Samsung Electronics Co., the world's No. 2 mobile phone maker by shipments, said Thursday that it will release this month a smaller Galaxy phone through South Korea's third-biggest mobile operator, Yonhap News reported.
The Galaxy U, the second series of Samsung's flagship smartphone Galaxy, features a 3.7-inch display, smaller than the 4-inch screen of the Galaxy S, it said. The phone is powered by a 1-gigahertz processor and runs on the Google Inc.-developed Android 2.1 system, like the Galaxy S.
Chinese investors more than doubled their holdings of Korean bonds so far this year as part of efforts to diversify investment from the U.S. and Europe in the wake of the financial crisis.
Flush with cash, Chinese investors are putting money in the debt, stocks and real estate of Korea, which has been emerging from the global recession most robustly among rich countries.
Chinese invested a net total of 2.48 trillion won ($2.1 billion) in local bonds during the first seven months of the year, according to Financial Supervisory Service and industry data.
With the increase seen so far this year, the amount of local bonds held by Chinese investors rose to about 4.4 trillion won by the end of July, more than double the 1.87 trillion won recorded at the end of last year.
The figure for Chinese investors’ holdings is equivalent to 6.05 percent of all Korean bonds held by overseas concerns and came in at 71.9 trillion won at the end of last month.
In addition to the rapid rate of increase, the composition of Chinese investors’ Korean portfolios has also drawn attention.
According to industry data, the vast majority of Chinese funds were used to buy up treasury bonds. Non-treasury bonds accounted for only 200 million won of the 1.87 trillion won worth of bonds Chinese investors held at the end of last year.
The influx of Chinese funds is expected to continue this year, with some expecting as much as 4 trillion won worth of Korean treasury bonds to be snatched up by Chinese concerns by the end of the year.
Despite the increase, however, Korean won-denominated assets account for only 0.1 percent of China’s $2.45 trillion-foreign reserves, and experts say that the figure is unlikely to increase significantly in the near future.
Along with increasing the amount invested in Korean bonds, Chinese investors have been bolstering their Korean securities portfolio.
According to data compiled under China’s Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor scheme, the proportion of Chinese funds invested in overseas securities markets accounted for by investments in Korean securities jumped to a record high of 4.5 percent during the second quarter of the year.
Korea’s financial markets could also be experiencing a surge in the flow of China’s state-managed funds.
The China Investment Corp. is thought to be planning to diversify its portfolio, and has been receiving consultations from Korean securities firms.
The CIC manages about $200 billion of China’s sovereign wealth, and its securities portfolio has been heavily focused on North American markets.
About 36 percent of CIC’s investments were directed to securities last year, of which 44 percent are said to have been North American stocks.
The Social Security Fund that manages 776.6 billion yuan ($114 billion) is also planning to raise the proportion of its assets accounted for by overseas assets to 20 percent from the current 7 percent, raising interest in whether Korea will be among those that receive an influx of its capital.
Fifteen business leaders including chairmen of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and SK have been chosen to represent Korea at the G20 Seoul Business Summit in November, organizers said.
They will join more than 100 chief executives from overseas at the Nov. 10-11 forum to discuss post-crisis global growth, green development and corporate social responsibility. It will be held ahead of the summit of the G20 heads of statescheduled for Nov. 11-12.
The CEOs will focus on the role of private businesses in keeping growth momentum going as major governments are withdrawing stimulus measures introduced to tackle the global economic crisis, the organizing committee said.
The Korean delegation consists of 12 non-financial CEOs and three from financial firms.
A dismissed policeman armed with an automatic rifle seized a bus in the Philippine capital Monday with 25 passengers aboard, most of them Hong Kong tourists, in a bid to demand his reinstatement, police said, according to AP.
Six hostages, including three children, were subsequently released.
Police sharpshooters took positions around the white-blue-red bus, which was parked near a downtown Manila park, and negotiations to free the remaining hostages were under way, deputy director of Manila police Alex Gutierrez said, AP reported.
It added that two of the Hong Kong tourists, both women, were the first to be released, followed by three young children and a woman accompanying them, Manila police chief Rodolfo Magtibay said.
Police had earlier reported that the tourists were from South Korea but later corrected themselves. Others on the bus included three Filipinos - a driver, a guide and a photographer, Magtibay said.
To resuscitate the ailing local film industry, it must get into bed with Hollywood to co-finance and co-produce films, industry insiders said in a forum Friday.
From its struggles with online piracy, sharp contraction in overseas distribution and sales, and “a failure to get on board the emerging trend of multimedia convergence,” doom and gloom were the words to describe the future of the local film industry during the “Korean Films Going Global” forum at the Korea Chamber of Commerce in Seoul, Friday.
“Unless the Korean film industry begins globalizing through co-financing, co-production, and content sharing with Hollywood, it will continue its course of decline,” said Seo Hyeon-dong, team leader of CJ Entertainment’s overseas investment and production division.
CJ is the current market leader among all major film studios having captured 27.3 percent of the market share this year from its closest rivals Showbox, Mediaplex, and Lotte Entertainment.
Of the industry’s dire situation, Seo added that in order for the local film industry to bounce back “we must come up with content that is accessible to the world ― not just among Koreans.”
“With the global film industry going digital, restrictions have been brought down and boundaries broken, and the industry has become one market.”
Social networking and online content sharing sites such as Facebook and YouTube were mentioned during the conference as important factors in film marketing and promotion in addition to content development.
Seo added, “with the likes of YouTube, Facebook, and the iPhone ― where people all over can receive and share content ― the ability to seize the opportunity that such outlets can provide has become crucial in the development of ideas as well as for the industry’s survival.”
On the continuing spread of online piracy, illegal distribution, and a reduction in overseas sales of Korean films this year, Seo said “Adding to the industry’s current crisis are paralyzing factors such as online piracy, illegal content distribution, and a contraction in overseas sales of our films.”
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On a blisteringly hot afternoon, more than 35,000 fans turned out at a sports stadium in Seoul to see a gathering of their favorite Korean pop stars.
Marking its 15th anniversary, SM Entertainment, one of the biggest entertainment agencies in Korea, hosted the “SM Town Live World Tour in Seoul” concert at the Jamsil Sport Complex on Saturday.
Boasting a lineup of more than 50 pop acts, including BoA, TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, Super Junior, f(x) and SHINee, the blockbuster concert featured genres including classic ballads, folk, hip-hop and dance.
It was a night for SM, the pioneer of the country’s pop star culture and entertainment business, to display their history and influence over the industry.
Despite temperatures peaking at higher than 32 degrees, the crowd, ranging from early teens to elderly fans, were on their feet during the concert, waving placards bearing their favorite stars’ name and singing along to their songs.
