments and price falls of DRAM chips in the third quarter.

Hynix said during a conference call that it expected its DRAM prices to fall slightly in the third quarter, and its DRAM shipments to grow by a mid-single digit percent from the previous three months.

However, Hynix expected the chip market to remain healthy in the second half, saying a supply growth would be limited, while the demand would rise on strong seasonality. 

“PC demand will follow the seasonal historical patterns. We expect demand to be stable or stronger than the first half of this year,” a Hynix executive said during the conference call. 

PCs are a major use for DRAM chips. 

Kim Do-han, an analyst at Samsung Securities, said that Hynix’s higher-margin, specialty DRAM products would help offset the falls of commodity DRAM prices. 　

Hynix said its specialty DRAM products generated more than 50 percent of its sales in the second quarter, and the company is looking to raise that figure additionally in the latter half. 

He projected a moderate fall of chip prices in the third quarter, predicting that Hynix’s profit would remain flat or drop slightly in the current quarter. 

“Because of strong demand, chip prices are unlikely to drop dramatically,” Kim said. 　

Hynix, which has been put up for sale, has been struggling to buy a buyer for months. Major shareholders of the chipmaker have proposed that LG Group, Korea’s No. 4 conglomerate, take over a 5 percent stake in the chipmaker, reports said. LG Group apparently spurned the offer, releasing a statement last week that there had been no change in its stance that it would not acquire Hynix. 

Hynix shares slumped 18 percent as of Wednesday from its record-high of 28,800 won in late April.

Egypt wide open for business

Since the early nineties, the Government of Egypt was firmly committed to supporting the development of a market driven economy led by the private sector. The economic reforms have gained a big momentum by the appointment of a new government in 2004, which includes reputable figures from the private business Community. New laws and standards have been issued in many sectors to develop and better organize its operations such as the new tax law which slashed personal and corporate income taxes by 50% to a maximum rate of 20%, and Customs procedures have been simplified and tariffs were reduced from an average of 14.6% to 9%. 

LGD logs record sales, sees firm demand

LG Display, the world’s No.2 panel maker, reported record sales in the second quarter, and projected growing demand in the second half despite macroeconomic jitters. 

Its operating profit slid 8 percent from the previous three months, as worries of slowing economic growth have dented panel prices in the traditionally weak period.

Some analysts said concerns about weak demand and large inventory are overrated, predicting stronger-than-expected demand for TVs during the back-to-school and holiday season. 

“Concerns about LG Display seem to be excessive … The latter half may not be as good as previously expected. But the latter half would not be bad,” Lee Hak-moo, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said. 

TV makers have built up inventory because of their bullish outlook, but the high inventory levels would be eased thanks to robust demand in the second half of the year. 

“LG’s profit is expected to further slow in the third quarter, but to recover in the fourth quarter,” Lee said. 

LG Display chief financial offer James Jeong said in a statement that despite macroeconomic uncertainty and inventory burden at some customers, LCDdemand is expected to expand on the back of seasonality and the growth of theLED-backlit TV market. 

He also expected panel prices to stabilize or rebound from around September after gradual declines. 

An LG Display employee works at the company’s eighth-generation LCD production line in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.                                                                                                   LG

Ex-KDB governor Kim hired by Daiwa

Daiwa Securities Group Inc., Japan’s second-largest brokerage, hired Kim Chang-lok, former governor of Korea Development Bank, as a senior adviser for its investment banking unit.

Over 1 million seniors live alone

The number of elderly people living alone in Korea exceeded 1 million for the first time this year, raising the need for more support to address their livelihood, nursing care and social exclusion.

According to the report by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and Statistics Korea, more than 1.04 million seniors aged 65 or older live on their own, up about 5.8 percent from a year earlier. They make up more than 10 percent of the age group. 

By age, people in their 70s take the largest portion with 56.3 percent. Their children left for cities for work during Korea’s rapid industrialization in the 1960s and 70s.

Those between the ages of 65 and 69 accounted for 26.8 percent. More than 176,000 aged 80 or older live by themselves, equivalent to nearly 17 percent of the total.

Park Geun-hye suffers scratch in Daegu scuffle

Former ruling party leader Park Geun-hye injured her wrist after a melee broke out between her bodyguards and a group of protesters in Daegu on Thursday, according to Yonhap News. 

The incident erupted after Park delivered a congratulatory speech during an event to mark the expansion of a subway line in Daegu, the report said. 

After her speech, several woman members of the labor union at Yeongnam University Hospital rushed her, demanding the normalization of relations between the labor and management, according to the report. 

Park’s bodyguards blocked the protesters and in the course of the scrum, Park sustained slight injuries, the report said. 

The incident was the second of its kind involving Park, who was attacked during an election campaign rally in 2006. She had to be hospitalized with a wound to the face at that time. 

Park, a daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee, currently leads a faction in the ruling Grand National Party. 

(yoonmi@heraldm.com)

Summer lost in heated tropical nights

Many Koreans are struggling to sleep as the tropical nights phenomenon continues to grip the country.

A tropical night is one in which the temperature remains at 25 degrees Celsius or more from 6:01 p.m. until 9:00 a.m. the next day, according to the Korean Meteorological Administration.

Gangneung in Gangwon Province recorded the highest average temperature on Wednesday night with 27.9 degrees Celsius.

Other seaside cities such as Sokcho, Pohang and Seogwipo followed, with an average overnight temperatures exceeding 26 degrees Celsius.

The KMA issued earlier this week a heat warning in parts of Gangwon Province, North Gyeongsang Province and other heat-prone areas.
 
Though the tropical nights are expected to take a downturn on Friday due to the seasonal rain fronts descending from North Korea, the southern regions will remain hot, said KMA officials.

U.S. identifies 200 North Korea-linked bank accounts

The U.S. has identified about 200 bank accounts linked to North Korea and is likely to freeze half of them which it suspects are used for weapons exports and other illicit purposes banned under U.N. resolutions, Yonhap News reported on Friday.

Eutrophication in the Thai educational digital piano donated 6,300 units.

Eutrophication in the Thai educational digital piano donated 6,300 units.

Bangkok, Thailand and 22 Prefectural Office in the Ministry of Education Secretary country chinnawan bunyaki graduation song
Containing 6,300 units of educational digital piano donated said.

Irene is a digital piano, donated 6,300 units of 6 and 25, the Thai government during the war in Korea sent
According to the 6300 Masters history to scale the deployment will be done in the dimensions of the audit.

Irene Lee Joong Keun, chairman, "an imaginative children's minds to share their emotions with each other through music
Hope this is an opportunity to cultivate, "said" the future of the young Thai students in higher education and the environment
Foster imagination in dreams and make yourself want to be strong, "he explained.